There is a new dating app just in time for Valentine’s Day, but there is one catch: you must have at least a 675 credit score to use it. Score, a dating app for those with fair to exceptional credit, was launched today by financial platform Neon Money Club. Its goal is to create awareness about the role of economics in relationships.
“We need to take the conversation to areas where finance isn’t traditionally discussed,” Luke Bailey, co-founder and CEO of Neon Money Club, told Total Bulletin, adding that traditional methods of raising financial awareness are outdated. “Before you can educate people, you need to get their attention. With Score, we’re bringing the conversation to dating.”
Talking about money can be awkward, yet for many individuals, finances are a vital element of their relationships. According to CNBC, majority Americans believe debt is a legitimate basis for divorce. Indeed, financial concerns are one of the most common causes of divorce.
The app’s concept originated during last year’s AfroTech. Neon Money Club was already looking for a strategy to improve credit health, so it hosted a party that drew hundreds of people to the streets of Downtown Austin. As individuals lined up, Bailey and his team began to consider what questions they could ask these partygoers to make them feel more comfortable discussing finances.
“We decided to ask one question: ‘What should the minimum credit score be for someone you’re dating? That question later became Score.”
Luke Bailey, co-founder and CEO of Neon Money Club
The app will be available for a limited time (about 90 days), and prospective users must apply for access. When users sign up, Neon Money Club conducts a soft credit check that has no influence on their credit reports, and the score is not visible on the app, according to Bailey. If approved, users would be able to connect with people who share their financial interests using the app. People are not matched based on credit tiers, therefore someone with a 700 score may match with someone with an 800 score. From there, simply swipe left or right as usual.
The app’s exclusive nature will undoubtedly irritate some individuals, especially given that the average credit score for a US citizen is 716, with Black and Hispanic people being more likely than other racial groups to have a score below 640. When questioned how people would regard the app as perpetuating the class difference, Bailey responded that having good credit is more aspirational than classist. He also stated that it is entirely feasible to have a good income and bad credit.
Those refused access to Score will be directed to financial literacy services as well as credit builder Grow Credit to assist people improve their credit scores, he stated. “Afterwards, those people are sent back to us to qualify for our products,” Bailey explained, adding that it is a deliberate positive loop. “There needs to be more awareness about the doors that can be opened with a good credit history.”
Neon Money Club debuted in 2021 with the goal of tracking financial literacy, and last year became the first Black-owned internet company to offer a credit card with AMEX. The card enables consumers to turn their credit card points into cash, which they may then invest in the stock market.
The company has raised more than $10 million in venture capital, according to PitchBook.
“We need more creative and diverse voices in the world of finance,” Bailey said. “We aren’t the only people who think like this. The industry just needs to open more doors for others like us.”