Brazilian fintechs Geru and Rebel announced on Tuesday the merger of the companies. The two, which operate in the credit market, now will be part of Open Co, a holding company that, it says, intends to take the lead in the credit fintech market in Brazil.
With the merger, Open Co assumes a BRL 1.5 billion loans portfolio and a customer base of more than 100,000 people. The founders Sandro Reiss, from Geru, and Rafael Pereira, from Rebel, expect to generate more than BRL 1 billion in credit in 2021.
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The merging of the two companies consolidates the growth plan of Geru and Rebel in the face of a more favorable scenario with the Open Banking regulation, the acceleration of Brazilians digitization and the greater need for loans due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Geru and Rebel will continue to operate independently, each focused on a specific audience – which extends the reach of Open Co. Geru targets the customer who has access to the banking and credit system, offering a fully digital service platform with reduced rates.
Rebel‘s target audience, on the other hand, is people who do not have the required score to obtain a loan with good interest rates; with an Open Banking API, Rebel performs an analysis of data to give credit to customers who would not obtain approval from other institutions.
According to Reiss and Pereira, the merger will provide a more complete view of each client’s credit risk, which results in a higher credit approval rate and lower interest rates.
