Last week saw two fintechs completing their second rounds of funding in 2021, with plans for expansion in key growth markets and technological advancements. Here are the Bank Automation News highlights.

Rapyd

Payments-as-a-service platform Rapyd secured $300 million in funding for the second time this year, most recently in a series B funding led by Target Global. In January, the Israel-based company landed $300 million in a series D financing round led by Coatue.

The deal, announced last week, brings the fintech’s total funding to $770 million in six rounds, according to Crunchbase.

Payment companies have been popular with investors this year, with payments firm SaltPay raising $478 million and payment platform and unicorn company Checkout.com drawing in $450 million.

London-based Rapyd plans to use the money to make strategic acquisitions for expansion in key growth markets, according to a statement issued by the company.

“We will continue to expand our presence across high-growth markets in Europe, Asia-Pacific, the U.S., and Latin America, where Rapyd’s platform can support businesses looking to grow internationally,” Arik Shtilman, co-founder and CEO of Rapyd, said in a statement. “We are doubling down on our channel partnerships strategy, strengthening our footprint across major high-growth markets, and exploring additional acquisitions that serve our strategic goals.”

The increased popularity of payment fintechs makes sense given the global rise in digital payment volumes and the complexity of the payment ecosystem, Stephen Greer, senior analyst at research and advisory firm Celent, told BAN.

“A lot of new entrants are looking to plug into the payments ecosystem but it’s too hard for many of them to do it alone,” Greer said. “With the rise of embedded finance, it’s much easier to access traditional financial services through APIs, so you’ve had a huge surge in companies like these. Galileo, Marqeta, Railsbank, Modulr, etc. The future of fintech is providing easier access to financial infrastructure and many investors are placing bets while the days are still early.”

Perhaps not coincidentally, this funding round comes on the heels of Rapyd’s announcement it would acquire Icelandic payments company Valitor from Arion Bank for $100 million. In June, Rapyd launched a venture arm to invest in early-stage fintech startups.

Target Global was joined by several new investors including Fidelity Management and Research Company, Altimeter Capital, Whale Rock Capital, BlackRock Funds and Dragoneer, along with participation from existing investors General Catalyst, Latitude, Durable Capital Partners, Tal Capital, Avid Ventures and Spark Capital.

Rapyd’s platform payment structure includes Visa — added last February — Green Dot and GrabPay.

Reserve Trust

Real-time payment fintech Reserve Trust announced last week that it had secured $30 million in series A investments, led by QED Investors.

Denver-based Reserve Trust focuses on the B2B space and positions itself as a real-time payment alternative to banks. Customers can store funds in accounts backed by a Federal Reserve master account and transfer cash via ACH, FedWire, Swift and other payment systems.

FinTech Collective and Ardent Ventures also participated in the funding round, which brings the company’s total funding to $35.5 million over two rounds. The money will be used to grow Reserve Trust’s team and development new APIs and payment rail connections, according to a company statement.

Reserve also announced it had named a new CEO, Dave Wright, who previously worked as part of the executive team for cloud storage company Soldfire, selling the company to NetApp in 2016.

“While banks will always have an important role to play in B2B commerce, they have struggled to deliver the technology and services that businesses need to fully digitize domestic and international payments,” Wright said in a statement. “Reserve Trust’s unique combination of a trust charter with a Federal Reserve master account allows us to create foundational payment and custody services delivered via APIs to enable innovation across the entire fintech ecosystem.”

Zeni

Bookkeeping and accounting platform Zeni, which uses artificial intelligence to offer automated financial advice, announced last week that it raised $34 million in a series B funding round led by Elevation Capital with participation from new investors Think Investments and Neeraj Arora. Existing investors Saama Capital, Amit Singhal, Sierra Ventures, Twin Ventures, Dragon Capital and Liquid 2 Ventures also participated in the funding round.

Zeni stated it will use the infusion to develop technology, product, marketing, sales and finance operations in the U.S. and India. The company reported 550% revenue growth year over year, which it says is driven “exclusively by referrals and organic growth.” The fintech manages more than $500 million in funds each month across more than 100 startup customers.

“Startups and small businesses are fundamentally changing how they operate based on digital-first tools and services that are displacing the traditional, slow and human-intensive services across every category,” Swapnil Shinde, co-founder and CEO of Zeni, said in a statement. “Zeni is tackling the root of startup risk — financial management — by applying artificial intelligence, machine learning, and robotic process automation to create a fast, streamlined, intuitive way for startups to manage their finances.”

Zeni has raised a total of $47.5 million over three funding rounds, Crunchbase reported.

Snoop

The Norwich-based smart money app Snoop will fund international expansion with a $20.83 million series A funding round from American investment management firm Paulson & Co., announced last week.

Snoop is founded by former Virgin Money chief Jayne-Anne Gadhia. It uses APIs to connect a customer’s bank accounts and credit cards, reviewing the data to identify money-saving opportunities, such as forgotten subscriptions.

The startup has raised $39.1 million over three rounds, according to Crunchbase.