M1 Finance
“Can a fractional-share investing app become the single financial platform where consumers invest, bank, borrow, and earn rewards — all in one automated system?”
Founded in 2015 as an automated investing app offering fractional-share 'pie' portfolios, M1 Finance progressively added banking (M1 Spend, 2019), margin lending (M1 Borrow, 2020), and a unique investment-linked credit card (Owner's Rewards Card, 2021) to position itself as a personal finance super app. The company relies heavily on third-party embedded finance infrastructure — Apex Clearing for brokerage, Marqeta for card issuing, and B2 Bank as sponsor bank — rather than building in-house regulated entities. The 2024 selection of Temenos Banking Cloud signals a move toward more sophisticated core banking capabilities as the company deepens its banking ambitions.