Visa Invests $5M Into Indian Neobank Open

Visa has finished a $5 million investment in Open, part of the neobank’s Series C fundraise, according to unnamed sources speaking to Moneycontrol Monday (Oct. 25).

On Oct. 12, Open said that it had raised $100 million led by Temasek, which included other investors like Google and SBI Investment, but didn’t include Visa’s role at the time.

That round valued Open at $500 million.

Open offers small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) a business account which includes digital banking, payments, invoicing and automated bookkeeping.

Read more: SMB Digital Banking Startup Open Closes $100M Funding at $500M Valuation

With the current boom in startup funding, Open is looking to get unicorn status. The company wants to keep an edge over the neobank space, currently made up of other companies like RazorpayX, Khatabook, Jupiter and Fi, allowing digital banking for individual customers and smaller companies.

The recent round also saw Google’s fourth investment in the Indian startup space, following Glance and DailyHunt in December 2020 and the acquisition of Simsim, the social commerce player, through YouTube this year.

The company was founded in 2017 by Anish Achutan, Ajeesh Achutan, Mabel Chacko and Deena Jacob.

Open’s other investors include BEENEXT, AngelList, Tanglin Investment Partners, Unicorn India Ventures, Speedinvest, and Recruit.

In other news, Visa is reportedly going to be the first payments company to report its results after the markets close on Oct. 26, PYMNTS wrote.

Read more: Visa’s Results and Transaction Volumes Will Offer Fresh Consumer Insights Ahead of Holiday Rush

Visa’s latest report from its spending momentum index has shown consumers pulling back a bit, being 108.5 in September, which was a 1.1 point decrease from August. But as the reading was above 100, it seems to show consumers are spending at higher levels than last year.

But the report notes that “growth is still growth” and that it might show if the slight loss of momentum ends up being a minor trend. The report said the U.S. consumer could have ended up “taking a breather” before holiday spending begins.