The company is working to create the largest team dedicated to Open Banking!
Bud, the U.K. based company that helps banks connect their apps and information to other fintech companies and investment service providers, has successfully closed a Series A funding round.
The company which has reportedly raised over $20 million has been backed up by a number of banks including HSBC, ANZ, Goldman Sachs, Investec’s INVC fund, and InnoCells(the corporate branch of Banco Sabadell).
Others to participate in the effort are Lord Fink(the former CEO of hedge fund Man Group), and 9Yards Capital.
The London-based startup launched back in 2016, started with the vision of making various financial services accessible from a single clustered interface. Now, Bud has revolved itself as a tech platform that lets banks create new apps and services that help customers manage all their merchandise within a single app, which makes them more competitive in the Open Banking/PSD2 era.
Moreover, Bud is changing the face of finance for fintechs by discovering new and smarter distribution channel for their products. It works by combining open banking data, AI perfection, and a connected marketplace to create a new age of financial experiences.
George Dunning, Bud CTO, and co-founder said,
“The work we have done with First Direct… is a showcase of features and functionalities made possible by new regulation, data science and relevant connections to fintech and banking services.”
He further added,
“We have built a number of data enrichment features using transactional data to make people’s lives that little bit easier. Connection and aggregation of people’s accounts is the standard now, so we focussed on things like increasing financial literacy. ‘Smart Balance’ is a feature that shows users what they can safely spend and ‘Goals’ help them plan ahead. Our advanced regular payment finder filters and tracks bill payments and if you can save money Bud connects you to a service that will make it happen”.
Many of these features provided by Bud is due to its ability to use data to observe patterns and behaviors. Dunning says that observing if someone is going abroad and helping them get insurance for their trip from within the app is a much better process than doing it in a traditional way.
When further asked about his other bank customers, Dunning wasn’t able to disclose any of the company’s further bank customers. “Something as simple as detecting if someone is going abroad and helping them get insurance for their trip using one of our partners from within the app is much better than if you do it the traditional way,” he said.
Bud currently works with 85 different companies including Wealthify and PensionBee to giants like Hiscox and AJ Bell.
Bud has also partnered with U.K. Government to work on Rent Recognition Challenge to create new solutions for people wishing to get on the housing solution. Dunning says that the work they are dealing in with The Treasury uses rent payments to help people increase their credit history for buying a home.
Raman Bhatia, Head of the digital bank at HSBC Retail Banking and Wealth Management said,
“Since the start of our partnership with Bud back in 2017, we’ve been impressed with the team’s approach to innovation. They have helped to shape our approach to open banking, working with us to deliver services that makes banking easier for our customers. They stand out as motivated by their mission to help people have a better relationship with financial services”.
Bud says that the investment would help them expand their team while doubling its headcount to create the “largest team dedicated to Open Banking in the world.” Its current headcount accounts to 62.
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