Montreal-based FinTech startup Mylo has raised $10 million in Series A financing for its saving and investing platform, in a round that saw a great deal of participation from Canadian financial institutions.
“This investment from important strategic partners lets us start the next phase of our mission.”
National Bank’s corporate venture capital arm, NAventures, led the round, while Desjardins Capital, Ferst Capital Partners, and Tactico made follow-on investments. This Series A brings Mylo’s total funding-to-date to $14 million. The company will use the new funds to build out new products, hire across all departments, and expand both in Canada and internationally.
“Mylo’s mission has always been to help Canadians achieve their financial goals. With over 450,000 Canadians creating accounts to save and invest on our platform in only two years, we know we’re on the right track,” said Mylo founder and CEO, Philip Barrar. “This investment from important strategic partners lets us start the next phase of our mission. Our team is focused on building innovative new products to help Canadians overcome any financial roadblocks that stand in the way of their goals.”
Mylo is a saving and investing app that aims to help Canadians achieve their financial goals by rounding up purchases and investing the spare change. The software uses machine learning in conjunction with financial and transactional data to provide personalized recommendations to help customers make informed financial choices. The app launched in July 2017 and Mylo is now focused on building more financial tools to add its suite of products. More than 450,000 Canadians have created accounts on Mylo’s platform to date.
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Prior to launch, the startup acquired Tactex Asset Management, which managed over $140 million in assets under management at the time. In January 2018, Mylo raised $2 million in seed funding from Desjardins Capital, among others. The company also previously raised $750,000 from Ferst Capital Partners in May 2017.
Barrar told BetaKit the company has been focused on executing on the company’s mission over the last 12 months, adding that a big part of that was launching the Mylo Advantage. The feature allows users to access services like Tax-Free Savings Accounts (TSFAs), Registered Retirement Savings Plans, socially responsible investing, next-day withdrawals, and cashback perks.
“We’re seeing about 90 percent of our Advantage customers actually opening up a TFSA in comparison to the 40 percent of Canadian millennials,” Barrar told BetaKit. “So it’s really about how we [can] build the best product for Canadians, and Advantage has really been able to be that core product to them.”
Barrar said receiving the support of financial incumbents has offered Mylo a great deal with regards to launching new products and building new features, but it also speaks to the vision of investors in understanding the need to be agnostic. He said, Mylo has helped users open a significant number of investment accounts in the last two years, and this success can be attributed to the fact that the startup supercharges users’ existing banking experiences.
“It really has to do with the relationship we have with the user and the fact that we are agnostic to the services that they currently use,” he said. “I think that’s part of the reason why we’ve had such huge success.”
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“We see great alignment between Mylo’s mission and our own focus on providing individuals with the digital tools they need to manage their finances,” said Igal Ohayon, director of venture capital at NAventures. “National Bank is well-positioned to support Mylo’s growth and contribute to Canada’s FinTech ecosystem, while also working to strengthen its own offering.”
Another part of the company’s goal is to expand internationally. Barrar has been travelling to Europe to explore open banking and the types of services that are available across the pond. Mylo was one of 12 Canadian startups chosen to participate in a trade mission to the UK to explore opportunities around open banking.
“We’re really excited about certain content to Europe expanding internationally. And doing so with some of the cutting edge FinTech changes that are happening worldwide including open banking.”
Image courtesy Mylo.