Fintech startup Qapital has raised $12 million in Series A funding from investors that include Industrifonden, Northzone, Rocketship VC and Anthemis Exponential Ventures to expand its capabilities.
Over the last three years, the Qapital app has helped users set goals and save money toward those goals. The app also allows users to connect all their checking, savings, and credit card accounts to keep track of their overall financial health.
With the new funding, the company is looking to add more traditional banking features, including providing payments and adding debit cards for users. According to Qapital founder George Friedman, the idea is to bring spending and savings together in one product.
The bigger idea behind Qapital is to help drive behavioral change among its users — which is part of the reason why the company hired Dan Ariely as its Chief Behavioral Economist.
Adding debit functionality will also provide Qapital with a new revenue model, as the company will be able to make money off interchange fees. In that way, it’s not dissimilar from Chime, which is another startup with basic savings functionality that makes its money off charges its users make using a branded debit card.
It also signals a shift in the general fintech space, where a number of startups providing specific features and functionality are starting to expand their footprint of services available to users. As a result, companies with specific point solutions are beginning to converge and look more like full-service banking companies.
One example is SoFi, which recently acquired startup Zenbanx to begin offering debit and payment capabilities in addition to its existing lending business.
For Qapital, though, Friedman says the goal is for you to “allocate your paycheck optimally for what’s going to make you happier.” With spending, savings and goal-setting all together, the company will be one step closer to making that happen.
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