Banked secures £12.5 million Series A investment led by Insight Partners
Banked Ltd (“Banked”), the London-based fintech company building a next-gen global
payment network, today announced that it has raised over $15 million in a Series A
extension round, led by global software investor Insight Partners. The investment round was
supported by Citi and National Australia Bank Ventures, recognizing Banked’s traction and
distinct approach to building a Pay by Bank global network. Newly announced commercial
partner and global payments firm Rapyd also participated in the round.
The extension came as a result of an oversubscribed Series A earlier this year that was led by
Bank of America. This latest infusion of capital brings Banked’s total investment raised to
date to over $50 million and includes the participation of new global investors supporting
the company’s expansion into new geographies with a focus on the U.S.
Insight Partners is an experienced investor in the open banking space, having previously
invested in Tink AB which was acquired by VISA last year. The growth and expansion adds
to the major partnership Banked announced earlier in the year with Bank of America. In a
demonstration of Banked’s commitment to the US and as a signal for how important the
country will be to its future strategy, Banked opened an office in Palo Alto, California and
CEO Brad Goodall has relocated from London to lead this expansion.
Banked now has close to 100 staff and is growing at a time when many fintech rivals and the
industry at large have been put under huge pressure to consolidate. This is due to increasing
merchant demand and accelerated interest by banks to play a role in the expansion and
commercialisation of real time payment rails globally.
“Pay by Bank is taking off globally. Leading banks recognise the significant
Brad Goodall, Banked : CEO
opportunity it presents to improve the end-customer experience and merchant
value proposition. This is supported by increasing merchant demand driving uses
cases for Pay by Bank in the enterprise B2B and B2C space. There is a queue forming to be part of the new payment network and to help shape its future with a seat at the table. Banked has a unique partnership model which relies on global goto-market partners in the shape of banks, PSPs and technology platforms. This means we have had to build real depth and capability in areas such as risk and
compliance, security, consumer protection, platform scalability and most
importantly feature rich user experiences for our partners and their clients and
customers. Banked has been heads down building products and partnerships for four
years and it is exciting to be launching markets globally at pace now.”
Of the new investors, Goodall says,
“Insight Partners is an amazing global firm with
such strength in the payments and fintech space. To increase our share price in this
current market with overwhelming demand from investors, I couldn’t be happier to
have Insight onboard to build what is a multibillion-dollar opportunity. I am also
excited that Citi, NAB and Rapyd are joining as it shows that Banked has real
strength in working with the biggest and best banks and payment firms in the
world.”
Byron Lichtenstein, Insight Partners
“Banked has a huge ambition and we believe they have built the team and product
to tackle such an exciting opportunity in payments. There are many ways to
approach the problem, and Banked’s unique strategy in partnering with commercial
banks and payment service providers, as well as their product capabilities, stood out
to us.”
Founded in 2018, Banked is aiming to become the leading provider of alternatives to card
payment methods. Unlike other mainstream global payment methods, users do not need to
create an account or pass any login information to Banked – they simply choose their existing
bank at checkout and are securely connected to their mobile banking app to biometrically
authenticate the purchase. Total checkout time for a first-time user is under 30 seconds and
no financial details are shared with Banked, which boosts security. For merchants, costs are
significantly lower and transactions take place in real time and settle instantly. The market for
Pay by Bank payments is growing rapidly. Recent research by Allied Market Research predicts
the market will reach $43 billion by 2026 in Europe alone. Banked has established consumer
ENDS
About Banked
Banked is the architect of a new global payment network offering a real alternative to the card
schemes. Consumers now have a way to pay without entering financial data and connecting
directly with their mobile banking app. There is no need to create an account, no financial
details are shared, authorisation is biometric, and the merchant receives the funds in real time
and in full. Fees are up to 90% lower than the traditional payment methods and fraud is
virtually eliminated which should help promote lower prices for consumers. Banked also
enables businesses to drive customer engagement and loyalty with incentives and rewards
integrated into the payment experience.
For more information, visit www.banked.com
About Insight
Insight Partners is a global software investor partnering with high-growth technology,
software, and Internet startup and ScaleUp companies that are driving transformative change
in their industries. As of June 30, 2022, the firm has over $80B in regulatory assets under
management. Insight Partners has invested in more than 700 companies worldwide and has
seen over 55 portfolio companies achieve an IPO. Headquartered in New York City, Insight
has offices in London, Tel Aviv, and Palo Alto. Insight’s mission is to find, fund, and work
successfully with visionary executives, providing them with right-sized, right-time practical,
hands-on software expertise along their growth journey, from their first investment to IPO.
For more information on Insight and all its investments, visit insightpartners.com or follow
us on Twitter @insightpartners.
