FinTech News
FintechOS Announces $14 Million Funding Round
With as much attention as Silicon Valley startups get, it can be easy to forget that FinTech is far from just an American phenomenon. In fact firms in Europe, Asia, and beyond have certainly done their fair share or innovating and, yes, fundraising. Among them is Romania-based and aptly-named FintechOS.
This week the company announced it had raised £10.7 million ($14 million) in its latest funding round. The Series A was led by Earlybird’s Digital East Fund and OTB Ventures while previous investors Gapminder Ventures and Launchub participated once again. FintechOS says these funds will help fuel an expansion into South East Asia and the United States as well as support continued growth in their native Europe. Operating in more than 20 countries spanning three continents, the company also has partnerships with Microsoft, Deloitte, Ernst & Young, CapGemini, and others.
Unlike many startups in the space, FintechOS isn’t so much set on disrupting the old guard. Instead it aims to help established banks and businesses keep up with the quickly-evolving landscape. As part of this, the company offers a number of digital products and services that they say banks can launch in “weeks rather than months or years.”
In a press release announcing the funding round, FintechOS CEO and co-founder Teodor Blidarus said of the company, “Our disruptive approach is customer, not technology driven. We created FintechOS to transform the financial industry, empowering banks and insurance companies to act and react faster and to create a smarter, slicker customer experience.” He added, “As a result, hyper-personalised services and elevated customer experiences are now available almost plug and play.” Meanwhile, speaking to the reason for Earlybird’s investment, the firm’s partner Dan Lupu said, “FintechOS is a pioneer in a booming market, with a vision to transform the way financial institutions react to market and regulatory changes. We are proud to become part of a journey that will shape the future of financial services.”
Of course, while their direct focus on creating tools for existing financial players is somewhat novel, FintechOS certainly isn’t the first FinTech to work with more traditional firms. Beyond a myriad of partnerships that have formed over the past several years, online lenders such as OnDeck and Biz2Credit have also created SaaS tools that can be deployed by other institutions. Still, a FintechOS expansion into the U.S. could certainly be big news — making this one company to keep an eye on in the coming months.
