Source:https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/2023\/05\/22\/daylight-the-lgbtq-neobank-calls-it-quits\/<\/a><\/br>
\nDaylight, the LGBTQ+ neobank, calls it quits<\/br>
\n2023-05-23 22:49:16<\/br><\/p>\n

\n

\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\n

Daylight<\/a>, an LGBTQ+ banking platform, is shutting down. Its operations will cease on June 30, according to embattled co-founder and CEO Rob Curtis.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The announcement comes months after NY Magazine published an explosive feature on the neobank<\/span>. The <\/span>article<\/span><\/a> honed in on Daylight, whose seed and Series A fundraises TechCrunch had covered <\/span>here<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>here<\/span><\/a>, respectively. NY Mag\u2019s piece detailed a lawsuit brought on by three former employees as well as alleged fabrications and inappropriate behavior on the part of Curtis.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In a<\/span> blog<\/span><\/a>\u00a0published today, Curtis said he felt like \u201c<\/span>now is the right time to exit this market\u201d and told customers <\/span>that their \u201cmoney is safe and will be fully accessible for transfer through 30 June.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

He added: \u201c<\/span>Daylight had a great run paving the way for US LGBTQ+ customers \u2014 we opened thousands of trans-inclusive debit accounts, supported thousands of prospective LGBTQ+ parents\u2019 plans for their families. Ultimately, though, we couldn\u2019t provide these services in a way that covered our costs \u2014 this is likely a job for big banks and I hope they pick up the torch and carry forward our legacy.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Founded in 2020, Daylight raised a total of $20 million in funding. Anthemis Group<\/a> led its $15 million Series A in 2022. Other backers include Kapor Capital, Precursor Capital, Clocktower, Financial Venture Studio and Citi.<\/p>\n

Soon after covering the shocking allegations, the company reached out to TechCrunch with a statement from Curtis, who struck back at former employees. Essentially, Curtis said the <\/span>company<\/span><\/a> \u201cregretted\u201d that \u201csome former employees felt disappointed\u201d that the company \u201cwould not go beyond the scope\u201d of its mission and invest its \u201cresources in addressing systemic, societal issues affecting LGBTQ+ people.\u201d He added: \u201cWe\u2019re equally sad that we could not meet their personal expectations of start-up culture and continue to wish them the best in the future.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The former employees alleged age and wage discrimination, whistleblower retaliation and fraud. For example, Terrance Knox \u2014 who is Black \u2014 claimed to have made $85,000 less than his white peers. The lawsuit also alleges that Curtis \u201cmade up\u201d a projection that Daylight would process $500 million in transactions by the end of 2023.<\/p>\n

The CEO told TechCrunch that the former employees\u2019 claims were \u201cfabricated,\u201d adding: \u201cWe disagree wholeheartedly with their negative characterization of our business, and Daylight is fully prepared to address these concerns in court.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

At the time of its seed raise, the company said its products were designed to promote financial equality and inclusion for the estimated 30-million-plus Americans who identify as LGBTQ+. The startup also planned to build out a LGBTQ+ business marketplace and a platform that offered discounts and rewards when members shop at merchants whose actions support the queer community.<\/p>\n

Want more fintech news in your inbox? Sign up <\/span><\/i>here<\/span><\/i><\/a>.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Got a news tip or inside information about a topic we covered? We\u2019d love to hear from you. You can reach me at maryann@techcrunch.com. Or you can drop us a note at tips@techcrunch.com. Happy to respect anonymity requests.\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/br><\/br><\/br><\/p>\n

Science, Tech, Technology<\/br>
\n<\/br>
\nSource:https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/2023\/05\/22\/daylight-the-lgbtq-neobank-calls-it-quits\/<\/a><\/br><\/br><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Source:https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/2023\/05\/22\/daylight-the-lgbtq-neobank-calls-it-quits\/ Daylight, the LGBTQ+ neobank, calls it quits 2023-05-23 22:49:16 Daylight, an LGBTQ+ banking platform, is shutting down. Its operations will cease on June 30, according to embattled co-founder and CEO Rob Curtis.\u00a0 The announcement comes months after NY Magazine published an explosive feature on the neobank. The article honed in on Daylight, whose seed […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":33104,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[26,17,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-33103","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-science","category-tech","category-technology"],"yoast_head":"\n