UK fintech firm Banked plans US expansion with $20m raise
The Series A round was co-led by Bank of America and Edenred Capital Partners
London-based fintech start-up Banked, which offers an alternative payment method to traditional credit cards, has raised $20m in a Series A funding round to support its expansion plans into the US market.
The round was co-led by Bank of America and Edenred Capital Partners, with existing investors Acrew, Force Over Mass, Firestartr, OM2, Love Ventures, Kuvi Capital and Paul Forster (founder of Indeed.com) also participating. New investors Sidekick, 9Yards and Huey Lin also joined the round.
The Series A round brings Banked’s total investment raised to over $30m, following a $3.1m seed round back in 2020.
Account-to-account payments
Founded in 2018, Banked wants to become the leading provider of alternative card payment methods by allowing consumers to pay without entering financial data and connecting directly with their mobile banking app. The start-up uses biometrics to authorise payments, enabling consumers to bypass creating an account or sharing their financial details to process transactions.
For merchants, Banked says the costs incurred are significantly lower, because transactions take place in real time and are settled instantly. While in many cases these transactions are relatively inexpensive, Banked claims that its fees are up to 90% lower than traditional payment methods.
The firm’s CEO, Brad Goodall, said the start-up has had a “maniacal focus on infrastructure, security and end consumer experience” in order to build a platform that will allow the fintech firm to disrupt the current banking ecosystem.
“We are building out very strong partnerships to deliver Pay by Bank globally. 2022 will see some really big brands go live with Pay by Bank, driving at the heart of delivering innovation at point of purchase to both the merchant and consumer,” added Goodall.
Going global
Banked currently has more than 60 employees across nine geographies, with clients including British Airways, and will use the funding to further its expansion plans and enter the US banking sector.
“We are pleased to be a lead investor for Banked and they have already demonstrated a proven ability to develop unique e-commerce solutions with Pay by Bank,” said Faiz Ahmad, head of global transaction services at Bank of America.
“We look forward to seeing the benefits that this investment round will bring to Banked’s fast-growing client base.”
