Kjölfesta invests in intermediaries and smaller companies in Iceland.

Kjölfesta

Velocity Venture focuses on technology-driven startups, investing primarily in seed and early series rounds.  They are based near Sacramento, CA.

Velocity Venture Capital

At Frumtak Ventures, we champion founders who have demonstrated early traction and have potential to become global leaders in their space.  We take a concentrated, high-conviction, and high-involvement approach to investing and dedicate ourselves to collaboratively work with our portfolio companies from the seed stage through IPO. Our initial ticket size usually ranges from €1 million to €3 million.

Frumtak Ventures

Canadian Pacific is a cross-continental railroad system that provides extensive railway connectivity. The company boasts direct connections to seaports along both the western and eastern coastlines of Canada. The company facilitates efficient transportation of goods between major industrial centers and ports, contributing significantly to the transportation and logistics infrastructure.

Canadian Pacific Railway

Groupe BPCE provides a range of banking and insurance services.

Groupe BPCE

Credito Agricola offers banking services such as insurance, deposits and investment, credit, internet and mobile banking.

Credito Agricola

Omega ehf is a private investment vehicle that makes investments in private equity and a variety of ventures.

Omega ehf

Meniga

Meniga is a digital banking platform that helps banks, businesses, and individuals manage their financial data. Its product offering includes data aggregation, personal and business finance management, cashback rewards, and transaction-based carbon insights. They are a team of coders, designers, salespeople, and data scientists who get excited about shaping the future of financial technology. They work with complicated solutions that operate across channels, are modular, and customizable for every client. If you love big data, predictive models, analytics, operational benchmarking, and getting the job done they’d like to hear from you.

UK-based Meniga offers banking infrastructure through application programming interfaces (APIs) for banks to build digital banking solutions. Its infrastructure enables user enterprises to include data and finance management solutions including personal and business finance management as well as cash flow assistance. The infrastructure enables banks to personalize offerings to clients using personal data.

Democratizing financial technology with a suite of API-based solutions

FinTech Infrastructure

Meniga is a fintech company that provides a digital banking platform to help banks utilize personal finance data and consumer trends to enhance the digital experience for their customers. The platform offers various solutions, including data aggregation and enrichment technologies, personal and business finance management tools, cashback rewards, and transaction-based carbon insights. Meniga's technology enables banks to engage customers through digital channels, provide personalized insights, and explore new revenue opportunities.

Banking tech platform Meniga secures €7.5 million in new funding

Iceland-born startup Meniga gets €8.5 million from European banks to grow digital banking services

Meniga raises €15M in Series D funding for digital banking solutions

Meniga raises £13m for digital banking tools

Meniga Raises €15 Million in Series D

Meniga, a fintech company offering digital banking tools, just raised $16 million with this 25-slide pitch deck

Enriching Digital Banking for the world’s largest banks.

Embedding environmental, social, and corporate governance factors into investments

Sustainable Finance

Handelsbanken taps Meniga to amplify its digital banking experience

Visa

Meniga will join the Visa Ready Programme as a certified fintech enablement partner.

UniCredit

To integrate the leading European FinTech’s digital banking software globally, starting with Italy and Serbia, to make UniCredit customers’ digital banking experience more personalized with focus on data-driven tailored content.

Making banking work, without the paperwork

Neobanks

Platforms offering loans and/or other forms of credit to consumers, solely via digital channels

UK-based Meniga offers banking infrastructure through application programming interfaces (APIs) for banks to build digital banking solutions. Its infrastructure enables user enterprises to include data and finance management solutions including personal and business finance management as well as cash flow assistance. The infrastructure enables banks to personalize offerings to clients using personal data. In addition to legacy banking services, the infrastructure also offers “Carbon Insights”, which tracks the estimated carbon footprint of individual transactions to help reduce their personal carbon footprint. In March 2021, Iceland-based Íslandsbanki, became the first Nordic bank to implement the Carbon Insights Solution, to its digital banking offering.Key customers and partnerships As of March 2021, the company had 165 banking clients with operations in over 30 countries. In addition to its UK headquarters, Meniga was also present in Reykjavik, Stockholm, Warsaw, Singapore and Barcelona. Funding and financialsIn December 2023, Meniga <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/24912">raised EUR 15 million </a>(USD 16.5 million) in Series D funding, to reduce the company’s existing debt and invest in product developments, focusing on advancing core capabilities around Data Enrichment and Hyper Personalized Insights for the financial services sector.

