Brazil-based digital bank operator Neon has received $22m in a series A round that included Propel Venture Partners, the venture capital firm funded by financial services firm BBVA.
VC firms Monashees, Quona Capital and Yellow Ventures joined Tera and investment firm Omidyar Network as the round’s other participants. It represents the largest series A round ever closed by a Brazil-based company, Neon said in a statement.
Neon runs an app-based banking service with no physical branches that offers an account and credit card to a user base of more than 600,000 customers which it aims to increase to 1 million by the end of 2018.
The company also intends to begin offering business accounts and investment products over the next few months. Propel general partner Jay Reinemann and Marcelo Lima from Monashees will join its board of directors in conjunction with the series A round.
Reinemann said: “At Propel our focus is on supporting entrepreneurial innovators who are reimagining financial services, and we believe Neon has the right approach to lead Brazil’s fintech revolution.”