US neobank Current has raised $20 million in a bid to grow its user base to one million personal checking accounts.
Wellington Management Company is a first-time investor, and also joining the round is Galaxy Digital EOS VC Fund. CMFG Ventures, the venture capital arm of CUNA Mutual Group, a mutual insurance company serving credit unions and their 120 million members, joined the fundraise. In addition, QED Investors, Expa and Elizabeth Street Ventures return to fund and support the company. It has so far raised a total of $45 million.
Founded by Wall Street veteran Stuart Sopp, Current describes itself as a new kind of financial services firm, with a banking and payments platform built for the social media-driven connected world.
Its first product was a family-friendly debit card that parents can connect to their bank accounts and give to their kids, adding funds through automated or one off transfers.
Using the same core technology, Current early this year lunched Personal Checking accounts with benefits like faster direct deposits, gas hold crediting and merchant blocking without charging overdraft fees, minimum balance fees or hidden fees.
The company now claims to have 500,000 accounts and has set a mid-2020 target to reach one million users. To this end, Current has expanded its partnership with Visa to to reach more customers of varying demographics with joint marketing efforts.
“We have deep experience from Wall Street, gaming, fashion and fintech that has allowed us to approach banking in a new way to serve the majority of Americans,” says Sopp. “This funding will enable faster execution and growth on our company’s mission.”