News
ModusBox Secures $7.5 Million in Series A Funding to Accelerate Innovation for Community Financial Institutions
Milestone investment led by Patamar Capital will be used to propel the company’s growth, scale product capabilities, and expand fintech partnerships, empowering IT modernization for financial institutions.
SEATTLE, WA – ModusBox, the infrastructure and integration technology company for financial services, today announced the close of a $7.5 million Series A investment. The round is led by Patamar Capital, a social impact fintech venture fund, and co-led by Choice Bank, a leading sponsor bank. BankTech Ventures and American Capital Partners also participated in the round.
ModusBox was founded in 2013 and took on the challenge to improve lives by accelerating universal access to reimagined financial services. The company developed PortX, the Integration-Platform-as-a-Service (iPaaS) for the financial services industry, and collaborated to build a new class of real-time payment networks as one of the founding members of the Mojaloop project. Today, PortX is an industry-leading technology for community financial institutions (CFIs) that unlocks access to banking core data, eliminates vendor dependencies, and creates simplified connectivity for the new wave of fintechs and real-time payment networks that are reshaping the global financial system.
The company will use the new funds to accelerate the development of its PortX products, drive key partnerships with advanced fintech solutions, and continue its contributions to the Mojaloop real-time payments ecosystem. The funds will also scale the company’s recruiting, marketing, customer success, and engineering groups as ModusBox responds to rapidly growing demand.
CFIs leverage PortX to scale their IT infrastructure and organizational capabilities in developed economies to compete with big banks and deliver modern financial services to their customers. In developing countries, millions of people rely daily on microfinance institutions and other small lenders to support their livelihood and thriving economies. These small financial institutions can utilize the suite of ModusBox-supported solutions to simplify connectivity to real-time payment systems and minimize the operational costs and technical challenges of participating in a modern national payments infrastructure.
“At Patamar Capital, we invest in generation-defining companies that unlock better economic opportunities for low-income communities across various industries, including financial services, SME digitization, education, healthcare, and agriculture,” said Geoff Woolley, Co-Founder and Partner of Patamar Capital. “ModusBox is a perfect fit for our portfolio because the PortX platform and Mojaloop support the underlying national-level infrastructure and the participating financial institutions that are connected. This two-pronged approach is vital to unlocking sustainable economic opportunities for individuals and small businesses in emerging economies.”
“Choice Bank is proud to have been a long-time customer and strategic partner of ModusBox,” said Tim Heilman, Chief Innovation Officer of Choice Bank. “We have observed firsthand the evolutionary progression of the PortX platform and were happy to partner with ModusBox as the sponsor bank for its ‘Fedwire-as-a-Service’ solution. Our partnership with ModusBox has allowed us to explore innovation and delivery of banking services in new ways and are excited by the possibilities of what this means for our customers. We are thrilled to join the round and continue partnering with ModusBox in its mission to serve the communities and people who don’t currently have access to banking services.”
“We’re eyewitnesses to the difficulties that community banks experience when trying to innovate and work with fintechs, especially as they have to navigate their core provider challenges and limitations,” said Carey Ransom, Managing Director at BankTech Ventures. “ModusBox is the ideal industry partner to ease integration effort, allow for re-use, and accelerate banks’ opportunities to build and launch new solutions for their customers. As the community bank ecosystem fund, BankTech Ventures believed that world-class integration capabilities was a key investment mandate for us, and we found ModusBox to be the clear leader. We’re excited by the opportunity to work with them, and we’ve already seen tremendous interest and support from our banks.”
“The global financial services industry is in the middle of a massive transformational shift fueled by unprecedented social behavioral changes, red hot consumer demand, and new technologies introduced daily,” said David Wexler, Founder and CEO of ModusBox. “We could not be more excited to partner with Patamar Capital, Choice Bank, BankTech Ventures, and ACP in this round. Our goal is to accelerate digital transformation for our CFI customers, enabling them to embrace the new era of open banking and embedded finance with the fintech partnerships and crypto solutions their customers want. Our investors share in our mission to facilitate financial inclusion and will play an instrumental role in helping us drive worldwide interoperability and participation in national-level real-time payment networks.”
