Swan Raises €42 Million To Expand Financial Services

Swan, a French startup, has raised €42 million in funding to help its business grow. This is the second part of the Series B funding that started in September, two years ago. The funds will be used to expand Swan’s services and offer more products to companies around the world.

Eight Roads Ventures, along with other investors like Lakestar, Accel, Creandum, Hexa, and Bpifrance, led this funding round. These investors believe that embedded finance, offering banking services directly through software, is a huge opportunity.

According to the update, Swan helps businesses create financial products that they can offer to their customers. One of its most popular services is creating virtual and physical payment cards that work with Apple Pay and Google Pay. Companies can set up these cards with limits and rules for how they can be used.

Swan Enables Businesses Create Accounts Using Their IBAN

In addition to cards, Swan helps businesses set up payment accounts with their own IBAN (International Bank Account Number). The company said these accounts can be used for different types of payments, such as receiving and sending money. They can also handle SEPA direct debits, which are common in Europe.

Many fast-growing companies have decided to work with Swan to offer these banking features. For example, Pennylane, a French accounting startup, uses Swan to give its customers new accounts and payment cards. Pennylane became a unicorn last year, meaning it’s now valued at over $1 billion.

Another company that uses Swan is Indy. Indy helps freelancers manage their work, and it relies on Swan to provide accounts and cards to its users. Other companies like Agicap, Factorial, Lucca, and Sesame also trust Swan’s banking services.

Swan Operates In 150 Countries

According to the update, Swan is now working with 150 companies and processes €1.5 billion in transactions every month. This shows how much the company has grown in a short time.

Lucile Cornet, a partner at Eight Roads Ventures, said the firm believes the embedded finance opportunity is immense. Banking services will be offered more and more directly through the software people already use.

Swan has not revealed its exact value, but its Co-founder and leader, Nicolas Benady, said the company’s worth has been rising. He noted that the firm is not a “unicorn” yet, so there is not much talk about its value for now.

Swan said it is different from most fintech companies. While many use products from other companies, Swan created its own banking system. The company noted that it enables companies to offer services like local IBANs and payment options in certain countries.

The company said it helps customers manage funds without actually handling them. Swan revealed that it takes care of important tasks like following the rules and handling “Know Your Customer” checks, so customers don’t have to worry about that.