FinTech Neon Raises $80M to Expand Product Access

Brazilian digital banking fintech firm Neon announced on Thursday (July 21) that it has raised $80 million in its first Credit Rights Investment Fund (FIDC) focused on credit cards, bringing its total fund to $170 million, a figure expected to double, according to a press release.

The capital management platform Empírica is responsible for managing the new fund, the release states.

“The financing confirms the strength and positive history that we have built in the management of the credit portfolio in recent years,” said Jamil Marques, Neon’s CFO. “Today, our credit engine is mature and the FIDC resources will give us the strength to continue growing our portfolio in a sustainable and balanced manner over the long term.

“The focus continues to be on the Brazilian worker, and always with the mission to reduce inequalities by building pathways to credit.”

Earlier this year, Neon raised more than $40 million for its private payroll-deductible Credit Rights Investment Fund.

“We are excited about this partnership that began in the first months of the year as a one-time investment in another Neon FIDC, focused on private payday loans,” Giuliano Longo, managing partner for business expansion at Empírica, said in the release. He noted that Empírica can increase its investments as the fund grows.

“Based on this positive experience, we expanded our relationship to take over the management of the credit card fund,” Longo continued. “The intention is to provide more comfort and security to investors, including ourselves who, via funds of funds managed by us, contributed a total of $20 million to Neon. This shows an alignment of interests with the other investors in this fund.”

Earlier this week, PYMNTS wrote that UK-based banking fintech firm BankiFi landed in North America with the debut of BankiFi Americas, a move that supports the digitization and payment modernization demands of small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs).

Related: BankiFi Americas is launched in the USA with a focus on Small Business Banking

BankiFi’s open cash management platform allows financial institutions to embed a solution that can be adapted to the needs of SME customers. The company said digital workflows can help collect payments, automate data integration with accounting platforms and provide insights into working capital optimization.