Dallas Bill Payments Platform Emerges From Stealth With $4.5 Million in Funding

A new fintech startup has hit the scene.

Dallas bill payments platform Highline announced its launch Wednesday, emerging from stealth with a $4.5 million seed funding round led by early-stage VC firms Foundation Capital and Costanoa Ventures.

“The majority of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck, resulting in negative consequences like overdraft fees and missed payments,” said Geoff Brown, the startup’s CEO and co-founder, in a statement. “Highline believes access to better financial solutions begins with reimagining the broken bill payment system.”

Linking bill payments to customer’s payroll platforms

“This is a huge step forward in terms of credit risk innovation.”
ZACH ZOORANI

Aiming to help consumers avoid overdrafts and build their credit—while helping lenders reduce loss and collection expense—Highline’s software links users’ bill payments directly to their payroll platforms, rather than their bank accounts.

“The vast majority of the U.S. consumer lending industry has sought after payroll-based lending at one time or another,” said Zach Noorani, Partner at Foundation Capital. “This is a huge step forward in terms of credit risk innovation.”

Leaders have deep ties to the industry

According to LinkedIn, the company was formed last year by leaders with deep ties to the industry. Brown most recently served as head of credit risk for Salary Finance, after leaving Santander Bank as head of pricing. COO Darin Cline was a founding team member of Goldman Sachs’ direct consumer bank Marcus. And CTO Arun Agrahri has helped co-found and lead startups Airseed and Finos.

Based on its website, Highline currently has a 15-person team. With the new funding, it’s looking to build out its team and further develop its platform. The company currently lists eight open positions for roles ranging from head of strategy to infrastructure engineer to lead technical talent partner. All the positions are listed as remote.

“We’ve come together to give people the tools to easily and automatically manage their money,” Highline’s website states. “This both simplifies their lives and grants the gainfully employed immediate access to the credit they deserve.”