The news that Jassby, a PFM app for kids, has raised $5 million in new funding is one small step for savings solutions and one giant leap for financial education.

The Family Finance App, which has more than 100,000 users, enables kids to receive money from parents and grandparents, which they can then save, spend, or donate in a safe, supervised “Walled Garden”-style, digital platform. Jassby notes that the combination of a digital wallet and a shopping tool – along with parental participation – will help kids learn responsible financial habits by connecting what they have to what they want. This can be a more effective way of learning than simply studying lessons on smart financial habits and then taking tests and quizzes to see if the material is truly understood and absorbed.

Benjamin Nachman, Jassby CEO, called the promotion of financial literacy “one of our core values.” He added “we have built a cutting-edge system that allows us to partner with schools, sports clubs, and businesses to create a full ecosystem for our users.”

“Jassby has created a holistic digital financial ecosystem for kids, teens and their parents,” Moneta Managing Partner Adoram Gaash said. “(Jassby) deals with the real issue of financial illiteracy, and lets kids use financial services in a very smart way.” The app is currently available as a downloadable iOS solution, as well as a web app.

The round, which takes Jassby’s total capital to $10 million, featured participation from Needham Bank and Moneta Capital, as well as Blumberg Capital, Correlation VC and PnP Ventures. The company said the funding will help speed development and take the app to one million users within a year. Nachman added that the company also plans on raising an additional $20 million later this year to help reach that goal.

Jassby is headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts, and was founded in 2018. Last fall, the company announced a partnership with Needham Bank to enable banking services for users of its family financial app. The fintech has also teamed up with Boston Siege Football club, signing on the semi-pro soccer club as a corporate sponsor. Boston Siege began wearing Jassby’s logo on its kits and training gear last year. The two organizations are planning on a project involving the club’s payment and revenue infrastructure in 2020.

With more than $1.1 billion (€1 billion) provided to small businesses in the U.K. and Germany, London-based SME lender iwoca announced today that it has received $109 million (€100 million) in debt financing from Insight Investment. The new capital will help iwoca continue its work in funding entrepreneurs in Germany.

The investment takes iwoca’s total debt and equity financing to more than $550 million (€500 million). The company, one of the largest fintech SME lenders in Germany, plans to double its workforce in the country to 100 employees and will use the funds to help scale its loan book to give institutional investors more opportunities to participate in the SME credit market.

“More than 90% of companies in Germany are small businesses, yet many of them suffer from poor access to finance as traditional lenders can’t support them the way they need it,” iwoca CEO and co-founder Christoph Rieche explained.

“Our mission is to change that. With Insight Investment we have found a very agile and responsive partner that complements our mission-driven way of working. They provide the perfect basis for us to enter a new phase of growth in Germany,” Rieche said.

Iwoca has gained more than 50,000 customers since offering its first loan in 2012, and lent more than $1.1 billion (€1 billion) to U.K. and German-based businesses. The company offers short-term financing of up to £200,000, and only charges interest – starting at 2% a month – for the days the borrower actually has the money. Iwoca also makes it easy for companies to apply for a top up in the event that additional financing is required, enabling their credit to grow along with their businesses.

The company partnered with German business banking platform Penta late last year, enabling the challenger bank to launch its credit solution. We took a look at challenger banks in Germany as part of our FinovateEurope coverage this month. Last summer iwoca launched a pair of real-time loan integrations with U.K.-based financial marketplaces Funding Xchange and Funding Options.

Among the first fintechs in the U.K. to leverage open banking to offer a lending API, iwoca has been named to the Deliotte Fast 50 and was recognized by cloud accounting platform – and Finovate alum – Xero as its Financial Services App of the Year in 2018 and its Emerging App Partner of the Year in 2017.

Continental challenger banks like N26 may be pulling away from the U.K. market. But that is only creating room for newcomers like London’s social payments app B-Social which has raised $10 million (£7.8 million) en route to its transformation into Kroo, a fully-licensed bank.

