Neonomics Raises $4M After Slashing Costs by Half: What It Means for Open Banking

Jan de Vries · 2026-10-16

Neonomics, the Norwegian open finance platform, just raised $4 million (€3.55 million) from existing shareholders. The kicker? They did it after cutting operating costs by nearly half. That's a story worth paying attention to, especially if you're watching the European fintech space or thinking about how open banking might reshape financial services. ### The Funding Details The round came entirely from existing investors, though the company didn't name which ones participated. Neonomics' backers include Newmark Capital, Bankify, FirstMark Capital, and TTU Private Equity. To date, the company says it's raised over $50 million (€44.39 million) in private investment. Not too shabby for a startup founded in Oslo back in 2017. So why does this matter? Because raising money is one thing, but raising it after tightening your belt? That sends a different signal. It says the business is leaner, more focused, and maybe even a little wiser. ### From CFO to CEO: A Leadership Shift That Paid Off Alfonso Muñoz joined Neonomics as CFO in 2025 and became Interim CEO in February 2026. In that short time, he's been credited with strengthening financial governance and operational discipline, leading to an almost 50% reduction in operating costs. That's not just trimming the fat; that's a serious restructuring. > "We have fundamentally strengthened Neonomics, creating a more focused and efficient business with a clear direction for growth," Muñoz said. "The combination of a significantly improved cost structure, growing customer demand and continued shareholder support puts us in a strong position to execute on our strategy." And the numbers back him up. Neonomics has seen over 60% growth in new customer acquisition since the start of the year, with gains in both payments and financial data segments. ### What Neonomics Actually Does If you're new to Neonomics, here's the quick version: it's a full-stack open finance platform that provides financial data, intelligence, verification, and payment infrastructure to businesses across Europe. Its PSD2 network connects to over 3,500 banks, with especially strong coverage in the Nordics, reaching more than 20 million consumers there. The company is licensed by the Norwegian Financial Supervisory Authority as a Payment Institution, Payment Initiation Service Provider, and Account Information Service Provider, with authorization valid across the EU. Its product suite, branded under Nello, focuses on three areas: - **Nello Data**: real-time account verification and transaction access - **Nello AI**: turns raw transaction data into financial intelligence for credit and income decisions - **Nello Pay**: account-to-account payments as a faster, lower-cost alternative to cards ### Beyond Payments: The Data Intelligence Play As API-level access to bank data becomes more commoditized across Europe, Neonomics sees an opportunity to move beyond just payments. The real value, they argue, is in structuring, enriching, and interpreting that data for clients. "Providing access to financial data is only the starting point," Muñoz added. "The real value lies in turning that data into intelligence that improves financial products, workflows and decisions. We see significant potential here alongside the continued growth of our payments business." The fresh capital will be used to grow in areas like consumer-facing financial services, personal finance, accounting, ERP, and businesses building products and workflows around financial data. ### The Takeaway Neonomics' story is a reminder that efficiency matters as much as growth. Raising $4 million after cutting costs by half isn't just a financial achievement; it's a strategic one. It shows investors that the company can operate lean and still scale. And in the fast-moving world of open banking, that might be the most valuable currency of all. For anyone tracking European fintech or building products around financial data, Neonomics is a name to watch. They're not just connecting banks; they're trying to make sense of the data flowing through them.