Finance · Profile from Finance Research Companion
Varo Bank (Varo Money, Inc.)
A San Francisco consumer fintech, founded in 2015 by former Lloyds and American Express executive Colin Walsh, that launched as a partner-bank app on The Bancorp Bank in 2017 and on 31 July 2020 became the first consumer fintech to win a de novo, full-service national bank charter (Varo Bank, N.A.) with FDIC insurance and Federal Reserve approval. It raised more than $1bn from investors, including a $510m Series E at a $2.5bn valuation in September 2021, but the charter that was meant to be its moat arrived before a profitable business did: the bank lost ~$265.5m in 2021 and ~$236.5m in 2022, raised $50m at ~$1.85bn in 2023, replaced its founder with former Bakkt CEO Gavin Michael in February 2025, saw total bank capital fall to ~$54m in Q3 2025 and lost ~$92m in 2025 before a $123.9m Series G led by Coliseum Capital and Warburg Pincus in early 2026. Its story is the counterpoint to Chime, which stayed on partner banks and listed in 2025, and to SoFi, which bought a bank and became profitable.
At a glance
- Founded
- 2015 (Varo Money, Inc.), San Francisco; app launched 2017 (company)
- Founder
- Colin Walsh, CEO 2015–February 2025 (previously at Lloyds Banking Group, American Express and other firms, reported)
- Headquarters
- San Francisco, California (bank's main office listed in Salt Lake City, Utah, verify)
- Ownership / structure
- Private, venture-backed bank holding company Varo Money, Inc.; subsidiary Varo Bank, N.A., a national bank supervised by the OCC, FDIC-insured; holding company supervised by the Federal Reserve
- Leadership
- Gavin Michael, CEO from February 2025 (former CEO of Bakkt; earlier at Citi, JPMorgan Chase and Lloyds); Colin Walsh remains a director (reported)
- Segment and clients
- Mobile-only consumer bank for low- to moderate-income and "underbanked" Americans: checking and savings, early pay, cash advances, credit-builder card, line of credit
- Scale
- 6m+ FDIC-insured accounts (2025, reported); total deposits ~$300m including sweeps, ~$160m on balance sheet (Q3 2025, reported); $547m of Advance and Line of Credit volume in 2025 (company)
- Profit
- Net losses ~$265.5m (2021), ~$236.5m (2022), ~$65m (2024), ~$91.7m (2025) (call reports, reported); never profitable at last check
- Valuation
- ~$2.5bn (Series E, September 2021); ~$1.85bn post-money (2023, reported); later rounds undisclosed
- Signature moves (incl. failures)
- Launch on The Bancorp (2017); OCC preliminary approval (2018); full national bank charter (2020); credit products Advance and Believe (2020–21); $510m Series E (2021); losses and cost cuts (2022); down round (2023); founder exit, CEO change and small raises (2025); Series G and lending focus (2026)
10 strategic moves analysed
Each one gets a full strategy file in the companion: context, the decision, the financing, what happened, and the lesson.
2017
Launch on The Bancorp
Founding / launch
2018
OCC Preliminary Charter Approval
Licence / charter
2020
National Bank Charter
Licence / charter
2021
Series E 510m at 2 5bn
Funding round
2021
Varo Advance and Believe Credit Products
Launch
2022
Losses and Cost Cuts
Restructuring / failure
2023
Down Round at 1 85bn
Funding round / down round
2024
Line of Credit and Lending Pivot
Launch / pivot
2025
Founder Exit and CEO Change
Leadership change / funding
2026
Series G and Recapitalisation
Funding round / recapitalisation