New US challenger bank Rho launches, alongside funding round

Digital banking platform for entrepreneurs Rho Business Banking has launched its services alongside the close of an investment round.

The amount of capital raised by the firm was not made clear; however, the round was led by Inspired Capital.

Rho has launched its digital banking product which aims to cater for high growth startups. The bank offers them up to $10m in FDIC insurance and 1.61% on cash management, as well as various API integrations.

The technology-first banking platform includes interest on both cash and treasury accounts, with no minimum balances, APIs to enhance workflow automation, and team accounts to aid collaboration.

Companies can apply for a bank account within three minutes and can connect it with other business applications like Quickbooks, Xero, and Slack.

The startup is headquartered in New York and is currently accepting limited clients before a wider public launch.

Inspired Capital founder and managing partner Alexa von Tobel said, “When I was starting LearnVest, a banking service designed for founders simply didn’t exist.

“From personal experience, we believe small business banking is laden with outdated incumbents and missing a modern customer-first experience. We have been incredibly impressed with Rho’s innovative product approach and powerful technology strategy, and we believe this founding team is uniquely positioned to build a best-in-class solution for the next generation of founders, small business owners, and beyond.”

Appetite for challenger banks is increasing. It was recently reported UK challenger bank Revolut has hired American investment bank JPMorgan to help it raise a $1.5bn round which would foster its international growth into countries including the US, Brazil and Japan.

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