Cross River Bank provides a white-label banking-as-a-service (BaaS) platform for enterprises, combining banking services, payments, and marketplace lending infrastructure to build fintechs. Its solutions comprise demand deposits, savings accounts, credit and debit cards, and payment clearing services, including automated clearing house (ACH) and real-time payments. The company also provides banking and payment infrastructure for the crypto industry, including risk management services for its crypto clients. Key customers and partnerships As of December 2020, the company had over 400 employees, and had entered into more than 30 partnerships. Moreover, as of March 2021, the platform had been used to support over 375,000 small businesses through the paycheck protection program (PPP).Cross River Bank teamed up with UK-based BaaS provider <a href="https://sp-edge.com/companies/421515">Railsr </a>in January 2019 to launch a common API for their platforms to be used globally. As of April 2022, Cross River had over 80 clients including lenders such as Affirm, Best Egg, and Upstart, neobanks such as <a href="https://sp-edge.com/companies/220119">Revolut </a>, and blockchain-based payment processing platform GreenBox. The platform reportedly originated over USD 24 billion in loans per annum, around 10x the value of loans it originated in 2015. Cross River Bank has expanded its operations by acquiring Betterfin, a platform offering lending-as-a-service (LaaS) solutions, in November 2021. Through the acquisition, Cross River Bank leveraged Betterfin’s software to digitize parts of the small-business lending process (such as origination and underwriting).The company partnered with <a href="https://sp-edge.com/companies/1643">American Express </a>(Amex) to enable FinTechs to issue credit cards through Cross River Bank, on the Amex network, while also providing select Amex benefits to the FinTechs.Funding and financials The company <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/9458">raised USD 620 million in funding </a>co-led by Eldridge and a16z, at a valuation of over USD 3 billion, to invest in product developments, recruitment, international expansion, and boosting strategic partnerships.

Cross River Bank

Synctera was co-founded in 2020 by Peter Hazlehurst, the former head of Uber Money, who previously led the development of Google Wallet. The company offers an API-based infrastructure platform for community and regional banks to find and partner with FinTechs. This enables FinTechs to leverage the former’s licenses to embed FDIC-insured mobile checking, debit cards, savings accounts, and payment innovations, among other features. The API platform offered to the banks will then be sold to the FinTechs to code on. Although the end customers interact with the FinTechs, they legally belong to the bank.<a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/8117">Synctera mainly charges the banks </a>based on the interchange fees they earn (half of the interchange fees, as of January 2022) from the services provided. It does not charge them an initial amount to use the platform. Moreover, the platform also embeds fraud-as-a-service and charges FinTechs on a per transaction basis (4 cents per transaction) should they choose to use it. It subsequently shares that revenue 50/50 with the banks.The company launched the “t-minus10” project in January 2022, which offers a live sandbox for FinTechs to build apps, test, and go to market, enhancing their access to banking partners. It subsequently launched a “Smart Charge Card” (APIs to build, launch, and issue charge cards) and “White-label Banking App” (a codebase for developers to build embedded banking products or neobank apps) infrastructure in October 2022.Key customers and partnershipsIn February 2022, Lineage Bank (a community bank in Tennessee) and GoGetr (FinTech aiming to promote health and wealth management) became the first companies to launch a banking solution using the Synctera platform. As of March 2023, the platform was working with around 50 fintechs, of which 14 were live (including Wayapay and Float). Synctera reportedly had over 20 implementations set for launch in the following two months.Synctera announced a new card issuing and management infrastructure offering (Card-as-a-Service), in July 2021, which it developed in partnership with Mastercard and leading card issuing infrastructure disruptor, <a href="https://sp-edge.com/companies/64287">Marqeta</a>.Funding and financialsIn March 2024, Synctera raised USD 18.6 million in <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/27244">Series A1 extension</a> co-led by Lightspeed and Fin Capital. The company earmarked the funds to support business growth by facilitating more complex use cases across the US and international markets. The company also <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/16980?industryIds=53">raised USD 15 million</a> in funding led by NAventures in March 2023, to invest in expanding the platform’s use cases and broadening its geographic footprint beyond the US (including expanding to Canada). Meanwhile, Synctera has also partnered with the National Bank of Canada to enable companies to launch FinTech apps and embedded banking products in Canada.

