Cheese
“Can a community-focused neobank designed for Asian-Americans and immigrants eliminate fee discrimination and deliver culturally relevant banking?”
Founded2021
HQPasadena, CA, USA
FoundersKen Lian
Total raised$3.6M
Latest roundSeed, March 2021
IndustryFintech / Neobank
The story
Founded in 2021 by Ken Lian, a Chinese immigrant who experienced banking discrimination and high fees firsthand, Cheese launched as a community-focused neobank serving Asian-Americans and immigrants in the U.S. The platform offers zero-fee, rewards-based banking with a social cause component, enabling customers to support Asian-American and immigrant-owned businesses. The company raised $3.6M in seed funding and built its infrastructure on BaaS provider Synapse Credit LLC. Evidence beyond the initial 2021 launch is thin, suggesting limited subsequent public development.
Last 12 months
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Product timeline
2021
Launched Cheese digital banking platform targeting Asian-Americans and immigrants, offering zero-fee, cashback banking.· banking
The stack
1 layer disclosed in Cheese’s embedded-finance stack
Banking / BaaS
Accounting gap: none