Cross River Bank, the New Jersey-based bank behind fintechs like Affirm, Upgrade, and Upstart, announced that it created its own venture capital arm to invest in companies that “sit at the intersection of lending, payments, investing and fintech.”

Why should we care?
Cross River offers fintechs an API-based banking platform and products encompassing lending, payments, and risk management. The new unit is called Cross River Digital Ventures. As the “invisible bank” partner to a host of fintechs, Cross River has likely built up a roster of in-house expertise applicable to the new unit. The venture capital arm is also likely to function as an entry point for future partnerships or acquisitions. Two years ago, it acquired small business banking company Seed, a move it said would help the bank become a “one-stop shop” for the fintech industry. So far, the bank’s venture capital arm has invested in Innovative Assessments, a fintech startup that uses psychometrics to personalize financial services; Lev, a technology-focused commercial real estate financing advisory firm; and payments infrastructure provider Finix Payments. “Cross River already powers some of the largest companies in fintech and this new endeavor will help us identify and make additional strategic investments,” said Gilles Gade, founder, CEO and chairman of Cross River.