Intro
Banking used to move slow — paperwork, approvals, branches that closed at five.
Now it’s moving at the speed of APIs, AI models, and fintech rails.
In 2025, funding in the global banking technology sector crossed $15 billion, led by companies redefining how consumers, SMBs, and enterprises handle money. These startups aren’t just “neo-banks” anymore — they’re building modular finance systems, embedded-banking infrastructure, and compliant rails for a borderless economy.
Here are the 10 banking startups raising serious capital this year and setting the tone for the decade ahead.
1. Monzo (UK / Europe) — “The neo-bank maturing with momentum”
Founders: Tom Blomfield, Gary Dolman, Jonas Huckestein, Paul Rippon, Jason Bates
Funding & Investors: Raised $430 million in Series I round (2025), led by CapitalG and GV (Alphabet), backed by Passion Capital and Tencent.
Why they stand out: Scaling from consumer banking to SME and wealth management segments with profitability in sight.
Next moves: U.S. market re-entry and partnership with embedded finance players.
2. Zolve (India / USA) — “Cross-border banking without borders”
Founders: Raghunandan G (founder of TaxiForSure)
Funding & Investors: Raised $100 million Series B (2025), led by DST Global and Tiger Global.
Why they stand out: Helps expats and immigrants access U.S. banking from day one. Operating in 200+ countries with visa and credit card rails.
Next moves: European expansion and co-branded partnerships with global banks.
3. WeLab (Hong Kong) — “Asia’s digital bank that’s already profitable”
Founders: Simon Loong (CEO), Kelly Wong
Funding & Investors: Raised $260 million Series D from Sequoia China and ING Bank Ventures.
Why they stand out: One of the few licensed digital banks in Asia showing consistent profits.
Next moves: Expanding digital lending operations into Indonesia and Vietnam.
4. Ramp (USA) — “Corporate cards that think like finance teams”
Founders: Eric Glyman, Gene Lee, Karim Atiyeh
Funding & Investors: Raised $150 million Series E in 2025 from Khosla Ventures, Thrive Capital, and Founders Fund; valuation ~$7 billion.
Why they stand out: The fastest-growing corporate card platform for SMBs and enterprises with AI expense automation.
Next moves: Expand to Europe and launch working-capital suite.
5. N26 (Germany / Europe) — “Rebuilding trust in European neo-banking”
Founders: Valentin Stalf, Maximilian Tayenthal
Funding & Investors: $200 million extension in Series E (2025), led by Third Point Ventures and Dragoneer.
Why they stand out: Transitioning from growth to profit phase while tightening compliance after a volatile 2023–24.
Next moves: Introduce N26 Business Credit and N26 Invest for European SMEs.
6. Zeroh (Bahrain / Middle East) — “MENA’s next-gen digital banking platform”
Founders: Saeed Al-Hassan (COO), Fatima Al-Humaidi (CEO)
Funding & Investors: Raised $75 million Series A in 2025 led by STV (Saudi Tech Ventures) and 500 Global.
Why they stand out: Focused on SME banking and B2B payment rails for the GCC region.
Next moves: Launch UAE operations, expand to cross-border payments and FX hedging tools.
7. Tuum (Estonia / Europe) — “Core banking as a service for the modern fintech stack”
Founders: Vilve Venesaar, Aivar Kallas, Rivo Uibo
Funding & Investors: Raised €25 million Series B (2025) from Portage and BlackRock Fintech Fund.
Why they stand out: Provides modular core banking platforms to digital banks across Europe and Africa.
Next moves: Scale U.K. and Nordic partnerships and extend into the Middle East.
8. M1 Finance (USA) — “Banking meets automated investing”
Founders: Brian Barnes (CEO)
Funding & Investors: Raised $150 million Series E from SoftBank Vision Fund and Bain Capital Ventures.
Why they stand out: Hybrid between a neobank and investment app with auto-invest and credit features.
Next moves: Expand high-yield account and AI-driven personal finance advisory.
9. Clearing Bank (UK) — “Infrastructure for instant payments and reg-tech”
Founders: Charles McManus (CEO)
Funding & Investors: Raised £100 million Series C (2025) from Apax Partners and Barclays Ventures.
Why they stand out: One of the few fully regulated UK banks building wholesale real-time payments and clearing APIs.
Next moves: Expand U.S. infrastructure partnerships and integrate open-banking products.
10. Fi Money (India) — “Banking built for digital natives”
Founders: Sujith Narayanan, Sumit Gwalani (both ex-Google Pay)
Funding & Investors: Raised $90 million Series C (2025), led by Peak XV (Sequoia India) and B Capital.
Why they stand out: Delivers gamified banking and personal-finance tools for young consumers in India.
Next moves: Credit products, SME accounts, and co-branded credit cards with global banks.
How to Identify a Future-Proof Banking Partner
- Regulatory readiness — licensing, compliance, KYC/AML maturity
- APIs and interoperability — can they connect with existing core banking or payment rails?
- Funding structure — who backs them and how stable are those investors?
- Scalability — beyond pilot stage to multi-market operations
- Customer focus — consumer and enterprise UX clarity
- Profit path — real unit economics over hype
Final Thoughts
Every one of these banking startups proves a simple idea — financial infrastructure can be rebuilt from the ground up if you design for speed and trust together.
And when funding flows in, the real challenge begins: positioning, market expansion, and partnership execution.
At McArrows, we work with fintech and banking innovators at this critical junction — where product maturity meets growth pressure. From strategy and design to outreach and sales enablement, our team helps high-growth companies turn funding momentum into scalable traction.
If you’re building or backing the next generation of banking platforms, this is your moment to scale smarter.
