Fifth Third Joins VCs For FinTech Development

Fifth Third Bank wants to introduce new FinTech innovation into its lines of service and has announced a collaboration with FinTech investors to make it happen.

The bank said last weekend that it is partnering with venture capital firm QED Investors to seek FinTech startups and integrate their solutions into the bank.

“There is an unprecedented amount of innovation emerging in all parts of the financial services ecosystem,” said Tim Spence, Fifth Third executive vice president and chief strategy officer, in a statement. “Our partnership with QED should enable us to identify new, high-potential technologies to complement our internal R&D and innovation efforts.”

Fifth Third has made similar efforts in the past to boost its connection with FinTech innovators. Last year, the bank’s venture capital unit, Fifth Third Capital, participated in a funding round for B2B payments firm AvidXchange. This new partnership means QED will advise the bank on its continued investment in the space, the firms said.

“We are incredibly excited about partnering with Fifth Third, a bank that is at the vanguard of change in the FinTech space,” said QED Investors Cofounder and Partner Frank Rotman in a another statement. “Fifth Third is a natural partner for QED, one that embraces innovation and shares many of our views about what the future will look like in the space. We are thrilled for what this unique partnership means for the future of FinTech and financial services at large.”

QED is also an investor in AvidXchange, as well as CAN Capital, Flywire, Fundera, Credit Karma, LendUp, Prosper and other FinTech startups, many of which are in the B2B payments and alternative lending space.