Method Financial, an Austin-based fintech company specializing in consumer-permissioned financial connectivity, has successfully raised $41.5 million in a Series B funding round. The round was led by Emergence Capital, with participation from avra, Samsung Next, and existing investors including Andreessen Horowitz, Y Combinator, and Ardent Venture Partners. This latest investment brings Method’s total funding to $60 million.
Background on Method Financial
Founded in 2021, Method Financial aims to revolutionize financial management by providing real-time, comprehensive views of consumer debts, essential for making informed financial decisions. The company’s innovative solutions seamlessly integrate with financial platforms, enhancing the user experience and driving engagement.
Method offers connectivity to consumer credit and liability accounts, enabling end-to-end refinance experiences, real-time account data access, and one-click checkout.
To date, Method has facilitated approximately 30 million passwordless account connections for 4 million consumers and has processed over $500 million in liability repayments.
Details of the Funding Round
Method Financial’s recent Series B funding round amassed $41.5 million, elevating the company’s total funding to $60 million. The round was spearheaded by Emergence Capital, a venture capital firm renowned for its investments in technology companies. Additional participation came from avra, Samsung Next, and existing investors such as Andreessen Horowitz, Y Combinator, and Ardent Venture Partners. This infusion of capital is poised to accelerate Method’s growth trajectory and bolster its suite of financial connectivity solutions.
Key Innovations and Services
Method Financial offers a developer-first API that facilitates seamless integration with over 15,000 financial institutions, providing real-time, permissioned read/write access to consumer liability accounts. This connectivity enables lenders, fintechs, and other financial entities to access comprehensive consumer debt data, facilitating services such as loan repayment, balance transfers, and automation. The company’s API supports functionalities like onboarding users, paying off balances, and account reconciliation, all through a user-friendly dashboard.
By leveraging identity-based authentication, Method ensures a frictionless user experience, resulting in a 15-30% increase in conversion rates. This approach not only enhances the efficiency of financial transactions but also strengthens security by minimizing reliance on traditional password-based systems.
Future Plans
With the newly secured funding, Method Financial plans to expedite the delivery of end-to-end loan refinance automation and broaden its scope into areas unlocked by deeper card network integrations. This includes enhancing credit card connectivity and accessing network transaction data to offer more competitive financial products and improve digital engagement solutions. The company is also gearing up to introduce new tools, as hinted by CEO and co-founder Jose Bethancourt, who mentioned a series of upcoming announcements aimed at further advancing Method’s offerings.
Broader Industry Context
The fintech industry is witnessing a surge in demand for seamless financial connectivity solutions, driven by consumers’ expectations for real-time access to their financial data. Companies like Plaid, MX, and Finicity have been at the forefront of this movement, offering platforms that connect consumers, financial institutions, and developers. Method Financial’s recent $41.5 million Series B funding round positions it as a formidable competitor in this space, aiming to enhance loan refinance automation and expand card network integrations.
Method’s approach of providing consumer-permissioned financial connectivity aligns with the industry’s shift towards more secure and user-centric data access models. By enabling consumers to grant permission for their financial data to be shared, Method not only enhances user control but also bolsters security—a critical concern in today’s digital financial landscape. This strategy not only meets current market demands but also sets a new standard for how financial data is accessed and utilized.
The company’s focus on identity-based authentication and real-time data streaming addresses the industry’s need for efficient and secure data access. As fintech continues to evolve, the emphasis on consumer-permissioned data and seamless integration will likely become even more pronounced, with Method Financial poised to play a significant role in shaping this future.
Conclusion
Method Financial’s successful Series B funding round underscores its commitment to revolutionizing financial connectivity through innovative, consumer-permissioned solutions. With plans to enhance loan refinance automation and expand card network integrations, the company is well-positioned to meet the evolving needs of the fintech industry. As the demand for secure, real-time financial data access grows, Method’s contributions are set to play a pivotal role in shaping the future of financial services.
