Splash Financial, the student loan refinancing marketplace and technology platform in Cleveland, has raised $44.3 million during an investment round.
Credit unions and banks use Splash Financial's digital lending technology to gain customers and originate student debt refinancing loans.
The fintech company will use the investment round to accelerate its growth and expand its lender network and automated underwriting platform, the company said in a statement.
Partners of DST Global, Citi Ventures, Detroit Venture Partners, Firebolt Ventures and existing investors CMFG Ventures and Northwestern Mutual Future Ventures participated in the latest funding round.
Consumers use the Splash Financial platform to shop and compare financial products from the company's network of lenders.
"This funding round brings us another step closer to realizing our company vision — creating a faster and less expensive financial world," said Steven Muszynski, founder and CEO of Splash Financial, in a statement.
The importance and sophistication of digital lenders is growing, said Charley Howe, director of venture investing at Citi Ventures, in a statement.
"We see significant growth potential in the continued evolution of the lending experience," Howe said.
The global digital lending platform market size was valued at $5.6 billion in 2019 and is projected to reach $20.3 billion by 2027, growing at a compounded annual growth rate of 16.7%, according to Valuates Reports in Bangalore, India.
North America dominated the digital lending platform market in 2019 and is predicted to continue to do so, partly because of an increase in the number of student-focused lenders, Valuates Reports said.
Splash Financial is leveraging automated lending technology to create a more seamless way to help consumers save money.
Focusing on automated lending also enables Splash Financial "to meet the increasing demand for digital delivery of financial services," said Sam Das, managing director at CMFG Ventures, in a statement.
Splash Financial closed a $12.3 million investment round in May 2020 and was named to the top 250 FinTech companies list by investment research firm CB Insights last year.
The company said it has raised more than $60 million in equity funding since its founding in 2013.
