Lydia raises an $86 million in Series B
Paris-based mobile payment app Lydia announced an extension of its Series B round, raising an additional $86 million led by Accel , the global venture capital firm. The total Series B funding round now sits at $131 million, making it the largest round ever raised by a French fintech. Amit Jhawar, the former General Manager of Venmo and Accel venture partner, led the investment for Accel and will join the Board of Directors.
Founded in 2013 and a team ~247, Lydia has recently expanded its product offering to become a one-stop-shop application for financial life. Users can now get accounts, payment cards, loans, insurance, money pots, and gift cards; some products are developed in-house while others are provided by third-party partners. French home insurance MGA Luko , for instance, offers instant claim reimbursement using Lydia.
The new funding will be used to accelerate Lydia’s product roadmap to capture the shift in consumer preferences towards mobile-first apps with digital banking and financial health capabilities. The company will also use the money to expand its geographic footprint. In 2020, Lydia laid the groundwork for international expansion with its launch in Portugal and expects to expand into more of Europe in 2021.
“The uncertainties of 2020 have provoked the younger, mobile generation to look for even more control and real-time visibility of their financial situation. This investment will not only enable us to respond to our customers’ needs faster and move into new markets, but also benefit from Amit’s experience building Venmo and the Accel team’s broader experience from journeys with some of the world’s most successful B2C companies. I believe Lydia now has exactly what it takes to become Europe’s leading financial super-app.” – Cyril Chiche, co-founder and CEO at Lydia.
“The Lydia team has solved a real customer pain point by creating experiences that are equally effective and elegant, ensuring almost 100% organic user growth. The passion of Lydia’s customers and the company’s ability to build a network without buying users has always impressed me and reminded me of Venmo. Lydia is a category defining verb in France just like Venmo invented mobile Peer to Peer payments in the US. As soon as I met Cyril and the rest of the Lydia team, I knew I had to find a way to invest and be part of the next stage of their journey.” – Amit Jhawar, venture partner at Accel.
