All Access

Fintech Deals

Standard

Fintech Deals Alerts

Alert

Fintech Deals Thought Bubble

Thought Bubble

mustard

BFD Expert Voices - Private Credit

BFD Expert Voices

topics

politics-policy

epstein-files

donald-trump

2026-midterm-elections

immigration

behind-the-curtain

race-and-equity

technology

privacy-tech-regulation

automation-and-ai

tiktok-news

big-tech

social-media

cybersecurity

economy

social-security

inflation

tariffs

federal-reserve

jobs

transportation

business

stock-market-news

retail-news

crypto

media

elon-musk

dealmaking

health

rfk-jr

drug-prices

axios-explains-abortion

public-health

world

israel

axios-explains-ukraine

iran

russia

china

energy-climate

nuclear-energy

climate-energy-policy

climate-change

extreme-weather

alternative-energy

electric-vehicles

science

emerging-tech

biomedicine

newsletters

pittsburgh

atlanta

san-diego

charlotte

boulder

washington-dc

kansas-city

dallas

denver

detroit

des-moines

austin

boston

chicago

cleveland

columbus

houston

indianapolis

miami

nashville

new-orleans

nw-arkansas

philadelphia

phoenix

portland

richmond

salt-lake-city

san-antonio

san-francisco

seattle

tampa-bay

twin-cities

raleigh

huntsville

colorado-springs

axios-local

axios-pro

axios-live

the-axios-show

Banking as a Service provider Synctera raised an $18.6 million Series A extension led by existing backers Lightspeed and Fin Capital, the company tells Axios exclusively.

Why it matters: The funding news comes amid broader turmoil in the Banking as a Service sector.

Context: This is actually the second extension Synctera has raised since announcing its $33 million Series A round in June 2021.

The previous extension — a $15 million round led by National Bank of Canada's venture arm NAventures — was announced last March.

Following the completion of that last extension, the company expanded north and had its first Canadian customer launch in December.

Zoom in: The new funding includes participation from previous backers NAventures and Diagram, as well as new investors Banco Popular and Mana Ventures.

Along with the financing, the company announced it has hired Leigh Gross, formerly an executive at fintechs Array and Summer, as chief revenue officer.

Between the lines: Synctera again plans to use the new funds to expand its capabilities internationally, recently signing LatAm investment bank BTG Pactual as a customer.

Through that partnership, BTG Pactual will be able to offer U.S.-based bank accounts to its international wealth management clients.

Synctera also has struck a deal with African payments startup Flutterwave to broaden its capabilities in the U.S.

What they're saying: "What's happening right now is a game of who's going to survive the bad sentiment curve and get back on the other side," Synctera CEO Peter Hazlehurst says.

Hazlehurst adds that Synctera has significantly raised the bar for potential customers to qualify for partnership with the company.

"At the start, we were onboarding folks with half a million to a million dollars of fundraising," he says. "Now the minimum bar is $5 million, which is obviously significantly different."

The bottom line: As it seeks to partner with more international firms that want to offer U.S.-based services, compliance is key to making those programs work.

"You can't cut any corners, and the onboarding flows — whether they're in the U.S. or Brazil or Mexico or wherever — have to be consistent and meet the minimum bar of the United States' regulatory regime," Hazlehurst says.

State of play: While Synctera is announcing new financing and partnerships, other players in the BaaS market are struggling.

Synapse laid off staff last fall, was sued by one of its largest clients, Mercury, and was kicked off banking partner Evolve Bank.

Solid (also an Evolve partner) was also sued in the fall by its Series B investor FTV Capital, which claims the company's founders lied about their revenue numbers and customer churn.

Blue Ridge Bank, Choice Bank and Lineage Bank have all been hit with consent orders or enforcement actions related to their BaaS programs.

Treasury Prime laid off staff last month as it pivots away from selling to fintechs and focusing instead on solely offering its middleware to banks who would directly manage their own fintech partnerships.

Exclusive: Synctera raises $18.6M for international expansion

An $18 million funding comes amid sector turmoil.

Illustration of a hand holding a bank building.

Fintech

Banking as a Service provider Synctera raised an $18.6 million Series A extension led by existing backers Lightspeed and Fin Capital, the company tells Axios exclusively.Why it matters: The funding news comes amid <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="broader turmoil" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/pro/fintech-deals/2023/06/15/fintechs-banking-as-a-service-sector-struggles" data-vars-content-id="e0cdbafa-6928-441d-983d-b2a451de0a76" data-vars-headline="Exclusive: Synctera raises $18.6M for international expansion" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/pro/fintech-deals/2023/06/15/fintechs-banking-as-a-service-sector-struggles" target="_self">broader turmoil</a> in the Banking as a Service sector.

Exclusive: Synctera raises $18.6M for international expansion

What to read next