{"id":93841,"date":"2021-04-29T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-04-29T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hispanicprwire.com\/english-fortu-launches-latino-digital-bank-raises-5mm-led-by-valar-ventures-announces-miami-hq\/"},"modified":"2021-04-29T08:10:19","modified_gmt":"2021-04-29T12:10:19","slug":"fortu-lanza-banco-digital-latino-valar-ventures-lidera-ronda-de-recaudacion-de-fondos-por-5mm-anuncia-sede-central-en-miami","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hispanicprwire.com\/en\/fortu-lanza-banco-digital-latino-valar-ventures-lidera-ronda-de-recaudacion-de-fondos-por-5mm-anuncia-sede-central-en-miami\/","title":{"rendered":"Fort\u00fa launches Latino digital bank; Raises $5MM led by Valar Ventures; Announces Miami HQ"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<style type=\"text\/css\"><![CDATA[\n\/* Style Definitions *\/\nspan.prnews_span\n{\nfont-size:8pt;\nfont-family:\"Arial\";\ncolor:black;\n}\na.prnews_a\n{\ncolor:blue;\n}\nli.prnews_li\n{\nfont-size:8pt;\nfont-family:\"Arial\";\ncolor:black;\n}\np.prnews_p\n{\nfont-size:0.62em;\nfont-family:\"Arial\";\ncolor:black;\nmargin:0in;\n}\n]]><\/style>\n<div class=\"xn-content\">\n<p><span class=\"xn-location\">MIAMI<\/span>, <span class=\"xn-chron\">April 29, 2021<\/span> \/PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE\/ &#8212;\u00a0<b><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/c212.net\/c\/link\/?t=0&amp;l=en&amp;o=3145639-1&amp;h=1971765155&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fortu.com%2F&amp;a=Fort%C3%BA\" rel=\"nofollow\">Fort\u00fa<\/a><\/b> announced the launch of its digital bank account focused on Latino and Hispanic U.S. residents who remain underserved by the &#8220;one size fits all&#8221; approach of traditional financial institutions. Fort\u00fa is building modern banking products with a Latino cultural context.<\/p>\n<div id=\"prni_dvprnejpg11fcleft\" style=\"WIDTH: 100%; TEXT-ALIGN: left\" dir=\"ltr\"><img decoding=\"async\" id=\"prnejpg11fcleft\" title=\"fort\u00fa\" border=\"0\" alt=\"fort\u00fa\" align=\"middle\" imagelabel=\"General\" src=\"https:\/\/mma.prnewswire.com\/media\/1499217\/fortu_Logo.jpg\"\/><\/div>\n<p>The fort\u00fa account is bringing the first holistic approach to better banking for Latinos, a distinct demographic with a higher prevalence of multigenerational families; mixed households with both immigrant and U.S.-born members; varying English vs. Spanish language preferences across generations; and a greater likelihood of maintaining financial ties with family and community across the U.S. and abroad. Traditional banking products are not designed to meet these unique, culturally contextual, household needs. <\/p>\n<p>The fort\u00fa account includes the following features:<\/p>\n<ul type=\"disc\">\n<li>A free FDIC insured checking account with no activation fees, monthly fees or minimum balance requirements and available to U.S. residents, including foreign nationals without a social security number<sup><sup>1<\/sup><\/sup><\/li>\n<li>Up to two day early direct deposit availability <\/li>\n<li>100% bilingual English\/Spanish digital banking app available for iOS and Android <\/li>\n<li>Contactless Mastercard debit card that is mobile wallet compatible (Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Samsung Pay) <\/li>\n<li>Premium Mastercard benefits<sup><sup>2<\/sup><\/sup> when making payments with the fort\u00fa debit card:<br \/>\u2013\u00a0 Cellular phone protection for damaged or stolen phones <br \/>\u2013\u00a0 Purchase assurance against accidental damage or theft of purchases<br \/>\u2013\u00a0 Extended warranty protection <br \/>\u2013\u00a0 Price drop protection <\/li>\n<li>Free cash withdrawals at over 55,000 participating ATMs via the Allpoint network<sup><sup>3<\/sup><\/sup><\/li>\n<li>Cash deposits at over 100,000 retail locations including Walgreens, CVS, 7-11, and Walmart via the Green Dot Reload Network.<sup><sup>4<\/sup><\/sup><\/li>\n<li>Secure, in-app, international remittances via Wise<sup><sup>5<\/sup><\/sup><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>In 2020, the company raised a <span class=\"xn-money\">$5 million<\/span> seed round led by Valar Ventures with participation from prominent fintech executives like <span class=\"xn-person\">Jake Gibson<\/span>; co-founder of Nerdwallet; <span class=\"xn-person\">Francesco Simoneschi<\/span>, CEO and co-founder of TrueLayer; <span class=\"xn-person\">Joyce Kim<\/span>, Executive Director and founder of the Stellar Foundation; and <span class=\"xn-person\">Andrew Endicott<\/span>, COO and co-founder of Petal.<\/p>\n<p>Valar, a <span class=\"xn-location\">New York<\/span>-based and fintech-focused VC firm, led the funding round. Valar is an investor in several globally prominent fintech companies including Wise, N26, Albo, Xero, and Petal.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We&#8217;re proud to invest in fort\u00fa,&#8221; said <span class=\"xn-person\">James Fitzgerald<\/span>, a founding partner with Valar Ventures. &#8220;They are by far the most experienced and best positioned team to bring world class digital banking to underserved Latino and Hispanic communities across the U.S.