Zolve, a neobank for global citizens moving to the US, raises $51M and secures $200M debt

Zolve, a neobank that helps provide financial access to high-skilled and high-spending global citizens moving to the U.S., has raised $251 million in a new (equity and debt mix) funding round as the startup aims to expand its presence and enter new geographies.

Every year, millions of highly skilled people move to countries like the U.S. for new opportunities. However, one major challenge they face is gaining access to financial services, even once they begin earning good salaries. Banks often deny them credit cards and loans due to the lack of a credit history in their new country — despite a good credit history in their home country. This becomes especially difficult when these people want to purchase assets like a new home to live in, or a car to commute daily.

Zolve aims to address this with its neobank, which helps newcomers access credit and banking on the day they enter the U.S. without requiring credit history. The startup currently targets global citizens entering the U.S., offering them credit cards and checking accounts using their home credit data.

“Financial institutions in one country don’t talk to financial institutions in another country because sufficiently low-risk individuals end up being treated as high-risk. That’s the problem we are trying to solve,” said Raghunandan G, founder and CEO of Zolve, in an interview.

Since its launch in 2021, Zolve has amassed 750,000 customers, processing over $1.2 billion in transactions to date. The startup also generated $25 million in net revenue last year, the founder told TechCrunch.

Now, Zolve aims to increase these numbers by introducing loans, starting with auto loans and gradually expanding to personal and education loans.

The founder said that car dealers in the U.S. demand a 40% upfront payment and provide an interest rate of around 19-21% to expats as they do not have a credit history — the same dealers can offer cars to a local American for a 10% upfront payment and a credit with a 6-7% interest rate. Zolve can address this parity by accessing people’s credit history from their home country and underwriting risk.

The startup also plans to enter Canada by July or August of this year and step into the U.K. and Australia next year.

Zolve has raised $51 million in equity for its Series B round, led by Creaegis, with participation from HSBC, SBI, GMO, and DG Daiwa to support its expansion. Existing investors Accel, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Sparta Group, and DST Global Partners also participated. Additionally, the round involved a debt of $200 million to buy expats’ books from its partner banks to underwrite risks.

The startup ultimately aims to serve not only global users relocating to the U.S. and Canada but also individuals in the West moving between countries or shifting to Asia and other regions by building a connected financial network, the founder said.