Score Dating App Uses Credit Scores to Match Users

Financial Compatibility as a Dating Filter

A dating app called Score is making a controversial comeback by using credit scores as a matchmaking tool, reigniting debate about where personal finance and romance should intersect. Originally launched in 2024 by Luke Bailey through the now-defunct financial services company Neon Money Club, Score required users to have a credit score of at least 675 to register. The original version attracted more than 50,000 active users before shutting down.

The 2026 relaunch introduces a two-tier system designed to broaden the app's appeal. A basic tier requires no identity or credit verification, allowing anyone to browse and connect. A verified tier requires members to confirm their identity and credit score through Equifax to unlock premium features, including seeing nearby members, viewing who has saved their profile, sending video introductions, and messaging users before receiving a mutual swipe.

How Verification Works

Score uses Equifax to verify both identity and credit scores through a soft pull, meaning the check does not affect a user's credit rating. Bailey has emphasized that the app does not store full credit reports or sensitive financial data. "We simply receive confirmation that someone meets the Verified criteria," he stated. The verification process is positioned as a trust signal rather than a financial gatekeeping mechanism, though critics see the distinction as semantic.

Bailey remains bullish on the concept, arguing that credit scores reflect consistency rather than wealth. "Financial behavior is one of the strongest predictors of life stability," he said. "We believe compatibility algorithms should reflect that." Data from the original launch revealed that millennial men had credit scores approximately 11% higher than women, while the gap among Gen Z users was just 3%.

Market Context and Reception

The relaunch arrives as average U.S. credit scores are trending downward. According to FICO, the national average fell two points to 715 in 2025, the fastest decline since 2009. Despite this headwind, there appears to be appetite for the concept. A Credit One Bank survey of 1,000 millennials and Gen Z respondents found that 50% said a high credit score adds to someone's attractiveness, and roughly 20% said they would welcome credit score or financial habit information on dating profiles.

Critics and Expansion Plans

Critics argue that embedding financial stratification into dating platforms risks reinforcing socioeconomic divides and penalizing people whose credit scores reflect systemic barriers rather than personal irresponsibility. Medical debt, student loans, and lack of credit history disproportionately affect younger users and communities of color, raising questions about who gets filtered out and why.

Score plans to expand beyond its U.S.-only origins, starting with Canada. Whether the credit-score dating model represents a genuine innovation in compatibility matching or a troubling financialization of human relationships remains an open and heated question.

This article is based on reporting by Mashable. Read the original article.

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