Banking startups Current, Step, and Greenlight together score $580M in funding

Investors are making serious bets on digital banking apps for young people. This week, three major companies in this space secured investments: Greenlight, which focuses on kid-friendly accounts, scooped up $260M in Series D funding led by Andreessen Horowitz; Current closed $220M in a Series D round also led by Andreessen Horowitz; and teen banking platform Step raised $100M in a Series C funding round led by General Catalyst.

Why should we care?
The growth of digital financial services during the pandemic is well documented, amid the growth of digital neobanks. Young customers are among their most enthusiastic adopters. Greenlight offers a platform to allow parents to offer digital banking tools and financial education tools for their kids. Current is a digital banking offering with a toolset that appeals to underserved, typically young customers. Meanwhile, Step aims to help teens learn good money habits and build credit, while giving parents visibility into their spending. “[Current’s] product is among the best in the market, and they have proven an ability to reach customers who previously were unserved or underserved by traditional banks,” said David George, general partner at Andreessen Horowitz. Current, which has 3 million customers, focuses on Americans who earn around $45,000 a year. Meanwhile, George hailed Greenlight’s educational value in cementing good financial habits among young consumers. As fintechs forge a path on Gen Z-oriented banking and financial tools, major banks are taking note, making forays into products for teens.