Data-driven fintech firm Klover today announced the close of $60 million in new funding. Mercato Partners Traverse Fund led the Series A with participation from new and existing investors including Lightbank, Core Innovation Capital and Starting Line. With this financing, Klover will expand the sales, marketing, engineering and product teams, grow their 1.5 million user base, and broaden the services and value to their consumers.
Founded by a team of ad-tech veterans, Klover provides access to app-based, low-cost/no-cost financial services by letting users capture the benefit of their permissioned data rather than having it taken by anonymous tech firms. Lowering the cost of access now means millions more underbanked consumers can access financial services and tools that were previously out of reach.
“We believe consumers’ data is an extremely valuable asset and should be used to their benefit,” Klover co-founder and CEO Brian Mandelbaum said. “We provide consumer empowerment by allowing Americans to opt to share data and unlock meaningful access to cash and savings in return.”
More than 68 per cent of Americans need to exceed their checking account balance at least once a year due to unexpected expenses like car repairs or medical bills. When that happens, many Americans experience a double whammy as they also incur either an average overdraft fee of $35 from their bank or high interest and fees from credit card companies and payday lenders.
“In this rapidly changing environment, permissioned consumer data is critically valuable to agencies and brands,” said Joe Kaiser, director at Mercato Partners Traverse Fund. “Klover has flipped an opaque business model on its head with their unique blend of consumer data activation and app-based financial services for an underserved community. Klover is an ideal partner for the consumer because of their rigorous commitment to data privacy and little to no fees.”
Rather than being built on consumer fees, Klover’s business model revolves around leveraging data and insights with trusted partners such as Wayfair, DoorDash, and GoodRx.