Recognition honors Bloom+, the consumer permissioned data API that helps credit unions and banks turn bill payments into credit building tradelines without new debt
Chicago, IL (PRUnderground) August 27th, 2026
Bloom Credit, a financial data infrastructure company, today announced it has been named a US FinTech Awards finalist for the organization's 2026 Data Initiative of the Year. Winners will be announced at a ceremony on November 19 in New York.
The recognition centers on Bloom+, Bloom Credit's credit building API that allows credit unions and banks to embed alternative credit data reporting directly into checking accounts. Using consumer-permissioned data and furnishment, Bloom+ turns everyday bill payments, including rent, utilities, and telecom, into bureau-reportable tradelines, helping credit invisible and thin-file account holders build credit without taking on new debt.
Through an integrated workflow, Bloom+ completes a quick KYC step, scans up to 24 months of checking account history in under a minute, and identifies which recurring bills are worth reporting. Account holders choose up to five bills to report, and tradelines are furnished to credit bureaus through compliant Metro 2® data infrastructure within 24 to 72 hours.
Measurable impact for account holders and institutions:
- First-time score generation: Thin-file and no-file consumers can establish an average initial credit score of 657.
- Credit score lift: Enrolled account holders see credit score increases of 16 to 23 points, within 72 hours of enrollment.
- Deeper engagement: Account holders add an average of 5.2 additional recurring payments per month, a 31% increase.
- Institutional impact: Participating credit unions and banks see deposit growth of 13% tied to the product, along with 98%+ one-year retention.
"Being named a finalist for Data Initiative of the Year is a significant credit to the work our team has put into Bloom+," said Christian Widhalm, CEO of Bloom Credit. "It also highlights the value of technology that is helping to improve opportunities for more than 100 million Americans who pay their bills on time every month but still don't show up as creditworthy. We built Bloom+ to help credit unions and banks to close that gap, letting their account holders benefit from the bills they're already paying.This recognition belongs to our team and to the institutions who trusted us to bring this to their account holders first."
"Traditional credit scoring models have left tens of millions of hardworking Americans overlooked simply because their everyday financial responsibility wasn't captured by legacy infrastructure," said Christa Degnan, Chief Product Officer at Bloom Credit and former Experian executive. "Bloom+ was engineered to give banks and credit unions an ethical, native way to reward account holders for bills they already pay, without pushing them into debt. Being recognized as a finalist for Data Initiative of the Year validates the work of our team and our partner institutions in building a fairer, data driven financial ecosystem."
Bloom Credit built Bloom+ with fintech and credit industry veterans experienced in FCRA, CROA, and Metro 2® compliance.The company is a member of the Financial Health Network and the American Fintech Council, and its institution-first, consumer-permissioned model keeps data within the account holder's existing bank relationship rather than routing it through a third party.
Bloom+ is available to credit unions and banks looking to help their account holders build credit through everyday financial behavior, without requiring new debt or disintermediating the institution's relationship with its customers. The recognition follows a series of industry accolades for Bloom Credit, including Fintech Breakthrough's Banking Infrastructure Software of the Year award (2026), Finovate's Best of Show (2024), Tearsheet's Data Innovation Award (2024), and recognition from Finovate for Excellence in Financial Inclusion (2025), the CU Times Luminaries Awards (2025) and Money20/20's Banking Awards / Infrastructure (2025).
About Bloom Credit
Bloom Credit is a financial data infrastructure company. Bloom's API platform, strategic relationships and critical innovations, such as Bloom+ for consumer-permissioned data (CPD), enable access to validated financial data and reporting in real-time. The company's fintech solutions empower organizations to create, launch and grow new classes of credit products, increasing business relevance and better addressing their consumers' needs. The FinTech Breakthrough Awards named Bloom Credit Banking Infrastructure Software of the Year (2026), and the company has been recognized by Money 20/20 for Banking Infrastructure, by Finovate for Excellence in Financial Inclusion (2025), and by the CU Times Luminaries Awards (2025). The company is backed by leading venture investors including Crosslink Capital, Allegis Capital, and Commerce Ventures. To learn more about Bloom Credit, visit BloomCredit.io.