“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.
M1 Finance discloses B2 Bank National Association (sponsor bank) as its banking provider, with B2 Bank National Association as its sponsor bank, according to the Embedded Finance Index 2026.
M1 Finance does not disclose a bank charter of its own; its banking services are provided through B2 Bank National Association.
M1 Finance's cards are issued through Marqeta.
M1 Finance runs its ledger on Temenos.
M1 Finance connects to bank accounts through Plaid.
The Embedded Finance Index 2026 maps 6 layers in M1 Finance's stack: Banking / BaaS (B2 Bank National Association (sponsor bank)); Card issuing (Marqeta); Ledger (Temenos); Lending (M1 Borrow — Portfolio Line of Credit (margin loan, up to 50% of portfolio value, rate 5.65% as of Feb 2026)); Open banking (Plaid); Sponsor bank (B2 Bank National Association).
M1 Finance was founded by Brian Barnes and is founded in 2015, headquartered in Chicago, IL, USA.
M1 Finance has raised $153M+ in total (latest round: Series D, 2021).
Get a read on where your own stack stands against M1 Finance and the rest of its category — what they built versus bought, which providers they use, and where the gaps in your own strategy and competitive set actually are.