Far beyond the division of expenses between couples, Cumbuca believes that the future is shared - from barbecues at the weekend to subscriptions to streaming services. Through the app, it is possible to "split" expenses with payment via Pix or boleto, and the idea is to allow this to also be done through a Mastercard card, which will be launched by the end of the year.
"We're creating a new category. I can't comment on the details yet, but what I can say is that the card will be very different from what already exists in Brazil," says Daniel Ruhman, founder and CEO of Cumbuca, in a conversation with Finsiders. "We want to eliminate the headache of any task that involves sharing money."
To get its plans off the ground, the fintech company has just raised US$ 3 million (around R$ 15 million at the current exchange rate) in a round led by venture capital fund Lightspeed Venture Partners, an investor in fintechs such as Affirm, Carta and Stripe. It is the first cheque signed by the US VC for a Brazilian start-up.
"We look for teams with extremely audacious and innovative visions - exactly what Cumbuca is as a pioneer in Open Banking. Their vision reinvents the core of consumer financial experiences. We can't wait to see this vision come to fruition," said Mercedes Bent, partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners, in a statement.
Cumbuca also received funding from Supera Capital, an early-stage VC that brings together Globo Ventures, Luciano Huck, Eduardo Sirotsky Melzer (from eB Capital) and Gilberto Sayão (Vinci Partners).
This is the second round of funding received by Cumbuca. In 2021, the fintech company raised more than US$1 million from US accelerator Y Combinator and angels such as Renato Freitas, one of the founders of 99; Pedro Sirotsky, from Barrah/B1; Guilherme Weege, CEO of the Malwee Group, among others.
In addition to the "enigmatic" card, Cumbuca will use the money received to implement payment transaction initiation (ITP) in the app. Just over five months ago, the fintech was authorised by the Central Bank (BC) to operate in this modality, which is part of phase 3 of Open Finance. The service is not yet operational. "We're developing it. We want to launch it in the first quarter of next year," says Daniel.
According to the 25-year-old entrepreneur - who is also one of the founders of INIT, an association that brings together payment initiators - the difference his ITP makes is that the service will be "purely B2C" and 100 per cent based on this initiation flow. So much so that Cumbuca obtained its licence as a payment institution only in the ITP modality, without being authorised to operate accounts, for example.
"Nowadays we operate in the custody model, but the dream is not to have custody of the money. We're not a bank or a payment account. We don't want to get involved in the CDI war," says Daniel.
In practice, Cumbuca's aim is to automate the division and sharing of expenses, based on the initiation of payments. Today, the service is only available for deposits (cash-in), through a partnership with fintech Quanto - which is able to operate as an ITP.
"Cash-in isn't a big 'wow' yet. We'll launch our ITP when the new features are in place," says the founder. He's referring to the evolutionary agenda of payment initiation, which includes new features such as untargeted journeys and recurring transactions. "The Central Bank has also brought the figure of the Payment Manager into Pix for the issue of payment splits and the like."
Founded in 2021 and launched at the beginning of last year, Cumbuca is betting on the "multiplayer banking" model, in which each person has an individual account, but everyone in the group can see how the collective money is being used. Through the app, users can set up multiple groups, with no limit on the number of people. "We have groups of 40, 50 people, for example," says Daniel.
He doesn't reveal the current size of the base, but confirms the target he had set for the end of 2022 - to end the year with 25,000 users. "We got there. Our TPV has grown 20 times. What was hundreds became thousands and then millions. We're just getting started," says the CEO.
Currently, most of the public is young, like the entrepreneur himself, and the main purpose for using Cumbuca is still for couples who are dating or living together to share expenses. "But our solution is for anyone who has a shared financial flow," says Daniel. He gives as examples families who need to pool their money to cover the costs of elderly parents, or people who share a streaming service.
The thesis that shared financial life can be made simpler with the use of technology is not just a Cumbuca bet. Around the world, examples include the US company Braid and Mexico's MoneyPool, among others.
Here, Noh - launched in April last year - also aims to simplify shared payments. In October 2021, the fintech company received US$ 3 million (around R$ 17 million at the exchange rate at the time) in a round led by Kindred Ventures, which has already invested in companies such as Uber and Coinbase.
Another example in the Brazilian market is Friday, an app that makes it easier to organise and pay bills. The proposal is to make paying bills as easy as a 'sextou'.
