• EarnUp is launching AI Advisor, an AI-powered chatbot to help banks promote financial wellness among their consumers.
• AI Advisor accesses and instantly analyzes a user’s real-time banking and credit data to offer personalized, actionable answers to their financial questions.
• By working with the consumer to help them improve their financial situation, AI Advisor can help banks build and maintain existing customer relationships.

Debt pay down platform EarnUp announced the launch of its AI-powered financial wellness tool, AI Advisor, today. The new solution will help financial institutions offer their consumers personalized financial guidance.

AI Advisor is a chatbot that offers users hyper-personalized insights and guidance to help them make informed financial decisions to ultimately achieve their goals. It does this by accessing and instantly analyzing the user’s real-time banking and credit data to offer personalized, actionable answers to their financial questions regarding HELOCs, cards, consolidation loans, and more. By combining a user’s current financial situation with their questions, AI Advisor is also able to offer tailored product recommendations.

Using an approachable chatbot as the communication engine, EarnUp seeks to ensure that every user, regardless of their financial background, benefits from its advice to power a more financially resilient future.

“In today’s competitive landscape, banks must leverage AI to deliver real value to customers,” said KeyBank Chief Financial Officer Clark Khayat. “EarnUp’s AI Advisor goes beyond traditional budget-tracking apps by analyzing financial accounts and providing personalized, actionable insights. This empowers financial institutions to engage in more meaningful interactions, ensuring customers receive the guidance they need to achieve their financial goals.”

Using AI Advisor, banks may be able to retain borrowers, cross-sell loans and other products, capture deposits, and close more loans. That’s because banks can use AI Advisor as a tool to advise consumers on how to improve their financial situation so that they are ready to take out a loan or apply for a credit card. By working with the consumer instead of rejecting them outright, banks will also build relationships with them.

“Our mission is to democratize access to actionable information that will improve financial wellness,” said EarnUp Co-Founder and CEO Nadim Homsany. “This is especially critical as interest rates remain high and borrower debt repayment capacity diminishes. In fact, a recent Bankrate survey found that over half of applicants have been denied for a loan or credit since the Fed began raising rates.”

Since it was founded in 2015, EarnUp has helped nearly three million borrowers reach financial freedom. The company views its AI Advisor tool as a next step to assist individuals in achieving their financial goals.

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• Card payment for fleet management company Coast raised $40 million.
• The round was led by ICONIQ Growth and included a strategic investment from Synchrony.
• Today’s Series B round boosts Coast’s total funding to $165 million.

Card payment platform for truck driver fleet management, Coast, raised $40 million this week. The investment brings the New York-based company’s total equity financing to just under $100 million.

Today’s announcement comes four months after it announced its previous round of $92 million in debt and equity, and brings the company’s total funding to $165 million.

The round was led by ICONIQ Growth. Existing investors, including Accel, Insight Partners, Vesey Ventures, and Avid Ventures, also participated in the round, as well as new investor Thomvest. Consumer financial services company Synchrony joined the round as a strategic investor. The fintech said that investing in Coast aligns with its presence in the aftermarket auto segment. Synchrony partners with multiple tire, petrol, auto parts, and maintenance retailers like Discount Tire and Pep Boys.

“We’re thrilled to be partnering with ICONIQ Growth, a legendary investor in fintech, and fleet and field services,” said Coast founder and CEO Daniel Simon. “ICONIQ brings to bear not just their deep capital base but also their rich experience in Coast’s domains and expansive community, which can drive partnerships and accelerate expansion for Coast’s fleet product.”

Coast facilitates fleet payments by leveraging vehicle data and telematics. The company’s technology aims to help the nearly one million U.S. field service businesses that collectively operate around 40 million vehicles in their commercial fleets. Coast’s payment technology is not just for long-haul trucking, but also can help businesses like HVAC, plumbing, landscaping, pest control, and construction, or any business that needs to operate and maintain a fleet of vehicles.

With thousands of users, including BuildOps, Sheetz, and 7-Eleven, Coast has grown its revenue over ten times in the last 18 months. Earlier this month, the company launched a mobile app to facilitate the collection and verification of transaction data for fleet payments, such as receipts, memos, and job codes.

 ICONIQ Growth General Partner Yoonkee Sull has joined Coast’s board of directors. “Companies like Coast do not come along every day. We are incredibly impressed with Coast’s proven traction, leadership, and deep expertise in fintech,” said Sull. “We believe Daniel and team are using exceptional software to challenge incumbents in a massive market and making a difference in hundreds of thousands of American businesses. We are thrilled to partner with them on their mission to simplify the day-to-day management of thousands of fleets.”

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• Lemonade is expanding further into the U.K. market, making buildings and contents insurance products available to U.K. residents.
• Lemonade originally launched in the U.K. in October 2022 via a partnership with British insurance company Aviva.
• With today’s launch, U.K. homeowners can receive instant coverage from £14 a month.

Digital insurance company Lemonade announced further expansion into the U.K. market today. The New York-based company is making its buildings and contents insurance products available for U.K. users.

Lemonade originally launched in the U.K. in October 2022 as a Prudential Regulation Authority-licensed carrier. Since then, the company reports that the region is among its fastest growing markets. Today’s launch will expand the company’s home insurance offerings, allowing U.K. homeowners to purchase further coverage for their home and belongings. Lemonade expects the new launch will help continue its growth in the U.K.

“The U.K. has proven to be an exciting market for us with a large digitally-savvy population who appreciate an easy, personalized experience,” said Lemonade CEO and Co-Founder Daniel Schreiber. “Growing our home insurance offerings this quickly is a tribute to our incredible team and our thriving partnership with Aviva.”

The new insurance offering will enable U.K. homeowners to receive instant coverage from £14 a month. The insurance includes base coverage, which covers rebuilding costs, temporary accommodation, and civil and property liability; as well as flexible contents coverage of up to £100,000. Depending on their needs, users also have the option to select from a list of add-on coverage options, including home emergency, accidental damage, theft and loss, and legal protection.

Lemonade’s U.K. operations are made possible through a partnership with Aviva, a British multinational insurance company that counts about 19 million customers across the U.K., Ireland, and Canada.

“We’re excited to expand our partnership with Lemonade in the U.K., building on our first product launch in 2022,” said Aviva MD Partnerships and Transformation, Personal Insurance Jon Marsh. “Aviva and Lemonade share common values and by working together we can create compelling new propositions and experiences for customers.”

Founded in 2015, Lemonade is a public company listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker LMND. The company has a market capitalization of $1.59 billion. In addition to its renters and homeowners insurance products, the company also offers pet, life, and car insurance.

Photo by Rafael Garcin on Unsplash