True Link Financial offers prepaid Visa cards and investment management products specifically tailored to elderly people, those with disabilities, and people recovering from addiction. Its product set includes the True Link Card for Vulnerable Elders, a card for People in Recovery that can block certain merchants and cash access, and services that link third-party administrators to customers for recordkeeping and benefits compliance. The company says it works with nearly half of participants in state‑administered ABLE Act programs and is active only in the U.S. Founded in 2012 by CEO Kai Stinchcombe and COO Claire McDonnell, True Link has doubled its revenues recently and is positioning its products to preserve autonomy while limiting financial abuse. Management plans to add more products, with life insurance and additional credit‑based services likely next. The company emphasizes controls and monitoring features to prevent fraud, misuse, or relapse-related transactions. True Link Financial is a San Francisco-based financial services firm founded in 2012 by CEO Kai Stinchcombe and COO Claire McDonnell. It provides a range of money management, investment, and insurance products primarily for retirees. Offerings include a financial advisory division, a tech-enabled "robo" advisor targeting retirees, nationally recognized debit cards with budgeting and anti-fraud features, and recordkeeping software for trusts. The company's trust recordkeeping software helps tens of thousands of people maintain eligibility for lifesaving medical benefits. True Link raised $8m in a Series A round led by QED Investors with participation from Radicle Impact and Initialized Capital. With this round the company has raised $15.8 million since its founding, and QED founding partner Frank Rotman will join True Link's board of directors. True Link Financial offers money management, investment and insurance products primarily for retirees, with core products that include a debit card with budgeting and anti-fraud features. The company also provides software tools to create and administer trusts and manage benefits eligibility. It plans to launch an online financial advisory service called True Link Financial Advisors. True Link intends to use the newly raised funds to expand sales and marketing for its debit card and software tools and to support the advisory service rollout. The firm was founded in 2012 by Kai Stinchcombe and is based in San Francisco. Since launch it has raised $7m in equity and venture debt. True Link produces a customizable debit card and linked financial account designed to protect elderly and memory-impaired customers from scams and unauthorized charges. The product, launched in fall 2013 out of Y Combinator, lets families set granular limits (for example, $50 at specific stores or on phone bills). The company charges users $10 per month and says customers save about $195 a month on average, though it has not disclosed total customer count. True Link typically acquires customers via word of mouth and through professional service providers such as financial planners and geriatric care managers. CEO Kai Stinchcombe developed the idea after his grandmother’s memory-loss–related overspending; he notes roughly one-tenth of the country’s wealth is held by people susceptible to these scams and that two-thirds of bank accounts are owned by people 60 and older. With the new funding, the company is exploring expanding protections to other assets such as credit scores and savings. True Link Financial’s core product is a prepaid, preloaded Visa card sold with a yearly $20 subscription that lets caregivers fund and control spending to prevent fraud and inflated online charges. The card can be set up in about five minutes, funded from checking accounts or direct deposit, and includes caregiver controls to block transaction types and limit ATM withdrawals via a “fraud blocker.” True Link can flag extra fees (vase, shipping, expedited charges) for approval to prevent accidental overspending, and the company positions the product as useful beyond the elderly. The founders completed a beta trial with 50 users while enrolled in Y Combinator and have made the cards generally available for purchase. Future plans described by the founders include hiring staff to monitor scams and junk mail, track suspicious online behavior, and alert authorities and the press when needed. The company estimates a target market of roughly 10 million people with dementia or cognitive impairments who maintain independent decision-making.

Total raised

$125M

Funding rounds

6

Latest round

Series B

Latest activity

Jul 2020