Fintech start-up Budget Insight raises $35m

French financial data aggregator, Budget Insight, has raised $35m in funding from growth equity firm PSG equity to scale up its business across Europe and the US.

The latest funding enables the company to further expand its European reach, which was initiated with the initial investment from its existing investor Crédit Mutuel Arkéa in 2019.

With a presence in France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Italy and Spain, Budget Insight is currently planning operations in Portugal, Germany, the Netherlands and the UK.

The funding will be used to build Budget Insight’s API-led tech proposition, and scale the business to become a leader in the rapidly consolidating market for open finance tech.

“We firmly believe that the market in Europe will consolidate around a limited number of key players, including Budget Insight,” said Romain Railha, managing director of PSG.

“We were attracted by Budget Insight’s commitment and ambition to provide financial services companies and institutions with secure, comprehensive connectivity and strong added value. Our support should help the business to rapidly develop its presence in Europe and further expand its offering.”

In line with its growth strategy, Budget Insight plans to significantly increase its workforce by 2025. It has already announced 50 positions in the tech, product and sales departments to be filled in 2022.

The latest investment expands the financial data specialist’s shareholder group from the management and Crédit Mutuel Arkéa to now include PSG.

Since the implementation of the PSD2 directive, open finance services have seen growing demand from financial institutions and startups, enabling growth opportunities for payment and financial data providers.

According to a report published by Allied Market Research, the global open banking market is expected to reach around USD43 billion by 2026, registering a compound annual growth rate of 24.4percent from 2019 to 2026.

Besides Budget Insight, European peers such as Banked and GoCardless also completed their respective funding rounds earlier this year to support their expansion.

In January, payments company Checkout.com secured $1bn investment from private equity giant Tiger Global, Franklin Templeton and Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC, to become the UK’s most valuable private tech company by tripling its valuation to $40bn.

Besides fundraising, companies are also seeking expansion via add-on acquisitions, with Budget Insight said to be in discussion with some potential targets.

 

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