Swiss fintech I’m sorry, which makes banking in Switzerland accessible to people in countries with unstable banking sectors or high inflation, has raised $4 million in seed funding. The round was co-led by Sequoia Capital and TQ Ventures, with participation from Y Combinator, ACE Ventures, SV Angel and FONGIT, the Geneva state organization that supports technology startups.
Amer Baroudi And Abdullah Abu Hashem co-founded nsave in 2022 from lived experiences. Baroudi told TechCrunch that he watched his family lose their savings resulting from currency devaluation and the lack to open bank accounts abroad after they fled the war in Syria years ago, deeming them too dangerous.
He said offshore banking has at all times been accessible to a small number of individuals, often the rich or those with large networks, adding that Nsave is in search of to democratize that access for everybody else.
“So far it is a very simple product: a trusted account abroad where you can store your savings in hard currencies dollars, euros or pounds for now and access them when needed,” Baroudi told TechCrunch, adding that that Fintech has partnered with regulated financial institutions to supply the service.
To access it, users must log into the app and undergo an onboarding journey, which Baroudi says features a risk assessment based on the strict banking regulations they have to adhere to.
“What’s really exciting is the way we’re approaching solving this problem. “We want to rethink the way we do risk assessment and in fact we need to put appropriate safeguards in place to assess the real risks because where you come from is actually not the risk factor,” he said.
“And then, based on the risk assessments, you could be asked to respond to different streams of questions or enhanced due diligence mechanisms. We may ask you for further documents. A lot of it is automated and happens dynamically.”
Once onboarded, the fintech uses its proprietary transaction monitoring tool to make sure it complies with Swiss banking regulations, including anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing laws.
Baroudi said the duo, previously Rhodes Scholars within the United Kingdom, selected Switzerland due to progress the European country has made in promoting innovation, including a fintech licensing system. The license allows fintechs to act as financial intermediaries on the trail to becoming a completely regulated bank.
He says the fintech company is within the early stages of product development, but will proceed to extend its concentrate on the savings and wealth side of the retail banking business while listening and striving to satisfy the needs of its goal customers while maintaining its mission, secure To construct banking, remain faithful to the financially excluded.
“We understand what it means to be financially excluded, the impact, the struggles and the challenges of this issue… that’s why we’re building a platform where people from struggling economies can protect their savings and grow their wealth,” he said.
The company targets tens of millions of individuals in economically struggling countries, resembling Lebanon, where inflation is sky-high, the currency has been devalued by greater than 90% and folks have limited access to savings as banks impose draconian restrictions.
“Developing a global product that meets strict financial regulations is no easy task, let alone building partnerships with banks – but the nsave team has done just that,” said George Robson, Partner at Sequoia Capital. “Now that nsave is live, there is finally a trusted option to protect their users from rampant inflation in struggling economies and provide safe, stable offshore accounts to people who need them most.”
