Investment fintech BUX raises $80m in latest round

BUX, Europe’s fastest growing mobile brokerage company, based in Amsterdam and London, has raised $80m in a funding round led by Tencent and Prosus Ventures.

Additional new investors included ABN Amro Ventures, Citius, Optiver, and Endeit Capital. Existing investors HV Capital and Velocity Capital Fintech Ventures.  

The zero commission brokerage, which turned to Royal Park Partners to act as an exclusive financial advisor on the drive, recently welcomed its 500,000th customer, and will use the new capital to expand operations and enhance services on its popular investment app, BUX Zero 

According to reports, BUX Zero has more than doubled its assets since January, and its active customer base increased six-fold over the past 12 months. With interest rates at all-time lows and struggling pension systems, there is an increased demand for investing especially amongst the younger generations.

Since March 2020, the fintech has launched in France, Austria, Germany and Belgium and planes to continue its international expansion throughout 2021.  

Tencent executives said the technology giant had backed BUX because they are the leading neo-broker in Europe and have been able to build a platform that is sustainable and scalable. 

“BUX is the only neo-broker in Europe that offers zero commission investing without being dependent on kickbacks or payments for order flow. This ensures that its interests are fully aligned with its customers,” said Alex Leung, Assistant GM at Tencent, Strategic Development. 

Younger generation investors

Appealing to the next generation of long term investors has been central to BUX’s strategy and success, say its leaders, and one they will continue to pursue. 

Speaking about the latest funding drive, Yorick Naeff, BUX’s new CEO, explained, “Younger generat ions in Europe now realise that investing is one of the few viable ways left to create a stable financial future.”

He went on to say that the new funding round would enable BUX to continue to “spearhead innovation” by implementing advanced features to further shape the future of how Europeans invest. 

“We are extremely grateful to have top tier investors like Prosus Ventures and Tencent onboard to support us in our mission,” Naeff said. 

Meanwhile, Sandeep Bakshi, Head of Europe Investments for Prosus Ventures, said, “Traditional financial market investing comes with a lot of friction and we firmly believe in the democratisation of access to financial services for the next generation of investors.”

Bakshi pointed out that the existing solutions are expensive, complex and not designed for younger generations.  

He added, “BUX has built the next generation of investing services that are low cost, convenient and intuitive for even the newest investor, while covering the full spectrum of investment options, including cryptocurrencies. They have already experienced impressive growth and are the best-positioned neo-broker to scale across Europe and beyond.”