FinTech startup B9 has secured $5m in seed capital and has doubled its year-end customer acquisition target.
B9 is a personal finance platform that provides financial solutions, consumer products , services and resources to workers in the US who are underserved by traditional banks for a $4.99 monthly software-as-a-service fee, as well as providing interest-free payroll advance options, a VISA debit card for secure online or offline shopping and the ability to send cash to family in the US and abroad.
The company’s proprietary AI platform – BnineScore – creates a portrait of each customer’s economic behaviour based on their earning patterns, needs and wants. BnineScore enables customers to build credit and gain access to more products and services at lower costs. The firm has recently launched features including access to Apple, Google and Samsung mobile wallet options to withdraw funds and facilitate mobile spending and a physical card to use at stores. It also offers remote check depositing with instant access to funds and free check cashing.
Customers of B9 have deposited pay checks from over 1,500 companies including Amazon, Lyft, Uber, DoorDash and Walmart. The company has estimated that around 40% of its customers are full-time employees, with freelancers and gig workers comprising 60% of its total customer base. The average B9 customer is between 18-35 years old.
According to B9, it is experiencing massive transaction and new customer growth as it closes in on its goal of reaching 200,000 customer by the end year, which is double its original objective.
B9 CEO Sergei Terentev said, “We’re serving a huge market that has been virtually invisible to traditional banks, and I’m proud of the benefits we’re delivering to this hardworking community. Immigrants, part-time students, young workers, gig employees and others who often fall through the cracks with big banks now have an alternative to predatory payday lenders. We provide better service and options, and as we scale up, we’ll be able to use our data to better understand and anticipate customer needs.
“I’m not surprised we’re growing so quickly because we make it easy for customers to access a full range of financial services at a fair subscription price,” said Terentev. “It’s an equality issue when people don’t have access to the modern financial services, they need to build credit and plan for the future, and it’s a safety issue too because unbanked people are victimized by predatory lenders and are vulnerable when traveling with cash. I’m grateful to the investors who are helping B9 address this need.”
Earlier this year, B9 raised $1.7m from a pre-seed funding round.
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