Improving the experience for vulnerable customers should be the top of the financial services industry‘s agenda. Many organisations are coming up with various measures towards ensuring that all customers – no matter what their personal circumstances, receive fair and sensitive treatment.
Based out of London, Pockit provides financial services to vulnerable customers – those typically ignored by high street banks – including a prepaid debit card, international money transfers, and direct debits.
Raised £15 million in Series B funding
Recently, the fintech company secured a £15 million Series B funding round from existing investors and some new investors. Till now, the company has raised a total of £27 million in funding and is backed by established investors who previously have supported the successful growth of, among others, Spotify, Bolt, Funding Circle, Houst, and Wheely.
Crowdfunding for customers and investors
The company also provided its customers and supporters an opportunity to invest through a crowdfunding round of £500K. Investors in the crowdfunding campaign, hosted by Crowdcube, will receive a Convertible Loan Note, with an 8% annual interest. The money raised in this round will be matched by the Future Fund.
“Launching a crowdfunding campaign has been an ambition of ours for some time,” said Virraj Jatania CEO & Founder of Pockit. “Since its launch, Pockit has helped over half a million customers to take control of their financial affairs, many of whom never previously had a current account that let them shop online or make contactless payments. The time to accelerate is right now; the COVID recession and the end of furlough schemes will disproportionately affect the financially underserved. Some 12 million people in the UK need a solution urgently, and we believe Pockit is that solution.”
“This investment round provides the perfect opportunity for our loyal customers to join our established investors and own a piece of Pockit,” he added.
Open a current account in a minute
As per the company’s claims, users can open a current account in a minute. With a Pockit contactless prepaid Mastercard customers can send and receive money, make payments online and in store. They can also send money abroad to over 29 countries.
Last month also saw the successful migration of the payment services and functions that underpin the Pockit accounts and operations to PayrNet Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Railsbank. This move fulfills Pockit’s commitment, made during the summer of 2020, to complete an orderly transition to a new UK-based payments provider that can provide scalability and reliability of Pockit’s service.
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