Black Banking Startup, Greenwood, Raises $40M in Series A Round
Greenwood, a digital banking platform for Black and Latino individuals and business owners, has raised $40M in funding from some of the largest U.S. banks and payment technology companies. The Series A round included Truist Financial Corporation, Bank of America, PNC, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Mastercard, and Visa. Several venture capital firms, including TTV Capital, Quality Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners and SoftBank Group Corp’s SB Opportunity Fund also participated.
“I am elated that many of the world’s top fintech companies have invested in Greenwood and join us in this mission,” Ryan Glover, Chairman and Co-founder of Greenwood, said. “The backing of six of the top seven banks and the two largest payment technology companies is a testament to the contemporary influence of the Black and Latino community. We now are even better positioned to deliver the world-class services our customers deserve.”
The capital raise was led by Truist Ventures, the corporate venture capital division of Truist Financial Corporation.
“Truist Ventures is helping to inspire and build better lives and communities by leading the Series A funding round for Greenwood’s innovative approach to building greater trust in banking within Black and Latino communities,” Dontá L. Wilson, Truist Chief Digital and Client Experience Officer, said. “In addition to the opportunity to work with and learn from this distinguished group of founders, our investment in Greenwood is reflective of our purpose and commitment to advancing economic empowerment of minority and underserved communities.”
Greenwood was founded by Ryan Glover, Michael “Killer Mike” Render and Andrew Young. The app is focused on providing innovative banking services to Black and Latino communities while also giving back to community businesses and causes.
“We think it is critical that our actions live up to the promise of our name,” said Glover, referring to Tulsa, Oklahoma’s Greenwood District of the early 20th Century, which included the prosperous “Black Wall Street”.
In November 2020, Greenwood announced that actor Jesse Williams was one of the company’s initial seed investors.
