LEHI — MX Technologies is far from a household name, but the financial data technology company is the brains behind digital banking and financial services offered by some 2,000 clients.
On Tuesday, the company announced a whopping $100 million in new funding that will help the 9-year-old effort continue to build its customer base, expand its market and innovate new products.
Nate Gardner, MX chief customer officer, said that while his company's clients are primarily banks and financial services businesses, the goal of its products is to make financial management as easy as possible for the individual end user. That happens, he said, via a process MX innovated that simplifies the complex transactional data that flows through banking institutions.
"Fundamentally, we ingest mounds and mounds of data from different sources then normalize and structure and enhance that data," Gardner said. "The end result is clean and clear information that shapes the customer's digital experiences in mobile and online banking and financial services."
Gardner said the mission of easing the psychological wear and tear of financial management on individuals and families is the driving force behind MX's innovations.
"Finances in general generate a lot of emotion and stress with the end user," Gardner said. "Something like 80 percent of Americans are working paycheck to paycheck. They see something they don’t understand in their bank transactions or records and get worried. There’s a ton of friction, there’s a ton of tension and concern and that creates a lot of stress."
Successfully easing that tension is one of the hallmarks of MX's products, according to Cathy Cooper, executive vice president and retail banking group manager for Seattle-based Washington Federal.
Cooper said her institution has been an MX client since shortly after the company launched in 2010, utilizing its digital money management tools. Washington Federal is set to adopt a new MX product, the Helios mobile banking application, in early 2020, she said.
Cooper said the Helios app combines the money management, tracking and budgeting capabilities that MX has perfected with the account functionality of mobile banking.
"We’re looking forward to extending the stand-alone budgeting applications … and really combine it with functionality of mobile transaction," Cooper said. "Customers will be able to open one native app on their phones and do it all."
Doing it all will include numerous smart functions that will, for example, identify redundant subscriptions and notify users that they may be double-paying, sending alerts that an automatic payment is about to be made and funds are low, or just offering a congratulations for staying within a weekly meals-out budget.
Cooper said the app will bring her customers' personal banking experiences more in line with the way many people are currently living, and managing, their lives.
"My 22-year-old daughter has apps to help her exercise, track physical activities and keep track of what she's eating," Cooper said. "I’m using my phone to track my sleep and diet. Right now, banking in general doesn’t think of it that way … it's just very transactional."
The work to update personal banking to flow through the conduit of intuitive and predictive smartphone-based applications is an idea that's attracted a slew of investment interest for MX. To date, the company has raised some $175 million, including participation from numerous Utah-based venture and equity investment firms and individuals.
The $100 million Series B round announced on Tuesday was led by Battery Ventures, with participation from new investors H.I.G. Capital, Point72 Ventures, Sorenson Ventures, Pelion Venture Partners and Cross Creek Capital with participation from existing investors Industry Ventures, Digital Garage, TTV Capital and Commerce Ventures, as well as from customers National Bank of Canada and Washington Federal.
Battery Ventures general partner Michael Brown said MX and its products were well positioned to continue to attract the interest of financial institutions looking to improve, and expand, their customers' digital banking experiences.
“The use of data is essential to every industry, including financial services, and we are thrilled to support MX in its mission to leverage data to help drive better customer experience and deeper engagement for banks, credit unions and fintechs," Brown said in a statement. "It leads to financial strength for everyone.
“The company is already powering some of the top financial institutions in the world and is uniquely positioned to provide the smart aggregation and insights that the financial industry will need.”
Clarification: An earlier version mentioned USAA as a customer. An amended press release from MX Technologies did not include USAA.