A tech-focused Orlando check cashing firm is cashing some checks of its own.
CashRepublic Holdings Inc. has raised at least $5.2 million, according to an Oct. 27 U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing. The filing was part of the company’s Series A investment round, Chairman Rajib Das told Orlando Inno.
The money will help CashRepublic, which was founded this year, as it plots new stores and hires across Central Florida.
In fact, the company expects to expand from two Orlando stores to five by the end of the year, Das said. Plus, the company previously detailed plans to more than double its staff from 10 employees to as many as 25 by the end of 2021.
New investor and board members
Through an online platform and brick-and-mortar stores, CashRepublic cashes checks, wires money and provides other financial services for individuals and small businesses. For checks worth $1,000 or less, the company charges flat fees based on the value of the check. For checks worth more than $1,000, Cash Republic charges a 2% fee.
Check-cashing services typically charge between 1%-10% of a check’s value, according to personal finance company NerdWallet. CashRepublic’s flat fees equate to between 0.98%-2.5% of the value of a check worth more than $200, putting the company’s fees on the lower end of that spectrum.
The round was led by Orlando-based private equity firm Lexington Park Group LLC, which Das founded. In addition, Matawan, New Jersey-based petroleum firm Gill Energy LLC participated in the round, Das said. As a result of the round, CashRepublic has two new board members: Gill Energy CEO Bikram Gill and University of Chicago Booth School of Business Professor Pradeep Chintagunta.
From Manhattan to Orlando
CashRepublic operates two Orlando stores that opened this year: one at 11681 S. Orange Blossom Trail and another at 6801 W. Colonial Drive. As it grows, the company plans to hire retail workers to staff its stores, as well as technology, marketing and finance employees.
Meanwhile, CashRepublic is not limiting itself to Orlando. The company targets Tampa, Miami and Jacksonville as expansion markets.
The company is led by Das and CEO Alok Prasad, a pair of longtime finance and banking leaders who have known each other more than 30 years. Das is the founder and CEO of Lexington Park Group, the primary investor behind CashRepublic, while Prasad previously was president of multibillion-dollar London-based fintech firm OakNorth. Both Das and Prasad previously worked at multiple New York-based finance firms, including investment bank giant Merrill Lynch.
Data shows a big swath of Americans don't have access to financial services through a bank or credit union. In 2019, the FDIC found there were 7.1 million U.S. households in which no one had a savings or checking account at bank or credit union. A lack of funds was the primary reason, the federal agency reported.
"About half of unbanked households cited, 'Don’t have enough money to meet minimum balance requirements' as a reason for not having an account — the most cited reason."
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