There’s a wave of challenger financial service providers that are expanding beyond basic banking to service the needs of the 47M+ immigrants in the US. The most common challenges that immigrants face when it comes to banking include building credit, language barriers, and payment services. Welcome Technologies is a mobile banking platform that focuses on improving access to banking services for immigrant communities and their families. In addition to the banking platform, the company also offers a monthly subscription service that provides users access to highly-discounted resources that include insurance, medical, dental, and pharmacy.
LA TechWatch caught up with Cofounder and CEO Amir Hemmat to learn more about the challenges immigrants and their families face with banking, the company’s strategic plans, latest round of funding, which brings the total funding raised to $50M, and much, much more.
Who were your investors and how much did you raise?
We recently raised $35 million in a Series B round. This round saw participation from world-class investors. Investors who believe in both our dedication to the immigrant community and our vision to build a stronger operating system for immigration. The funding round was co-led by TTV Capital, Owl Ventures, and SoftBank Group Corp’s SB Opportunity Fund, with participation from Crosscut Ventures, Mubadala Capital, Next Play Capital, and Owl Capital.
Tell us about your product or service.
Welcome Tech’s platform provides greater financial confidence to our three million users. We have a consumer-friendly, mobile bank account and bilingual mobile app, which enables easy financial management.
There are no monthly maintenance fees, minimums, or overdrafts. A free debit card is included with the bank account, as well as access to more than 19,000 free in-network ATMs. All funds in the accounts are FDIC insured.
But that’s not all we offer the community. We also offer subscription services that provide access to discounts in other key areas, as well as ongoing educational content to help guide them as they adapt to life in the U.S.
Along with financial services, our data shows that healthcare-related concerns are paramount, hence, our initial focus through the subscription is access to health services. With our subscription offerings, users pay a minimum monthly fee for themselves and their families, to secure medical services that are essential, affordable, and easily accessible from their mobile device. These services run the gamut from medical, dental, vision, and lab-related, to pharmaceutical discounts. They are comprehensive and competitive, and again, in language and in culture.
By leading our offerings with the areas that can make the greatest impact on the immigrant community we both serve and empower immigrant communities. And they, in turn, empower our country.
What inspired the start of Welcome Technologies?
My cofounder and I both come from first-generation immigrant families and much of our lives have been informed by the first-generation challenges that immigrant households face. This first-hand knowledge helps us better serve our members by fortifying the community with the tools and resources they need in order to better adapt to their new country.
Additionally, we have spent the last 20 years of our careers working with immigrant communities in the U.S. and our previous business was an educational platform for U.S. immigrants. The necessities of immigrant communities have largely remained consistent since our nation’s inception, and one thing that shows clearly in the data as well as in conversations with immigrants is that better financial services and acumen are key to empowering this consumer cohort. Having your financial house in order is fundamental to success in other areas. Banking and payments are the foundational beachheads to greater opportunities.
How is it different?
We are leveraging technology and data to allow for further verticalization, customization, and personalization of financial services for this segment, which happens to be the largest and fastest-growing. With nearly three million users today, Welcome Tech has more insights for customization than anyone else in the market, and best serves its members, with linguistic and cultural relevance. The traditional banks are not prioritizing this consumer and the neobanks are largely ignoring this sector. No other provider is servicing this consumer with the trust, customization, and scale that Welcome Tech is. It’s not just another financial service for this consumer but instead a platform that is essential to their ongoing success.
What market you are targeting and how big is it?
We are focused on the largest immigrant population in the world – the Spanish-speaking immigrant community in the U.S. The Hispanic market represents the most sizable minority cohort in the U.S., with a population of 62.8 million. That said, less than half of Hispanic households are ‘fully banked, meaning they cannot open an account, which then negatively impacts their ability to secure other products or services.
We know there is a significant opportunity to positively impact this valuable cohort. If we solve for this community, our model, services, technology, data and team will scale to other immigrant populations domestically as well as internationally. Because the reality is, though many immigrant groups are distinct, they all face very similar issues when establishing themselves in a new country, with a dissimilar language and culture.
What’s your business model?
We have witnessed how every industry has largely focused on extracting value from this consumer segment and we want to be the company that focuses on CREATING value for them.
