Neo Financial is en route to becoming a challenger bank after its highly successful loyalty and card products.

Canadian fintech Neo Financial has raised US$145 million dollars in its latest funding, and attained unicorn status after achieving a valuation of over $1 billion. The new financing round was led by Valar Ventures and saw participation from Tribe Capital, Altos Ventures, Blank Ventures, Gaingels, Maple VC, and Knollwood Advisory. (Finovate)

Founded in 2019, Neo Financial’s aim is to make Canadians’ financial lives easier by offering new and user-friendly banking products. Its one million customers use:

• the Neo Credit Card, a cash-back credit card issued by ATB Financial and backed by the MasterCard network
• the Neo high-interest savings account provided by Concentra Bank
• Neo Invest — Canada’s first actively managed, fully digital investment vehicle

A new mortgage product is also on the anvil.

In an interview with CTV News, founder Andrew Chau said: “For us, we’ve always been trying to go against the grain, to truly reimagine financial institutions. And the best way to do that is to avoid that groupthink and have a fresh new perspective.”

Solid growth

A few growth milestones over the previous year include a doubling of its team to more than 650 people at its Canadian offices; its Neo Card was judged the best cashback card in Canada; and the Neo Money account was voted the best bank account in Canada.

Additionally, Neo set up partnerships with over 7,000 businesses across Canada including Home Depot, Hudson’s Bay, Goodfood, H&R Block, Boston Pizza, and others.

“The pace at which this team releases new products and grows its customer base is among the fastest we have seen in our careers,” said Andrew McCormack, a founding partner of Valar Ventures, in a release.

Related Story: Israeli Fintech Tipalti (“I Handled It”) Nabs $270M At $8.3B Valuation