About ModusBox
ModusBox is the infrastructure and integration technology company focused on open banking solutions that unlock access to banking core data, eliminate vendor dependencies, and simplify connections to fintechs and real-time payment networks. Our PortX platform is the iPaaS (Integration-Platform-as-a-Service) built for financial services. It helps financial institutions empower their teams to connect to real-time payment networks like Zelle®, Mojaloop, ACH, Fedwire, and others. In addition, our solutions enable interoperability between online banking, credit checks, mortgage and loan applications, and other internal systems allowing for a timely and accurate view of customer data. For more information, please visit www.modusbox.com.
About Patamar Capital
Patamar Capital (“Patamar”) is a leading impact venture capital firm investing in early-stage technology companies to transform the lives of the emerging middle class. Patamar works with entrepreneurs to build sector-defining business models, drive economic impact, and generate top-tier financial returns. Patamar is founders’ trusted thought partner throughout their growth journey by fueling ambition, weathering tough times, and expanding across geographies. Patamar is currently investing out of Patamar Fund II and manages its Proof-of-Concept portfolio, Patamar Fund I, and the Investing in Women fund. Through these four funds, the management team has invested in more than 30 companies, many of which have grown quickly, scaled to reach large populations, and had financial success. For more information, please visit www.patamar.com.
About Choice Bank
Choice is more than just a bank. As a People First organization, we provide a wide array of innovative financial solutions to make banking and managing finances easily accessible from anywhere. Our People First approach led us to become a leading fintech sponsor bank delivering flexible and accessible online banking services, globally. We partner with fintechs that share Choice’s passion for serving our communities and those who do not have ready access to banking services. Established in 2001, Choice now exceeds $3 billion in assets and has been recognized as one of the fastest-growing banks in America. For more information, please visit www.bankwithchoice.com.
Choice Bank and ModusBox Partner for Cloud-Hosted Connection to Fedwire Funds Service and Automated Wire Transfer Process
SEATTLE, WA. Apr 27, 2022. ModusBox has partnered with Choice Bank to support innovative banking-as-a-service (BaaS) and embedded banking solutions for financial institutions and fintechs. Choice Bank has a proven track record of innovation in digital solutions over the last 20 years and over 5 years in BaaS to enable the new era of financial services. Choice Bank will provide sponsor bank responsibilities in the new partnership – ensuring regulatory compliance – while ModusBox will deliver innovative financial integration capabilities.
The two companies built a cloud-based, API-led integration to the Fedwire Funds Service and worked together to develop a fully automated wire transfer process for the bank and its fintech partners. The solution, now a part of Payment Manager, leverages an established cloud-hosted connection to the Fed and exposes a simple public API, making it easy for innovative FIs to build simpler, more automated Fedwire solutions and more.
“We evaluated a handful of suitors for our sponsor with the Fed. We chose Choice Bank because of its emphasis on technology and being a people-first organization – a value we share in our company,” said David Wexler, CEO of ModusBox. “Because of our shared vision, we’re looking forward to building more capabilities and connections in our PortX products through our partnership with Choice.”
In addition to the Fedwire-as-a-Service partnership, the two companies also announced a milestone PortX platform deal. The agreement will establish the PortX platform as the Integration-Platform-as-a-Service (iPaaS) for Choice Bank. The technology will streamline Choice’s ability to quickly connect to new fintech partnerships and modern real-time payment solutions critical to remaining competitive in a rapidly evolving industry.
“We are excited about the new capabilities that PortX and our partnership with ModusBox unlock for our team and our customers,” said Tim Heilman, Chief Innovation Officer at Choice Bank. “At Choice, we’re ultra-focused on driving solutions that make a real difference in our communities for the people who need them most. PortX will enable us with the flexibility to respond quickly to the new wave of banking services and consumer demand for fresh experiences.”
