May 23, 2019
This week, Raisin, the Berlin-based savings and investment platform, announced plans to enter the $12.7 trillion U.S. deposits market, and named industry veteran Paul Knodel CEO of the U.S. business.
The company told Mobile Payments Today that its decision to enter the U.S. market was driven in part by the nation's rising interest rates, which present an opportunity for the Raisin to help American consumers find a more attractive way to save.
"As interest rates continue to rise in the U.S., the gap between what a typical American saver earns on their savings versus what they could get has widened significantly," Raisin founder and COO Michael Stephan told Mobile Payments Today via email. "Raisin is addressing exactly this issue and our latest financing round at the beginning of this year has enabled us to now reach out of Europe to help savers in the U.S. as well."
Earlier this month, Orange Digital Partners joined the company’s Series D funding round, which was announced in February. The $114 million round was led by existing investors, Index Ventures, PayPal, Ribbit and Thrive Capital.
Stephan said that Raisin will likely work with an FDIC-insured sponsor bank with the product offering likely to continue to focus on savings, without additional lending, checking or card products.
Knodel has 20 years experience in the industry, most recently at Wealthfront, where he led the extension of the company's product lineup into cash savings, according to a press release from Raisin. He previously held senior management and executive positions at major North American financial institutions, including Citigroup, Merrill Lynch and TD Ameritrade.
Topics: Mobile Banking, Region: Americas, Region: EMEA, Regulatory Issues
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