SMBC’s U.S. Venture Arm Expands Portfolio with Bet on BaaS Provider Synctera
The SMBC Fin Atlas Beyond Fund, a U.S.-focused corporate venture vehicle operated by Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation in partnership with Fin Capital, has executed its second portfolio investment, backing Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) platform Synctera.
The fund co-led the strategic financing round alongside the National Bank of Canada, signaling continued institutional appetite for infrastructure layers within the fintech ecosystem.
Founded in 2020, Synctera functions as a middleware provider, offering a platform that connects community banks with fintech companies looking to embed financial products. The company aims to mitigate the regulatory friction often associated with sponsor bank models by focusing on compliance and transparency—a critical selling point as regulatory scrutiny on the BaaS sector has tightened in recent years.
The investment builds on a pre-existing relationship between Synctera and Fin Capital, which led the company’s Series A round in 2021.
“We have worked closely with [Fin Capital Founder] Logan Allin and Fin Capital since they led our Series A,” said Peter Hazlehurst, CEO and Co-Founder of Synctera. “When we learned they were launching a fund alongside SMBC, we were eager to partner with them.”
According to Logan Allin, who serves on the Investment Committee for the SMBC Fin Atlas Beyond Fund, Synctera demonstrated "meaningfully scaled metrics" throughout fiscal year 2025. Allin noted that the capital injection supports the company’s recent expansion into new credit products and the extension of its ledger offerings to community banks.
Synctera’s current client roster includes notable fintechs such as BTG Pactual, Bolt, and Float. On the supply side, the platform partners with over a dozen financial institutions, including Coastal Community Bank, Midland States Bank, and Lincoln Savings Bank.
Norbert Gehrke
