Credit Karma Leases Office in Ballantyne

Expansion to East Coast lands in South Charlotte

San Francisco-based finance company, Credit Karma, has leased 8,556 square feet of office space in Ballantyne. While a temporary headquarters, Ballantyne is expected to be the permanent location. The Charlotte office is one step toward establishing a "long-term presence on the East Coast," according to Credit Karma.

Already 25 employees are working on the new service, Credit Karma Tax— a result of acquiring AFJC Corp., an online tax preparation provider. Up to 60 employees will be hired by year end (the maximum number of people the current office space can house). Up to as many as 120 jobs are anticipated to be filled over the next two to three years.

The first wave of hires will be mostly technical positions, such as software engineers. Other Charlotte-area Credit Karma job postings seek a tax preparation product specialist and director of tax regulatory affairs. Kenneth Lin, CEO cited Charlotte's "deep talent pool" in financial services as a primary reason for the expansion location.

Credit Karma offers free credit scores, tools to improve credit, spending tools, and various calculators to its subscribers. The company is valued at $3.5 billion. More than 600 people are employed between the San Francisco headquarters, an office in Los Angeles, and the initial expansion in Ballantyne.