Wednesday, prepaid debit card and education app GoHenry announced that they had raised $55 million in a new funding round.
The investment came from existing investors Edison Partners and Revaia, alongside new capital from an Italian pay tech called Nexi.
In 2022, the company said it doubled revenue from the prior year to $42M, and the news followed the recent acquisition of France and Spain teen banking app Pixpay.
The funding round follows GoHenry Group’s recent acquisition of Pixpay, the leader in teen banking in France and Spain, marking the fintech pioneer’s first steps outside the UK.
Alex Zivoder, CEO at GoHenry Group, said raising money in a market like this champions a decade of hard work.
“Under the current market conditions, to have attracted investment from a leading PLC like Nexi is a testament to the robust business we have built at GoHenry since we launched 10 years ago,” Zivoder said. “As digital payments become the norm, more families are looking for solutions to help their kids and teens interact with and understand how to manage money in a cashless world.”
The company said the funds would be used to grow GoHenry Group’s global presence, with plans for Pixpay to launch in Italy later this year.
New ways to financially educate
GoHenry said the funds will go toward new products to help educate, like the recently introduced gamified money lessons called ‘Money Missions.’
Nexi merged with a Danish pay tech called Nets last year, consolidating into Europe’s largest payments processor with a presence in over 25 countries. It is Nexi’s first investment in the GoHenry Group and leads on its mission to drive the transition to a cashless Europe by making every payment digital.
Edoardo Giorgetti, Head of YAP, Innovation Lab at Nexi, said they were happy to join in and that he will join the GoHenry Group board of directors.
“We are very pleased to enter into this partnership, which allows us to continue our journey beyond Italy to enable and educate tomorrow’s consumers by supporting the go-to-market efforts of GoHenry Group as it expands across Europe,” Giorgetti said. “It also reflects our ambition to empower European fintechs as part of a broader market evolution towards embedded payments and pay-as-a-service propositions.”
GoHenry Group is the parent company based in the UK, with a family tree that reaches worldwide. The family now includes PixPay in France, GoHenry and its subsidiaries in the US, GoHenry Financial Technology, based in Canada, and GoHenry Family Finance Ltd., based in the UK.
Funding from old partners
Chris Sugden, Managing Partner, Edison Partners, said the new funds continue a longstanding partnership.
“When we first partnered with GoHenry in 2020, we knew the company was poised to make a global impact by making money approachable and fun for the younger generation and their families,” Sugden said. “Our initial investment powered the business’ acceleration in the UK and expansion to the US.”
He said they are excited to fuel GoHenry’s rapid growth into Europe and teach young people financial literacy with practical tools like managing a budget.
Elina Berrebi, Founding Partner of Revaia, said they are happy to contribute to education efforts.
“We are very proud to support GoHenry’s efforts to develop financial literacy for all kids in Europe and the U.S,.” Berrebi said. “His new financing and strategic partnership is a significant milestone in its journey to becoming a leading global family finance player and will further develop its European footprint.”
Zivoder said GoHenry is delighted to welcome Nexi to the board “and to have strengthened our relationship with Edison and Revaia as we collectively continue transforming financial education for kids and teens across the globe.
Three visions of the financial future
GoHenry launched in 2012 to help young people learn about money, the firm said, by empowering them with financial products under parental supervision. For ages 6-10, the firm said it invested in a new financial education category and now has over two million members across the UK and US and, more recently, France and Spain with its acquisition of French fintech Pixpay.
They purchased Pixpay for its hold in Europe and congruent youth education goal, listed on the Milan Stock Exchange.
Benoit Grassin, Nicolas Klein, and Caroline Ménager founded Pixbay in France in 2019 as an alternative to banks for teens as young as 10. Pixpay offers a Mastercard card and a mobile app for payments and saving money.
Nexi is the European PayTech, also listed at Euronext Milan, intending to drive the transition to a cashless Europe.
