The credit card market has become increasingly crowded, with mainstream fintech startups competing fiercely to differentiate their offerings through branding, rewards programs, and even crypto compatibility.

X1 Card takes a different approach by underwriting customers based on income rather than credit scores, which the company says allows it to set credit limits up to 5x higher than card providers. traditional. It’s an attractive proposition for all kinds of people who have stable incomes but low credit scores, such as recent college graduates.

“For someone like me, who comes from another country, a credit score, especially early in my career, is not an accurate reflection of my ability to repay,” the co-founder and CEO said. Deepak Rao at TechCrunch in an interview.

The card, which charges no annual fee, has managed to hit $50 million in monthly transaction volume over the past six months after rolling out its product to a limited set of beta customers, Rao said. Now, armed with $25 million from a new round of funding, the product will launch to the general public in the coming weeks, according to Rao.

FPV, a new venture capital firm from Google Analytics founder and early Robinhood and Plaid investor Wesley Chan, led the round of X1, marking the VC’s first-ever investment. Existing investors Craft Ventures, Spark Capital, Harrison Metal and SV Angel all participated alongside new investors Abstract Ventures, the Chainsmokers and Global Founders Capital, according to X1.

The new funding comes after X1 last raised $12 million in January 2021, covered by TechCrunch.

Chan said he supports X1 despite his initial skepticism about investing in a credit card, especially during a downturn in the economy when consumer spending is down. He was drawn to X1 because of its simple interface, excellent customer service, and strong risk management controls. X1 connects to users’ bank accounts via Plaid’s API to collect data on their revenue patterns, which is why it is able to sign up customers without the need for a credit score.

X1’s waiting list has 500,000 people, according to Rao. Chan said hearing users rave about the map’s interface helped sway it in his favor.

The mobile interface for X1’s credit card application. Picture credits: X1

All of X1’s marketing is done by word of mouth, according to Chan.

“There’s no annual fee like these other credit card companies have to pay for their ridiculous marketing,” Chan said, explaining that for most credit card companies he considers an investor, those fees directly fund advertising costs.

The card offers other user-friendly features such as 2x points on all purchases (3c if you spend over $15,000 in a year) and an offer tailored to families who want to earn points together. Rao said he plans to use the latest funding to add even more new products and features to the map.

To note: An earlier version of this story stated that the card had already been released to the public. The article has been updated to indicate that it should launch in the coming weeks.