SoFi User Base Triples Since January

SoFi’s daily trading volumes have surged as of the beginning of this year, while its user base has dramatically risen, SoFi CEO Anthony Noto said in a televised interview. The report comes as a number of big banks have also reported trading volumes are up as they report their earnings.

“Our total users have nearly tripled since January. Our daily trading volumes up over 300 percent,” Noto said in the interview. “We’re seeing many first-time investors.” The executive also said the company had unveiled fractional shares more than a year and a half ago, which he said has been an “overwhelming success” to enable investing in companies that people like and buy and have a high-dollar denomination.

In regards to the company’s recent filing for a national bank charter, Noto said, “Being a national bank would really be critical strategically. Our company is ready for that next important step and responsibility. And I’m really proud of the progress we’ve made over the last two and a half years to be in a position to make that application.”

Noto also pointed out that the company unveiled a SoFi gig economy exchange-traded fund (ETF) with the symbol of GIGE. “The idea here was to give millennials and Gen Z, our target audience, access to a diversified portfolio of new economy companies and gig economy companies,” Noto said.

The news comes as Samsung Electronics America, Inc. unveiled a new mobile-focused money management experience named Samsung Money by SoFi to assist users in handling their everyday finances per news in May.

Users can opt for an individual or joint cash management account with the offering. They can also get in-network automated teller machine (ATM) reimbursement at more than 55,000 U.S. locations. The virtual card will instantaneously show up in Samsung Pay at the time of approval.

In April, SoFi said it had come to a definitive arrangement to purchase Galileo Financial Technologies.