About Choice Bank
Choice is more than just a bank. As a People First organization, we provide a wide array of innovative financial solutions to make banking and managing finances easily accessible from anywhere. Our People First approach led us to become a leading Fintech sponsor bank delivering flexible and accessible online banking services, globally. We partner with Fintechs that share Choice’s passion for serving our communities and those who do not have ready access to banking services. Established in 2001, Choice now exceeds $3 billion in assets and has been recognized as one of the fastest-growing banks in America. For more information, please visit www.bankwithchoice.com.
About ModusBox
ModusBox is the infrastructure and integration technology company focused on open banking solutions that unlock access to banking core data, eliminate vendor dependencies, and simplify connections to fintechs and real-time payment networks. Our PortX platform is the iPaaS (Integration-Platform-as-a-Service) built for financial services. It helps financial institutions empower their teams to connect to real-time payment networks like Zelle®, Mojaloop, ACH, Fedwire, and others. In addition, our solutions enable interoperability between online banking, credit checks, mortgage and loan applications, and other internal systems allowing for a timely and accurate view of customer data. For more information, please visit www.modusbox.com.
QCash and ModusBox to Automate Connection to Life Event Loan Decision Engine for Credit Unions Via PortX Platform
OLYMPIA, WA. Feb. 16, 2022. QCash is excited to announce its newest partnership with ModusBox, the financial infrastructure and integration technology company that developed PortX. PortX is the Integration-Platform-as-a-Service (IPaaS) that enables financial institutions to accelerate innovation by eliminating the dependency on banking core vendors. The platform’s API technology simplifies the integration process, enabling credit unions to add new member services and fintech solutions in a fraction of the time. With this partnership, any credit union can instantly “turn on” QCash’s Life Event Loan decision engine.
The QCash Life Event Loan origination platform evaluates a member’s relationship with their credit union instead of using traditional credit scores to approve small dollar loans. Additionally, QCash’s lending qualifies for CDFI (Community Development Financial Institutions) grant funds, specifically loan loss reserves and technical assistance. By partnering with ModusBox, QCash seeks to accelerate access to and distribution of CDFI funds for credit unions and their members. Combining QCash’s proprietary technology with the rapid integration capabilities of PortX will increase speed to market for credit unions, fueling vibrant economic growth for communities.
“QCash is ultra-focused on delivering critical access to funds for those who truly need it – making it an ideal partner aligned with our mission to enable financially inclusive member services,” said David Wexler, CEO of ModusBox. “One in four Americans either don’t have a bank account, lack the credit history to gain access, or turn to predatory and expensive alternatives like payday loans and check-cashing schemes. I believe that using technology to create automated integrations to the banking core will help CUs speed up the implementation of inclusive member services, like QCash, that serve the underserved.”
“Partnering with ModusBox will allow QCash to even better serve credit unions and help them accomplish their mission of helping their members,” said Seth Brickman, CEO, QCash Financial. “The ability to help members in their actual time of need and going from clicking a link to funds in their account in under 60 seconds all without using a credit score is only possible with strong technology partners like ModusBox”
About ModusBox
ModusBox is a financial services technology company focused on open banking solutions that unlock access to banking core data, eliminate vendor dependencies, and enable embedded banking services. We help financial institutions empower their teams to connect to real-time payment networks like Zelle®, Mojaloop, ACH, Fedwire, and others. Our solutions enable interoperability between online banking, credit checks, mortgage and loan applications, and other internal systems and member services, allowing for a timely and accurate view of customer data. For more information, please visit www.modusbox.com.
About QCash
QCash Financial is a purpose-driven CUSO empowering Credit Unions in their quest to improve the financial well-being of their communities. The QCash Life Event Loan decision engine is a proven, proprietary platform built on member relationships and behavior data. This engine has been perfected over more than a decade of credit union lending experience, data analytics, automated underwriting, and real-time funding. In other words, we know what we’re doing and we want to do it for you and your members — to help the underserved find the support they need to achieve financial health and overall stability. For more information, please visit www.qcashfinancial.com.
