Romanian startup FintechOS raises $60M to help old banks fight back against neobanks

Over the years, fintech startups, particularly neobanks, have thrown a cat among the pigeons in banking and finance by building whole new banking software stacks. But a startup out of Romania decided to build tools that help older banking and insurance companies provide the newer features and products offered by the new upstarts. 

FintechOS’ low-code platform has now raised a $60 million “Series B+” investment round led by BlackRock, Cipio Partners and Molten Ventures. FintechOS raised $14 million in 2015 and $60 million in 2021.

This is yet another sign, following the breakout hit of UIPath, that companies from Romania can make it to the international stage without US VCs.

Co-founder and CEO Teo Blidarus told me the company plans to use the funding to scale up internationally. “We can work side by side with the existing core infrastructure of a company,” he said. “So that allows you to get 95% of the transformation without the open heart surgery that the new core replacement will require. Then the consultants and the business people can create those new types of financial products and services by themselves.”

FintechOS competes with other companies such as Ncino, Meridian Link, Abrigo and Backbase, but he said his company is different “because we work across multiple product lines. We work across the full spectrum of products, from deposits to lending to mortgages, to insurance wealth. So our ability to transform is broader.”

Key customers for FintechOS include Société Générale, Admiral, Benenden Health, Avant Money and Vibrant Credit Union across the U.S., U.K., Continental Europe and APAC. 

“FintechOS is at the forefront of transforming financial services through innovative technology,” Molten Ventures partner Vinoth Jayakumar said in a statement. “Its track record with major banks and insurers demonstrates a rare ability to drive significant change within these organizations.”

Existing investors EarlyBird VC, Gapminder VC and OTB VC also participated in this round.