Upward Raises $8 Million for FinTech Infrastructure Platform and Partners with Mastercard

Upward raised $8 million in a Series Seed+ round to grow its FinTech infrastructure platform that helps companies launch and scale digital financial products.

The company will use the new funding to expand its infrastructure, its engineering and partnership capabilities, and the adoption of its platform by companies in the FinTech, creator and gig workforce economies, it said in a Friday (Nov. 7) press release.

Upward also announced in the release that it formed a strategic partnership with Mastercard that will enable Upward’s customers to launch a Mastercard-branded card program in weeks.

“For too long, businesses that wanted to offer a financial product have had to choose between innovation, flexibility and speed,” Upward Co-founder and CEO Aaron Gregory said in the release. “This investment and our Mastercard partnership will help to tear down those barriers — empowering our customers to launch and operate smarter, customer-centric financial products faster than ever.”

Upward’s platform enables companies to launch branded credit card, payment and banking products without having to navigate regulatory requirements or technical integrations with vendors, according to the release.

“We’ve built the infrastructure to make financial innovation not only faster but also more flexible for our customers,” Upward Co-founder and Chief Operating Officer Danielle Hill said in the release. “This next phase is about execution — helping customers transform their innovative visions into revenue-generating products in record time.”

The new partnership with Mastercard allows Upward to integrate Mastercard’s network and program benefits into its financial infrastructure, per the release.

“By combining Mastercard’s global payments expertise and technology with Upward’s innovative FinTech infrastructure, we’re equipping creators and entrepreneurs with the tools, resources and financial access they need to grow and thrive — through solutions like Easy Savings and our Business Builder program,” Ginger Siegel, North America small business lead at Mastercard, said in the release.

Mastercard’s Business Builder credit and debit cards are designed for small business owners and creators and feature a variety of benefits, including Easy Savings, which offers businesses rebates on everyday purchases.

The cards also offer access to entity formation and business building tools, business management and payment solutions, cybersecurity services and credit building insights.