Mambu and ModusBox Partner to Accelerate Digital Modernization and Improve Access to Data for Financial Institutions
SEATTLE, WA. Sep. 28, 2021. ModusBox is pleased to announce its partnership with Mambu – the Global Fintech Platform. The partnership will support the next generation of financial institutions to challenge the status quo. Mambu and ModusBox bring a combination of local and global experiences and assets to the US market. They will continue to expand their collaboration by integrating Mambu into PortX – ModusBox’s integration platform and connectors for financial institutions.
Mambu’s SaaS, API-first, composable model, allowed ModusBox to establish and fully test the connection to a pilot network in a matter of hours. This speed and access will help any financial institution gain the agility to develop best-in-class experiences and successfully compete in the market.
“We are excited to partner with Mambu because we believe the composable banking model is a critical component of enabling all types of financial institutions, from MFIs to commercial banks, to have a financially inclusive strategy,” said David Wexler, CEO of ModusBox. “The key to true financial inclusion is focusing on the service that the client receives, not the service that financial institutions intend to provide. That’s exactly where Mambu and ModusBox are focused.”
“This partnership elevates our clients’ capabilities to build custom experiences from Mambu’s diverse ecosystem of fintech partners,” said Johanna Pugh, Managing Director NAM at Mambu. “ModusBox’s SaaS-based, cloud-native integration tools align perfectly with the Mambu platform both technically and from a financially inclusive perspective. We are excited to deliver that value to our clients, partners, and prospects.”
About Mambu
Mambu is the world’s only true SaaS cloud banking platform. Mambu fast-tracks the design and build of nearly any type of financial product for banks, lenders, fintechs, retailers, telcos, and more. Our unique composable approach means that independent components, systems, and connectors can be configured any way our clients require to meet their customer’s needs. Founded in 2011, Mambu has 700 employees and 200 customers globally, including N26, OakNorth, Tandem, ABN AMRO, Bank Islam, League Data, and Orange Bank. For more information, please visit www.mambu.com.
About ModusBox
ModusBox is a financial services technology company focused on open banking solutions that unlock access to banking core data and eliminate vendor dependencies. We help financial institutions empower their teams to connect to real-time payment networks like Zelle®, Mojaloop, ACH, Fedwire, and others. In addition, our solutions enable interoperability between online banking, credit checks, mortgage and loan applications, and other internal systems allowing for a timely and accurate view of customer data. For more information, please visit www.modusbox.com.
DocFox Partners with ModusBox to Create a Fully Automated Business Onboarding Experience for Community Banks and Credit Unions
SEATTLE, WA. Sep. 2, 2021. ModusBox is pleased to announce its partnership with DocFox – the SaaS-based automated business onboarding tool for financial institutions. The two companies provide a powerful solution that enables banks and credit unions to unlock access to banking core data and rapidly onboard any new business.
DocFox provides a white-labeled, paperless experience that handles document collection and validation through automated analysis, performs enhanced review and screening of high-risk customers, and a single point of view for real-time tracking of BSA (Bank Security Act) compliance.
ModusBox’s PortX integration platform unlocks access to banking core data through an API layered approach, allowing FIs to easily connect DocFox and other FinTech solutions to core applications and real-time payment channels.
“It’s clear that DocFox supports modern architecture for financial institutions,” said David Wexler, CEO of ModusBox. “It’s a great example of the type of new FinTech vendor that we want to join forces with to enable our bank and credit union customers to compete in their industry. This partnership creates a better cost factor for FIs to manage high-risk and business account opening, and create reusable assets to drive new use cases and additional efficiencies.”
“Financial services is evolving daily with new opportunities around every corner,” said Ryan Canin, CEO of DocFox. “Building the right nimble technology architecture that allows financial institutions to keep pace will be critical. DocFox is thrilled to be able to support our clients in partnership with ModusBox to leapfrog what they thought was previously possible and fully automate the onboarding of business and complex entities.”
