FinTech News
MrBeast’s Company Acquires Neobanking App Step
A company founded by YouTube giant MrBeast has acquired a FinTech banking app aimed at younger adults.
About the Beast Industries Acquisition of Step:
Today, Beast Industries announced that it was acquiring Step. Financial details of the transaction were not shared in the press release.
Step is a Gen Z-centric neobanking app that offers credit-building options in addition to checking and savings accounts. The platform also offers fractional share investing. Most recently, last year, Step launched a mobile phone service, with plans starting at $15 a month.
Since its founding in 2018, Step has raised a total of $491.3 million in funding. Over the years, the FinTech has not only received investments from venture capital firms and banks but also from a variety of celebrities. These include the likes of Steph Curry, Charli D’Amelio, Jeffrey Katzenberg, Jared Leto, Justin Timberlake, Will Smith, Eli Manning, Larry Fitzgerald, and electronic pop duo The Chainsmokers.
Beast Industries is a multifaceted company that houses a number of ventures from YouTube sensation MrBeast. These include entertainment, consumer products, and consumer packaged goods (such as the Feastables brand). According to the company logline, “Beast Industries blends entertainment, innovation, and purpose to create culturally resonant IP, market-leading products, and lasting change.”
What They’re Saying:
In a statement, Step founder and CEO CJ MacDonald said of this deal, “Our goal has always been to improve the financial future of the next generation.” He added, “We’re excited about how this acquisition is going to amplify our platform and bring more groundbreaking products to Step customers.”
On the other end of the transaction, Beast Industries CEO Jeff Housenbold noted, “This acquisition positions us to meet our audiences where they are, with practical, technology-driven solutions that can transform their financial futures for the better.”
Meanwhile, Jimmy Donaldson (AKA MrBeast himself) tweeted, “Nobody taught me about investing, building credit, or managing money when I was growing up. That’s exactly why we’re joining forces with Step! I want to give millions of young people the financial foundation I never had.”
My Thoughts:
I saw a rumor a while back that MrBeast was looking to start or acquire a banking app. However, since he’d previously partnered with Current, I assumed that would have been the one. Nevertheless, Step makes just as much sense.
Of course, now the big question is, “Can this be sustainable?” Neobanks have had a checkered track record — as has Step’s partner bank Evolve Bank & Trust. Then again, Beast Industries clearly has a lot of capital and access to an impressive audience size, so that should give the new Step plenty of runway.
Author
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