Companies like Klarna, Venmo, and Afterpay all have made modernized the payment landscape by providing consumer convenience. However, in the backend they have built massive troves of consumer purchase data that they are able to package, serving as a valuable lifeline for merchants that enables them to promote sales promotions, target, segment, and more. The ability to collect and democratize purchase information instantly at the point of purchase unlocks a world of new opportunities and this is exactly what Fidel API focuses on. At its core, it’s a payment data infrastructure that layers on top of existing payment stacks with APIs that allow developers to build timely and contextual experiences in real-time for an expanding collection of use cases. Some applications of the company’s platform include powering digital receipts, loyalty and rewards programs, insurance claims, expense management, and also personal financial management apps. With the advent of open banking and consumers granting permissions to their transactions opens us a world where consumers are willing to give up their once highly coveted data in order to receive both functional and hedonistic benefits. Fidel API’s core technology is being used across the globe, servicing millions of cardholders and hundreds of thousands of merchants.
London TechWatch caught up with Fidel API VP of Strategy Patrick Nealon to learn more about the business, the company’s strategic plans, latest round of funding, which brings the total funding raised to $86M, and much, much more…
Who were your investors and how much did you raise?
Fidel API raised $65 million in Series B funding. The round was led by Bain Capital Ventures, with participation from existing investors NYCA Partners, QED Investors, and more. It brings Fidel API’s total funding to $88 million since inception.
Tell us about your product or service.
Fidel API’s products enable developers to create programmable money experiences that enhance the value of using and accepting payment cards.
Using its suite of APIs, developers are able to build highly contextual and event-driven user experiences connected to real-time payment events from a user’s card. Real-time payments apply to a range of different use cases including digital receipts, omnichannel attribution, loyalty and rewards, insurance claim reimbursements, expense management, and personal finance management.
What inspired the start of Fidel API?
Back in 2013, Fidel API’s cofounders, Dev Subrata and Andre Elias, first encountered the data capture difficulties first-hand, while trying to build their own commercial application based on payment cards. While they were able to build a secure solution, the pain points, regulatory complexity, and cost inspired them to pivot to becoming a solution provider for other businesses.
After seeing and appreciating the breadth of opportunities available. Fidel API’s founders made the pivotal decision to become an enablement platform powering hundreds of other applications, rather than building a single experience directly.
How is it different?
The payments ecosystem can be highly complex to navigate, not to mention time-consuming and costly. Additionally, the payments ecosystem’s potential to offer additional value to end-users, particularly around real-time payment events, remains largely untapped.
Fidel API offers the only suite of financial infrastructure APIs that allow developers to build programmable experiences around Visa, Mastercard, or American Express transactions. Through a single integration, our APIs make it simple for developers to connect to payment cards and build new experiences to engage their users.
What market you are targeting and how big is it?
Since launching in 2018, Fidel API has experienced tremendous growth, more than doubling the size of its workforce over the past twelve months and entering markets across North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and the Middle East. Fidel API is currently powering services for millions of cardholders and hundreds of thousands of merchants around the world.
What are your post-COVID office plans?
Fidel API’s office plans are to adopt a highly flexible approach. Offices are open but people aren’t required to go in. In fact, many of the team operate remotely from many different e corners of the world including Dubai, Australia and all over the United States. Fidel API offices are seen as ‘cultural hubs’, a place to share ideas and collaborate, but not the only place the team can get the job done.
What factors about your business led your investors to write the check?
Merritt Hummer, Partner at Bain Capital Ventures who has joined Fidel API’s board after leading this funding round, wrote an excellent piece on the reasons behind supporting this round. In her own words:
“Our investment thesis for Fidel API can be distilled to a simple idea: Fidel API is to card data what Plaid is to bank data. Just as Plaid accesses a consumer’s bank account data (either by screen scraping or via direct integration with the bank), Fidel API accesses a consumer’s credit and debit card data (only through direct integrations with the major card networks). Fidel API’s platform makes it simple to stream real-time, high fidelity card transaction data from Visa, Mastercard, and American Express, augmented and made even more valuable when synthesized with additional third-party data sources.
Our team first met cofounder and CEO Dev Subrata two years ago and we have closely followed the company’s progress since then. We have been impressed by the strength of their technology, pace of execution, and deep relationships with the card networks. Fidel API is on a mission to “make money programmable” and we are delighted to partner with them in achieving that goal. We couldn’t be more excited to back such an ambitious, energetic, and thoughtful team. Welcome to the BCV family, Fidel API! “
Our investment thesis for Fidel API can be distilled to a simple idea: Fidel API is to card data what Plaid is to bank data. Just as Plaid accesses a consumer’s bank account data (either by screen scraping or via direct integration with the bank), Fidel API accesses a consumer’s credit and debit card data (only through direct integrations with the major card networks). Fidel API’s platform makes it simple to stream real-time, high fidelity card transaction data from Visa, Mastercard, and American Express, augmented and made even more valuable when synthesized with additional third-party data sources.
What are the milestones you plan to achieve in the next six months?
We aren’t sharing any commercial or product milestones yet, for obvious reasons, but we can confirm that Fidel API is in hyper-growth mode, with a heavy focus on hiring. This drive to hire is particularly acute within Sales, Engineering, and Product teams – most of whom are aiming to double headcount by year-end.
Where do you see the company going now over the near term?
Fidel API’s Series B financing will allow the company to continue to scale its workforce and product offerings. The company plans to more than double its global headcount to meet growing demand with a particular emphasis on Engineering, Sales and Product hires. The added capital will also accelerate investments into existing products, in addition to newer product capabilities across identity verification, consent management, and payments.
What’s your favourite outdoor activity in London?
Fidel API’s London office is fortunate to be placed in the heart of Soho on Carnaby Street. It’s a very historic and culturally rich hub, and a fun place to be based. One of the team’s favourite outdoor activities has to be the weekly team lunches on Fridays. The moment the sun is out, we’re searching for a spot in the sun to try something new in the local area. We’ve not been disappointed yet!
