A pair of $200 million funding series C rounds capped off a strong week for fintechs, with major financing going toward core banking development, buy now pay later (BNPL) technology, and data-centric credit solutions for businesses and consumers.

Thought Machine hits $1B valuation in latest funding round

London-based fintech Thought Machine closed out a $200 million series C funding round earlier this week, giving it a $1 billion valuation and the “unicorn” label.

The company brands itself as a “cloud-native core platform” that provides advanced core solutions to global financial institutions, with clients including Standard Chartered, SEB and Lloyds Banking Group. Its flagship offering is Vault, a frictionless cloud banking platform that utilizes application program interfaces (APIs) to connect users and banks with financial data.

Founded in 2014, Thought Machine’s state of play has traditionally centered on moving financial information away from legacy mainframe architecture and into secure and accessible cloud formats. This recent round of funding will allow the fintech to build upon this framework.

“These new funds will accelerate the delivery of Vault into banks around the world who wish to implement their future vision of financial services,” founder and CEO Paul Taylor said in a statement.

Leading the funding was Nyca Partners, with chief participants including ING Ventures, JPMorgan Chase, and Standard Chartered Ventures.

Mexican BNPL firm Kueski reaches $202M in funding

Mexico-based BNPL stalwart Kueski reached $202 million in series C debt and equity funding, the company announced this week in a statement. Kueski Pay, the company’s main BNPL offering, saw 210x year-over-year growth in gross merchandise volume between 2020-2021, according to the company.

The company uses big data and artificial intelligence (AI) to service Mexico and the broader Latin American ecosystem with seamless payment solutions. This latest funding round backs Kueski to move toward connecting a region with traditionally low credit penetration and a high number of unbanked citizens.

“Our goal is to connect the whole Mexican retail economy without requiring consumers to have a bank account, a credit card, or credit history. By using Kueski Pay, consumers can defer the costs of payment over time without expensive credit cards or bank loans, and merchants can tap into a whole new market and boost their sales,” Adalberto Flores, founder and CEO, said in a release.

Since its founding in 2012, the company has fostered more than 5 million online transactions, according to the statement. Kueski is currently integrated with Walmart, Nautica, Aerobus and Steve Madden, among other partners. The main equity round was led by StepStone Group, while debt funding was led by Victory Park Capital. Primary investors, among others, included Glisco Partners and OnePrime Capital.

The company did not reveal its current valuation.

Fundbox announces completion of $100 million series D round

Israeli American credit fintech Fundbox this week completed a $100 million series D funding round, bolstering its unicorn status after a raucous 2020.

Fundbox, which extends data-based credit solutions to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), faced a difficult early-stage pandemic, laying off 15% of its workforce. However, this latest funding round increases the company’s valuation to $1.1 billion, a $100 million increase from its previous valuation, according to Pitchbook.

For 2021, Fundbox reported a $100 million annual revenue run rate (ARR), along with a customer acquisition rate of 200%. The company services 325,000 SMEs in the U.S. alone, according to the company.

“In 2020, Fundbox continued to originate loans and acquire new customers,” a company spokesperson told Bank Automation News. “Additionally, we mitigated delinquencies to the high single digits (while others saw figures 3-12x higher) and brought those numbers down to pre-COVID rates before the end of the year.” This resulted in support for a new round of funding among Fundbox’s investors, led primarily by Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP).

“We plan to use this new financing to expand our 300-person team, accelerate customer acquisition and broaden our product offerings,” the spokesperson added.

Suncoast Credit Union forms partnership with MX

Suncoast Credit Union, the largest credit union in Florida, has partnered with financial data and connectivity provider MX, the companies announced Thursday in a statement.

“By providing our members with a better experience, powered by accessible and relevant information about their financial lives — what they need and when they need it — we’re helping them solve real issues on their terms,” Kevin Johnson, Suncoast Credit Union president and CEO, said in a statement.

MX provides fintechs and financial institutions with APIs which interpret and deliver financial insights to its customers. The company has a reach of more than 200 million consumers and will add Suncoast Credit Union to its roster of institutional partners.

Suncoast will use MX’s MXInsights tool to provide personalized advice and information to the credit union’s 991,000 members, with an emphasis on debt management, budgeting and integrative data viewing.

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