Xinja Bank breaks own equity crowdfunding record with $2.59 million raise

Neobank Xinja Bank has broken its own equity crowdfunding record, raising just under $2.59 million from over 1,500 investors in its second campaign. This beats its first crowdfunding run last year, through which it raised $2.44 million.

According to Xinja, the majority of its investors are aged between 24 and 44, with the number of women investing growing from 17 percent in the first campaign to 27 percent in the second. Over 200 investors, or 15 percent, participated in both rounds.

Shares were priced at $2.04, up from $1.20 in the first campaign, with a minimum buy in of $255. The crowdfunding campaign is part of a wider capital raise, with Xinja aiming to raise between $10 million and $20 million in total.

Eric Wilson, cofounder and CEO of Xinja Bank, said the company is “delighted” by the response to the campaign. He believes it shows that Xinja’s “call to shake up the banking sector” is resonating with consumers.

“It’s up to Xinja to show what we can do by providing a new and inclusive way of banking for people who are fed up with what has been on offer…Australians deserve better,” he said.

“We all heard about traditional banking throughout the Hayne Royal Commission hearings. The game-changer underway in the sector now is the recognition among the public that banking in the near future will be transformative and involve trust, partnerships, all digital innovation and some adventure as well. The best business model is to do the right thing by your customers.”

The crowdfunding campaign follows Xinja’s securing of a restricted banking licence from the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) in December.

In securing the licence, Xinja is now able to call itself Xinja Bank, and can now hold up to $2 million in deposits of less than $250,000 each.

Currently, Xinja has an app and prepaid card in market. It has issued over 10,000 cards, which have been used in more than 70 countries.

Wilson said the prepaid card was an opportunity for people to get to know Xinja, and the company to develop its app.

“We are looking forward to bringing a bank account to market that helps people manage their money better, subject to our receiving a full licence,” he said.

“We are developing Xinja and our products so that if our customers do well, so do we. And we aim to make banking fun; we think that if people find managing their money engaging, they are likely to get better at it.”

Elsewhere in the digital banking space, Volt Bank was in January granted a full banking licence from APRA, meaning it is now licensed to operate as an authorised deposit-taking institution (ADI) without restrictions.

Image: the Xinja team. Source: Supplied.