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True Link

“Can a fraud-prevention prepaid card for vulnerable adults become the white-label caregiver banking infrastructure layer for hundreds of banks and trust companies?”

Founded2012
HQSan Francisco, CA, USA
FoundersKai Stinchcombe
Total raised$47M+
Latest roundSeries B2, 2020
Valuation~$115M (2020)
IndustryFintech / Consumer banking
The story

True Link launched in 2012 as a fraud-prevention prepaid card for seniors being exploited by telemarketers and scammers. It expanded into investment management (RIA) to serve vulnerable adult beneficiaries needing personalized retirement planning, making it a full-stack financial services provider for the 'protection economy.' By the mid-2020s, True Link pivoted its go-to-market upmarket, offering a white-label Banking-as-a-Service layer to 250+ banks, trust companies, and nonprofits — positioning itself as the infrastructure layer for caregiver finance rather than purely a direct-to-consumer fintech.

Last 12 months
2025-09
Product timeline
2012
True Link Financial founded in San Francisco by Kai Stinchcombe, inspired by his grandmother's experience with financial exploitation by telemarketers.· pivot
2013
Launched True Link Visa Prepaid Card with customizable spending controls for seniors and vulnerable adults, backed by Sunrise Banks.· card
2015
Accepted into Y Combinator, accelerating growth and investor attention.· pivot
2019
Added investment management / RIA services through True Link Financial Advisors, LLC, expanding beyond prepaid cards into wealth management for vulnerable adults.· banking
2020
Raised $35M Series B in two tranches led by Khosla Ventures and Centana Growth Partners; revenue doubled during Series B period.· acquisition
2023
Launched white-label Banking-as-a-Service offering for banks and trust companies, enabling 250+ financial institutions to offer caregiver-focused card products.· banking
2025
Operating 529 Card Portal and ABLE Card Portal programs under the True Link platform, serving government savings plan beneficiaries.· card
Regulated entities
1
regulatory licence held by True Link
Licence types, jurisdictions and registered entities are in the Embedded Finance Index report.
The stack
5 layers disclosed in True Link’s embedded-finance stack
Money movement
ACH
Banking / BaaS
in the full report
Card issuing
in the full report
Card network
in the full report
Sponsor bank
in the full report
Accounting gap: minor
4 more providers across 4 layers, with confidence-scored evidence and source URLs, are in the Embedded Finance Index report.