Senior Machine Learning Engineer, Step

Step’s offering is a fee-free, interest-free visa card, with instant payments and easy account management that is optionally controlled by a parent (or sponsor). The idea is to offer a relatively low-risk sandbox in which young people can build up financial literacy along with a good credit score, whilst enjoying the benefits of digital banking.

The well-funded teen banking service Copper is hot on Step’s heels, however, with both racing to add high-demand stock and crypto investments to their offerings. Onu and Acorns also offer investment opportunities for younger users, and Greenlight has carved out a strong (albeit more traditional) niche focusing on account security.

Some savvy TikTok marketing by Step, along with flashy backing from celebrity investors, has helped it rapidly onboard over 3M users and cultivate strong name-brand recognition among its social network-native demographic. Much depends on how fast it can bring new features to market, but with unprecedented funding awarded to Step in 2022, it is well-equipped to do so through a scale-up of its product infrastructure.