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BFD Expert Voices - Private Credit

BFD Expert Voices

Diogo Mónica, co-founder of crypto custodian Anchorage Digital, is joining Haun Ventures as only its second general partner, Dan Primack reports exclusively.

Why it matters: Haun Ventures is one of crypto's most active investors, and  Mónica's background should enhance the firm's credibility with entrepreneurs.

The Silicon Valley firm was founded in early 2022 by Katie Haun, a former federal prosecutor and Andreessen Horowitz partner.

It's currently investing out of both a $500 million early-stage fund and a $1 billion token and growth-stage fund, with no plans to raise new capital this year.

Behind the scenes: Mónica and Haun met seven years ago in a San Francisco coffee shop, when he was first thinking about launching Anchorage and she was not yet at Andreessen Horowitz.

Andreessen Horowitz would later invest in both Anchorage and its rival Coinbase, where Haun sits on the board of directors.

Anchorage, the only federally chartered crypto bank, will continue to be run by fellow co-founder and CEO Nathan McCauley. Mónica will become executive chairman of Anchorage.

What they're saying: "I've invested in over 100 companies as an angel investor and now want to professionalize what's been a side hustle," Mónica explains. "I don't think of it as leaving Anchorage, because I'll still be helping the team on things like strategy and hiring executives."

Haun adds: "My goal was never to be a solo GP. Diogo brings us something entirely new, because he's a founder with a deeply technical profile."

1 big thing: Diogo Mónica joins Haun Ventures

Picture of Haun Ventures General Partner Diogo Monica

AccessPay, which pitches itself as a payments-focused Plaid for mid-size businesses, raised a $16 million Series C, the company tells Lucinda exclusively.

Why it's the BFD: In the post-zirp world, fintech funding has flowed predominantly to fintechs selling to businesses rather than consumer-facing companies.

Driving the news: The U.K.-based company, which crossed $10 million in ARR last year, also raised $8 million in debt funding.

True Ventures led the round, with participation from Praetura Ventures, NatWest, Mastercard, Route 66 Ventures and Beringea.

How it works: Using APIs — the same technology that underlies Plaid —  AccessPay allows customers to link their back ends directly to their banks.

Used by organizations including Amnesty International and Sainsbury's Bank, customers can automate payments directly from their systems, reconcile data into their preferred software, or power their own B2B products on top of AccessPay.

Customers, most of whom are in the U.K., can use a single AccessPay platform to see various accounts and check overall financial health.

What they're saying: "There's a much higher level of security and control around the types of [payments] data that need to be supported for larger organizations," CEO Anish Kapoor says.

Financial institutions worldwide have been migrating to a new messaging standard — ISO 20022 — which will allow for real-time payments.

"The common theme here is that there's much richer data being sent across the payment rails for things like enhanced financial crime monitoring, screening and compliance purposes," he says.

Context: Plaid, which is largely focused on cases where a consumer initiates the data transfer (for example Chime), has expanded into cases where businesses initiate.

Etsy, for instance, uses Plaid to pay its small-business customers.

What's next: AccessPay plans to expand aggressively in the U.S with the new capital.

It will continue to focus on mid-size businesses, those with about $20 million to $1 billion in annual revenue.

2. The BFD: $16M for MSB-focused AccessPay

Illustration of Ben Franklin peeking out from behind a vault door

💳 How credit card debt has become a burden for Joe Biden (FT)

Delinquencies on credit card loans are running at their highest level in almost 13 years. Republicans have seized on credit card debt as a sign that Biden's economic policies have triggered a cost-of-living crisis.

🌇 The era of no-brainer 5% returns on cash is ending (WSJ)

As the Fed weighs rate cuts, 5% returns on cash may no longer be common. Fintechs and community banks have relied on such high yields to attract new customers in recent years.

🏛️ Genesis agrees to pay $21M penalty to settle SEC charges (The Block)

The civil penalty is part of a settlement over charges the company engaged in the unregistered offer and sale of securities through its Gemini Earn program. Payment to the SEC will only follow the payment of all allowed claims by the bankruptcy court.

3. Credit score

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Go deeper into our full database with the Axios Pro Deals Tracker.

• Solaris, a German Banking as a Service startup, raised €96m in Series F funding led by SBI Group. https://axios.link/3TRLZXz

• Addi, a Colombia-based BNPL app, raised $36m in equity from Union Square Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz and GIC Private. The company also raised $50m from Goldman Sachs Group. https://axios.link/3INx2iN

• Marmalade, a Melbourne-based invoice payment platform, raised $16m led by CEO Luke Trickett's investment group, Blue Stamp Co. Paloma Capital also participated. https://axios.link/3TrhVQN

• Winible, an Austin, Texas-based sports betting monetization startup, raised $6m in seed funding led by Inspired Capital. www.winible.com

• Keyring, a London-based crypto compliance company, raised $6m. Gumi Cryptos Capital and Greenfield Capital led the seed round with participation from Motier Ventures and Kima Ventures. https://axios.link/3x9L8Z0

• D Squared Capital-backed Railsr offered to merge with Equals Group, a U.K.-listed B2B payments company valued at over £200m. Madison Dearborn Partners is also examining Equals. https://axios.link/3IM4EgO

4. Deals!

• Geri Cupi is launching Wingpay, a "circular economy" fintech, shortly after shutting down payments startup Twig, which had raised £32m from investors before folding this year with debts of £15.4m, per Tech.eu. https://axios.link/3VmplHT

• Michael Bremer was named CEO at Calque. He previously led CoreLogic's flood insurance product line. https://axios.link/498f5WO

• Hana Rolles was named UK CEO of Paynetics. She was previously CRO. https://axios.link/3va31Xj

• Markus Wirtz has been hired at Truist from Bank of America to advise on asset-management dealmaking. https://axios.link/4czm3XY

• Michael Callahan joined Silver Creek Capital Management as a managing director of business development. He previously was with Investcorp. www.silvercreekcapital.com

• Derek Ellington, most recently EVP and head of small-business banking for Wells Fargo, joined Uplinq as a strategic adviser. https://axios.link/4925kto

5. It's personnel

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To play, go to the ESPN Men's Tournament Challenge page and log in to your account or sign up for free.

Click on the Groups option, and search for the Axios Pro Rata group or go direct via this link. The password is: Deals

💻 @Lucinda would love it if her computer stopped freezing.

📷 @Ryan is patiently waiting for his back-ordered Fujifilm X100VI to arrive.

Thanks to George Moriarty and Rob Reinalda for today's edits.

And thanks to you for reading this edition of Fintech Deals. Please tell your fintech friends about this newsletter. They can sign up here.

March 20, 2024

1 big thing: Diogo Mónica joins Haun Ventures