M1 Finance Expands to New Services With Two New Strategic Partnerships

• M1 Finance scores partnerships with Tenemos and The First National Bank of Buhl.
• The two strategic deals will help expand to new services, starting with deposits, payments, and lending.
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US-based money management app M1 Finance is partnering with banking tech vendors to expand its product suite, starting with deposits, payments, and lending.

M1 Finance already offers

checking accounts
(M1 Spend), investment accounts (M1 Invest), and portfolio lines of credit (M1 Borrow)—all within one app.

Now it’s expanding to new services via two strategic partnerships:

• M1 is using the bank tech vendor Tenemos’ cloud infrastructure to quickly scale and roll out new products and features.
• M1 Finance CEO Brian Barnes purchased The First National Bank of Buhl, one of the smallest US chartered banks. The bank will remain a separate entity offering banking as a service solutions to fintech clients, including M1.

M1’s new services can create a stickier offering to build on its user boom from the past year—though it may need to contend with complications.

The fintech now has over $5 billion in assets under management, up from $3.5 billion in March and $1 billion in February 2020, thanks mainly to retail investors flocking to its robo-advisory solution during the pandemic. By expanding to additional banking products, M1 offers a wider range of fintech solutions to users to enhance its value proposition, bringing it closer to a one-stop shop for users’ financial needs.

Further, the SEC has raised concerns about robos’ use of predictive data analytics and other digital engagement practices, which could lead to future restrictions on how they operate. By diversifying its product suite, M1 can reduce its reliance on its robo offering to drive further user growth.

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