Greenlight Financial Technology, a digital-only banking startup with a mission to teach children how to manage their finances, will expand into investing, thanks to a $215 million Series C funding round announced today.

“It’s the final piece to the puzzle if you look at personal finance more broadly,” Co-Founder and CEO Tim Sheehan told Bank Innovation. “You’re not going to really build wealth through just a savings account, but with investing you really can … This way the kids can learn by doing, which we’re big believers in, but it’s still in a safe environment.”

The new investing feature, which has been in the works for the past year and is slated to roll out in the coming months, will allow kids to research stocks and ETFs listed on the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq for investment opportunities as little as $1. Through the platform, the child can propose the investment to their parents and the parents can decline the investment or approve it, after which the investment is automatically processed, even if it needs to be a fractional share purchase, Sheehan added.

Atlanta-based Greenlight offers several features that help parents teach their children about personal finance and saving money. It also allows parents to send money to their children for allowances and chores, offers a debit card with a savings account backed by Community Federal Savings Bank, and encourages kids to learn about giving back through a charitable donations feature. The average age of Greenlight’s younger customers is 12.

Today’s $215 million accelerates Greenlight’s momentum, Sheehan said, adding that in the past year, the fintech has quadrupled its customer base to 2 million and to date has helped kids save more than $50 million collectively. As a company that has grown through the COVID crisis, “the pandemic’s economic impact was a big reminder for everybody of how important it is to have a savings account and to understand personal finance,” Sheehan said.

Greenlight’s Series C brings the company’s valuation to $1.2 billion. It was led by Canapi Ventures and TTV Capital with participation from new investors Bond, DST Global, Goodwater Capital, Fin Venture Capital and Relay Ventures. The newly injected capital will go toward the investing feature and a revamp of the mobile app user interface, Sheehan said, adding that the 6-year-old company will boost marketing efforts to raise the company’s public profile.

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