Banking-as-a-service (BaaS) platforms are one of the hottest segments in the global fintech space, with upstarts like Unit and Rapyd hitting unicorn valuations and older startups such as Stripe spinning off similar services. These platforms have become popular with neobanks or upstarts in different segments trying to embed financial services into their offerings because large, incumbent banks have been relatively slow to bring their services up to speed with the pace of change in the world of tech and banking. As such, banking-as-a-service platforms see an opportunity to provide more personalized services and flexibility at less cost.
Anchor, accepted into Y Combinator’s summer batch this year as the first banking-as-a-service platform from the continent, went live with its private beta this May. Over 30 startups accessed it, including Pivo, another YC S22-backed company, Outpost Health, Dillali and Pennee. Anchor claims to be transacting several millions of dollars while growing 200% month-on-month. The startup makes revenue by charging fees and taking cuts from every billable part of the business: account issuing, money movement, savings, and deposits among others. Anchor is coming out of stealth with a $1 million+ pre-seed and making its platform public. Anchor plans to use this investment to attract the best talent, improve the company’s tech infrastructure, invest in compliance and regulatory infrastructure, and acquire customers.