Even Financial Buys Birch Finance, Ventures Into Credit Cards

Even Financial announced it has acquired personal finance app Birch Finance for an undisclosed sum.

San Jose-based Birch offers a mobile and web application that helps users find the right credit cards. Its core recommendation engine analyzes a user’s real transaction history and compares it against hundreds of credit cards and their respective reward programs to find the best set of cards for a consumer.  The company has received several awards, including “Best in Show” at FinCon’s FinTech Startup Competition last year.

“The credit card market continues to expand with millions of consumers opening up hundreds of different types of credit cards every year for countless reasons,” Phillip Rosen, chief executive officer and co-founder of Even Financial, said in a press release. “Birch already has one of the largest credit card databases, and their technology perfectly complements our existing platform as we expand our offering to the credit card space. This acquisition will allow our partners to optimize the process of getting the right cards to the right consumers.”

Even will now leverage Birch’s app to build industry-leading customer acquisition technology in the credit card market. Even’s existing partner distribution network will enable it to save on consumer acquisition while also scaling its recommendation technology.

“We saw a clear synergy with Even’s business strategy and growth plans, and I’m thrilled to join Even’s team as we expand and scale our offerings into new areas,” said Alex Cohen, chief executive officer of Birch Finance.

As part of the deal, Cohen will immediately assume the role of senior director, credit card marketplace, Even Financial.

The acquisition comes a few months after Even announced an $18.8 million Series A funding round led by GreatPoint Ventures. American Express Ventures, Goldman Sachs, NerdWallet co-founder Jacob Gibson and Jason Owen, senior vice president and general manager at Credit.com are some of the notable investors working with Even.