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Fort\u00fa\u00a0also announced <span class=\"xn-location\">Miami, FL<\/span> as its corporate headquarters. &#8220;As the highest profile American city with a Latino majority and home to the most exciting emerging technology hub, <span class=\"xn-location\">Miami<\/span> is clearly the best place to build a digital bank serving Latinos. We&#8217;re proud to call <span class=\"xn-location\">Miami<\/span> home,&#8221; said fort\u00fa CEO, <span class=\"xn-person\">Charles Yim<\/span>. &#8220;As fort\u00fa grows, we expect to create hundreds of new technology jobs in <span class=\"xn-location\">Miami<\/span> over the next few years.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s very exciting to see a mission-driven business like fort\u00fa choose the <span class=\"xn-location\">City of Miami<\/span> for their headquarters. They understand the value and opportunities that come with cultural and economic diversity and there isn&#8217;t a city in this country better positioned for that than <span class=\"xn-location\">Miami<\/span>,&#8221; said <span class=\"xn-location\">Miami<\/span> Mayor <span class=\"xn-person\">Francis Suarez<\/span>.<\/p>\n<p><b>About Fort\u00fa<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Fort\u00fa\u00a0is a digital bank account built for the culturally contextual needs of 60 million plus Latinos and Hispanics in the U.S. Based in <span class=\"xn-location\">Miami, FL<\/span>, fort\u00fa is backed by Valar Ventures and other leading fintech investors. For more information, visit <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/c212.net\/c\/link\/?t=0&amp;l=en&amp;o=3145639-1&amp;h=4266972821&amp;u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.fortu.com%2F&amp;a=www.fortu.com\" rel=\"nofollow\">www.fortu.com<\/a> and follow us on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.<\/p>\n<p>Banking products are provided by LendingClub Bank, N.A., Member FDIC (&#8220;LendingClub Bank&#8221;). Debit card issued by LendingClub Bank pursuant to a license from Mastercard, Inc. and may be used everywhere Mastercard debit cards are accepted.<\/p>\n<p><sup>1<\/sup>\u00a0Banking products are provided by LendingClub Bank, N.A., Member FDIC. FDIC insurance up to the maximum amount allowed by law. All account applicants subject to standard account opening reviews required by law.<br \/><sup>2<\/sup>\u00a0Subject to program terms and conditions as provided by Mastercard, Inc.<br \/><sup>3<\/sup>\u00a0Fees may continue to apply to out of network ATM withdrawals<br \/><sup>4<\/sup>\u00a0Subject to Green Dot merchant fees<br \/><sup>5<\/sup>\u00a0Subject to Wise FX and service fees\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Logo &#8211; <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/c212.net\/c\/link\/?t=0&amp;l=en&amp;o=3145639-1&amp;h=1932257947&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fmma.prnewswire.com%2Fmedia%2F1499217%2Ffortu_Logo.jpg&amp;a=https%3A%2F%2Fmma.prnewswire.com%2Fmedia%2F1499217%2Ffortu_Logo.jpg\" rel=\"nofollow\">https:\/\/mma.prnewswire.com\/media\/1499217\/fortu_Logo.jpg<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>SOURCE  fort\u00fa<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"xn-content\">\n<p><span class=\"xn-location\">MIAMI<\/span>, <span class=\"xn-chron\">April 29, 2021<\/span> \/PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE\/ &#8212;\u00a0<b><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/c212.net\/c\/link\/?t=0&amp;l=en&amp;o=3145639-1&amp;h=1971765155&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fortu.com%2F&amp;a=Fort%C3%BA\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Fort\u00fa<\/a><\/b> announced the launch of its digital bank account focused on Latino and Hispanic U.S. residents who remain underserved by the &#8220;one size fits all&#8221; approach of traditional financial institutions. Fort\u00fa is building modern banking products with a Latino cultural&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":93842,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-93841","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-negocios-y-finanzas"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hispanicprwire.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93841","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hispanicprwire.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hispanicprwire.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hispanicprwire.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hispanicprwire.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=93841"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hispanicprwire.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93841\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hispanicprwire.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/93842"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hispanicprwire.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=93841"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hispanicprwire.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=93841"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hispanicprwire.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=93841"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}