GoHenry, the fintech for under-18s, raises $55M after passing 2M users • ZebethMedia

Neobanks have made a name for themselves by successfully winning the business of newly minted adults, opening their first checking, savings and investment accounts and uninterested in doing business with clunky, expensive legacy banks. Now a new wave of startups and services has been getting a jump on that model with an even earlier target: under-18s, including kids as young as 6, and in the latest development, U.K. fintech GoHenry is announcing $55 million in funding to double down on the opportunity.
The equity funding is coming from previous backers Edison Partners and Revaia (formerly Gaia), with a strategic investment from Italian payments company Nexi, a new backer.
The company is not disclosing its valuation but I understand it’s more than $250 million and less than $500 million. It brings the total raised by GoHenry (named, the company says, after its first child-customer) to $125 million, including a $40 million round led by Edison in 2020 and a $15 million angel round. Early on, it also raised $15 million in crowdfunding in 2016 and 2018. GoHenry likes to say that it has 5,000 shareholders as a result of those campaigns, and half of them are users.
That is just a small percentage overall of the kids (and parents) that GoHenry has amassed over the years. It now has 2 million customers — all between 6 and 18 years of age — across the U.K., the U.S., and more recently France and Spain after acquiring French rival Pixpay this summer. Today, they use two main services from the company, a prepaid debit card (topped up by parents typically) and a “financial education” app that links to that card (and an app that parents can use to help monitor and manage the account). 
COVID-19 broke open the bank when it came to the usage of fintech: consumer “digital transformation” played out in a couple of ways, with people socially distancing driven to using apps and sites to manage their finances, underscored by a shift in commerce also going online, and people equally and more directly just shifting their attention to considering how they interfaced with finance and experimenting with new services as a result.
This also played out, interestingly, among young people, GoHenry said, with the company seeing a surge of new users during the pandemic and an increased rate of activity among existing customers. Its research found that kids in the U.K., GoHenry’s main market, earned £148 million in 2021, up 9% over 2020.
“We start at 6 because parents want a rite of passage, to give a card for a child’s 6th or 7th birthday,” CEO Alex Zivoder said. “That surprised us, since it was earlier than we expected. This shows to us that this is the best time for kids to start understanding the concept of money.” And that concept is linked to earning it, he added. “It’s all about allowance and chores, or a mix.” He notes that younger children do not spend much (nor have places to do so) but that takes off in the teen years, as teens do more spending and have more peer-to-peer transactions and more wages paid in from jobs or apprenticeships. “It’s the beginning of independence,” he said.
GoHenry itself is not yet profitable, but those trends point to its growth. It posted $42 million in revenue in 2021 (the last complete year that it’s reported), which was double what it made in 2020. (New users get 30 days of usage free, but after that it’s £2.99 per month, and Zivoder said that 99% of people who try it out become customers.)
Now the plan will be to expand those products with a new ISA product for savings accounts and the launch of a new gamified educational experience called Money Missions; to expand geographically in Europe (leveraging the Nexi relationship); and to start considering where there might be opportunities to do more for those aging out of the core service. 
GoHenry is not the only fintech that is sharpening its sights on the segment. Earlier this week, kids banking app Step announced that it had taken out a $300 million credit line to build out a crypto trading product for young users (yes, crypto trading for under-18s…). Greenlight meanwhile added a new raft of family-focused safety features. Others like Revolut and Acorns, not originally built for younger users, have expanded into that age bracket.
“It’s the emergence of a new sector,” Zivoder said. “In the next 2 to 3 years we’ll have hopefully created a successful new segment called youth banking. The funding and debt raises are the next step in the story. For all of us, it’s getting us to the point to become household names in this segment.”
“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,” said Chris Sugden, managing partner, Edison Partners, in a statement. “Our initial investment powered the business’ acceleration in the U.K. and expansion to the U.S. We are excited to fuel GoHenry’s rapid growth into continental Europe and to teach young people financial literacy with practical tools like how to manage a budget.”

             Disclaimer: Any Product You Buy Here, Amazon Pays me A Commission With No Additional Fee.

 

This is a must Have Software For Your Home & Business. This software will help your business and make your job Stress Free.

Business and Office Management  Category.

