Vancouver’s Yield Exchange has raised a $700,000 pre-seed round from an investor group that includes Victoria’s Tiny Capital.
The fintech startup is transforming how wholesale GIC investment treasury is invested and is set to go national after the over-subscribed round that also included Gustavson Capital, Maven Capital Partners, and The Firehood.
Founded in 2019 by Yvette Wu, Sampath Ekanayake, and Ravi Sumal, the platform enables entities of all kinds — from municipalities and universities to non-profit organizations and strata corporations — to find, compare, and negotiate investment rates for guaranteed investment certificates (GICs) through an easy-to-use online marketplace.
Traditionally, entities looking to invest in wholesale GICs have had to perform due diligence manually, calling financial institutions for the best rates and terms. The process is time-consuming and inefficient.
By streamlining the process through a digitized bidding system, Yield Exchange is making it easier for these entities to access diverse investment options that can help them grow their funds.
“With interest rates going up and the economy in flux it’s more important than ever that organizations negotiate the best possible rates for their investments,” said Wu, co-founder and CEO of Yield Exchange.
“Traditionally this has been a time-consuming process that involves treasurers reaching out manually to financial institutions in hopes of completing due diligence and finding competitive rates. We’re excited to offer a transparent digital solution that helps both depositors and financial institutions build better relationships.”
Yield Exchange was a Top 11 finalist in the 2022 New Ventures BC Competition and was awarded the $10,000 Innovate BC Woman-Led Venture Award.
They followed that win up with a successful SAAS NORTH conference where they were selected from a group of top 10 finalists for The Firehood, winning $100,000, and were crowned winner of the AWS PitchFest, picking up $10,000 from Amazon Web Services.
Yield Exchange originally set out to raise $500,000, to help with its national expansion into new markets across Canada including Ontario.
The fintech startup also plans to expand its current offering of wholesale GICs to include retail GICs, overnight rates and bonds.
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