- Future Fund backed crowdfunding campaign raises over 100% of its target within a few days
- 500,000 customers and over £1bn in transactions delivered since launch
- Pockit has seen demand for its remote current account services rise during 2020
- Announcement made as company completes migration from Wirecard to Railsbank
- Railsbank partnership provides a sustainable platform for the next stage of Pockit’s growth
Pockit, the inclusive FinTech company focussed on customers who are excluded and underserved by high street banks, announces today that it has a £15 million Series B funding round from existing investors and some new investors. In order to provide a unique opportunity for its growing base of customers and supporters to invest in the business, part of this round includes a crowdfunding round of £500,000.
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Investors in the crowdfunding campaign, hosted by Crowdcube, will receive a Convertible Loan Note, with an 8% annual interest. The money raised in this round will be matched by the Future Fund, the funding scheme designed by the UK government and delivered by the British Business Bank.
“Launching a crowdfunding campaign has been an ambition of ours for some time,” said Virraj Jatania CEO & Founder of Pockit. “Since its launch Pockit has helped over half a million customers to take control of their financial affairs, many of whom never previously had a current account that let them shop online or make contactless payments. The time to accelerate is right now; the COVID recession and the end of furlough schemes will disproportionately affect the financially underserved. Some 12 million people in the UK need a solution urgently, and we believe Pockit is that solution.”
“This investment round provides the perfect opportunity for our loyal customers to join our established investors and own a piece of Pockit,” he added.
The crowdfunding round will mean Pockit has secured £15 million of investment finance during 2020. Following the successful close of this latest funding round, the North East Development Capital Fund, supported by the European Regional Development Fund and managed by Maven Capital Partners, will also invest.
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Since inception, Pockit has raised a total of £27 million in funding and is backed by established investors who previously have supported the successful growth of, among others, Spotify, Bolt, Funding Circle, Houst and Wheely.
Pockit offers its 500,000+ users access to a current account they can open in minutes. With a Pockit contactless prepaid Mastercard®, customers can send and receive money, make payments online and in store. They can also send money abroad to over 29 countries. Since launching in 2014, Pockit has built partnerships to enable customers to improve their credit scores and earn cashback when shopping for essentials.
Using Pockit can boost a customer’s disposable income by up to six times, including a £557 annual savings on everyday shopping with Pockit cashback deals. That represents a significant income boost, especially in these times of financial worry for so many.
Last month also saw the successful migration of the payment services and functions that underpin the Pockit accounts and operations to PayrNet Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Railsbank. This move fulfils Pockit’s commitment, made during the summer of 2020, to complete an orderly transition to a new UK-based payments provider that can provide scalability and reliability of Pock’t’s service.
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