Fintech firm Plaid Technologies raises $44M in Series B funding

San-Francisco based, Plaid Technologies, a financial service software provider has raised $44 million in Series B funding round led by Goldman Sachs Investment Partners. New Enterprise Associates (NEA) was the other participant in the round, which made its first investment in the company in 2013 and led the company’s Series A. Plaid enables applications to connect with users’ bank accounts and helps fintech (financial technology) startups raise the infrastructure they need to access customer data. The investment fuels the company’s aim to build a user-friendly way to capture payment details, authenticate accounts, validate identities and check balances for users. And will act as a boost for apps and websites that use Plaid. Its suite of Application Programming Interface (APIs) and “state-of-the-art software” provides the tools and resources to developers. Including transaction data to bank accounts, authentication tools and comprehensive analytics to reduce fraud, claims the company. This fundraising, says the company, will be used to enhance existing tools and technology, by deeper integrations with financial institutions like banks and access to data withheld. It also eyes expansion into international markets. The company has now secured a sum of around $60 million in its quest to ensure access to customer data. Zach Perret, CEO and co-founder, Plaid, said, “We’re at the beginning of what promises to be an exciting few years in financial services.”

“The pace of innovation in financial services is just starting to ramp up, and we’re excited to collaborate with financial institutions, incumbents, and new startups to build the tools that consumers and businesses need to live better financial lives. As the platform upon which thousands of applications are now built, we’re excited to use this new capital to continue to scale our operations.”

Founded in 2012, it claims to provide a technology platform that enables applications like Venmo, Gusto, OptionsHouse, TransferWise, and Charitywater to connect with their users’ bank accounts. The products are available for use and are free up to 100 user accounts. Christopher Dawe, Co-head of the venture capital and growth equity team at Goldman Sachs Investment Partners, stated, “Plaid is leading the way in making the next generation of financial technology possible by serving as the data layer between financial institutions and applications. In a short amount of time the company has reached millions of end users across a variety of applications, which exemplifies the power of data network effects and scale advantages. We are excited to partner with Plaid and support the business as it continues to enable financial innovation.”