In a Series A funding round led by FINTOP Capital, automated fraud and dispute resolution solution provider Quavo has raised $6 million in funding. The financing, according to FINTOP partner John Philpott, will help the company “expand their go-to-market strategies, grow their brand, and add further expertise fo the Quavo ecosystem.”

Founded in 2015, Quavo offers a chargeback management solution for fintechs and financial institutions that provides automatic regulatory, card network association, and product enhancement updates. The company’s Disputes-as-a-Service technology is cloud-based, and integrates with core banking platforms, financial service providers, and merchant collaboration software with zero upfront implementation costs. With its AI-enabled fraud management solution, ARIA; its automated dispute management software, QFD, and its human intelligence service, Dispute Resolution Experts; Quavo offers end-to-end dispute management that helps financial services firms reduce losses and provide real-time resolutions while remaining compliant.

“We are incredibly excited about our Series A raise,” Quavo co-founder and Managing Partner Joe McLean said. “FINTOP has a fantastic reputation, depth of knowledge in the financial services space, and its team is comprised of genuine and authentic leadership.”

Speaking of leadership, the investment comes as Quavo announces the formal creation of its board of directors, which will feature FINTOP partners John Philpott and Jared Winegrad as board members. Quavo co-founder and managing partner Dan Penne credited FINTOP for its “specialization in fintech and familiarity scaling companies to the next level.” He added, “Access to the FINTOP network and this infusion of capital will drive advances in Quavo’s products and services for existing and future clients.” Among the fintechs in FINTOP’s portfolio are firms such as FISPAN and Digital Onboarding, both Finovate alums.

Quavo’s recent fundraising is the second major capital infusion in recent years. In June of last year, the company announced a “multi-million dollar funding round” from Decathlon Capital. More recently, Quavo was recognized as a “Rising Star” at the 2021 Pega Partners Innovation Event in May for its work with credit unions and regional banks in particular.

“Our mission from day one was to create a complete Disputes-as-a-Service offering,” Quavo co-founder and Managing Partner Richard Jefferson said upon receiving the Rising Star award from Pegasystems. “The capabilities of the underlying Pega platform allowed us to accomplish this quickly and economically, which has enabled us to capture the imagination of the market. We thank our key vendor Pega for recognizing this accomplishment.”

Quavo’s clients include banks such as KeyBank, TD Bank, and Euro Pacific Bank; credit unions including NASA FCU, Schools First FCU, and Patelco CU; as well as fintechs like ADP, CardWorks, and Green Dot. The company is headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware.

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Small business financial platform Fundbox closed a $100 million Series D funding round this week. With this funding, the California-based company is now a freshly-minted unicorn with a valuation of $1.1 billion.

The round, which brings the company’s total funding to $553 million, was led by Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP) and had contributions from existing investors Allianz X, Khosla Ventures, and The Private Shares Fund. New investors Arbor Waypoint Select Fund and funds managed by Newton Investment Management North America also contributed.

Fundbox was founded in 2013 to help small businesses access working capital through credit and payments solutions. The company has invested $100 million into AI technology with an aim to gain deep insights into the small business ecosystem.

Today’s investment comes at a time of growth for Fundbox. The company has experienced new customer acquisition growth of over 200% this year, has surpassed $2.5 billion in transaction volume, and has connected with over 325,000 businesses since launch.

The new capital will also help Fundbox expand into payments. The company is launching a tool called Flex Pay that will offer small business owners additional payment options and flexibility for business expenses. In addition to repaying loans via bank account or credit card, businesses have a buy now, pay later option in the form of a Line of Credit draw.

“The addition of Flex Pay to our product offerings is critical as small business owners look to utilize buy now, pay later solutions for business,” said Fundbox CEO Prashant Fuloria. “We remain committed to leveraging our superior AI, data-native approach, and small business insights to solve working capital needs and power the resurgence of the small business economy.”

Fundbox has additional financial products in the pipeline for next year. The company is working on a subscription revenue stream, a product for entrepreneurs with multiple small businesses, and tools to help new businesses that lack financial history.

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An investment of $35 million will enable Solutions by Text (SBT), a compliant text messaging platform for consumer finance companies, to power broader adoption of its solution across the consumer finance lifecycle. The growth financing round was led by Edison Partners, and featured the participation of Stifel Venture Bank, a division of Stifel Bank.

In addition to the funding news, Solutions by Text also announced the appointment of former ACI Worldwide executive David Baxter as its new Chief Executive Officer

“Now more than ever, consumer finance organizations are taking a hard look at how to strengthen digital consumer relationships while maintaining compliance with national standards,” Baxter said. “Our opportunity to capture market share through existing and expanded platform capabilities is immense and we’ve assembled an exceptional team and board to turbo-charge this next chapter of growth.”

As part of the investment, co-founder Mike Cantrell and Edison Director Network members Ron Hynes and Nick Manolis will join the Solutions by Text board of directors.

Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, and maintaining remote teams and offices throughout the U.S. as well as in Bangalore, India, Solutions by Text was founded in 2008. The company’s technology is used by more than 1,400 consumer finance companies – ranging from auto finance and lending to banking – who use SBT’s compliant texting solutions to support origination, servicing, and collection operations. Solutions by Text helps ensure that communication policies and practices are compliant with key regulations such as the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau’s Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), including a new Regulation F which went into effect today. The revision clarifies the ability of consumers to stop collection calls and/or text messages and is intended to respond to the rise of new communications methods.

Solutions by Text offers two-way texting to ensure seamless communication with customers, as well as a pay-by-text product, Text Pay, and a customizable URL shortening tool called SmartURL. SBT’s technology can be integrated via the company’s API, which enables access to the full range of the company’s text messaging tools including budgeting, reporting, file imports, message templates, and distribution lists.

“(SBT) is uniquely positioned to scale growth in the fintech market with a team of deep regulatory compliance, messaging, and payments expertise, not to mention a sizable loyal customer and partner base with significant embedded opportunity,” Edison Partners General Partner Kelly Ford said. “Eight in ten U.S. adults use text messaging on a regular basis,” Ford noted. “With Solutions by Text, financial institutions are meeting these consumers where and how they want to be met, and doing so with peace of mind.”

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Payment card startup Slice received a $220 million Series B investment today, bringing its total funding to $291 million and boosting its valuation to over $1 billion, unicorn status. This is an impressive jump in valuation. According to TechCrunch, the India-based company was valued at under $200 million less than six months ago when it raised $20 million in funding in June of this year.

Today’s round was led by Tiger Global and Insight Partners and saw contributions from Sunley House Capital, Moore Strategic Ventures, Anfa, Gunosy, Blume Ventures, and 8i. Slice plans to use the funds to expand its product line by launching a payment card for teens. The company is also working on adding support for the country’s real-time payment rails, unified payments interface (UPI), and a digital ID product.

Slice is aiming to disrupt India’s credit card industry by relying on its own underwriting system. The company, which targets millennials, has five million registered users and is currently issuing more than 200,000 cards every month, making it the third largest card issuer in India.

Because of its in-house underwriting, Slice doesn’t require a credit score; anyone over the age of 18 can apply. Credit limits are relatively low, starting at $26 (₹2k). Additionally, the fintech doesn’t charge a joining fee, or an annual fee. Cardholders can get up to 2% cashback on purchases and receive weekly deals from brands such as Amazon and Netflix.

Slice’s name comes from one of its most differentiating features. The company allows cardholders to “slice” all of their bills over the course of three months into multiple installments.

“Slice targets an underpenetrated market in India and seamlessly allows users to make online payments, pay bills and more,” said Insight Partners Managing Director Deven Parekh. “There is a large opportunity in the credit and payment space in India, and Slice is well-positioned to become the leader in the industry. We look forward to this partnership with slice as they continue to scale up and grow.”

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In an extension of its $200 million Series E financing round, digital payments company Airwallex has secured an additional $100 million in funding. The extension came from Lone Pine Capital and featured the participation of existing investors such as 1835i Ventures and Sequoia Capital China. Now standing at $300 million, Airwallex’s latest funding gives the company a valuation of $5.5 billion. The company has raised a total of $802 million.

“As we approach our sixth anniversary, we want to continue to connect entrepreneurs, business builders, and makers with opportunities in every corner of the world,” co-founder and CEO of Airwallex Jack Zhang said. “This new capital injection will allow us to do just that, fueling M&A opportunities that will accelerate our global expansion plans, pursuing our mission to empower businesses to grow without borders.”

Headquartered in Australia, Airwallex offers a financial infrastructure and platform that enables businesses to manage payments online. The company’s business accounts allow businesses to transfers funds worldwide to more than 130 countries in 31 currencies, at a cost of 0.4% to 1.0% above the interbank FX rate. Airwallex’s business accounts connect seamlessly with online stores such as eBay, Shopify, and PayPal, as well as with accounting packages like Xero, and enable firms to issue virtual “borderless” payment cards to their employees.

Airwallex’s funding comes as the company reports a 1.6x year-over-year revenue increase for Q3, along with annualized revenue of more than $100 million. Launching its virtual employee cards in Hong Kong and the U.K. this past quarter, Airwallex also secured licenses to operate in both Singapore and Malaysia.

“Receiving this approval reflects our robust policies, compliance framework and risk management systems we have put in place,” Zhang said when Airwallex received its Major Payment Institution License by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) earlier this month. “We will continue to work closely with regulators and partners to ensure we facilitate a safe, effective, and transparent way to manage their cross-border financial transaction needs.”

Founded in 2015, Airwallex has recently announced partnerships with Australian digital brokerage company Stake and travel lifestyle brand Cathay. In October, the company was named to the 2021 CB Insights Fintech 250 list for the fourth consecutive year.