The funding, part of a seed round, brings the company’s total capital to more than $17.8 million (£13.25 million). Participating in the round was Karlani Capital’s Rudy Karsan, along with additional undisclosed investors.

“Our seed 2 funding round is another key milestone towards building the greatest social bank on the planet and changing the relationship people have with money for good,” B-Social CEO Nazim Valimahomed wrote on the company’s blog. He noted that B-Social has signed up more than 9,000 users and will soon introduce functionality to enable account funding via bank transfer. Valimahomed also added that the company plans to double the size of its team at its headquarters in Holborn.

Most significantly, the investment will help B-Social as it transitions into becoming a bank, to be called Kroo. Valimahomed said that the company is currently in the final, pre-application phase for obtaining a U.K. banking license and hopes to finish the application process “in the very near future.” He referred to the rebrand as a change to an “exciting new brand that fully embodies who we are – intuitive, talented, empowering, social, and collaborative.”

Founded in 2016, B-Social helps users manage shared expenses. The company’s app, available in both iOS and Android, supports bill splitting and group expense tracking, and instant payments between B-Social account holders. The solution also comes with a contactless debit Mastercard that can be used, fee free, both at home and abroad wherever Mastercard is accepted.

For consumers with credit scores below 600, options for securing financing can be a major challenge. A new company on the scene, Self, has locked in $20 million in new funding to help make those financial hurdles a little easier for Americans with poor credit histories to overcome.

In a Series C round led by Altos Ventures and Conductive Ventures, Self has added $20 million to its total capital, which now stands at $37 million. The Austin, Texas-based company, founded in 2015, offers a Credit Builder Account in which borrowers apply for a modest loan with a Self bank partner that is held on a certificate of deposit. Borrowers make monthly payments, which are reported to the major credit agencies to help establish a credit history. Once the term is complete, the CD matures and the principal amount comes back to the customer.

“Our goal from the beginning was to create a mission-driven company that gives the power back to consumers and helps them achieve their financial goals,” company founder and CEO James Garvey said.

Since inception, Self has worked with 500,000+ customers and provided $400 million in CD-secured loan originations. The company recently launched its Self Visa Credit Card, a secured card that does not require a credit check. The card allows holders to build their security deposit in installments rather than with one large deposit upfront. The card has an annual fee of $25, average for secured cards, but features a higher than average minimum APR for secured cards at 23.74% based on a review by U.S. News.

Named one of the best fintech places to work in 2020 by Ariznet Brands – publishers of American Banker – Self rebranded itself from Self Lender last August and reincorporated as Self Financial. The fintech has partnered with firms including Atlantic Capital Bank, an Atlanta, Georgia-based bank holding company with assets of $2.9 billion, income optimization platform Steady, and nonprofit social enterprise Neighborhood Trust Financial Partners.

“Self inspires us with their dedication to helping consumers take control of their financial future,” Conductive Ventures’ Paul Yeh said. “Today, it’s imperative to be aligned with partners with a shared vision that is meaningful and delivers change for the greater good.”

Top U.K.-based challenger bank Starling Bank raised $77.5 million (£60 million) from existing investors Merian Global Investors and JTC.

Today’s investment brings Starling’s total funding to $417 million (£323 million).

“The support of our existing investors represents a huge endorsement of our business strategy, as we continue to ramp up our growth,” said Anne Boden, Starling Bank founder and CEO. “We’re constantly innovating and have big ambitions to turn Starling into a world-leading digital bank.”

Starling will use the funding to support “rapid expansion” efforts and to create products and services that compete with traditional financial institutions. Helping motivate its employees to push for this expansion, the bank is awarding shares to its staff.

“We could not do this without the support of our 800 employees, who work so hard to provide a better banking experience for our customers, giving them more control over their finances. So I’m thrilled to be giving shares to them,” said Boden.

Since launching its banking app in 2017, Starling has amassed 1.25 million accounts and holds $1.61 billion (£1.25 billion) in assets under management. The bank was founded in 2014 and is headquartered in London with offices in Southampton, Cardiff, and Dublin.