Margo Bank, a new European challenger bank for SMBs, has collected €6.4m in its funding round.
Contributions to the investment came from early-stage venture capital firm daphni, Margo’s founders, and a group of angels. The group of angel investors included Xavier Niel, Marc Simoncini, Jacques–Antoine Granjon, Thibaud Elzière, Franck Le Ouay, Rachel Delacour, Thierry Petit and Alex Lebrun.
Founded in May 2017, Margo is a banking institution that aims to support European SMBs, by tailoring its deposit, payment and credit services to businesses that exceed €1m in annual turnover. To do this, the platform integrates both experienced bankers and a streamlined and user-friendly digital experience.
The digital solutions will be accessible on both desktop and mobile devices, providing clients access to accounting, invoicing, and expense reporting, among other services. During its current structural phase, Margo will look to apply for a full banking license with the French banks and insurance governing body Autorité de contrôle prudentiel et de resolution and with the European Central Bank.
Partnerships with over European banks is also a key aim for Margo Bank.
This initial burst of equity will be used to bolster the creation of Margo’s technical infrastructure and reinforcement of the current team. The bank is aiming to construct flexible and adaptable banking infrastructure in-house, supported by user data.
Margo Bank co-founder Jean-Daniel Guyot said, “We are convinced that the crux of what banks have to offer lies in the quality of the client relationship, the level of personalized service as well as the simplicity and compatibility of the digital tools designed to facilitate that relationship.
“To establish the trust that is paramount to these kinds of relationships, we have brought together talent from across risk management, compliance, client relations, and tech to reinvent the banking experience for SMB executives and their teams.”
Last year, daphni made a contribution to the €6m funding round by France-based Foxintelligence. The company measures e-commerce activity, helping retailers to see their best-selling products and boost revenues.
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![Temenos (SIX: TEMN) today announced that National Bank of Iraq (NBI), part of the Capital Bank Group, has successfully gone live with Temenos core banking and payments. NBI, which has 27 branches across Iraq, offers a comprehensive range of services to individuals and businesses in the country. Since 2005, NBI has been majority owned by Capital Bank, one of the top financial institutions operating in the Jordanian and regional markets, with assets of approximately JOD 7.6 billion[1]. With this implementation, NBI moved from its legacy systems onto the same core banking platform as other entities in the Capital Bank Group. This will enable NBI to operate more efficiently and integrate seamlessly with other systems to develop new products faster and deliver an improved customer experience. Capital Bank Group is a long-standing Temenos customer with other entities in the Group including Capital Bank of Jordan, Bank Audi, Société Générale Bank Jordan and NBI Saudi Arabia, already on the Temenos platform. NBI also becomes the first part of the group to adopt Temenos Payments, which enabled the bank to process more than 100,000 transactions of incoming and outgoing domestic and international payments in the first 15 days of operation, with a 99% straight-through processing rate. The migration to the Temenos platform for core banking and payments at NBI was completed in under 12 months thanks to Temenos’ pre-configured banking and payments capabilities and APIs which reduced the need for complex customizations, as well as close collaboration between Temenos, NBI, Capital Bank and delivery partner ITSS. This success was recently recognized in the IBS Intelligence Innovation Awards, with Capital Bank winning ‘Best Implementation of Core Banking Services'. The implementation at NBI follows several other successful transformation projects with Temenos for Capital Bank in the last few years, including the launch of NBI’s branch operations in Saudi Arabia in just 45 days, as well as the integration of Bank Audi and the former Jordanian operations of Société Générale, each of which was achieved in under four months. Collectively, these projects helped Capital Bank to increase operational efficiency by more than 50% within three years, bringing significant cost savings and an improved customer experience. With faster, more accurate processing and immediate service requests, the bank has maintained high customer retention rates and a reputation for service excellence. Izzidin Abusalameh, Chief Operations Officer, Capital Bank Group, commented: “This achievement marks a significant milestone in our digital transformation journey and positions us as a leading player in the banking industry. We have seamlessly transitioned the National Bank of Iraq to a cutting-edge core banking system which will not only enhance operational efficiency but also support providing our customers with a superior digital banking experience. Our continued partnership with Temenos has not only provided us with an advanced technological platform but has also facilitated a culture of flexibility and adaptability, enabling us to execute our ambitious growth plans.” Lee Allcorn, Managing Director, Middle East & Africa, Temenos, said: “Congratulations to National Bank of Iraq and the Capital Bank team on this successful implementation that gives NBI business agility and the same modern technology platform and ability to deploy fast with pre-configured banking capabilities as the rest of the group. With Temenos, Capital Bank Group is future-ready, and we are proud to support them as they continue to innovate and leverage our platform to grow sustainably and enhance the banking experience for customers.”](https://fintech.global/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/rupixen-Q59HmzK38eQ-unsplash-2-218x150.jpg "Flutterwave teams up with Acquired.com to streamline outward remittances in EU and UK")
