Truist, one of the nation's largest financial institutions, has acquired Long Game, a 12-person startup that has raised over $20 million in venture capital.
Charlotte, N.C.-based Truist was the 10th largest bank with $509 billion in assets. It was formed as a result of a merger.
Long Game built a gamified finance mobile app that helps people save, learn and engage with their finances. The San Francisco-based startup wants to drive bank customer engagement using prize-linked savings and casual gaming.
Truist paid for Long Game, and the company's revenues were not disclosed.
Long Game has raised over $20 million in funding from investors, led by co-founder and CEO Lindsay Holden. The startup raised $6.6 million in 2017.
Over half of Americans have less than $500 in savings and if something unexpected happens, it can be detrimental to their financial lives. We came across a behavioral economics thing called prize-linked savings, and we thought a lot about how people are motivated.
She said that prize-linked savings is a concept where someone puts money in a savings vehicle for a chance to win money.
People are trying to win big in the lottery, and instead of throwing away their money, they are buying a ticket.
Unsurprisingly, Long Game is more for GenZers and younger people.
It is a true game, as we are using game dynamics to drive financial literacy. Long Game uses best practices from the gaming industry to engage with users.
The use of game ad networks is one of its main marketing channels.
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The opportunity to reach a coveted demographic and difficult to reach younger demographic was appealing to Truist.
The acquisition of Long Game was not the bank's first buy, but it was the most important, according to the head of corporate development at Truist.
She said that it didn't come with a balance sheet. Truist/SunTrust previously acquired online lender LightStream and Service Finance, a point-of-sale software provider.
Long Game's engineers, designers and executives will join Truist's innovation team.
As we were looking to expand our offerings for our retail bank, we were looking for ways to deepen our relationship with them.
The enhanced version of the app will be made available to over 15 million households.
Truist has offices in San Francisco where it serves its wealth clients as well as its corporate and investment banking clients.
We haven't focused yet on building out technology or innovation teams on the West Coast.
According to Vreeland, Truist came to be aware of Long Game through a few different channels. Long Game was a participant in the program. She became acquainted with the company through her personal networks.
She said she was drawn to Truist's intense focus on the client, which was similar to that of Long Game.
We focus on the client experience of real financial progress, taking something that feels difficult and at times emotionally fraught and making it into something motivating, fun, and even magical.
Lindsay Holden is the CEO of Long Game.
The intersection of banks and fintechs is happening more frequently, where the two are either partnering or competing, like in this case, one is getting acquired by the other. It makes more sense for banks to acquire established fintechs than to build out their own technology.
We are a face-oriented organization. We spent a lot of time with our clients, so we know that they want to work with us online.
Truist earlier this year shuttered dozens of physical branches as evidence of increased digital focus.
Vreeland was drawn to the fact that Long Game was led by a female CEO.
We were excited to meet a female CEO and think about building a portfolio of products and services that are as diverse as the clients and communities that we serve.
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Long Game raises $6.6 million for a savings account that doubles as a lottery ticket
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