As if the typical dating app experience couldn’t get worse, a controversial app is coming back and bringing finances into the mix.
Score, a dating app that previously required users to have a credit score of 675 or higher, is coming back with a few changes.
The app first launched in 2024 as a pop-up project from the now-defunct financial services company Neon Money Club. The idea at the time was to encourage people to be more open about their personal finances. During its initial six-month run, the app grew to roughly 50,000 users.
Now, the app’s founder, Luke Bailey, told TechCrunch on Friday that he’s bringing the app back on a permanent basis.
Score’s website currently directs to a landing page where users can sign up for their waitlist with the tagline, “Dating For People With Good Credit.”
Bailey told TechCrunch that the new version of the app will be more inclusive but will have two tiers. He apparently listened to the previous critiques of the app and told the outlet that everyone can join the new iteration.
The basic tier will be open to all users and won’t require ID or credit verification. People on this tier can browse and connect with potential matches as usual.
But users willing to verify their credit score can access a premium tier with additional features. These gated tools include seeing who’s nearby, viewing who has saved their profile, sending video introductions, and messaging people who haven’t swiped back yet.
“We look at credit not as a measure of wealth, but as a reflection of consistency and reliability,” Bailey said in a press release. “Most dating platforms measure attrition. We measure reliability alongside compatibility.”
Bailey says Equifax will handle both identity and credit verification through a soft pull that won’t impact a user’s credit score.
Bringing a major credit bureau into the dating process raises obvious privacy questions, especially at a time when consumers are already wary about data breaches.
That said, Bailey claims the app won’t store or share sensitive personal information and that all data will be secured within an encrypted infrastructure.
While the concept of the app comes across as pretty classist, some research suggests younger users are interested in more financial transparency when it comes to dating.
A Credit One Bank survey of 1,000 millennials and Gen Z respondents in October found that 50% said a high credit score adds to someone’s attractiveness. About 20% said they would like dating apps to include a person’s credit score or financial habits.
Conversely, the relaunch also comes as credit scores are trending downward nationally. According to FICO, the average U.S. credit score fell two points to 715 in 2025, the fastest decline since 2009.
Read the full article here
