It can be difficult to manage your finances, especially if you want to try something new, such as investing or even taking out a mortgage for the first time.
Meet now Powerful, a new company that wants to change that. It’s developing a financial super app that brings together what founder and CEO Robert Cornish calls “the best of fintech for the customer.”
“Five years ago you couldn’t really do this,” Cornish told londonbusinessblog.com. “You would have had to build everything yourself. That’s why you see a lot of platforms start with one thing and then try to be a super app. We built Fierce to bring in these products, make them really easy for customers to use, and then harness the power of having them all in one place.”
Fierce’s offerings include the Fierce Cash account, an FDIC-insured checking account with an annual return rate of up to 4.25%, and a debit card with access to over 55,000 free ATMs. The app is currently available for iOS and will launch for Android later this year.
There are no monthly fees or restrictions, and the company also offers 24/7 support, learning resources, market insights, analysis, and the ability to link other existing financial accounts within the app.
There is also stock trading where users can buy fractional stocks and ETFs. Users also have an option to capitalize on their existing stock holdings through a fully paid securities lending program where they earn income by lending out their stocks.
Fierce is bringing in revenue from the investment side as well as assets under management, Cornish said.
A software developer by trade, Cornish started the New York-based company in 2021 after careers that include Chief Information Officer for the New York Stock Exchange and Chief Technology Officer for Gemini Trust Co. He said one of the things that stuck with him about working in cryptocurrency was “the power of the customer”.
“If you do a good job building the product, it really builds that relationship,” he added. “That was the foundation when we started looking at Fierce: bringing some of the principles we learned in crypto back to traditional finance.”
Fierce also has a nice chunk of capital to grow it. It raised $10 million in seed funding from a group of angel investors and investors including Pendrell, AP Capital, Wheelhouse Digital Studios and Space Whale Capital.
With the new funds, the company plans to grow its team of 18, acquire additional customers and work on product development. Cornish is also exploring other benefits including insurance, personal loans and mortgages.
Coming later this year is the Fierce Rewards credit card, which gives 1.5% cash back on all expenses. All interest and rewards are automatically redeemed in the user’s wallet. There will also be regulated crypto trading.
“We have a very aggressive application that we’re building and the funds allow us to do that,” Cornish said. “Crypto is coming up, and it’s clearly an area that we’re very focused on and will take a longer-term approach.”