Brankas Secures $20M Series B Funding - Open Finance in Southeast Asia

Brankas Secures $20 Million Series B Funding

Brankas, a pioneering open banking startup focused on Southeast Asian markets, has announced a $20 million Series B funding round. This investment was spearheaded by Insignia Ventures Partners, with significant contributions from existing investors Beenext and Integra Partners.

Investor Participation

The funding round also saw participation from Visa, a partner through its 2021 Accelerator Program, alongside AFG Partners and Treasury International. The latter is a venture capital firm guided by fintech industry leaders, including Jeff Cruttenden, co-founder of Acorns, and Eli Broverman, co-founder of Betterment.

Platform Capabilities and Growth

Brankas’ platform provides access to over 10 “banking-as-a-service” embedded APIs. These APIs facilitate functionalities such as opening online bank accounts, credit scoring, identity verification, e-commerce transactions, and payments for the gig economy.

Established in 2016, the company’s core mission is to “democratize access to financial and identity data.” Its clientele encompasses traditional financial institutions, banks, and innovative fintech startups.

Rapid Expansion

The company reports a substantial 30% month-on-month growth in API usage. Currently, Brankas serves more than 40 banks and a network of over 100 enterprise customers and channel partners.

Many of its fintech partners concentrate on serving the “unbanked” population – individuals lacking traditional bank accounts or credit cards. Consequently, Brankas collaborates with financial service providers like remittance companies and e-wallet platforms.

Product Development During the Pandemic

According to co-founder and CEO Todd Schweitzer and chief of staff Bala Subramanian, Brankas strategically focused on developing new products throughout the pandemic. These innovations have experienced significant adoption within their existing markets: Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Singapore.

New Product Offerings

• Direct: Facilitates account-to-account bank transfers.
• Disburse: Enables remittances directly from accounts.
• Pay: A no-code solution for micro-businesses to accept payments.
• IPG: A platform for large financial institutions to process payments on behalf of merchants.

Data API Expansion

Brankas also expanded its data API offerings with four new solutions:

• Statement: Retrieves retail and corporate transaction data.
• Balance: Allows users to view current and average account balances.
• Income: Uses machine learning to identify income or salary details.
• Telco: Provides access to users’ telecom data.

Regulatory Landscape and Market Trends

Since its Series A funding in 2019, Brankas has observed increased regulatory support for open finance. Regulators recognize its potential to promote financial inclusion and enhance customer choice.

The rise of “banking-as-a-service” products – traditional bank offerings like savings accounts, cards, and loans embedded within third-party applications – is also accelerating. These applications include e-commerce platforms, SME account management tools, and HR/payroll software.

Even large multinational financial service providers, such as Visa, are embracing open finance, despite potential short-term disruptions to their established business models.

Cryptocurrency Integration

The mainstream cryptocurrency community is also adopting open finance, driven by growing demand for “tradefi” products that complement crypto earnings.

Future Plans and Expansion

The new funding will be allocated to the development of new APIs and the expansion of Brankas’ team, currently at 100 employees. The company intends to enhance its payments, data, and banking-as-a-service API offerings in Indonesia, the Philippines, and Thailand.

Brankas will also establish partnerships with digital banks and fintech companies in Vietnam and Bangladesh, with plans to launch services in these new markets early in the year.

Competitive Landscape

Other open finance API startups in Southeast Asia include Finantier and Finverse. Brankas differentiates itself through its regional coverage and its unique position as the sole provider of regulated payments APIs. These APIs enable direct bank transfers and remittances without intermediaries, as well as cryptocurrency payment and wallet linking APIs.

Through its partnership with Visa, Brankas facilitates open finance access for all Visa partner banks in the region and is actively developing new solutions for payments, identity verification, and data analytics.

Insignia Ventures Partners’ Perspective

Samir Chaibi, principal at Insignia Ventures Partners, stated, “We have also been impressed by Brankas’ approach to market development and their ability to launch and scale their products in a regulatory compliant manner while ensuring that developers benefit from a reliable and stable source of banking and financial data and beyond.”