Fintech Spriggy raises $2.5m

Courtesy of Anthill http://anthillonline.com/australian-fintech-startup-spriggy-secures-2-5-million-investment-funding-round/

Australian fintech startup Spriggy, recently announced it’s closed a $2.5 million funding round. The funding will be used to help the pocket money startup, which already has over 35,000 users, expand its services and help more Aussie families teach their kids about earning, saving and responsible spending in an increasingly digital world.

The funding round was led by Alium Capital with additional investments from venture capital group Perle Ventures, and several high-net worth individuals. Former ING DIRECT Australia CEO Vaughn Richtor, and former Delivery Hero CTO Scott Fletcher will also join Spriggy in advisory roles to help guide the company into its next phase of growth.

Through its purpose-built mobile app and a personalised prepaid Visa card, Spriggy gives kids as young as eight the independence and responsibility to learn real-world money skills in an online era. Spriggy also ensures parents remain in control of their child’s financial activity, with customised parent and child user interfaces.

What is the story behind Spriggy?

Established in 2016 by founders with backgrounds in banking and education, Mario Hasanakos and Alexander Badran came together over the idea that financial institutions should do more to help their users live happier financial lives.

Cofounder Alex Badran said, “When we started Spriggy, there was so much talk about Australia moving to a cashless society, but little was being done to help tomorrow’s generation prepare for that future. We came up with the idea to help mums and dads better prepare their kids so that they could live healthier, more confident financial lives.”

“Spriggy is quite a simple concept, and one that we’ve found kids and parents love. Many of today’s youth are already spending online from an early age through apps and the like. By using their own cards to make purchases, they can see the impact of their decision on their balance in real time. This gives them a greater sense of ownership, while also translating the value behind what they’re doing.”

Badran added, “While counting coins from the piggy bank may bring back nostalgic memories for many parents, in a world where we’re increasingly moving away from cash payments, we need to make sure we’re preparing our kids accordingly.”

Why is Spriggy relevant today?

The founders’ thinking reflects current consumer behaviour, with The Reserve Bank’s 2016 Consumer Payments Survey finding a strong decline in the share of consumer payments being made in cash; with participants making 37 per cent of their payments in cash, compared to 47 per cent in 2013, and 67 per cent in 2007.

Rajeev Gupta from Alium Capital said, “Many of today’s financial services companies have offers that are confusing, lack coordination or are expensive to use. Spriggy has done particularly well to identify gaps in our current financial system, and put in place a simple solution that can make everyone more financially savvy.

“We were impressed with Spriggy’s knowledge of their user and marketplace from day one. The team is incredibly passionate about helping Australian families, and has the insight and know-how to make their vision a reality.”

Cofounder Mario Hasanakos added, “Financial issues are a key source of stress and anxiety among Australians.  The more we learnt about the problem, the clearer it became to us that the solution had to be built on better financial education.  Spriggy’s purpose is to help families do that education better.

“Today’s funding announcement is tremendously exciting because it enables us to deliver that purpose to many more Australian families.  If we can help mums and dads raise a generation of Australian kids more financially literate and comfortable with decision making, we can make a real difference in this country.”