Synctera

Based in the UK, Weavr, formerly known as Open Payments Cloud, was spun out of payment provider Ixaris in 2019. Weavr offers the infrastructure for enterprises to embed banking services across various industries, including education, fitness, logistics, etc. Weavr’s “Meta” platform combines multiple banking and payments partners in one platform through application programming interfaces (APIs). Using the APIs, enterprises can embed virtual banking services such as card payments, fund transfers, and international banking accounts.Weavr expanded its operations to Singapore in November 2022, as part of its global expansion plans.Key customers and partnershipsAs of July 2021, Weavr’s customers included Finway, Thanks Ben, and MySkillCamp, among others.In October 2019, Weavr partnered with payment service providers Global Processing Services (GPS), Paynetics, and iDenfy to enable developers to create and run sophisticated and streamlined payment experiences for their European customers through Weavr.Funding and financialsWeavr <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/8647?industryIds=53">raised USD 40 million </a>in Series A funding in February 2022, led by Tiger Global, less than a year after <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/4166">raising GBP 4 million (USD 5.5 million) </a>in seed funding in July. The funds were earmarked for business development and recruitment to support Weavr’s expansion to the US market, while also supporting its continued expansion in the UK and Europe.

Weavr

MX offers an open finance portal, data connectivity application programming interface (API), and MX platform API for banks, credit unions, and other financial service providers. The company’s solutions allow its clients to utilize financial data to reduce fraud, approve loans faster, and improve their customer experiences. In addition to APIs and connections, MX also offers a range of capabilities, including data aggregation, analytics, financial feed insights, wealth and investment services, and verification services. MX looks to enable banks and financial institutions to launch next-generation services and apps that automate and personalize financial experiences. As of January 2021, the company noted that it worked with more than 2,000 banks, credit unions, and FinTech companies, and its platform reached over 200 million end-users. Moreover, it also powered 43 of the top 50 digital banks as of the same period. In <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/8753?industryIds=53">February 2022, MX partnered </a>with <a href="https://sp-edge.com/companies/361160">Rize </a>, to enable users to access Rize’s banking infrastructure to build, launch, and scale financial products through a single API, thereby reducing the development time and cost. In January 2021, MX raised USD 300 million in a Series C funding round led by TPG Capital, at a valuation of USD 1.9 billion. The newly raised funds are to be invested in improving MX’s capabilities, expanding its global presence, and increasing its workforce. In January 2021, MX noted that its headcount tripled over the past two years, reaching 550 staff members. The company appointed Shane Evans as interim chief executive officer (CEO) in January 2022, to prepare the company for an IPO or sale (at a valuation of over USD 5 billion) and oversee its growth.

Bankable is a banking-as-a-service (BaaS) infrastructure provider allowing financial institutions and corporations to utilize its API to integrate banking services. It provides a platform for its enterprise customers to offer modular banking services, including ledger management (process data from multiple banks to support cash management for global corporate affairs), digital banking, payment cards, and e-wallets. The company expanded its platform by <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/19662">acquiring Arex Markets </a>in June 2023, to embed working capital solutions (such as flexible invoice financing, corporate credit cards, lodged cars, and revolving credit). The company has a global presence, with operations spanning from the US to the Middle East as of January 2021. Bankable noted that the expansion of its global footprint also helps its European and US FinTech clients expand their operations internationally. Key customers and partnerships In January 2020, the company partnered with the diversified FinTech infrastructure provider <a href="https://sp-edge.com/companies/85350">Plaid </a>, which enabled Bankable’s customers to use Plaid’s tech to connect to more than 15,000 banks in the US and Europe. Funding and financialsIn April 2019, <a href="https://sp-edge.com/companies/13061">Visa </a>invested an undisclosed sum in Bankable and entered a partnership with the startup. Through the partnership, Visa members obtained access to Bankable’s platform, while Bankable used VisaNet (Visa’s electronic global payments network) to extend its international payment and banking solutions.

Bankable

Platforms that allow FinTechs to integrate banking services such as opening and maintaining accounts, facilitating card payments, etc.


Platforms that enable FinTechs to integrate a range of payment-related services such as one-time payments, subscriptions, and receipt management for domestic and cross-border transactions.


Companies that enable organizations to embed anti-money laundering (AML), identity verification, and know-your-customer (KYC) solutions.


Platforms that allow FinTechs to integrate lending services,  by typically applying AI/ML technology to a spending analysis to analyze creditworthiness.

