Z1, a Brazilian neobank focused on offering digital accounts and a linked prepaid card to teenagers and young adults, secured $10 million in Series A funding just six months after taking in $2.5 million. Kaszak led the latest round and was joined by existing investors MAYA Capital, Homebrew, Clocktower and The Chainsmokers. Going after new capital so soon was not on the company’s radar. The new capital will enable Z1 to increase its employees in areas like engineering, product, marketing, and customer experience, with plans to go from 60 to over 100 within the next three months. That additional manpower will provide support as the company aims to grow 10 times over the next 12 months and add new features to enhance the financial inclusion and literacy of customers. Along with the announcement of the new funding, the company also said it would begin to offer its core banking experience for free. It had been charging a monthly subscription fee of $2 per month.
The Brazilian Central Bank launched PIX, an instant payments system where individuals and organizations can send and receive money instantly through an identification number, phone number or email for free, a service that he likened to “a government-built version of Venmo. PIX use among Gen Z (and consequently Z1 users) is higher than that of older generations, as the convenience and social aspect of sending and receiving money through PIX have been heavily explored by younger users. Generation Z is already the largest generation in the world today, representing about 30% of the Brazilian and world population.