Franq operates by matching “personal bankers” with up to 50 financial institutions—banks such as Itaú, Bradesco, and Santander, and fintechs such as —to sell their products to individuals and SMEs. They have around 7,000 of these personal bankers, says the company.
According to the Brazilian newspaper Valor Econômico, Franq’s CEO, Paulo Silva, a former executive of traditional banks, came up with the idea of creating Franq because he kept receiving resumes from financial professionals looking for jobs and, on the other hand, he saw a need for people looking for financial products and consulting services. According to the same media, 70% of Franq’s clients are individuals, while companies represent 30% of the clients.
The open banking startup based in Florianópolis, Brazil, recently raised USD $12M in a round led by Quona Capital, a fund focused on emerging market fintechs, with the participation of Globo Ventures, Broadhaven Capital, and Valor Capital Group, the latter, a VC that specializes in building bridges between Brazil and the U.S. had led last year’s US$20 million Series A round.
In a press release, Silva stated that “Franq is focused on giving consumers more access and choice and opportunities for bank agents to work independently. In addition to integrating banks, fintechs, insurers, and brokers on a single platform, we offer full support for bank 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.
