UK challenger bank Novus raises $5 million in 9 months and is now officially live

UK challenger bank Novus has closed its crowdfunding round after reaching a total of over $3 million, successfully beating its initial target of $1.2 million by over 250%.

As a result of this round, the ‘impact’ banking app co-founded by 27-year-old tech investment professional Hristian Nedyalkov, has raised an impressive $5 million total capital to date and is now actively onboarding users across the UK.

Having already gained a significant amount of support from a number of notable angel investors from EQT Ventures, QED, Softbank, scouts from Accel and one more Tier 1 VC, BrightCap Ventures is the latest firm to invest in Novus and support its team in building its operational hub in Sofia.

As the first digital banking app in the UK to become a certified B Corporation™, Novus is now live on both the App Store and Google Play Store and is continuing to rapidly onboard users.

Co-founder and CEO of Novus, Hristian Nedyalkov, explained: “Since raising our first capital in late spring 2021, we have successfully built our own proprietary core banking infrastructure through various milestones including partnering with Visa and Railsbank, receiving regulatory approval from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and welcoming over 150 sustainable brands to our in-app marketplace.

“We initially launched our crowdfunding campaign in December 2021 – nine months after securing the pre-seed investment – with the aim to attract like-minded investors and early adopters to join us on our journey to help shape the future. We began overfunding almost immediately, after achieving 100% of our $1.2 million target within minutes, and we couldn’t be prouder. We feel incredibly encouraged by the response to our crowdfunding campaign as we bring the Novus mission to the UK market.”

Novus uses the power of technology to generate positive impact from everyday financial activity, with a goal to create an ecosystem that connects consumers’ spending habits to purpose-driven brands and impact projects. Every time a user taps their Novus card, real-time ‘impact’ points are donated to various environmental and social causes such as funding meals, cleaning the ocean and so much more. Members can then follow their impact to see just how much of a difference they are making, as well as track and offset their carbon footprint based on their card activity.

Co-founded by a team of entrepreneurs with shared experience in fintech, private equity and app development, Novus’ mission is to become a ‘super app’ for the growing conscious consumer segment.