Fintech startup Brankas raises US$20m Series B funds led by Insignia

BRANKAS, a Singapore-based startup providing financial institutions, fintechs and online businesses with API-based solutions, has raised US$20 million in Series B funding led by early-stage investor Insignia Ventures Partners.

The round was joined by Brankas' existing backers Beenext and Integra Partners. Other investors are payments giant Visa, AFG Partners and Treasury International, which is backed by fintech entrepreneurs Jeff Cruttenden of Acorns and Eli Broverman of Betterment.

Founded in 2016, Brankas specialises in enabling access to financial and identity data, payments initiation and other developer tools. Besides Singapore, it operates in Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam. Following the fund-raising, it is looking to deepen its payments, data and API product menu in Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand. (API stands for Application Programming Interface, a software intermediary that enables two applications to talk to each other.)

The company has worked with non-bank players like remittance companies and e-wallets to offer open finance solutions. Use cases include use digital banking, online credit scoring, e-commerce and gig economy payments.

Brankas was also among the five participants in Visa's 2021 Accelerator Programme, jointly developing a digital credit card issuance proposition using Visa's data capabilities.

Todd Schweitzer, chief executive of the startup, said: "2021 has been a breakout year for Brankas, enabling financial institutions and companies to partner in new ways, and offering unprecedented choice and access for South-east Asia consumers."

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Brankas now has more than 100 staff in 17 countries, and is looking to double its headcount. The startup is also set to announce partnerships with digital banks and fintechs in Vietnam and Bangladesh.

Samir Chaibi, principal at Insignia Ventures Partners, said: "We are thrilled to partner with a team with a world-class API-driven infrastructure built across key South-east Asian markets to serve the largest fintech players as they scale."