Fintech company Wise has secured $12 million in Series A funding. The firm provides business banking solutions through a unique distribution approach. Wise collaborates with existing businesses, enabling them to provide banking services directly to their customer base.

As an example, businesses operating marketplaces or e-commerce platforms connecting companies with individual clients can utilize Wise to extend banking capabilities to their partner businesses. RemoteTeam is currently employing Wise to enhance the payroll process for… distributed workforces.

e.ventures spearheaded the current investment round, with Grishin Robotics also contributing. Previous seed-stage investors Base10 Partners and Techstars are reinvesting in the company.

Wise differentiates itself from typical bank-as-a-service providers by focusing on businesses already involved in financial services but lacking the resources to offer them independently. The startup addresses a need for companies where building a full banking infrastructure represents a substantial undertaking.

Incorporating Wise into your existing product doesn’t demand extensive development work or navigating complex regulatory requirements. Rather than constructing a complete banking interface, you can simply direct your users to Wise. The fintech company also manages the necessary know-your-customer (KYC) and know-your-business (KYB) verification procedures.

With their own Wise accounts, your clients gain access to standard business banking functionalities. These include holding funds, making payments via bank transfers, debit cards, virtual cards, or checks, and receiving payments through card transactions, ACH transfers, and checks.

BBVA provides the underlying banking services, ensuring deposits are protected by FDIC insurance up to $250,000. The company also leverages Stripe for certain functionalities and relies on other infrastructure providers.

Arjun Thyagarajan, co-founder and CEO of Wise, refers to these partners as foundational components. The company maintains the flexibility to exchange these partners and integrate with alternative APIs to facilitate expansion into new geographic markets.

Notably, when you offer Wise bank accounts to your partners, you will participate in revenue sharing from deposits and interchange fees.

Looking ahead, the company intends to broaden its reach to additional countries, starting with Canada. It will also concentrate on serving specific industry sectors, such as marketplaces for telemedicine and the broader healthcare industry. This may involve developing tailored features to meet the unique needs of different customer segments.

Wise is currently in discussions with several prominent companies to establish partnerships, which are expected to drive further customer acquisition.