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Alternative credit provider and digital bank Upgrade announced a $280 million investment this week. The Series F round brings the company’s total funding to $600 million and boosts its valuation to $6 billion, which is almost double its last valuation of $3.3 billion in August.

The round was led by Coatue Management and DST Global with participation from Dragoneer Investment Group, Gopher Asset Management, G-Squared, Koch Disruptive Technologies, Old Well Partners, Ribbit Capital, Sands Capital, Ventura Capital, and Vy Capital.

Upgrade was founded in 2016 and offers a variety of low-cost personal loans and credit cards that come with rewards ranging from Bitcoin cashback to 3% cashback. Earlier this year the company debuted a checking account with a debit card that pays 2% cashback for common expenses.  

The company differentiates its card, which is issued by Sutton Bank, from traditional credit cards by combining monthly charges into installment plans that the borrower repays over 24 to 60 months. Upgrade structures the repayment this way to get its users into the habit of paying down their balance every month and avoid getting trapped in a continuous cycle of debt.

The funding news comes four months after Upgrade closed its $105 million Series E round. Company CEO Renaud Laplanche said that the round “demonstrates Upgrade’s rapid growth and commitment to delivering innovative financial products that benefit consumers.”

The “rapid growth” Laplanche references has been seen in recent acclamations. Earlier this year the Financial Times selected Upgrade as the fastest growing company in the Americas and the Nilson Report recognized the Upgrade Card as the fastest growing credit card in America, placing Upgrade among the top 50 U.S. credit card issuers.

Since launching its credit card in 2017, Upgrade has delivered $10 billion in total credit to customers via the company’s credit cards and loan products. The majority of this credit has been issued this year alone; the company is on track to deliver $8 billion in credit in 2021.

Upgrade is headquartered in California with an operations center in Arizona and a technology center in Canada. The company is partnered with Cross River Bank and Blue Ridge Bank for credit lines and banking services, NYDIG for Bitcoin rewards, and Sutton Bank for card issuance.

Float, a Canada-based startup that offers a corporate card and spend management solution, landed $30 million (C$37 million) in funding this week. The Series A round was led by Tiger Global and brings the company’s total funding to $34 million (C$42 million).

The funding will help Float with its mission to deliver an end-to-end spend management platform for SMBs. “We want this platform to enable businesses and teams to focus on investing in their growth and eliminate the need to use different banking and software tools to make day-to-day payments… Float’s mission is to simplify spending for companies and teams,” the company explained in a blog post.

Float was founded in 2019 to offer Canadian SMBs a high-limit, no personal guarantee corporate card that is available in three business days or less. This turnaround is impressive when compared to the average four+ week wait time most businesses face to receive their corporate spending cards. Businesses can set custom spending limits, assign cards to employees, and review and approve transactions in real time.

In addition to the card capabilities, Float also offers spend management software that natively integrates with accounting software such as QuickBooks and Xero. The dashboard helps employers track real-time spending and provides an overview of individual, departmental, and categorical spending.

The investment comes at a good time for Float, which has seen significant growth since launching to the public in March of this year. The company now has hundreds of small business clients and continues to experience increased engagement. Float’s total payment volume has increased ~20x since June and its average monthly customer spend has increased more than 6x since March.

Float offers a freemium pricing model with varying features. All tiers come with 1% cashback, 0% FX fees, unlimited users, automatic top-ups, and a $100,000 spending limit. The paid tiers provide custom integrations, team management, and more.

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Mexico-based Stori landed $200 million this week in combined debt and equity. The investment, which bring the company’s total funding to almost $250 million, will help the fintech provide financial services to its region’s underserved customers.

The $125 million in equity was co-led by GGV Capital and GIC with contributions from General Catalyst, Goodwater Capital, Tresalia Capital, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Vision Plus Capital, BAI Capital, and Source Code Capital. The $75 million in debt financing comes from Community Investment Management.

The investment echoes Stori’s success in the region. The company has become one of Mexico’s top issuer of new credit cards since February of this year. In fact, more than 2 million Mexicans have applied for a Stori credit card, and that number has grown by more than 10 times in the last twelve months.

And there is still plenty of room for growth. The broader Latin American region has 400 million underserved consumers. “Our mission – empowering financial inclusion for millions of hard-working people – is amazingly meaningful and challenging at the same time,” said Stori CEO and co-founder, Bin Chen. “We are progressing at an unprecedented pace by combining technology, machine learning, data-driven underwriting and an intuitive mobile-based user experience. A lot more will come in our journey to become a top consumer financial franchise in Latin America.”

Stori plans to use today’s funds to triple in size and broaden its product offerings to better suit customer needs, ultimately providing much-needed financial services to Mexico’s underserved citizens. The fresh capital will also help Stori grow its team and double down on training and development opportunities.

While Stori is focused on the Mexico region, the company boasts a global team with offices in Washington D.C., Mexico, and Asia. “Our success since launch is a direct result of having a team who is passionate about our mission to empower upward financial mobility for the underserved population,” said company Co-founder Marlene Garayzar. 

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