UK-based FCA-regulated money management app Snoop raised £15m ($20.87m) in Series A funding round to support global expansion.
The company secured the funding from American investment management firm Paulson & Co. The fundraising, which values the startup £47m, brings the startup’s total funds raised to £34m to date including £5m from the government-backed Future Fund. Previous investors in Snoop include The Havisham Group, former hedge fund executive Pierre Legrange, Travelex founder Sir Lloyd Dorfman, Salesforce Ventures and members of the Snoop management team.
Having identified the US as a key market for expansion, the company will use the new funding to support its footprint in the market and other regions. It will also boost its product development and distribution.
Based in Norwich and founded by Virgin Money chief Jayne-Anne Gadhia, Snoop app leverages open banking and analytics to provide financial insights to users. Users receive a daily feed of spending tips and a weekly recap of where money was spent. In particular, Snoop is keeping an active eye on the “loyalty penalty” that costs UK consumers over £12 billion per year.
With the main aim to spot bad deals, poor value renewals and wasteful subscriptions, Snoop offers options to switch to money saving alternatives. The company aims to help an average household save around £1,500 annually. Particularly, the app tracks payment patterns and provides consumers with ways to save money.
Snoop started its operations in April last year amid the Covid-19 lockdown. In December last year, Snoop raised £10m through a crowdfunding round. The company counts over 3 million customers, processing some 300 million banking transitions, at a value of £32bn, per day.
Gadhia said, “I’m delighted that Paulson has invested in the Snoop proposition, team and ambition, and that they – like us – view open banking as a major growth opportunity within the financial sector. We’re building a business with unstoppable momentum and this investment from a global financial heavyweight is a massive vote of confidence. It will play a key part in realising Snoop’s ambition to become a global leader, synonymous with open banking and smart money management.”
The exponential growth of open banking has not gone unnoticed. Open banking is highly integral to the growth of FinTechs in the UK, with usage among an estimated three million people. The Series A funding follows President Biden’s decision to issue an executive order to accelerate the progress of open banking in the US for it to become a mainstream part of the banking system with the aim to transform how people manage their money.
At the time of launch, Snoop CEO John Natalizia said: “It’s no exaggeration to say that we’re living in extraordinary times and I’m delighted that we’ve been able to accelerate our launch so Snoop can help consumers and households at a time when it may be needed most.”
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