North America fintech funding round-up: Syncfy, Totem and more
This week’s handy Friday funding round-up includes four North America-based fintech start-ups – Syncfy, Totem, Fintel Connect and Save.
Syncfy, a fintech start-up building an open finance platform in Latin America, has bagged $10 million in seed funding led by Point72 Ventures.
Syncfy raises funds
The round also includes investments from JAM Fund, Ausum Ventures, Avalancha Ventures, FJ Labs, MANTIS Venture Capital, and XBTO Humla Ventures, along with angel investors.
The company’s platform enables single API access to financial data from over 125 banks, digital wallets, tax authorities, utility providers, crypto exchanges, and blockchains across more than 15 countries in Latin America and internationally.
Syncfy says its customers include large banks and enterprise software companies such as BBVA and Intuit, as well as start-ups such as Clara. Key customer use cases include personal financial management, credit underwriting and accounting/tax integrations.
The fresh funding will enable Syncfy to invest in regional business development across Latin America and broaden its product suite. Based in Mexico, it plans to expand its customer base in Argentina, Brazil, and Colombia. It also plans to launch payment initiation solutions in key markets, enabling interoperable access to financial data as well as transfer of funds via API.
Totem, a neobank built for Native Americans, has raised $2.2 million in a pre-seed funding round led by Raven Indigenous Capital Partners.
Also taking part were Alloy Alchemist Fund, Debut Capital, Ruthless for Good and Candide Group.
Founded in 2022 by CEO Amber Buker, Totem aims to build a digital banking app to fulfil the financial needs of Native Americans. It plans to deploy the funds towards hiring more people on its team and building out its technology.
Totem has also received a $125,000 grant from Amazon Web Services as a part of its Impact Accelerator for Women Founders.
Canadian performance marketing intelligence solution for the financial industry Fintel Connect has raised $3.5 million (CAD 4.8 million) in seed funding.
The round was led by US’ BankTech Ventures and Canada’s export credit agency Export Development Canada.
Launched in 2020 and based in Vancouver, Fintel Connect’s platform offers specialised tools to scale growth “safely and cost-effectively”. The fintech claims partnerships with leading financial institutions in Canada, and that since expanding into the US, its team has quadrupled in size. It serves North American fintechs, banks, credit unions and insurtechs.
With the fresh funding, Fintel Connect plans to onboard more clients, release new features and grow partnerships with financial services brands in the US.
US-based fintech company Save, which helps clients earn higher yields on their spending and savings, has received an undisclosed sum of funding from BNP Paribas.
Save bags new funding
The round also saw participation from Webster Bank, which has also partnered with Save on its Market Savings offering.
Market Savings is a hybrid product and service that includes a Webster Bank deposit account linked to an investment product offered by Save. The fintech has also increased its portfolio range to include ESG investment strategies and dynamic absolute return strategies.
Save says it will use the funding to expand its product range and launch its new B2B business, “Powered by Save”, as it continues to expand its offering through institutional partnerships and advisory channels.
