Mexican Digital Bank Stori Announces $10 Million Series A+ Round Co-Led by Source Code Capital

源码资本·February 19, 2020·0·3

Stori also announced the official launch of the Stori digital credit card in Mexico, adding a market-leading fully online application and usage experience to its existing physical credit card that can be used on global credit card networks.

Recently, Mexican digital bank Stori announced it has raised $10 million in a Series A+ round led by Source Code Capital and BAI (Bertelsmann Asia Investments), with existing investor Yuanjing Capital following on. Stori also announced the official launch of the Stori digital credit card in Mexico — adding a market-leading fully online application and user experience on top of the physical card already usable on global credit card networks. The proceeds will primarily go toward strengthening its big data and AI platform, hiring talent, and serving more Mexican customers. Since its founding in 2018, Stori has raised over $17 million in total. Globally, the digital banking sector has been surging: since 2017, 12 digital banks worldwide have raised over $100 million cumulatively, and more than 40 startups have raised over $30 million; standout companies Nubank and Chime have together raised nearly $1 billion. Stori's successful fundraise once again confirms capital markets' confidence in the digital banking赛道 and in this team.

All of this began with a credit card story from 20 years ago. At the time, Stori co-founder and CEO Bin Chen was pursuing graduate studies in the United States. Born in one of China's poorest regions, he relied entirely on scholarships from his American university to get by. Unfortunately, the scholarship still fell short, and he found himself facing the prospect of running out of living expenses in his final months. Fortunately, an American credit card company approved him for a card — the only source of funds he could access to tide him over. After graduation, Chen joined Capital One, which provides banking services to low-income Americans nationwide, where he learned extensive experience managing credit card and deposit products. He later worked at Boston Consulting Group and Mastercard, collaborating with numerous banks and credit unions across China, South Korea, and the United States to develop suitable products for consumers and small businesses — some of which have since been adopted by millions of customers.

These personal experiences led Chen and five other co-founders (including two Mexican co-founders) to establish Stori, a digital bank providing inclusive financial services to the 70 million Mexicans excluded from the traditional banking system. The founding team comprises leaders in banking, technology, risk management, operations, and marketing from Mexico, the United States, and China. The two Mexican co-founders bring extensive local operational experience and resources; three others have deep Capital One expertise; and the CTO is on his third startup, having previously led AI and cloud technology at America's largest mortgage platform.

Stori Co-founder & CEO Bin Chen

Reflecting on his personal journey and the recent fundraise, Chen said: "Twenty years ago, a credit card lifted me out of temporary financial difficulty and helped launch my career. Now, we will provide the same opportunity to tens of millions of hardworking Mexicans. We warmly welcome two investment funds with outstanding track records in fintech. Over the past two years, we have built a powerful big data and AI platform, and with global talent and resources, assembled an excellent Mexican team. Going forward, we will accelerate platform development, hiring, brand building, and customer growth — driving greater momentum for inclusive finance."

Stori's Mexican co-founders Marlene Garayzar and Manuel Medina said: "Mexico has 130 million people and GDP per capita exceeding $9,600. Yet only 15% of consumers have access to bank loans, and fewer than 40% of adults have bank accounts. From day one, our mission has been to build a leading digital bank in Latin America, starting with Mexico, using technology to advance inclusive finance. Our technology and products are dedicated to bringing high-quality banking services to Mexico's broad ordinary population and helping them write their own financial stories."

As a company director, Yuan Di of Source Code Capital stated: "Fintech innovation in emerging markets holds tremendous opportunity, and this is one of the key sectors Source Code focuses on in our international strategy. Stori is committed to bringing Latin American users a better digital banking experience through superior technology, products, and services. Mr. Chen and the founding team bring extensive fintech experience, are rooted in the Mexican market, and have demonstrated excellent localization capabilities. We look forward to the company serving more users amid the wave of Latin American fintech development and creating greater value."

William Zhao, Head of New Finance at BAI, said: "We are excited about this investment because we see tremendous opportunity in the Mexican market and look forward to serving more Mexican users with fintech. We are also honored to partner with Bin Chen and his team, who bring backgrounds spanning Mexico, the United States, and China, along with exceptional experience and vision."

Zhang Luo of Yuanjing Capital said: "We are delighted to work with Stori to bring innovative financial technology and products to the vast Latin American market. Faced with booming opportunities in Mexico's financial sector, Stori has rapidly built a strong local team with a unique payment network. We are very bullish on Stori's growth potential in Mexico and other Latin American markets in this massive赛道."

"About Stori"

Stori's mission is to build a digital bank in Latin America that gives people equal access to quality financial products and services. Co-founded by top talent from Mexico, the United States, and China, the team's members have worked at Capital One, Mastercard, Morgan Stanley, Intel, GE Capital, and Procter & Gamble, accumulating a century of combined experience in cutting-edge technology, banking, and operations. Stori's first flagship product in Mexico is a credit card with digital features. The company also develops better products for customers and advances inclusive finance through partnerships with Mastercard and others.