Brazilian fintech Franq raises a BRL 20 million Series A led by Valor Capital Group

Franq is a banking services curator platform; the round will be used to triple the self-employed bank agent network

FRANQ fintech Brazil — Franq's founders: Paulo Silva, Daniel Ferretti, Gustavo Hartmann, Felipe Giroleti and João Boos. Photo: Guilherme Goes

16.Jun.2021 11:23 BRT

Brazilian fintech Franq Openbank, a banking services curator platform, raised a BRL 20 million Series A round led by the venture capital fund Valor Capital Group. The funds will be used to expand the operation, which today has a network of more than 1,800 independent bank agents. The goal is to reach the end of 2021 with 12,000 “Personal Bank Agents” across the country.

Franq works by connecting these personal bank agents to 35 partner financial institutions, including large banks such as Itaú, Bradesco and Santander, and fintechs such as Creditas, bxblue and Geru, among others. Through Franq’s platform, each self-employed bank agent sets up their professional page, a kind of “virtual store” in which they offer the catalog of financial products and services of partner institutions. Franq has a total customer base of 20,000 customers.

The personal bank agents are remunerated by partner institutions on the products and services sold; Franq receives a commission of 20% of this amount, the rest is with the partner bank. There are no fees charged to the end customer.

Franq relies on the expertise of former bank agents to carry out this financial curation and attract clients, strengthening a partnership with consolidated players in the financial market, who benefit from an independent bank agents network offering their products and services.

Also, with the digitization of the financial services – according to bank unions, in 2020 the financial system closed more than 10,000 jobs – and with the implementation of open banking, which will give customers more control over their banking data, Franq believes that this business model will grow in the coming years and wants to lead this market.

“We believe in the value of building a shared network of self-employed professionals as an engine for market transformation. Franq comes in to take advantage of all this expertise in a more independent and flexible way,” explains Paulo Silva, Franq’s CEO.