Digital banking platform Oxygen today announced a $17 million Series A funding round. The round was led by Runa Capital, with participation from S7V; 1984.vc; EFG Hermes; Rucker Park; Inventures; Frank Strauss, Global CEO of the Private & Commercial Bank for Deutsche Bank AG; William Hockey, cofounder of Plaid; Ankur Nagpal; Peter Treadway; and NFL wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald.
Oxygen provides flexible banking solutions to consumers and small businesses. Since launching in January of 2020, Oxygen has surpassed 125,000 accounts opened. Both the consumer and small business accounts have no minimum balance or monthly fees, are via a partnership with The Bancorp Bank, and come with a Visa debit card that includes cashback rewards on selected everyday spending categories and merchants.
“We are humbled that our investors are putting their faith in us with this most recent round of funding,” said Hussein Ahmed, Oxygen CEO. “This investment not only validates what we’ve built but also enables us to continue pursuing our vision of building financial tools that integrate seamlessly with the digital world of today and delight our customers. We founded Oxygen because we wanted to provide financial services in the same way people interact with technology in their everyday lives. We didn’t see that and believe this led to exclusion for many. This is an important milestone, but we are just getting started.”
“Oxygen is the premier banking platform for today’s digital consumer,” commented Andre Bliznyuk, general partner of Runa Capital. “Their all-in-one banking app serves both consumers and businesses, ranging from tech-savvy consumers who are just looking for a better banking experience to burgeoning entrepreneurs and small businesses looking for digital banking solutions that meet their strict requirements.”
The company has cultivated partnerships with top-tier companies like Visa, having joined their Fast Track program earlier this year, while simultaneously building a high-value brand designed to empower customers to “do it their way,” in support of entrepreneurship and free thinking.
Mr. Strauss, long-time Deutsche Bank retail banking executive and former CEO of Deutsche Postbank Bank, who will act as strategic advisor, views the company as having the right solutions at the right time and sees Oxygen as ready to take advantage of a significant market opportunity in financial services.
“When I witnessed the customer engagement around the Oxygen platform, I knew immediately they were offering something truly different for consumers and small businesses,” commented Strauss. “What’s more, I’ve been struck not only by the vision but also the ability of the management team to execute quickly.”
The company plans to use the most recent funding round to scale its team, accelerate growth, and continue to build best-in-class consumer and SMB banking products.
