Comun Sees Rapid Growth Among Immigrants as It Secures $21.5M in Series A Funding
NEW YORK, Aug. 28, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Comun, a Latino-founded neobank that provides modern banking solutions to immigrants1 in the U.S., announced today it has raised $21.5M in its Series A funding round led by Redpoint Ventures with participation from ANIMO Ventures, Costanoa Ventures, FJ Labs, RTP Global, and South Park Commons. The company, which recently announced a $4.5M round in December 2023, said its continued dedication to meeting their customers’ unique financial needs has led them to exceptional growth. With this new investment, Comun aims to become a one-stop financial partner to their customers.
Since its launch, Comun’s active customer base has increased by an average of 52% month-over-month. Today, revenue per user is almost four times higher than at the start of the year. In addition, the company has surpassed $1B in annualized payment volume. The company credits its success to various factors, such as the launch of its remittance program in March, launching the largest network of cash deposit locations in the U.S., more than doubling its bilingual 24/7 support team since December 2023, its targeted marketing efforts, and the pivotal decision to build their partner bank2 integration in-house. This move has enabled Comun to build more personalized products, reduce costs, and pass savings to their customers.
“We are incredibly humbled and proud to see that what we have done and continue to do is resonating with our customers,” said Andres Santos, CEO and co-founder of Comun. “We also recognize we have a long road ahead of us. Today, the Hispanic population in the U.S. is more than 63 million and is expected to reach 111 million by 2060. So, while we have seen great success with our services, there is still much work to do to reach our vision where everyone has affordable and easy access to financial products. With this new investment, we’ll be able to accelerate our growth efforts to meet our customers’ needs today and in the future.”
Comun’s unique product offering and low-fee structure have won the admiration of its customers. With its product, Comun has made ongoing changes to ensure it’s uniquely tailored to its customers. The company has also been an advocate for reducing the cost of financial services and products. Customers with banking accounts have no minimum balance requirements, monthly fees, overdraft charges, or membership fees, a unique offering that customers are drawn to, according to Comun.
The most popular features include the extensive cash deposit locations and the ability to send money to Latin America via one of the lowest cost and most accessible remittance offerings on the market today. Thus far, Comun is on track to process more than $100M in annual remittance payment volume since launching in March 2024. According to the company, its new product features have led to the added benefit of diversifying its revenue streams outside of interchange fees. The company plans to expand its remittance program and launch several other features by the end of the year.
“We have an aggressive product roadmap set for this year that we’re excited to kick off as it will only deepen our relationship with our customers,” said Abiel Gutierrez, CTO and co-founder of Comun. “That includes providing customers with additional alternatives on how they fund their accounts, enhancing our fraud detection capabilities, making sure every customer has a great product experience, and including more countries in Latin America where customers can send money. We’re ready for Comun’s next milestone in helping our customers as their immigration journey matures – whether that means starting a new business, starting a family, or being an even greater source of support for relatives abroad. We want our customers to know they can count on us.”
Redpoint Ventures, which led the investment round, believes Comun’s ambition, vision, and relentless dedication to its customers is what sets them apart. “Andres and Abiel’s technical caliber and outsized ambition have been readily apparent since we first met them years ago when Comun was just an idea,” said Meera Clark, Principal at Redpoint Ventures. “Their approach to building not just a point solution but instead an end-to-end platform positions Comun incredibly well to unlock access to the broad range of financial products and services that millions of immigrants are increasingly reaching for as their financial needs become more complex and their money management moves online. What the team has accomplished in less than two years is remarkable. The impact they’ve had and will continue to make is attracting incredible talent to the company, further propelling the flywheel. We’re honored to join the team in their journey to helping this population achieve financial freedom.”
In the past year, the company has attracted and hired fintech experts from Brex, Capital One, Novo, and Nubank. Comun plans to use the investment to expand its products and features and hire team members across analytics, compliance, customer support, engineering, growth, and product.
About Comun
Comun is on a mission to enable upward mobility for Latinos in the U.S. Comun’s products and services are uniquely built and designed for the millions of families who struggle to turn their hard work into financial stability with the traditional banking services that exist today. The New York-based company was founded by Abiel Gutierrez and Andres Santos in 2021 after both founders experienced first-hand financial exclusion in the U.S. after migrating from Mexico. Learn more about Comun here.
Media Contact:
Jessica Ayala
(650) 218-5020
[email protected]
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1 Comun’s products and services are inclusive and available to all customers in the U.S.
2 Community Federal Savings Bank is the banking partner and is member FDIC.