About DocFox
DocFox is used by over 200 financial institutions to automate their account opening processes. It provides intelligent, highly customized workflows for any type of client. DocFox allows for an omni-channel account onboarding process with the flexibility for any client type, whether a corporation, offshore trust, crypto business, money services business, or an LLC. DocFox has innovative modules for the latest experience in automated business onboarding, including intelligent custom digital forms, automated document analysis, ID&V, risk rating, and sanctions screening with adverse media. For more information about DocFox and its comprehensive banking technology, visit www.docfox.io.
About ModusBox
ModusBox is a financial services technology company focused on open banking solutions that unlock access to banking core data and eliminate vendor dependencies. We help financial institutions empower their teams to connect to real-time payment networks like Zelle®, Mojaloop, ACH, Fedwire, and others. In addition, our solutions enable interoperability between online banking, credit checks, mortgage and loan applications, and other internal systems allowing for a timely and accurate view of customer data. For more information, please visit www.modusbox.com.
Ongoing Operations and ModusBox Partner to Revolutionize Credit Union Digital Transformation
We’re pleased to announce our partnership with Ongoing Operations (OGO) to extend the PortX Integration Platform to its customers. OGO is a credit union-owned technology services provider committed to delivering thought leadership, resources, and solutions that help credit union executives and IT leaders align technology with business strategy, maximize their IT investment, and improve operational performance. Learn more in the full announcement.
ModusBox Partners With FTSI to Offer an API-Led Integration Solution
ModusBox has partnered with Financial Technology Solutions International (FTSI) to help financial institutions unlock access to their banking core data and accelerate digital transformation. We are excited to partner with FTSI and leverage their deep financial services industry expertise to deliver the next generation of digital transformation initiatives for banks and credit unions. Read the full announcement here.
ModusBox and MS3 Officially Add DataSonnet to Apache Camel
We are ecstatic to share the news that Apache Camel has included DataSonnet in its latest release 3.7. DataSonnet is the project ModusBox started to create an open source data transformation scripting language. With the help of Mountain State Software Solutions (MS3), it is now officially part of the Apache Camel family. Learn more in the press release or visit the Datasonnet blog for more information.
ModusBox Partners with Sound Credit Union for Zelle® Integration
We are delighted to share the announcement of our newest partnership with Sound Credit Union to integrate the Zelle Network®. Sound Credit Union has been a long-time partner of ours, and this represents the latest in its commitment to delivering innovative solutions to its members. With Payment Manager, it will be able to rapidly offer Zelle® to its members during a time in which digital payments are more critical than ever before. You can read the full press release here.
IFGS 2019 Panel – Architects of the Age of Interoperability
ModusBox’s Vice President and General Manager of ModusBox EMEA joined the esteemed panel for this discussion at Innovate Finance’s Global Summit kicking off London’s FinTech week.
FinTech continues to fuel the unbundling and rebundling of financial services – and it will likely do so for some time. However, different customer segments will gravitate toward solutions with different levels of data sharing and autonomy. How much will the future of finance depend on the ability for products, services and systems to coordinate and work together?
World Council Of Credit Unions Helps Develop Technology In Asia And Africa
Megan O’Donnell, vice president of financial inclusion, spoke at the Innovate Finance Global Summit (IFGS) in London in April. The panel discussion also featured Warren Carew of ModusBox —which helps organizations make the most of the Mojaloop platform, and Juliet Kiluwa from Financial Sector Deepening Trust, a partner in the recent effort to update the national scheme for cross-platform instant payments in Tanzania. The discussion was moderated by Kosta Peric, deputy director of the financial services for the poor program at the Gates Foundation.
BoT launches single payment system
Bank of Tanzania (BoT) has launched an Instant Payment System (TIPS) that connects all services providers and banks under one platform.