A banking-as-a-service fintech unit, if done right, will have a name that is ubiquitous among businesses and at the same time unknown to the end user. The company gives companies a way to embed financial services into their products — and after already launching debit cards, Unity is officially disrupting the charge card game.
Unity customers can now use the startup’s API to build custom-designed payment cards for end users. Customers can offer their customers a debit card, credit card, revolving credit or any other credit products offered by Unit Bank’s partners. At the back end, the department also handles card printing, compliance and once the card is used, transaction tracking.
As co-founder and CEO Itai DamtiCards are the fourth and final pillar of Unite, a venture-backed company adding its products to debit, bank accounts and payment platforms.
Just six months ago, Unite announced a $100 million Series C round at a $1.2 billion valuation, bringing its total equity raised since inception to nearly $170 million.
Charge cards, which are more popular than credit cards for small businesses, provide a way for the startup to build and offer credit products to its customers, even if the startup isn’t a lender itself. “Once you can store money for people, you can move money to people and give money to people, this is a complete banking service that all software products use to start in their environment,” he said.
Image Credits: Room
If Unity’s new line of cards is worth billions of dollars compared to the likes of Brakes and Ramps – I had the same thought, and it’s a bit more complicated. Instead of selling cards to startups like its well-capitalized competitors, Unite is selling to customers on how to create personalized cards for their own end users. It is going for a recognized B2BC model rather than a B2B model.
“If you’re a company that sells to construction companies, you can embed your customers instead of looking for other solutions on the market. [lending] Get into your software,” Damty said. “We do not compete. [Brex and Ramp] But we allow companies to basically provide a comparable product and do it in a way that is scalable.
The unit expansion comes amid a spate of layoffs at fintech companies such as Chim and Stripe over the past few weeks. David Sinski, VP of Lending Unit, who recently joined the company after 7 years at Opendoor, explained that the new product will help customers introduce an entirely new revenue stream through interchange payments.
“There may be less VC money spent on Google and Facebook ads, but we’re working with companies that have built different software,” Sinski said. “And I saw the unit [as an] An opportunity to better serve those users and improve the economics of their segment. The department claims to generate 0.5% more transaction revenue with a credit card compared to a debit card.
“There’s less of a red ocean in fixed finance… there’s a very good opportunity, because they have the data, they have the distribution and they can be very effective underwriters who are very effective lenders in the vertical,” Damthy added.
