# Stark Bank

**Source:** https://geo.sig.ai/brands/stark-bank  
**Vertical:** Finance  
**Subcategory:** General  
**Tier:** Leader  
**Website:** starkbank.com  
**Last Updated:** 2026-04-14

## Summary

São Paulo Brazil YC W20 open banking API at 155B BRL ($31B) payments 2023 with 3x YoY growth and doubled net income; $58.2M total ($45M Ribbit/Bezos Series B 2022) serving Gol/Localiza/QuintoAndar competing for Brazil fintech infrastructure.

## Company Overview

Stark Bank is a São Paulo, Brazil-based open banking API platform and digital business bank — backed by Y Combinator (W20) with $58.2 million in total funding including a $45 million Series B in April 2022 led by Ribbit Capital with Lachy Groom and Bezos Expeditions (Jeff Bezos's personal investment vehicle) — providing companies with payment processing infrastructure, banking APIs, and financial services built on Brazil's open banking framework. In 2023, Stark Bank processed 155 billion reais ($31 billion USD) in payments (3x year-over-year growth), doubled net income to 71.5 million reais, and serves 600+ enterprise clients including Gol Airlines, Localiza, Ultragaz, Loft, and QuintoAndar. Founded in 2018 by Rafael Stark.

Stark Bank's open banking infrastructure platform addresses the API access gap that limits Brazilian fintech development: Brazil's Central Bank mandated open banking (Pix instant payments, open banking data sharing, DREX digital currency preparation) creates a regulatory environment where financial infrastructure must be API-accessible — but most Brazilian banks expose these capabilities through outdated APIs with unreliable documentation and poor developer experience. Stark Bank's developer-first banking API (clean REST API for Pix transfers, boleto payment generation, TED/TEF transfers, receivables discounting, and corporate card issuance) gives fintech developers and technology companies the programmable banking access that traditional banks' corporate accounts don't provide. The B2B model (companies pay for API access and transaction volume, not retail accounts) focuses Stark Bank's product quality on the developer and treasury use case.

In 2025, Stark Bank competes in the Brazilian fintech infrastructure, open banking API, and business banking market with Nubank Business (NASDAQ: NU, business accounts from Brazil's largest neobank), Celcoin (financial infrastructure API, $120M raised), and Dock (financial infrastructure, $110M raised) for Brazilian company API-based payment processing and programmable banking platform adoption. Ribbit Capital's Series B leadership (Ribbit is a leading fintech VC with Nubank, Robinhood, and Coinbase investments) and Jeff Bezos's personal investment reflect both fintech infrastructure conviction and corporate development potential. The 3x payment volume growth (155B BRL in 2023) and profitability demonstrate sustainable business model scaling. The 2025 strategy focuses on expanding the DREX (Brazil's digital real) infrastructure readiness for Central Bank digital currency settlement, building the treasury management platform for corporate cash management beyond payments, and growing the enterprise ERP integration (SAP, Oracle NetSuite) for automated AP/AR payment processing.

## Frequently Asked Questions

### What is Stark Bank?
Stark Bank is a Brazilian open banking API provider and digital business bank that offers payment processing, banking infrastructure, and financial services for companies. Founded in 2018 and backed by Jeff Bezos' Bezos Expeditions, the São Paulo-based fintech is a Y Combinator W20 graduate.

### What products and services does Stark Bank offer?
Stark Bank provides open banking APIs, business banking accounts, payment processing, corporate banking services, and banking infrastructure. These solutions are designed specifically for businesses operating in Brazil.

### Who are Stark Bank's target customers?
Stark Bank serves companies and businesses in Brazil, currently working with 600 clients. Notable customers include Gol Airlines, Localiza, Ultragaz, Loft, and QuintoAndar.

### When was Stark Bank founded and by whom?
Stark Bank was founded in 2018 by Rafael Stark. The company participated in Y Combinator's Winter 2020 (W20) batch.

### Where is Stark Bank located?
Stark Bank is based in São Paulo, Brazil.

### How much funding has Stark Bank raised?
Stark Bank has raised $58.2 million in total funding, including a $45 million Series B round in April 2022. The Series B was led by Ribbit Capital with participation from Lachy Groom and Bezos Expeditions.

### What are Stark Bank's key performance metrics?
In 2023, Stark Bank processed 155 billion reais ($31 billion USD) in payments, representing 3x year-over-year growth. The company also doubled its net income to 71.5 million reais and serves 600 clients.

### What is Stark Bank's technology approach?
Stark Bank operates as an open banking API provider, offering banking infrastructure and APIs that enable companies to integrate financial services. The company focuses on providing digital business banking solutions through its API-first platform.

### Who backs Stark Bank?
Stark Bank is backed by prominent investors including Jeff Bezos' Bezos Expeditions, Ribbit Capital, Lachy Groom, and Y Combinator. The company received backing from Bezos Expeditions as part of its funding rounds.

### What are Stark Bank's recent developments?
Stark Bank is targeting crypto startups as of March 2025. The company achieved significant growth in 2023 with 3x year-over-year payment processing growth and doubled net income to 71.5 million reais.

## Tags

api-first, b2b, fintech, latin-america, payment-processing, platform, scaleup

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*Data from geo.sig.ai Brand Intelligence Database. Updated 2026-04-14.*