Goldman Sachs invests €25 million in German fintech Raisin

Pan-European savings marketplace Raisin today announced a new investment of €25 million by Goldman Sachs. With the new funding bringing the total volume of primary investment to €195 million, Raisin retains its leading position as the best funded tech startup in the savings and investment area in Europe. The new injection of capital follows the fintech’s recent series D round of €100 million.

New investment drives product and market expansion

With the new funding, Raisin will build its stateside presence to prepare a 2020 launch in the $12.7 trillion U.S. savings market, as well as enter two new European markets within 2019. Following Raisin’s acquisition in 2017 of Manchester-based PBF Solutions — today Raisin UK (raisin.co.uk) — the startup bought its long-time servicing bank MHB-Bank in early 2019. Now, the fintech aims to further advance its technology, acquire top-notch talent, and broaden its product portfolio. With the backing of pre-eminent global investment bank Goldman Sachs, Raisin will be able to further accelerate its mission of removing barriers and simplifying access to better and fairer savings and investments in Europe and the U.S.A.

A European success story: connecting banks and customers across borders

A trailblazer for open banking, the Berlin-based fintech was founded in 2012 by Dr. Tamaz Georgadze (CEO), Dr. Frank Freund (CFO) and Michael Stephan (COO). Since launch in 2013, Raisin has brokered €14 billion for more than 185,000 customers across the European continent. Offering consumers more than 480 savings products from 80 European partner banks, the fintech provides ‘deposits-as-a-service’ to banks all over the European Economic Area looking to diversify with high-quality retail funding from markets beyond their own. Raisin has also built distribution partnerships with N26, Commerzbank, o2 Banking of Telefónica Germany and Yolt among others, making the Raisin marketplace of competitive deposit products available to their customers.

Managing Director, Goldman Sachs Principal Strategic Investments Rana Yared

Rana Yared, Managing Director, Goldman Sachs Principal Strategic Investments, said: “Raisin has developed a unique savings marketplace with a solid business model, impressive growth and a loyal customer base. We are excited to support the company’s outstanding management team in executing their vision.”

Dr. Tamaz Georgadze, Raisin CEO and co-founder. Photo (c) Lukas Schramm

“This investment from such a renowned brand is a very encouraging confirmation for us that our core business, as well as growth strategy, are on the right track. We’re really proud to have Goldman’s backing, especially given the expertise in investment products, along with an extraordinary 150-year history and record of success,” added Raisin CEO and co-founder Dr. Tamaz Georgadze.

About Raisin
Raisin’s platforms — under the brand WeltSparen in the German-speaking world — are breaking down barriers to better savings for European consumers and SMEs: Raisin’s marketplace offers simple access at no charge to attractive and guaranteed deposit products from all over Europe, as well as globally diversified, cost-effective ETF portfolios in cooperation with Vanguard and DAB BNP Paribas (currently available in Germany). With one online registration, customers can choose from all available investments and subsequently manage their accounts with Raisin. Today, Raisin has six country specific savings platforms in Germany, United Kingdom, France, The Netherlands, Spain, Austria and a dedicated com-platform for 28 European countries. Raisin was named to Europe’s top 5 fintechs by the renowned FinTech50 awards and is backed by prestigious European and American investors such as Index Ventures, Orange Digital Ventures, PayPal, Ribbit Capital and Thrive Capital.

About Goldman Sachs Group
The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. is a leading global investment banking, securities and investment management firm that provides a wide range of financial services to a substantial and diversified client base that includes corporations, financial institutions, governments and individuals. Founded in 1869, the firm is headquartered in New York and maintains offices in all major financial centers around the world.