Yondr Money raising capital to fund expansion as a mainstream bank alternative
Neobank and rising fintech company Yondr Money, is set to raise $1.5m – $2m to fund its expansion as an alternative to mainstream banks.
The Melbourne-based fintech promises to reduce costs and improve customer experiences whilst most importantly helping Australians improve financial literacy.
Initial backers include Mike Smith, former CEO of ANZ Bank, who sits as a board advisor at Yondr Money.
“Yondr Money represents the future in an economic landscape that craves low-cost, efficient and safer banking experiences,” Smith said.
Shane Chanel, founder and chief executive officer of Yondr Money, said the idea of Yondr came to him while travelling internationally where he saw the disparity between the financial services offered overseas and at home.
“Australia is still years behind other countries when it comes to accessing high quality money services. For example, the UK has more than 38 Neobanks providing innovative, low cost and customer-first banking solutions at people’s fingertips,” said Chanel.
“Compare that to Australia where only 1 in 4 people are aware of Neobanks. This means we have a lot to do in creating awareness that there are better and more efficient alternatives to the way we spend and manage our money,”
Being surrounded by many friends and family struggling to get into the housing market, “Yondr is focused on giving customers more control of their finances and provide various saving tools that can be integrated into their daily lives, helping them achieve their goals.”
Using Artificial Intelligence (AI) and other machine learning processes, Yondr Money is set to roll out a full-featured, flexible and streamlined fintech solution that improves financial intelligence and outcomes for everyday Australians.
Chanel said by drilling down into the spending habits of consumers, Yondr Money can reveal ways to save money by better understanding where the money goes. In time, the machine learning will forecast upcoming payments and behaviours.
“There’s a recent survey that shows only 64% of adult Australians are considered financially literate. While that may sound like a high number already, it means there are still approximately 9 million people who may not have an idea of where their money goes,” Chanel said.
“If we give these people the tools and platform where they can monitor, track and set limits on where they spend their money, we would be assisting everyday Australians become financially savvy.”
Yondr Money’s initial product – a multi-currency account attached to a combination of physical and virtual VISA cards, accessible through a mobile app– is aimed at reducing the cost of travel for the approximately 10 million Australians who travel every year (pre-pandemic).
According to Chanel, Yondr Money has received encouraging support and commitment from an initial round of capital raising among angel investors.
“Given the high level of support we’re getting, we may do another round of capital raising as we ramp up our products and distribution network,” Chanel said.
