According to the executive chairman, the recent Snoop funding would be used to expand the company’s global reach with the US already identified as a target.
According to reports, Snoop has completed a Series A funding round led by US hedge fund Paulson & Co. The money management app now has a post-market valuation of GBP47 million ($65 million) after securing the funds. This recent development comes after a successful crowdfunding campaign back in September 2020 where Snoop raised GBP10 million with help from the Future Fund. It is worth noting that this 2020 fundraising was Europe’s second-largest that year. Since its inception just over a year ago, the money-saving app has continued to attract new investors and has seen its market capitalization increase accordingly.
Founded in April 2020, Snoop is an award-winning money management app that guides its users to effectively managing their funds through custom money-saving insights. These insights are personalized to the financial preferences and goals of each user. In addition, the Norwich-based fintech claims to have delivered over GBP 3 million in money-saving and management insights to customers. This has led to average user savings of around GBP1500 per year.
The Snoop-Paulson Partnership
Executive Chairman and company founder Dame Jayne-Anne Gadhia recently announced the development at the AltFi Festival of Finance. Gadhia, who is also the former CEO of Virgin Money, suggested that the funding will help expand its global reach. She enthused about the partnership with Paulson as proof that open banking growth is a viable opportunity within the financial sector. Gadhia said the US is a key target for product distribution and extension. She also stated that the company has started attracting larger financial heavyweights across Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. The funding Snoop received would help actualise this goal.
Paulson partner, Andrew Hoine, also shares Gadhia’s enthusiasm. He sees Snoop as a major leader to drive the growth of open banking in the financial sector and is optimistic about the possibilities of the new partnership.
Paulson & Co. is one of the many major players in the investment management space that has begun to tap into the possibilities of digital finance. Other existing investors include The Havisham Group, Sir Lloyd Dorfman, and Pierre Lagrange. SalesForce Ventures and members of the Snoop management team round out the group.
Snoop Funding and Open Banking
A big part of Snoop’s allure is its banking and sophisticated algorithm that enables users to find and maximize the best possible money-saving opportunities. Fintech also spots the right moment for clients to make a move by providing comprehensive and insightful data metrics. The open banking technology syncs to a customer’s bank accounts and credit cards, filtering for spending habits. Extraneous subscriptions and purchases are just some of the information Snoop provides its users. Reportedly, these spending habits cost the UK about GBP12 billion every year.
Open banking is highly integral to the growth of fintechs in the UK, with usage among an estimated three million people. Snoop also has an estimated annual rate of two million new users. Currently, Snoop services 50 banks and processes about 300 million daily transactions worth GBP32 billion – in its second year.
Notably, the exponential growth of open banking has not gone unnoticed outside of the UK. In the US, President Biden has issued an Executive Order to fast-track the growth of open banking in the nation.
Snoop recently won the ‘Best Innovation’ category at the British Bank Awards for 2021. Furthermore, the company plans to continue consolidating its position in the fintech industry.