Digital banking startup Current crosses 2 million customers, raises $131M

Current, a New York-based digital banking startup, has picked up $131M in Series C funding, following a year of “exponential growth” for the company.

Why should we care?
Current has doubled its customer base in less than 6 months, pointing to the strength of digital banking during the pandemic. Current aims to reach underserved customers who live paycheck to paycheck through a series of tools including early paycheck deposits, free overdrafts, access to a fee-free ATM network, and cash back rewards. Current began as a teen banking platform in 2017 and has since expanded its feature set. CEO Stuart Sopp suggests the company will use the funding to enhance the product suite for its target market. “With this new round of funding we will continue to expand on our mission, growth and innovation to find more ways to get members their money faster, help them spend it smarter and help close the financial inequality gap,” he said. Current’s growth comes as others in the space sustain gains, including Chime, which has a 35% share of all digital bank checking accounts and a $14.5B valuation, and digital banking startup Varo, which recently received approval for a national banking charter.