Finch secures $1.8m to launch all-in-one checking and investing account for millennials

Finch, a New York based fintech startup that integrates the benefits of investing and the flexibility of checking into an all-in-one account has raised $1.8 million in seed funding to launch its platform and help transform how people manage their money. The round was led by Boston based Mendoza Ventures with participation from Barclays, Techstars Investors, and Draper Frontier.

Finch democratizes investment access and empowers Millennials to make their money work for them. Finch lets customers earn investment returns by automatically investing their checking balance into a portfolio designed to match their unique risk profile. This means your entire balance is always working for you, from day one, no matter what your balance is. Finch further pushes the envelope by enabling customers instant access to their money when they need it - even the invested part! 

At traditional banks and financial institutions, checking and investing accounts are separate. In order to put their money to work, customers are required to manage the flow of money between these accounts, through an ongoing manual process. This friction helps to explain why 86% of Americans do not invest outside of their retirement accounts. In addition, Americans pay an average of $329 per year in bank fees, but they receive very little back in terms of interest. Despite this, an overwhelming number of people continue to leave their balance sitting idle in a traditional checking account – when it could be working for them.

Determined to help address this problem, empower younger generations financially, and help close the wealth gap, financial services maven, Neel Ganu founded Finch.      

Neel Ganu, Founder of Finch: "I always felt I could have done more with my money – but didn't and ended up holding my balance in cash. Having discovered that in the US, a staggering three in five Millennials currently do not invest at all, I realized I was not alone. Compounding this with the growing financial debt among Millennials today, with 62% living paycheck to paycheck, opened my eyes to how significant the issue is. Many of our customers express that investing is too complex, while others feel they have very little financial flexibility to think about investing and other financial opportunities. But by keeping their money idle in a traditional checking account, they could be missing out on up to 50% of their wealth every ten years. Finch wants to empower people to make their money work for them, and so they developed a new type of checking account that allows for the benefits of investing to be accessible by all. We wanted to help reshape the personal finance industry, leverage the advancements within fintech, and create a new business model and investment ecosystem that was reflective of our values and vision to support those who would most benefit."

Senofer Mendoza, General Partner, Mendoza Ventures: "The Finch team is not only disrupting the checking account to become truly customer-centric; they are transforming the fintech industry as the first player in the market that is enabling instant liquidity on investments. No doubt a game-changer. By enabling customers the ability to earn investment returns, from day one, with what they have today, they are closing the wealth gap and financially empowering a generation. We are so excited to support this team in their mission of financial empowerment."

Kester Keating, Head of US Investments, Barclays: "As an Alumni of the Barclays Accelerator Programme, we are pleased to be supporting Finch with an equity investment through this exciting growth period. Neel and his team have great experience and credibility in the consumer fintech space, and we will be watching closely as Finch expand their services to the US retail market in the coming months."

Jon Zanoff, former Managing Director at Techstars: "Finch's all-in-one brokerage and checking account represents the future of autonomous finance. By making the legacy checking account a relic of the past, Finch is reimagining the complexities of investing and diversification. I've watched this team bring Finch from a whiteboard at MIT all the way to their customers' hands by solving complex technical challenges along the way."

The company is currently in beta and will publicly launch its platform this October 2020. 

finchmoney.com