Sable Card

Sable was a financial technology company that focused on providing banking services to international individuals in the United States. It was established in 2019 by Naveen Qureshi, Towers Wilen, Andrej Paule, and Joseph Finlayson. The founders, some of whom were international students at Columbia Business School, experienced firsthand the difficulties of accessing financial products in the U.S. without a local credit history. This shared experience was the impetus for creating Sable, aiming to address the financial exclusion faced by millions of people moving to the U.S. each year. The company was a participant in the Y Combinator Summer 2019 batch, which helped accelerate its development and fundraising efforts.

The company's primary market consisted of international students, professionals, and other non-U.S. citizens residing in the United States. Sable's core offering was a mobile banking platform that allowed users to open a U.S. bank account and obtain a credit card without needing a Social Security Number or a U.S. credit history, accepting a foreign passport and U.S. visa for applications. Its product suite included an FDIC-insured checking account provided through Coastal Community Bank, a debit card, and a secured credit card designed to help users build a U.S. credit history. The secured card reported to all three major credit bureaus (Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion) and offered a pathway to graduate to an unsecured card. Revenue was structured around interchange fees and interest on credit products. The platform also featured benefits such as cashback rewards on purchases at specific brands like Amazon, Netflix, and Uber, and no monthly or overdraft fees. Additionally, Sable integrated with Wise to offer its customers international money transfers. In May 2023, the company announced it would be ceasing operations and closing all customer accounts by June of the same year. PitchBook data indicates Sable was acquired by Snap Finance in August 2023.

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