Far beyond the division of expenses between couples, Cumbuca believes that the future is shared - from barbecues at the weekend to subscriptions to streaming services. Through the app, it is possible to "split" expenses with payment via Pix or boleto, and the idea is to allow this to also be done through a Mastercard card, which will be launched by the end of the year.
"We're creating a new category. I can't comment on the details yet, but what I can say is that the card will be very different from what already exists in Brazil," says Daniel Ruhman, founder and CEO of Cumbuca, in a conversation with Finsiders. "We want to eliminate the headache of any task that involves sharing money."
To get its plans off the ground, the fintech company has just raised US$ 3 million (around R$ 15 million at the current exchange rate) in a round led by venture capital fund Lightspeed Venture Partners, an investor in fintechs such as Affirm, Carta and Stripe. It is the first cheque signed by the US VC for a Brazilian start-up.
"We look for teams with extremely audacious and innovative visions - exactly what Cumbuca is as a pioneer in Open Banking. Their vision reinvents the core of consumer financial experiences. We can't wait to see this vision come to fruition," said Mercedes Bent, partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners, in a statement.
Cumbuca also received funding from Supera Capital, an early-stage VC that brings together Globo Ventures, Luciano Huck, Eduardo Sirotsky Melzer (from eB Capital) and Gilberto Sayão (Vinci Partners).
This is the second round of funding received by Cumbuca. In 2021, the fintech company raised more than US$1 million from US accelerator Y Combinator and angels such as Renato Freitas, one of the founders of 99; Pedro Sirotsky, from Barrah/B1; Guilherme Weege, CEO of the Malwee Group, among others.
In addition to the "enigmatic" card, Cumbuca will use the money received to implement payment transaction initiation (ITP) in the app. Just over five months ago, the fintech was authorised by the Central Bank (BC) to operate in this modality, which is part of phase 3 of Open Finance. The service is not yet operational. "We're developing it. We want to launch it in the first quarter of next year," says Daniel.
According to the 25-year-old entrepreneur - who is also one of the founders of INIT, an association that brings together payment initiators - the difference his ITP makes is that the service will be "purely B2C" and 100 per cent based on this initiation flow. So much so that Cumbuca obtained its licence as a payment institution only in the ITP modality, without being authorised to operate accounts, for example.
"Nowadays we operate in the custody model, but the dream is not to have custody of the money. We're not a bank or a payment account. We don't want to get involved in the CDI war," says Daniel.
In practice, Cumbuca's aim is to automate the division and sharing of expenses, based on the initiation of payments. Today, the service is only available for deposits (cash-in), through a partnership with fintech Quanto - which is able to operate as an ITP.
"Cash-in isn't a big 'wow' yet. We'll launch our ITP when the new features are in place," says the founder. He's referring to the evolutionary agenda of payment initiation, which includes new features such as untargeted journeys and recurring transactions. "The Central Bank has also brought the figure of the Payment Manager into Pix for the issue of payment splits and the like."
Founded in 2021 and launched at the beginning of last year, Cumbuca is betting on the "multiplayer banking" model, in which each person has an individual account, but everyone in the group can see how the collective money is being used. Through the app, users can set up multiple groups, with no limit on the number of people. "We have groups of 40, 50 people, for example," says Daniel.
He doesn't reveal the current size of the base, but confirms the target he had set for the end of 2022 - to end the year with 25,000 users. "We got there. Our TPV has grown 20 times. What was hundreds became thousands and then millions. We're just getting started," says the CEO.
Currently, most of the public is young, like the entrepreneur himself, and the main purpose for using Cumbuca is still for couples who are dating or living together to share expenses. "But our solution is for anyone who has a shared financial flow," says Daniel. He gives as examples families who need to pool their money to cover the costs of elderly parents, or people who share a streaming service.
The thesis that shared financial life can be made simpler with the use of technology is not just a Cumbuca bet. Around the world, examples include the US company Braid and Mexico's MoneyPool, among others.
Here, Noh - launched in April last year - also aims to simplify shared payments. In October 2021, the fintech company received US$ 3 million (around R$ 17 million at the exchange rate at the time) in a round led by Kindred Ventures, which has already invested in companies such as Uber and Coinbase.
Another example in the Brazilian market is Friday, an app that makes it easier to organise and pay bills. The proposal is to make paying bills as easy as a 'sextou'.