Fintech Startup Sandbar Raises $4.8m for Enhance Its AML Efforts

Fintech startup Sandbar, a provider of API-based anti-money laundering (AML), fraud and counter-terrorism risk detection software solutions, announced to have raised $4.8 million of a seed round that was led by Lachy Groom and Abstract Ventures and joined by BoxGroup and more than 45 angel investors including founders and executives from Ramp, Stripe, OpenAI, Plaid and Square.

The funding will be used to further develop the product, expand the pipeline, and support customers as Sandbar continues to accelerate growth following the public launch of the product. The software, according to the fintech, allows businesses to fortify their AML program, identifying risks and providing more effective models to accurately identify suspicious behaviour across products and services.

"Transaction monitoring is tough, but it doesn't have to be. It's the foundation of any successful AML program, and it's most effective for the financial institution and broader ecosystem when it's easy to integrate, understand, and use," says the CEO, Brock Bontrager, "It's unfortunate to see still so many risk and compliance teams resource-constrained and dependent on manual tools, especially now. With limited tools and increased regulations, fintechs and banks are vulnerable to threats and falling short of their regulatory obligations."

"With a simple integration, Sandbar provides access to holistic, scalable, and defensible transaction monitoring across financial products and services so organizations can scale their business safely," the CEO added.