On: Launch YC S21: Meet the Batch, Thread #8

[mike_d]

> can still get you into debt if you don't pay back / pay min / pay late

How exactly is your card different? Is there no obligation to make payments? If so, how many cards can I open?

[VrindaGupta → mike_d]

We connect to your existing bank account and make the payments automatically to build credit. Traditional debit cards do not do this.

[mike_d → VrindaGupta]

That is exactly what debit cards do. When you make a purchase the money is withdrawn from your account.

The only novel thing here is you are deceiving the processing networks by claiming your debit card is a credit card. My credit union tried to do the same thing many years ago (as a way to build credit for students) and it eventually got caught by the processing networks and recategorized. Within a month or two it dropped off everyone's credit reports and they were back to square one.

[VrindaGupta → mike_d]

Sequin fronts the money to the merchant and pays ourselves back automatically from a connected bank account (unlike traditional debit cards).

We are an official Visa partner and deal directly with credit bureaus.

[prawn → mike_d]

From my reading, you're spending your own money, but to the credit tracking side, it looks like you're spending on credit and paying it back without incurring a fee. Clever idea, as long as the credit system continues to work like this.