Top Banking Startups to Watch (and Work for) in 2023

My Background

Hi, I'm Kieran! I worked in startups for five years at On Deck and Wefunder. Some of my favorite things that I've worked on during my career include:

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Wefunder Workaway: 12 founders working on a new idea, 7 days, 1 mansion in Hawaii. One of the teams we picked raised a Series A from Andreessen Horowitz, and two people who met during the trip got married...

On Deck: As employee #15, I contributed to the startup's growth from no revenue to a $20 million run rate in less than a year. I led the team that built the admission infrastructure to support and scale ~20 fellowships for founders, capital allocators, operators, and creators.

XX: Worked on a pre-YC accelerator program that invested $125K on an MFN SAFE into 8-10 teams per cohort.

ODX: Worked on a $100 million accelerator program that invested $125K for 7% into 100s of startups. We partnered with leaders like Flexport to build vertical industry tracks around supply chain & logistics, etc.

Ryan Marketing: Created an influencer marketing startup (2 million+ Instagram followers) during college with my twin brother and realized early that monetization for creators was broken. I learned a lot, and it paid enough to cover my schooling, rent, and meals.

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The Methodology

I considered several data points to arrive at the startups selected on this list, including company traction, funding raised, valuation, and investors. From my initial list, I then referenced each startup with my personal network to narrow down the list to the one you see below. I take my credibility seriously, so I do not take any money from startups who want to be included on this list to remain impartial. If you want to understand my analysis of startups and prefer long-form content, read my research on the top startups of 2023 afterward.

Revolut

One app, all things money.

Headquarters

London, England, United Kingdom

Industry

Fintech, Banking

Founded

2015

Funding

$1.7 billion

Valuation

$33 billion

Traction

As of May 2023, Revolut has 28 million+ customers, 500,000+ business customers, supports 200+ countries and regions, and supports 28 in-app currencies.

As of May 2023, Revolut has rated 4.7/5 stars from 35.1K ratings on the Apple App Store and 4.5/5 stars from 2.29 million ratings on the Google Play Store.

As of July 2021, Revolut has 16 million+ customers and processes 150 million monthly transactions across its products.

In 2020, Revolut reached 14.5 million customers.

In 2019, Revolut surpassed 10 million customers.

Full Profile

Mercury

Banking for startups.

Headquarters

San Francisco, California

Industry

Fintech, Banking

Founded

2017

Funding

$152.2 million

Valuation

$1.62 billion

Traction

Mercury has 100K customers in 180 countries, including Linear, Lunchclub, and Sprig.

Mercury processed $50 billion in transactions in 2022.

Mercury added $2 billion+ in deposits and thousands of new accounts since Silicon Valley Bank fell on March 10, 2023.

Full Profile

Monzo

Online banking made easy.

Headquarters

London, England, United Kingdom

Industry

Fintech, Banking

Founded

2015

Funding

$1.1 billion

Valuation

$4.5 billion

Traction

In 2020, Monzo ended the year with 77,000 business accounts.

As of June 2022, Monzo had 430,000 Monzo Plus, Monzo Premium, and Monzo Business customers.

In 2021, Monzo’s deposit base grew 124% from 1.4 billion euros to 3.1 billion euros.

As of 2022, Monzo’s deposit base grew to 4.4 billion euros.

As of December 2021, Monzo has over 5 million UK customers.

In Monzo’s 2022 Annual Report, they reported 100,000+ people open a Monzo account monthly, and 90% joined through word of mouth.

As of June 2022, Monzo’s annual revenue run rate was $270 million euros.

As of May 2023, Monzo has over 7 million users.

Full Profile

Stark Bank

Open banking platform in Brazil.

Headquarters

Sao Paulo, Brazil

Industry

Fintech, Banking

Founded

2018

Funding

$61.1 million

Valuation

Undisclosed

Traction

As of April 2022, Stark Bank has 300+ customers, including Loft, Isaac, Ingresse, Kovi, Daki, and Buser.

Full Profile

Figure

Loan origination, equity management, private fund services, banking and payments company.

Headquarters

San Francisco, California

Industry

Cryptocurrency, Fintech, Banking

Founded

2018

Funding

$1.5 billion

Valuation

$3.2 billion

Traction

As of February 2022, Figure has 60,000+ members across the United States and provided $5 billion in funding for members.

As of May 2023, Figure has a 4.4/5 star rating from 2,151 reviews on Trustpilot.

Full Profile

epiFi

Secure digital banking services.

Headquarters

Bangalore, Karnataka, India

Industry

Fintech, Banking

Founded

2015

Funding

$136.6 million

Valuation

$700 million

Traction

As of May 2023, epiFi has 2 million+ users, up from 1 million in February 2022.

Full Profile

Ivella

Banking designed for couples.

Headquarters

Santa Monica, California

Industry

Banking, Fintech

Founded

2021

Funding

$4 million

Valuation

Undisclosed

Traction

As of July 2023, Ivella has rated 4.6/5 stars from 205 reviews on the Apple App Store.

Full Profile

Cogni

Digital banking with a super wallet bridging web3 products and services.

Headquarters

New York, New York

Industry

Banking, Crypto

Founded

2017

Funding

$31 million

Valuation

Undisclosed

Traction

As of July 2023, Cogni has rated 4.7/5 stars from 936 reviews on the Apple App Store, 4.1/5 stars from 59 reviews, and has been downloaded 5,000+ times on the Google Play Store.

As of July 2023, Cogni’s customers can access 1,500+ brands, including eBay, H&M, Instacart, Southwest, Uber, Adidas, and Airbnb.

As of April 2022, Cogni reported 10,000+ customers.

Full Profile

Creative Juice

Personalized funding, business tools, and a members-only community for creators.

Headquarters

Austin, Texas

Industry

Banking, Creators

Founded

2021

Funding

$20 million

Valuation

Undisclosed

Traction

As of July 2023, Creative Juice has partnered with five Youtubers who make investment decisions: Mr. Beast, Roberto Blake, Shelby Church, Graham Stephen, and Austin Hankwitz.