Digital Bank HMBradley Raises $18.25M To Accelerate Credit Program

Digital banking platform HMBradley announced on Tuesday (Nov. 24) that it has raised $18.25 million in a Series A funding round to accelerate its credit program.

The funding, which was led by Acrew Capital, will also be used to expand its customer offerings, the bank said in a press release emailed to PYMNTS.

HMBradley, described as “a digital banking platform for savers,” rewards account holders based on how much of their deposits they save each month, paying up to 3 percent interest on savings.

“HMBradley’s 3 percent APY is not a gimmick. We stand behind it because it serves as strong encouragement for customers to practice the financial behaviors that set them up for success,” said Zach Bruhnke, co-founder and CEO of HMBradley, in the press release.

While the institution brands itself with its saving incentives, it is expanding its credit offerings by launching the HMBradley Credit Card in July. The card offers 3 percent cash back in the cardholders’ highest spending category, 2 percent for their second-highest spending category and 1 percent in all other categories. The card adapts rewards based on the users’ changing spending habits.

“We started HMBradley with the thesis that people of all income brackets want to save money, but they sometimes need a little help or incentive to do that,” said Bruhnke.

HMBradley launched its high-yield savings accounts and direct deposits in March of 2020. To date, the bank has seen more than $90 million deposited, according to the release.

Speaking to PYMNTS last November prior to the launch, Bruhnke explained that the challenger bank was born out of his desire find a bank where customer service does not depend on how much money is in the account, and customers aren’t made to feel like “some schmuck with [an] account number.”