Franq, a Brazilian Fintech from ‘Personal Bankers’, has raised US$12 million

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Franq, an open banking startup based in Florianópolis, Brazil, has raised US$12 million in a round led by Quona Capital, a fund focused on fintech in emerging markets. Also participating in the round were Globo Ventures, Broadhaven Capital and Valor Capital Group, the latter a VC that specializes in building bridges between Brazil and the US and led last year’s US$20 million Series A round.

Founded in 2019, Franq works by connecting “personal bankers” with up to 50 financial institutions – banks such as Itaú, Bradesco and Santander, and fintech companies such as – to sell its products to individuals and SMEs. They have about 7,000 of these personal bankers, the company says.

According to the Brazilian newspaper Valor Econômico, the CEO of Franq, Paulo Silva, a former executive of traditional banks, came up with the idea to create Franq because he was constantly receiving resumes from financial professionals looking for work, and on the other hand, he saw a need for people, seeking financial products and consulting services. According to the same media, 70% of Franq’s customers are individuals, while companies represent 30% of customers.

In a press release, Silva stated that “Franq is focused on providing more access and choice to consumers and opportunities for bank agents to work independently. In addition to integrating banks, fintech companies, insurers and brokers on one platform, we offer full support for banking agents to get started with technology, training, content, marketing and accounting advice and support from product specialists.”

According to the company, the capital will be used for technology and team growth.