Digital bank Onyx Private today announced $4.1 million in new funding to provide private banking and investment services specifically tailored to high-net-worth Millennials and Gen Zers.
Village Global, Y Combinator, Global Founders Capital, One Way Ventures, 186 Ventures and Olive Tree Capital participated in the investment.
In partnership with Piermont Bank, Onyx Private offers digital banking services including checking, debit card and cash for payments and purchases. On the investment side, the fintech develops investment portfolios from high-yield, fixed-income portfolios such as checking accounts and US Treasury bills with minimum and low fees of $100.
There is an application process to join Onyx Private, and customers can choose between a free or premium plan, which is $50 per month or $40 per month if you pay the membership in one payment.
Investment services are managed by Helium Advisors and the brokerage account is through Pershing, which is owned by Bank of New York Mellon.
In addition, the company offers a lifestyle concierge service with a digital personal assistant to help with booking events, dining, hotels and flights, and even purchasing luxury gifts such as jewelry.
Victor Santos, Douglas Lopez and Thiago Pacinato launched the company in 2022. Santos, who came to the United States as a child, previously co-founded Brazilian financial inclusion-focused neobank banQi, which was acquired by Via Varejo in May 2020.
Onyx Private banking dashboard and card. Image credits: Onyx Private
While creating products for low-income individuals, Santos told TechCrunch that he and his co-founders realized there was a gap in the market; plenty of options for the very wealthy or the lower and middle class, but not much in between.
“These are people who are not necessarily wealthy, but are wealthy professionals, such as lawyers, doctors or people who work in the technology industry,” Santos said. Onyx’s goal is to build a more modern, more affordable private bank and democratize tools that are currently available only to the “ultra-rich.”
Since its launch nearly a year ago, Onyx Private has grown by 30% per month and processes over $4 million in transaction payment value per month. The company has about $5 million in TPV, with a goal of quintuple that by the end of the year, Santos said.
Next, Santos, Lopes and Passinato speculate that Onyx Private will be the “next-generation UBS,” and the new funding will go toward that goal. The company has plans to invest some capital in new product lines and to introduce an in-house human financial advisor next year to provide financial, estate planning and tax advice. Most of his growth has been from referrals. however, the company will now invest in marketing.
“There’s a lot of pressure on these new banks that are focused on low-income, and what we think is powerful is that our average revenue per user and our average user balance is 10-12 times higher than these traditional neobanks,” Santos said. “We’re small, but it shows that it’s a very different demographic, and there’s a higher willingness to pay for premium services from that demographic.”