A software startup that makes it easier to be a bank raised $32 million a year ago – but didn’t mention its launch with an investor

Chalk up another $32 million to the investment tally in 2022 with belated news emerging this week that software fintech Constantinople banked a US$23 million (A$32m) Seed round in May last year.

If two’s enough to be a trend, then late funding announcement are the new black after meal ordering platform Me&u revealed last month that it raised $30 million last December.

The round was led by Square Peg, with support from Airtree and its first client, Great Southern Bank. A year on, it remains the country’s largest venture-backed Seed raise.

The funding was revealed this week as Brisbane-headquartered Great Southern, the customer-owned bank rebranded from Credit Union Australia in 2022. The fintech, which has a team of 60, is now looking to expand into the US and other markets.

Constantinople is an all-in-one software and operational platform for digital banking covering both retail and business services from customer experience to compliance.

It supports a full range of customer products, from mobile apps and internet banking, to transaction and savings accounts, payments, debit and credit cards, and a range of secured and unsecured lending products, white-labelled and fully configurable by the client banks.

Great Southern CEO Paul Lewis said the platform has the potential to transform how banks operate.

“We’re really excited to be their first banking client, leveraging their cutting-edge software and operating platform to offer something new – a digital first, customer-owned alternative in the SME space,” he said.

Cofounders and co-CEOs Macgregor Duncan and Dianne Challenor, former Westpac execs, said the software fully manages and automates critical but undifferentiated parts of banking for a fraction of the current cost.

“This means our clients can focus on the things that matter for their customers and their business,” Duncan said.

Challenor said banking is evolving quickly and recent developments in the US have shown fragility in the system.

“Bank executives want to spend more time managing their balance sheets, liquidity and risks,” she said.

“But instead they spend time managing complex infrastructure and operations, and worrying about operational and compliance risks. Constantinople’s platform frees banks from this”.