With nearly three million users and massive growth ahead of us, we have more insights for customization than anyone in the market. We understand the multi-generational immigrant household and how to best serve its members, in a bespoke manner. The traditional banks are not prioritizing this consumer and the neobanks are largely ignoring this sector…we are stepping in to be the unparalleled solution at scale.
Our model is to continue to serve this community, with financial solutions, subscription services, and ongoing education. Plenty of opportunities to grow and serve concurrently.
How has the business impacted by COVID-19?
Before the pandemic, our members were accustomed to in-person settings. Since then, we’ve adapted and we’re now hosting Zoom conferences helping people use their bank accounts and explaining upcoming features. We’re seeing a much greater desire for digital solutions that create efficiencies. We’ve made it simple to open a new, more accessible bank account. It only takes a few minutes. Most haven’t experienced that in the past.
What was the funding process like?
The funding process is always intriguing and challenging. You have a chance to deep dive into your business and also learn a lot about yourself. The fintech space is very active at the moment so the Series B process was an opportunity to meet with a variety of investors looking to participate in the space and back market leaders. The pandemic offered a very different experience for fundraising where entrepreneurs built relationships with investors over Zoom so it took an extra effort from both sides to build authentic relationships. We were fortunate to find world-class investors with a ton of value alignment.
The funding process is always intriguing and challenging. You have a chance to deep dive into your business and also learn a lot about yourself. The fintech space is very active at the moment so the Series B process was an opportunity to meet with a variety of investors looking to participate in the space and back market leaders. The pandemic offered a very different experience for fundraising where entrepreneurs built relationships with investors over Zoom so it took an extra effort from both sides to build authentic relationships. We were fortunate to find world-class investors with a ton of value alignment.
What are the biggest challenges that you faced while raising capital?
We are a very mission-driven company so finding investors that are excited about our scalable business model, our disruptive technology, and our potential to make a colossal impact is always key. It’s also important to weed out investors that wouldn’t be a good fit; probably, equally as important.
What factors about your business led your investors to write the check?
The immigrant population in the U.S. is rapidly growing and has been ignored by many. We’ve decided to close the gap and to serve them well with an unparalleled financial services offering, for starters.
The Hispanic market as a whole has buying power hovering just under $2 trillion. Our investors recognize and appreciate this sector’s value, our financial solutions, and our mission to harness technology to propel immigrant success,
Finally, our history mattered. Before even jumping into building a fintech company, we did a lot of work. We spent years developing an understanding of this audience, including building trust within the demographic. And at the same time, we have been producing targeted content. This serves as a really great backbone to build a company that is very well-suited to serve this audience and to roll out things like the debit card and other financial services offerings.
What are the milestones you plan to achieve in the next six months?
The latest funding will be invested in GROWTH. Growth of our user base, growth of our team, and growth of the services we offer to the consumer. Due to our success to date, we have enormous demand from channel partners to get our platform in the hands of more community members and we are growing quickly. We are also leveraging our success to develop new and disruptive services that will launch in the coming months to further service the needs of the community.
The latest funding will be invested in GROWTH. Growth of our user base, growth of our team, and growth of the services we offer to the consumer. Due to our success to date, we have enormous demand from channel partners to get our platform in the hands of more community members and we are growing quickly. We are also leveraging our success to develop new and disruptive services that will launch in the coming months to further service the needs of the community.
We are especially excited to make this impact while building a very talented and diverse team. Phenomenal talent has been searching for the right way to make meaningful contributions to this consumer segment and Welcome Tech has provided a mission and business model that is attracting the best and brightest.
What advice can you offer companies in Los Angeles that do not have a fresh injection of capital in the bank?
Focus your energy and brainpower on making a positive impact in the world. Also, sometimes avoiding the wrong investors can be just as important as finding the right ones.
Where do you see the company going now over the near term?
We want our platform to be a better operating system for immigration in the U.S. and to serve as a template for global expansion. Immigration is an international issue that continuously challenges most countries. Through our company, immigrants and their households will have access to critical resources that support their integration and ongoing success. Banking and financial services are a beachhead and starting point to a broader platform that will lead to more opportunities for the communities we serve.
What is your favorite restaurant in LA?
In the spirit of entrepreneurship, I’m going to break the rules…
- In n Out
- Locanda Portofino
- Tallula’s
- The Farmshop
