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Upward Secures Seed+ Funding and Strategic Partnership with Mastercard

Upward, a provider of innovative fintech infrastructure, recently revealed its success in securing an $8 million Seed+ investment round, co-led by Dundee Venture Capital and Breakwater Ventures Fund. They received additional support from notable firms including Techstars, Altari Ventures, Cascade Seed Fund, and Outside Ventures. This funding is set to revolutionize the landscape for businesses looking to launch digital financial products quickly and efficiently.

Founded by Aaron Gregory and Danielle Hill, Upward's mission is to simplify the process for companies wanting to roll out innovative banking, payments, and card solutions. Their goal is to drastically cut down on the costs and complexities that have traditionally hindered the growth of financial services. This investment will pave the way for Upward to expand its infrastructure and improve its engineering capabilities, allowing more businesses to join the fintech revolution.

In conjunction with this funding announcement, Upward is also thrilled to announce a strategic partnership with Mastercard. This collaboration aims to integrate Mastercard's network into Upward’s platform, offering customers the opportunity to launch a Mastercard-branded card program within weeks. Aaron Gregory, the Co-founder and CEO of Upward, emphasized the transformative nature of this partnership, stating, "For too long, businesses had to choose between flexibility and speed. Now, with this investment and our collaboration with Mastercard, we are breaking those barriers to empower our clients to launch customer-centric financial products faster than ever."

Building a New Era of Financial Infrastructure

Upward’s platform focuses on creating a seamless experience for companies by providing a comprehensive fintech infrastructure. This will allow businesses to quickly introduce branded credit cards, payment solutions, and banking products without the headache of dealing with the complicated regulatory and technical landscape that often deters innovation. By merging banking, payments, cards, and compliance features into a single user-friendly platform, Upward is committed to enabling businesses—particularly those in the gig and creator economies—to cater to their customers' unique financial needs effectively.

Danielle Hill, Co-Founder and COO of Upward, stated, "Speed and compliance don’t have to be at odds." This core belief underpins Upward's infrastructure, aimed at fostering quicker innovation while ensuring that compliance measures are well-integrated into the offerings. Hill continued, "This next phase is all about execution; we’re focused on helping our clients turn their innovative visions into profit-generating products swiftly."

The $8 million investment will be strategically utilized to enhance Upward's infrastructure and broaden their partnerships, thereby extending their services to a wider array of companies across the fintech, creator, and gig workforce sectors.

The Strategic Impact of the Mastercard Partnership

In partnering with Mastercard, Upward aims to enrich its service offerings by including Mastercard’s extensive network and program advantages. The collaboration specifically focuses on helping small businesses and creators with innovative solutions such as the Easy Savings program and the Business Builder Program. Ginger Siegel, North America Small Business Lead at Mastercard, stated, "We’re proud to partner with Upward to help close the financial inclusion gap and uplift the small business community. Combining Mastercard's global payments expertise with Upward’s ground-breaking fintech infrastructure provides creators and entrepreneurs with vital tools for growth and success."

About Upward

Upward is redefining the fintech landscape by offering a straightforward platform for companies to create, launch, and scale innovative financial products. By combining card issuance, banking services, compliance frameworks, and payment solutions all into a single platform, Upward is uniquely positioned to assist businesses in unlocking new revenue streams with ground-breaking financial products. To learn more about how Upward can empower your business, please visit www.upwardli.com.