Method helps fintech companies like SoFi build payment functionality into their apps

Integrating payment, balance transfer, and bill payment functions can be challenging for fintech app developers. Developers often patch fragile screen-scraping APIs to extract information from users’ financial institutions — or worse, tools to process physical verification and paperwork.

Three friends and entrepreneurs—Jose Bethancourt, Marco del Carmen, and Mit Shah—told TechCrunch that blockchain could be a deal-breaker, especially for smaller fintech teams. To try to overcome them and help others do the same, the trio started Methodis a platform that powers debt and debt settlement functions in fintech applications.

“José and Marco first experienced financial account connection difficulties when they started their first company, GradJoyIt’s a Y Combinator-backed startup,” Shah told TechCrunch. “GradJoy set out to simplify student loan management, but Jose and Marco quickly realized the limitations of existing account linkage systems.”

The method works by using protections for access to consumer credit enacted by law as part of the Dodd-Frank Act of 2010. By tapping identifying information from credit bureaus and telecommunications companies and combining it with data from mainstream banking systems, Method can consolidate a person’s debts and make balance transfers, bill payments and payments on their behalf.

Fintech developers can build the technology into their applications using Method’s API. All the user of these apps has to do is provide their phone number.

The method, which came out of the blue in 2021, now supports more than 30 million account connections for 4 million users and has facilitated more than $500 million in liability payments to date.

The method handles a lot of sensitive data, which may give some users pause. But Shah claims that Method collects only “minimum user data” and does not sell the data to third parties. The company also plans to launch a portal where users can log in to manage the data they share with Method customers.

Method competes with big vendors like Plaid, MX, Spinwheel and Dwolla. But many of these rely on systems that require users to enter financial account credentials, which Shah says can be a point of friction.

“Method supports millions of Americans in their financial journey, while also helping lenders and fintechs like SoFi, Aven, Happy Money and Figure increase conversion with better user experience and engagement,” said Shah. “Consumers don’t have to authenticate multiple times for different accounts, and Method can pay the consumer’s obligations using Method’s payment line once they’ve incurred those obligations.”

Method recently added support for credit cards; it supports Bilt’s credit card linking tool, which allows Bilt customers to combine their cards to redeem points on eligible purchases. In the near future, Method plans to deepen banking relationships and expand credit card network integration for retail and travel customers.

“Many shoppers aren’t comfortable or don’t want to take the time to store their card information,” Shah said. “The method provides guests and repeat customers with a current credit card wallet, including every active credit card they have, by entering their name and phone number. With a method solution, the merchant has greater impact on the payment experience and can better understand customers across channels and cards with complete wallet visibility.”

To fund this product growth, 35 employees raised a $41.5 million Series B round led by Emergence Capital with participation from Austin-based Method, Avra ​​Capital, Samsung Next, Andreessen Horowitz, Y Combinator and Ardent. The new cash brings the company’s total to ~$60 million.