Neobank Volt continues “prudent and measured” approach to growth

Volt co-founder Steve Weston. Source: supplied.

Aussie neobank Volt has partnered up with UK fintech Railsbank to launch its embedded finance offering to Aussie businesses, and to power up Volt’s growth after what has been a tricky few months in the sector.

Railsbank — registered in Australia as RailsPay — will use Volt’s Banking-as-a-Service platform and infrastructure to serve Australia business customers with integrated bank accounts, cards and payment solutions.

The deal is also intended to give Volt access to Railsbank’s network of partners, helping it to scale quicker.

Founded out of the UK back in 2016 by Clive Mitchell and Nigel Verdon, who also founded CurrencyCloud, Railsbank is designed to offer companies easy access to global banking services.

It has offices in Singapore, the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam and Sri Lanka, as well as in Germany, Lithuania and the US.

In November last year, the business raised US$37 million ($47.4 million) from investors including Mastercard and Visa.

Justin Xiao, Railsbank chief operating officer for the Asia Pacific market, said in a statement that the strength of the Volt brand, coupled with a strong balance sheet and compliance offering makes it “a real privilege” to partner with the neobank.

“Australia’s fintech scene is thriving,” he added.

“Collaborating with Volt gives us access to local knowledge and capabilities to help us succeed.”

However, the deal comes after a trying few months in the Aussie neobank scene. Early player Xinja exited the sector and handed back its deposit-taking institution (ADI) licence in December 2020, citing COVID-19 as a major factor.

In January, NAB announced plans to acquire 86 400, combining it with its own digital offering UBank.

Now, Volt and Judo — which is focused on small business banking — are the only two fully independent entities left in the race. And Volt still doesn’t have a transaction account product on the market.

Volt founder and chief Steve Weston said this particular partnership demonstrates “how our prudent and measured approach to market entry … could help to make Volt a long-term contender for a share in Australia’s highly lucrative banking sector”.