CPE News (12/16/2020) – Neo Financial Technologies Inc. has raised $50 million in Series A round of debt and equity financing.
Valar Ventures, a venture capital firm co-founded by James Fitzgerald, Andrew McCormack, and PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel, led the funding round. Other Series A backers include Tobi Lutke, the CEO and founder of Shopify.
Andrew McCormack will join Neo founder Andrew Chau and former co-founders of SkipTheDishes, Jeff Adamson and Christopher Simair, on Neo Financial board.
Founded in 2019 by Chau and initially backed by Adamson and Simair, Neo Financial is a technology company that is building the most rewarding spending and savings experience for Canadians with the mission of bringing much-needed financial innovation and optionality to Canada.
photo credit: Neo Financial
Neo Financial Blog
Announcing Neo Financial’s Series A
December 16, 2020
All of us at Neo are thrilled to announce that we’ve raised a total investment of $50M from our Series A round. Amidst an unprecedented year, this raise marks one of the largest Series A funding rounds in Western Canada, and will support our team in building a powerful, all-digital banking platform that will benefit all Canadians. Check out the full press release here.
Valar Ventures, a venture capital firm co-founded by James Fitzgerald, Andrew McCormack, and PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel, led the funding round. Other Series A backers include Tobi Lutke, the CEO and founder of Shopify. We’re excited to have the support of such experienced operators, investors, and entrepreneurs as we challenge the status quo in Canadian banking.
“Now more than ever, we’re seeing the need for digital transformation in industries like banking, and Neo is at the forefront of that in Canada,” said our co-founder and CEO, Andrew Chau. “Our team has set out to not only build new technology that challenges Canada’s existing financial sector, but also drives a culture shift in how Canadians bank.”
In a country where the Big Five banks own 90 percent of the market share, Neo was created to bring much-needed innovation and choice to consumers in Canada. As a digital-first alternative in Canada’s banking landscape, our technology is designed to simplify finances and create rewarding experiences for all Canadians.
We’re incredibly grateful for all of our Neo members, partners, team, and investors who have allowed us to reach this milestone.
Neo was envisioned as a grassroots bank that could think big and act local. Today, we’re partnered with thousands of small businesses across several cities, rewarding our members with exclusive cashback offers when they shop local and pay with Neo.
With this funding, we can further strengthen our communities and support Canadian businesses, large and small.
What’s next for Neo?
While Calgary is our home-base, we recently expanded the Neo Mastercard®, and exclusive cashback offers from our partnered stores to Edmonton, Winnipeg, Vancouver, and many more cities across Canada.
As well, consumers across the country today can open a Neo Savings account, get access to a top-market high-interest savings account with the ability to manage their spending, savings, and rewards, all from one place.
Growing our team
With over 70 new Neo positions open, we’re hiring people across creative, finance, marketing, operations, partnerships, product, and technology. Check out our careers page to join one of the fastest-growing fintech companies around.
Launching new products
Because we have built our technology from the ground up, our product is not bound by the same limitations as others in the space. We’re looking at every financial touchpoint a Canadian has and building better ways to add value. This means we’ll be:
Developing more inclusive products to benefit underserved Canadians, regardless of their credit scores, financial history or literacy.
Giving people greater flexibility with their everyday banking, including two monthly subscription plans to increase the rewards our members can collect with their Neo Card.
Introducing more online banking features, so Neo members can access their accounts anywhere, anytime, and on any device.
Plus, many more exciting features to reimagine Canadian banking
Growing our brand partners
By teaming up with more local and national businesses, both in-store and online, we’re giving you the best selection of cashback offers from all your favourite stores across Canada.
Expanding across Canada
While we may have started Neo in the Prairies, we can’t wait to welcome new members across the country. We’re enabling more Canadians to benefit from high-interest savings, no-fee banking, and one of Canada’s most rewarding cashback credit cards, coast to coast.
A more rewarding future
As we enter 2021, we’re thrilled to ship more innovative products and offer greater choices for Canadians.
Thank you to our early members and partners for joining the Neo community. We can’t wait to show you what we have in store for next year.