(Old Version) H&R Block Tax Software Deluxe + State 2023 with Refund Bonus Offer (Amazon Exclusive) (PC/MAC Download)

(4264)

20% Off $49.99 $39.97 (as of November 21, 2024 06:11 GMT +00:00 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)

Choose to put your refund on an Amazon gift card and you can get a 2% bonus. One state program download included. State e-file sold separately. Reporting assistance on income from investments, stock options, home sales, and retirement Guidance on max... read more

Acrobat Pro | 1-Month Subscription | PDF Software |Convert, Edit, E-Sign, Protect |Activation Required [PC/Mac Online Code]

(1444)

$29.99 (as of November 21, 2024 06:33 GMT +00:00 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)

Create and edit PDFs. Collaborate with ease. E-sign documents and collect signatures. Get everything done in one app, wherever you go. Edit text and images without jumping to another app. E-sign documents or request e-signatures on any device. Recipi... read more

Adobe Photoshop Elements 2025 & Premiere Elements 2025 Student & Teacher Edition | PC/Mac Code | Box with Download Code | Photo & Video Editing | 3-year term license | Activation Required

(17)

$79.99 (as of November 21, 2024 05:39 GMT +00:00 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)

Remove photo objects with AI power. Create and control photo depth with AI. Change the color of any object in your photo. Seamlessly combine multiple pics. Create dynamic video titles with text styling controls. Access free Adobe Stock video title te... read more

Adobe Photoshop Elements 2025 | Photo Editing | 3-Year Term License | PC/MAC | Box with Download Code | Activation Required

(17)

$99.99 (as of November 21, 2024 05:37 GMT +00:00 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)

Remove objects with AI power. Create and control depth with AI. Change the color of any object. Seamlessly combine multiple pictures. Create with modern textures and graphics. Be creative with the web and mobile beta apps. Get a 3-year term license f... read more

AVG Ultimate 2024 | Antivirus+Cleaner+VPN | 5 Devices, 2 Years [PC/Mac/Mobile Download]

(1124)

14% Off $34.99 $29.99 (as of November 21, 2024 06:11 GMT +00:00 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)

AVG ULTIMATE: Your all-in-one antivirus, VPN, and tuneup combo. OUR BEST SECURITY: Enjoy our advanced, real-time security for your computers, tablets, and phones. OUR BEST PRIVACY: Secure your privacy with powerful encryption so no one can see what y... read more

Bitdefender Total Security - 5 Devices | 1 year Subscription | PC/Mac | Activation Code by email

(2361)

50% Off $89.99 $44.99 (as of November 21, 2024 06:43 GMT +00:00 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)

SPEED-OPTIMIZED, CROSS-PLATFORM PROTECTION: World-class antivirus security and cyber protection for Windows, Mac OS, iOS, and Android. Organize and keep your digital life safe from hackers. ADVANCED THREAT DEFENSE: Your software is always up-to-date ... read more

Bitdefender Total Security 2024 – Complete Antivirus and Internet Security Suite – 5 Devices | 2 year Subscription | PC/Mac | Activation Code by Mail

(3511)

$74.99 (as of November 21, 2024 05:37 GMT +00:00 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)

SPEED-OPTIMIZED, CROSS-PLATFORM PROTECTION: World-class antivirus security and cyber protection for Windows (Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Windows 10, and Windows 11), Mac OS (macOS X Yosemite 10.10 or later), iOS (11.2 or later), and Android (5.0 or later... read more

Clifford The Big Red Dog Thinking Adventures CD-ROM Parent's Guide Ages 4-6

(9)

-85% Off $2.43 $4.50 (as of November 21, 2024 05:37 GMT +00:00 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)

CLIP STUDIO PAINT PRO - Version 1 - Perpetual License - for Microsoft Windows and MacOS

(3061)

$23.99 (as of November 21, 2024 06:18 GMT +00:00 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)

Create original sketches using your mouse or draw naturally with a pen tablet. Powerful coloring tools make CLIP STUDIO PAINT your all-in-one illustration, painting, manga and comic creation solution. Use an assortment of powerful art tools for illus... read more

CodaKid Roblox Coding, Award-Winning, Coding for Kids, Ages 9+ with Online Mentoring Assistance, Learn Computer Programming and Code Fun Games with Lua and Video Game Programming Software (PC & Mac)

(332)

$59.00 (as of November 21, 2024 05:32 GMT +00:00 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)

CodaKid’s Roblox Lua coding educational software provides 100+ hours of interactive student projects designed to engage and educate kids, teaching them to become creators in their own right. Students learn real Lua coding and video game design using ... read more