Aussie neobank Volt lands extended Series E investment from AFG
Australian digital bank Volt has secured an extended Series E funding round worth AUD 15 million from mortgage firm Australian Finance Group (AFG).
The investment arrives alongside a partnership deal and AFG obtaining an 8% stake in Volt. AFG also plans to use Volt’s Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) to supply its mortgage product to 3,000 brokers.
Volt’s CEO, Steve Weston
AFG is deploying the Volt system as a personal finance management app, with a pilot planned for launch in late 2021.
Volt launched as Australia’s first neobank, gaining a restricted banking licence in May 2018. It has accrued around 8,000 customers with AUD 88 million in deposits.
It has signed expansion deals with Railsbank and a cloud deployment partnership with Microsoft. The bank operates on Temenos’ T24 (now Transact) core banking system.
To date, the bank’s Series E round has raised AUD 37.7 million with the aim to raise AUD 85 million.
Steve Weston, Volt CEO, says AFG’s endorsement is a “landmark moment” for the fledgling bank.
“Volt has distinguished itself by pursuing a unique BaaS strategy and the partnership with AFG is testament to the demand for integrated and white-label banking.”
David Bailey, CEO at AFG, adds the combination of the two firms is “compelling”.
Alongside its investment news, Volt has also announced a new chairman in former chair of HSBC Bank Australia, Graham Bradley.
Bailey will join the neobank in June, while Volt’s current chair, John Masters, will become deputy chair and chair of the Audit Committee.
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