Less than one month after the launch of Nirvana Money, the fintech startup has announced its closure.
Nirvana Money officially launched at Money20/20 USA on 24 October 2022. Just 22 days later, the company announced its closure via a short notice displayed on its official website homepage.
The fintech was set up to deliver an accessible credit card product that aimed to simplify money for middle-income earners. The company shared its vision to combine the best features of credit cards, bank accounts, and gamified rewards programs into a single card. The waitlist to access the company’s new card was also opened on the day of launch.
Beginning of the end for Nirvana Money
The closure notice was posted on the homepage under the heading “The Nirvana Money service is being discontinued“. The brief notice read: “Thank you for participating in the beta program of Nirvana Money. All accounts will be closed on December 1, 2022.”
While the website itself offers little information regarding reasons for the closure, the company founder and CEO Bill Harris has remained active on LinkedIn offering his views.
Harris explained: “It’s primarily the economic outlook. We’ve got a great concept and a stellar team, but as a credit company lending to the lower end of the credit spectrum into a recessionary environment with interest rates spiking – and all the means for cost of funds.”
Citing current interest rates, and the economic outlook among other reasons, Harris explained that the timing of launching the company was not right.
Bill Harris suggested better economic circumstances may be required for success. He said: “Unfortunately, that’s a formula for a sunnier day. Very disappointed, but the right decision.”
Bill Harris previously founded nine financial technology companies. He also served as the founding CEO of both PayPal and Personal Capital. Harris was also the CEO of financial software provider Intuit.
Nirvana Money had over 50 employees as part of the team, according to its records on LinkedIn. Last May, Harris boasted that he would have 200 staffers onboard by the end of 2022.
In response to a comment regarding the fintech’s closure, Harris explained that he was the only party to make a loss. He said: “nobody (customers or investors) lost any money except me. But this risk is in the nature of startups.”
