One of the Greater Cincinnati’s most promising fintechs has landed a spot in an accelerator backed by one of the largest processing and payments companies in the world.
Neural Payments, a Montgomery-based peer-to-peer payments startup, is one of 10 companies participating in the FIS Fintech Accelerator.
The 12-week program, backed by Jacksonville, Fla.-headquartered FIS (NYSE: FIS) and Little Rock’s Venture Center, provides growth-stage, financial tech companies with mentoring, training and investment to develop their solutions.
Neural’s acceptance comes at an interesting juncture for the 2-year-old company. It has added more than two dozen banking partners — and is on the midst of its latest fundraise, per recent Securities and Exchange Commission filings. Oppy declined to give specifics, since the round hasn’t closed, but confirmed it would be a Series A of around $10 million.
That would more than triple its current capital stack. The FIS Fintech Accelerator could help open even more doors.
“We haven't put gas on it this thing in any way yet. But we’re starting to do some of that,” he said.
Neural’s SaaS, or software as a service, solution sits inside a bank or credit union, allowing users to send money to anyone — no third-party app required. Put simply, if you wanted to send a friend $50, Neural’s tech could funnel that payment to PayPal or Venmo — cutting down a clunky experience.
Neural’s initial target customers include smaller community banks and credit unions that often can’t afford legacy solutions.
“We’re seeing exchanges, and we’re starting to see volume come through the system. We have multiple banks with customers who weren't using their P2P (peer-to-peer) service — they weren't coming into the app — who are now coming in. They’re even telling the bank, ‘I will use this. It's convenient, and it's easy.’ Being able to prove some of our hypotheses is always a good feeling, and we know we’re adding value.”
Neural Payments, a Cincy Inno “Startup to Watch” for 2022, is now working with 28 banking institutions. Oppy previously put the company’s potential customer base in the thousands. The company has 10 employees with plans to add at least five new hires by early next year.
In terms of the FIS Fintech Accelerator, already underway, Oppy will travel to Little Rock once a month for in-person accelerator programming. The program will culminate with a demo day Nov. 9 in Jacksonville. Each participating firm will showcase its innovations to financial services leaders and influencers, potential investors and other entrepreneurs.
He called the program the best of all worlds.
“It will be a powerful 12 weeks,” Oppy said. “FIS is sponsoring it, so you get to work with FIS more closely, but then you also get to work with banks. And then you also get the Venture Center. You’re really surrounded by all the things a startup could want: People you want to partner with, people you want as customers and then people who will make your company better."
FIS, in a release, said graduates of the accelerator have gone on to secure additional capital funding, win industry awards and form partnerships with FIS to bring their innovations to market.
FIS is currently integrating technology or actively working with nine of its 10 accelerator graduates from 2021.
Globally, FIS, or Fidelity National Information Services, processes more than $75 billion of transactions annually and employs more than 55,000 people in more than 50 countries. It ranked No. 241 on the 2021 Fortune 500 and is a member of Standard & Poor’s 500 Index.
FIS, while based in Florida, has strong Cincinnati ties with around 1,500 local employees and a recently renovated 203,000-square-foot office in Symmes Township. In 2019, it acquired locally based payment processor Worldpay, formerly known as Vantiv and Fifth Third Processing Solutions, for $43 billion.
Oppy previously held senior roles at both Vantiv and Worldpay before launching Neural Payments in 2019.
