AAA Deutsche Börse pulls out its purse for Figo series B

Deutsche Börse pulls out its purse for Figo series B

Germany-based fintech platform Figo has secured €6.8m ($7.2m) in a series B round featuring DB1 Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of securities exchange provider Deutsche Börse.

DB1 Ventures said it is paying a “seven-digit amount for a significant minority stake”. The investment firm will also serve as a strategic partner, providing Figo with greater visibility in the financial services sector.

Founded in 2012, Figo is the developer of a banking-as-a-service platform that aims to offer consumers a single secure account for all their personal financial data.

The platform connects 3,100 sources of finance – such as banks, credit cards, payment services and securities accounts – with more than 55 million users in Germany and Austria.

Figo is looking to capitalise on the European Union’s revised Directive on Payment Services (PSD2), which was adopted in October 2015 and provides the legal basis for a single market for payments in the EU, to grow its business in Europe.

In addition, Figo plans to use the capital it has raised to increase its product offerings to take advantage of PSD2 and other regulatory changes.

Other Figo investors include public-private partnership High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF), which participated in a “seven-figure” round in November 2015 alongside Carlo Koelzer, founder of professional e-trading platform 360T, and Jörg Heilig, vice-president of engineering at search engine giant Google.

Ankur Kamalia, managing director and head of venture portfolio management at DB1 Ventures, said: “The Figo team led by [CEO] André Bajorat has made clear the opportunities that exist for virtually every player in the financial sector and the enormous potential that PSD2 implementation offers to European industry.

“In a changing financial landscape, Figo has established itself as a reliable partner and has built up a fantastic fintech ecosystem around itself. We look forward to supporting their growth and also learning from the innovation they are driving.”

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *