Financeit, a Toronto-based FinTech company offering a cloud-based point-of-sale platform, announced the closing of an equity financing round led by the merchant banking division of Goldman Sachs today. Terms of the investment were not disclosed, but Financeit CEO Michael Garrity indicated that the amount was larger than Financeit’s last round (a $13 million Series A in 2013).
“We’re thrilled that Goldman Sachs has invested in Financeit – they’re very selective in the kinds of companies they invest in,” said Garrity. “They’ve given us capital to continue and expand in Canada and the US.”
Financeit’s lending platform lets merchants offer customers real-time consumer financing through monthly payment options. Since 2011, Financeit has signed up at least 4,000 merchant partners and received more than $1 billion in loan applications. Garrity indicated that Financeit’s merchant base “grows by about a thousand new merchants a year, and we expect that to accelerate as we focus in the US.”
Beyond the growth opportunities provided by the equity investment, Garrity seemed most excited by the cachet and network an investor like Goldman Sachs carries. “They are going to be an observer on the board of directors level, and we expect they’ll be a great strategic partner in the business,” Garrity said. “Goldman Sachs have made a number of strategic investments this year with other companies in the financial space.”
“For us, to be able to have a partner like Goldman Sachs investing in the company, a strategic partner creates almost limitless upside in our target markets. We expect to double the size of the business next year alone.”
Additional reporting provided by Elena Yunusov.