From salary splits to loans: How Grey plans to turn FX paychecks into credit

Cross-border payments startup Grey is planning to use foreign currency salary records to offer credit services to remote workers, aiming to fill a gap left by traditional lenders who struggle to assess the creditworthiness of professionals who earn internationally. Idorenyin Obong, Grey’s co-founder and CEO, explained that many remote workers find it difficult to establish credit because conventional credit bureaus have limited visibility into their income from foreign employers.

Grey intends to utilize income and transaction data accumulated over the past six years to create credit services for these customers, leveraging the company’s own data and income intelligence. The new offering is part of Grey’s broader expansion into salary management, following the launch of Paycheck, a product that enables professionals earning in US dollars, British pounds, and euros to automatically allocate their salaries between expenses, savings, and emergency funds.

Paycheck users can customize their allocations, with up to 3% annual interest available on US dollar Pouch, Grey’s savings feature. Grey’s Paycheck product includes an emergency fund and salary tracking, alongside benefits for travelers, such as flight bookings and eSIMs. Obong emphasized that Grey aims to provide more personalized support for salary customers, helping them save for specific needs, like travel, and offering credit solutions.

However, Grey has not disclosed when the credit feature will become available or the proposed lending rates and borrowing limits. For now, Paycheck is accessible to customers earning at least $300 in foreign-currency salaries, with existing salary management and savings benefits being available. Grey’s credit offering could extend these services to remote workers whose international earnings are often overlooked by traditional lenders as international employment becomes more commonplace.