ImpactAlpha, May 30 – Nearly half of Americans don’t have the money to cover a $400 emergency expense and more than half have trouble managing their daily finances.
“There is a generation of 100 million people between the ages of 20 and 40 who don’t do financial planning,” said Yinon Ravid, co-founder of financial services app Albert, which just raised a $5 million Series A funding round.
Albert, part of an increasingly competitive universe of personal finance-focused startups, aims to help younger, tech-savvy Americans manage their money. The app consolidates a user’s bank accounts, credit cards and loans onto its platform and, much like rivals including Mint and Digit, tracks balances, spending habits and upcoming bills.
Albert, whose typical user has minimal savings and a median income of $40,000, also makes recommendations about paying down debt and saving money. Users can ask questions of actual financial advisors through its Genius chat feature, which launched in October. Albert also offers an FDIC-insured savings account that links to the app and allows users to set up automatic savings plans.
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The startup was a winner of the Financial Solutions Lab’s 2016 challenge, which focused on helping people weather financial shocks. The Lab contributed to Albert’s $2.5 million seed round, alongside Bessemer Ventures Partners, 500 Startups, and 500 Fintech. Past financial Solutions Lab winners have collectively raised more than $250 million and serve millions of Americans.
Albert’s more recent Series A round was backed by QED, American Express Ventures, the venture capital arm of American Express, and Portag3.
