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Neo Financial Raises $360M to Accelerate Growth and Position Itself as Leading Challenger to Banks in Canada

Neo Financial Raises $360M to Accelerate Growth and Position Itself as Leading Challenger to Banks in Canada

The new capital, including funding from Shopify founder Tobi Lütke and Slack founder Stewart Butterfield, will accelerate the expansion of Neo Financial’s suite of innovative financial services products, offering competitive alternatives to traditional banks

Neo Financial (“Neo”), a leading Canadian financial technology company, announced today their CAD $360 million Series D fundraising round, consisting of CAD $110M of equity and CAD $250M of debt. This round of funding includes investments from renowned Canadian founders and entrepreneurs bringing in their wealth of experience in scaling global tech brands, including Tobi Lütke (CEO and founder of Shopify), Stewart Butterfield (founder and former CEO of Slack), David Baszucki (investor and CEO of Roblox), and Mike Wessinger (co-founder and Executive Chair of PointClickCare). Existing investors, including Valar Ventures, Golden Ventures, Afore Capital, and Thomvest Ventures, also participated in this round.

“Neo Financial’s growth over the last 4 years reflects Canadians’ strong demand for alternatives to traditional banking,” said Andrew Chau, co-founder and CEO of Neo. “We’re building time and money-saving financial products that will help Canadians for decades to come. Despite being in the lowest period of venture funding that fintech has seen in the last 5 years, we’ve been able to raise one of the largest fintech funding rounds globally this year. This growth capital allows us to continue winning the hearts and minds of Canadians, serving them when they need it the most. Canada continues to lag in productivity and innovation, and our team is on a mission to reverse that trend and make Canada a better place to live.”

“We need a culture of going for gold in Canada and this is precisely what the team at Neo Financial has,” said Tobi Lütke, CEO and founder of Shopify. “Their growth is proof that it’s possible to build world-class products here in Canada.”

“Neo Financial has the drive and the vision to push Canadian innovation forward”

Read More : Navigating the Future: Key IT Trends in Financial Services

“Investing in Neo Financial was about supporting a team that deeply understands Canadians and is relentless in improving their financial experience,” said Stewart Butterfield, founder and former CEO of Slack. “They’re building a solution that’s more human-centered than anything we’ve seen in fintech.”

“As an investor, I seek out opportunities where companies are pushing boundaries and challenging the status quo to unlock potential – Neo Financial is giving people new tools to unlock financial opportunities,” said David Baszucki, investor and CEO of Roblox.

“Neo Financial has the drive and the vision to push Canadian innovation forward,” said Mike Wessinger, co-founder and Executive Chair of PointClickCare. “Supporting their growth is about showing the world what Canada can do in fintech – not just following trends, but setting them.”

Two years ago, Neo offered just a single product – today, Neo offers eight products and has established near-product parity with the legacy Canadian banks. This capital injection will accelerate product velocity, enabling Neo to continue building industry-leading products, AI-native insights, automations, and features for Canadians. A few examples of these products and features include:

  • Premium Credit Cards: Neo offers Canada’s best no annual fee and cash-back credit cards including the Neo World Mastercard® and the Neo World Elite® Mastercard. These industry-leading cards deliver world-class cashback rates, setting a new standard for Canadian consumers who want actual value on their purchases. For those new to Canada or looking to build credit, both of these cards are available as Secured Credit, ensuring everyone can access smarter financial solutions.
  • Competitive Mortgage Rates with Neo Mortgage: Neo Mortgage provides highly competitive, transparent and tailored mortgage rates, helping Canadians achieve their home ownership goals without compromising on budget.
  • AI Money Insights for Smarter Budgeting: Offers a comprehensive view of finances with Neo’s AI Money Insights, a tool that leverages AI to help Canadians budget smarter. By categorizing spending, the Neo app provides accurate insights that reveal where Canadians’ money is going, helping them stay on top of their financial goals.
  • High-Interest Saving accounts with market-leading interest rates: Neo’s HISAs allow customers to grow their savings with ease. Canadians can create up to 10 accounts to help people allocate their money effectively, each earning one of the highest rates in Canada. Unlike others, it’s not an introductory or promotional rate, with no minimum deposits or commitments required.
  • Automated Savings Options: Neo’s savings automation feature makes saving money effortless. Customers can set automatic transfers to seamlessly grow savings in the background.
  • Instant Bill Pay: With Neo’s Everyday account, managing payments is fast and straightforward. Canadians can pay bills immediately, keep track of expenses, and get insights into their spending, all within the Neo app.

This is all in addition to Interac e-Transfers® to send and receive money, access cards for bank accounts, and ATM access to withdraw cash, core functionality that, typically, only traditional banks provide.

Most recently, Neo Financial ranked #1 on The Globe and Mail’s 2024 List of Canada’s Top Growing Companies and #1 on Deloitte’s Technology Fast 50’s Program, for the second year in a row. Alongside these impressive growth recognitions, Neo is proud to announce the opening of its Toronto office on Bay Street, adding to its cross-country presence of world-class talent, with pre-existing offices in Calgary and Winnipeg.

Read More Global Fintech Series Interview with Tanya Thomas, EVP for EMEA, Q4

[To share your insights with us, please write to psen@itechseries.com ]

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