Companies providing APIs and integrations for FinTechs to access securities markets, facilitate transactions and clearing, and provide insights to help end-users manage their finances.

May specialize in promoting inclusiveness in financial services, primarily in the investment and lending spaces

AI/ML can improve the quality of their offerings, such as using AI/ML to reduce biases

Used for payment completions, accessing banking and transaction data, and providing financial insights, among others

Meniga is a fintech company that provides a digital banking platform to help banks utilize personal finance data and consumer trends to enhance the digital experience for their customers. The platform offers various solutions, including data aggregation and enrichment technologies, personal and business finance management tools, cashback rewards, and transaction-based carbon insights. Meniga's technology enables banks to engage customers through digital channels, provide personalized insights, and explore new revenue opportunities.
As of December 2023, Meniga's products were being utilized by over 100 million banking customers across 30 countries. The company has made strategic acquisitions to strengthen its offerings, such as acquiring the Swedish rewards platform Wrapp in 2019. Meniga has offices in London, Reykjavik, Stockholm, Warsaw, Barcelona, and Singapore.

Starling Bank is a digital, mobile-only bank based in the UK, offering personal and business accounts. Founded in 2014 by former Allied Irish Banks COO Anne Boden, Starling received its banking license from regulators in July 2016. The bank operates without any physical branches and provides services entirely through its mobile app.
Starling offers various personal account options, including current accounts, joint accounts, euro accounts, and teen accounts. Its multi-currency feature allows customers to hold, send, and receive euros for free, with a 0.4% conversion fee for foreign transactions. The app provides real-time spending insights, categorized expenses, budgeting tools, and the ability to set aside money in "Virtual Change Jars." Customers can also apply for overdrafts and loans through the app.
For businesses, Starling offers digital business accounts with powerful money management tools, invoicing, tax assessment, and integration with accounting software. Businesses can also hold and transact in euros and US dollars through dedicated currency accounts.
Starling facilitates international money transfers to 36 countries in 20 currencies, with competitive exchange rates and fees. Customers can opt for direct SWIFT bank-to-bank transfers for a flat fee of GBP 5.50.
In May 2023, Starling Bank reported a record pre-tax profit of GBP 195 million, a sixfold increase from the previous year. Anne Boden stepped down as CEO but remains a non-executive director and shareholder.

Starling Bank

Aspiration is a fintech company that offers a suite of green financial services products aimed at empowering individuals and businesses to combat climate change through their everyday spending and saving activities. The company provides sustainable checking and savings accounts, credit cards, and investment accounts that are fossil fuel-free and enable customers to track their personal sustainability scores.
Aspiration's key product is the Aspiration Spend & Save account, which offers a competitive 3.00% annual percentage yield (APY) on balances up to USD 10,000 as of October 2022. This cash management account comes with a debit card, mobile check deposit, bill pay, and up to USD 2 million in FDIC insurance coverage. Aspiration also has the Redwood Fund and Redwood IRA, investment products focused on sustainable companies committed to ethnic diversity, gender diversity, ethical practices, and addressing climate change.
In April 2024, Aspiration's consumer financial services brand was spun off as a separate company called Mission Financial Partners, led by CEO Tim Newell. This move allowed Aspiration to concentrate on serving businesses through its carbon credit offerings while Mission Financial Partners focused on expanding its suite of climate-friendly consumer products like banking, credit, lending, investment, and insurance solutions. A key aspect of Aspiration's approach is planting trees, with the company claiming to have supported the planting of over 100 million trees as of April 2024.

