Why We Invested in MANTL: Driving Digital Transformation for Financial Institutions Across the U.S.

U.S. financial services infrastructure is in the early innings of a multi-decade digital transformation. From payment rails to core processors, a large portion of our country's “financial plumbing” still sits atop antiquated, slow, and costly technology foundations.

This aging infrastructure, often written in COBOL and frequently requiring manual intervention, is a lose-lose for financial institutions and consumers. In a rapidly digitizing world, sub-par infrastructure makes it hard for banks and credit unions to keep up with evolving customer expectations. Poor consumer experiences, in turn, negatively impact top-line revenue growth and retention, especially as newer digital-only options like Chime and Square gain momentum. As a result, upgrading legacy banking technology is an urgent, “hair on fire” need for US financial institutions to maintain future competitiveness.

Account origination is a prime example. For both consumers and small businesses, applying to open a banking or savings account is typically the first touch point with a new financial institution. Compared with downloading a new app on the App Store, however, the application process can feel like the dark ages — time-intensive, off-line, and opaque. Despite consumer preferences, nearly half of financial institutions still open fewer than 20% of their consumer deposit accounts online, with limited omni-channel options if a consumer wants to continue a digital application in person. This drawn-out, disjointed experience can discourage applicants and lead to drop-offs, hurting both the consumer and the banking institution in the process.

That is why we are so excited to partner with MANTL on its next stage of growth. MANTL is the market leader in omni-channel account origination software for banks and credit unions. The company’s solutions help banks and credit unions to modernize more quickly, enabling consumers and businesses to open deposit accounts from anywhere, on any device, and at any time. Importantly, MANTL’s platform enables banks to build this customer-centric digital experience on top of existing legacy banking core infrastructure, leveraging direct read/write integrations with more than fifteen core processor systems.

MANTL is the only player to offer true omni-channel solutions for both consumer and business banking, with transformative potential for banks and credit unions to bolster their in-branch experience, create new revenue opportunities, and improve operational efficiency. MANTL’s consumer deposit origination solution, for example, lets applicants open accounts in under three minutes, enables existing account holders to open additional accounts with one click, and reduces fraud by as much as 67%. In parallel, MANTL’s business deposit origination solution can automate up to 97% of application decisions, for businesses of all sizes.

MANTL recently partnered with Alliant Credit Union, a $17B digital financial institution, to create an automated omni-channel deposit origination solution built specifically for credit unions’ needs. With the MANTL platform, Alliant Credit Union improved application conversion rates by 60% over its previous online deposit origination solution, funded 100% of accounts upon application, and reduced the time to open an account by over 30%.

The company’s customer-centric focus and clear ROI is yielding clear results, and MANTL is kicking off 2023 with significant momentum. The company recorded its best sales quarter in history for new logo bookings in Q4 2022, and MANTL customers recently surpassed a milestone of over $1B of deposits raised through the platform in a single month.

We are delighted to co-lead the Series B MANTL financing with CapitalG, and partner with existing investors such as Point72 and Trium Venture Partners. The participation of customers including Alliant Credit Union, Byline Bank, ConnectOne Bank, Park National Bank, and Veritex Community Bank is a strong testament to the significant value MANTL delivers to its customers. The raise will help fuel continued product and market expansion, as the company prepares to release a new loan origination product, further deepening its engagement with banks and credit unions’ digitization efforts.

Co-founders Nathaniel Harley and Benjamin Conant, together with seasoned senior executives such as Meredith Finn, have collectively built a standout, mission-aligned team and culture. The company was recognized by American Banker in 2022 as “one of the best places to work in fintech" and Goldman Sachs recently recognized CEO Nathaniel Harley as one of the “Most Exceptional Entrepreneurs” of 2022. The team is relentlessly customer-centric, and laser-focused on building with the member experience in mind. We are honored to partner with MANTL’s talented leadership team and thoughtful investor base at this stage of growth, as the company continues forward on its fast-paced growth path.