The Bench Tangle: Customers Left in Data Limbo

Welcome to TechCrunch Fintech, where we keep you updated on the heartbeat of financial technology. This time, the spotlight is on former accounting service provider, Bench, its abrupt collapse, and the ensuing repercussions for its former customer base.

A Sting in the Tale

Following the sudden crash and subsequent acquisition of Bench by Employer.com on December 27, erstwhile Bench clients are finding it next-to-impossible to retrieve their financial data. For many, the peculiar circumstances surrounding data access have caused significant frustration. Paradoxically, according to sources within Bench, Employer.com is the only avenue through which customers can recover their data due to the dissolution of the previous data holder and its ongoing bankruptcy proceedings.

Financial Footnotes

While Bench struggles, Float Financial, a Canadian corporate card and expense management startup, successfully raised $50 million in Series B funding. Eyeing Canadian SMBs as its target demographic, Float Financial parallels U.S. giants like Brex and Ramp.

Pryce Yebesi, having sold his crypto invoicing company Utopia Labs to Coinbase, kicked off his new venture, Open Ledger, securing $3 million in initial funding. Open Ledger is designed to weave automated accounting software into tools frequently used by small businesses and larger enterprises.

NomuPay, an international payment facilitator for Asian and Middle Eastern merchants, acquired funding worth $37 million at a $200 million valuation to broaden its operational scope.

Moody’s, the financial service major, is slated to take over Cape Analytics, a geospatial AI startup, while Clearwater Analytics is on track to purchase investment management platform Enfusion at a price tag of $1.5 billion.

In Other News

In regulatory news, Robinhood has succumbed to a $45 million settlement to resolve an SEC investigation over infractions linked to a 2021 security breach.

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