ING makes additional investment in fintech startup Flowcast

The venture capital arm of Dutch multinational lender ING has agreed to invest an additional $3m in fintech start-up Flowcast.

This comes after ING Ventures co-led a $3m Series A investment in 2019 with Bitrock Capital.

Founded in 2015, Silicon Valley-headquartered Flowcast leverages AI to improve credit decision process.

The company uses machine learning methodologies to create predictive models to assess risk and enable financial institutions optimise credit offerings.

The latest investment increases the total capital raised by Flowcast to more than $10m.

Flowcast will use the new funds to pilot a programme in partnership with ING Belgium to determine the impact of the bank’s proactive loan approach and assess customer satisfaction.

ING Ventures managing director Frederic Hofmann said: “Credit decisioning is a core capability of ING, which we are continuously seeking to strengthen in order to improve our offering to ING’s clients.

“We believe that machine learning and alternative data capabilities such as those developed and refined by Flowcast will shape the future of financial services and is therefore a strategic priority.”

Flowcast co-founder and CEO Ken So said: “Our service allows the bank to be proactive about its lending portfolio, reducing costs, customer churn, and improving the borrower experience.

“It’s a great example of how our credit analysis platform is modernising both sides of the credit marketplace.”

Last year, Flowcast launched Tillful to enable small and midsize businesses in the US determine their credit scores and access credit offers.