Aspiration

Classy is a cloud-based fundraising platform offering a comprehensive suite of tools to help nonprofits create engaging online donation experiences and manage fundraising campaigns effectively. Its key features include customizable donation pages, peer-to-peer fundraising capabilities, crowdfunding campaigns, event ticketing, and integration with popular CRM systems like Salesforce.
Classy's platform provides nonprofits with the ability to design branded, mobile-responsive donation forms and fundraising pages. Organizations can accept one-time and recurring donations, as well as process payments through multiple gateways, including PayPal, Venmo, and credit cards. The platform's peer-to-peer fundraising tools empower supporters to create personal fundraising pages and share them across social media platforms, fostering a sense of community and friendly competition through features like fundraising leaderboards and team fundraising goals.
For events, Classy offers event registration, ticketing, and attendee management functionalities, streamlining the process of organizing and promoting fundraising events. The platform also supports crowdfunding campaigns, enabling nonprofits to tap into this popular form of online giving.
Classy's pricing model consists of an annual subscription fee and transaction fees for each donation processed through the platform. As of May 2024, the transaction fees stand at 2.4% + USD 0.30 for credit cards and 2.5% + USD 0.30 for PayPal/Venmo.
Key customers and partnerships
Classy has been widely adopted by nonprofits of various sizes and causes, facilitating the raising of tens of thousands of dollars for their missions. The platform has garnered praise for its user-friendly interface, robust features, and seamless integration capabilities with popular tools like Salesforce and Facebook.
Classy's partnership with Facebook has been particularly noteworthy, enabling nonprofits to leverage the social media platform's reach for peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns. This integration has streamlined the process for volunteers and supporters to raise funds on behalf of the organizations they support.

Classy

Tandem Bank is a digital challenger bank based in the UK, focused on providing environmentally-friendly financial products and services. The bank aims to help customers reduce their carbon footprint while offering competitive savings accounts, mortgages, personal loans, and home improvement financing options.
Tandem utilizes open banking technology to securely connect with customers' existing bank accounts, allowing seamless transfers into their Tandem savings accounts. The bank offers instant access savings accounts with variable interest rates up to 4.90% AER as of April 2024, as well as fixed-term savings accounts ranging from one to three years with interest rates up to 5.07% AER.
In addition to savings products, Tandem provides residential and buy-to-let mortgages, with discounts for energy-efficient properties based on their EPC (Energy Performance Certificate) ratings. The bank also offers personal loans, home loans for expenses like renovations or debt consolidation, and motor finance for used vehicles through approved dealerships.
Tandem's "Green Lending" initiatives allocate a portion of customer deposits toward financing eco-friendly home improvements such as solar panel installations and energy-efficient window replacements. In 2023, the bank facilitated over GBP 523 million in green home improvement lending, contributing to the avoidance of 74,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions.
In January 2022, Tandem acquired the consumer lender Oplo, further expanding its product offerings and solidifying its position as a "fairer, greener digital bank" in the UK market. The bank discontinued its automatic savings features in January 2021 to concentrate on developing its green banking strategy.

Tandem

Cushon is a London-based fintech company founded in 2014 that offers workplace savings and investment products, including ISAs, investment accounts, and pensions. Its key offerings include a workplace ISA, master trust pension, junior and lifetime ISAs, and a general investment account. Cushon's products are designed to be simple and user-friendly, with a mobile app that provides a personalized experience and helps engage savers with their financial goals.
Cushon's unique selling point is the "Net Zero Now" pension, launched in January 2021, which is claimed to be the world's first net zero pension. This pension aims to minimize carbon emissions from investments as much as possible and offsets any remaining emissions through carbon offsetting projects. As of April 2022, Cushon had approximately GBP 1.7 billion in assets under management, making it the fifth largest master trust pension provider in the UK. By February 2023, its assets under management had grown to GBP 1.85 billion.
In February 2023, NatWest Group acquired an 85% stake in Cushon for GBP 144 million, with the remaining equity retained by Cushon management. This acquisition allowed NatWest to offer Cushon's workplace savings and pension products to its commercial mid-market customers, enhancing its financial wellbeing services.

Cushon

Digital banks that deploy customer deposits to sustainable uses such as renewable energy projects and social housing.

Offers a platform for individuals and businesses to invest in sustainability-related companies, projects, and investment portfolios.

Solutions that allow investors to obtain sustainability-related information on their portfolios such as real-world impact (water savings, CO2 savings, etc.) and ESG-related compliance.

Companies that provide the digital infrastructure for financial institutions to offer their own sustainable finance products.

AI/ML is used to support robo advisory functions and allocate funds into ESG-based investments

Startups in this hub focus on ESG-related financial services such as sustainable investing

<div>
 British banking infrastructure provider, Meniga, has garnered EUR 15 million in Series D funding from multiple investors including Groupe BPCE, Crédito Agrícola, and Omega ehf. This elevates the total amount of funding received by Meniga to EUR 55 million.
 Meniga will apply the funds to mitigate existing debt and invest in product enhancement, with an emphasis on advancing core capabilities like Data Enrichment and Hyper Personalized Insights for the financial services industry.
 
</div>

Meniga

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