Beyond Traditional Banking
In late 2021, friends Jovan Pavlicevic and Jamie Jermain faced a common parental challenge: teaching their children the value of money in today's digital economy. Their solution—a digital spending account for kids called SquareOne—would become the foundation for a more ambitious vision to revolutionise banking in New Zealand.
What began as a tool to show children that "money doesn't grow on trees" quickly gained traction, with SquareOne experiencing significant user growth through word-of-mouth referrals. The app's elegant design and intuitive interface allowed children to spend and save money with parental supervision, fostering financial literacy from an early age.
But Jovan and Jamie had always envisioned a broader mission. With Jamie's two decades of payments industry experience at global companies like Visa, Mastercard, and major banks, and Jovan's entrepreneurial background having previously built and sold a successful financial services company, they possessed both the domain expertise and execution capability to tackle larger challenges.
The founders recognised that while New Zealand's banking sector was dominated by entrenched incumbents, there remained significant unmet needs, particularly among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). These businesses, representing the backbone of the New Zealand economy, were underserved by existing banking solutions. This insight led to the evolution from SquareOne to Emerge—a banking alternative designed to fundamentally transform how Kiwi businesses interact with financial services.
Partnership
Altered Capital recognised Emerge's potential to disrupt New Zealand's banking landscape. Our investment thesis rested on three key pillars:
The success of SquareOne demonstrated the team's ability to build elegant, user-focused financial products that could achieve organic growth through product excellence.
The New Zealand banking market represented a substantial opportunity. With New Zealander’s underserved by traditional banks, Emerge was positioned to capture significant market share by offering a purpose-built alternative.
In Jovan and Jamie, we saw founders with the rare combination of domain expertise, execution capability, and relentless drive needed to navigate the complex regulatory landscape of financial services while delivering superior user experiences.
What made Altered Capital an ideal partner for Emerge extended beyond capital. Our team had direct first-hand experience funding and building Starling Bank in the UK—a digital challenger bank that successfully disrupted the established banking sector. This experience provided invaluable insights to help Emerge navigate the challenges of scaling a fintech company.
“Investors all want to add value, and we're fortunate to be surrounded by an incredible cap table that helps drive the business forward.” Jovan Pavlicevic
Beyond direct business support, Altered Capital has played a significant role in advancing the broader fintech ecosystem in New Zealand. Managing Partner McGregor Fea has been an advocate for regulatory improvements that would create a more level playing field for banking innovators. His expertise has been valuable in highlighting how access to core payments infrastructure—historically controlled by incumbent banks—represents a critical barrier to meaningful competition. This advocacy work has helped position the importance of open banking and payment system access as key enablers for companies like Emerge to deliver better outcomes for New Zealand businesses and consumers.
As Emerge continues its mission of creating a more dynamic, accessible financial ecosystem, Altered Capital remains committed to supporting the transformation of New Zealand's banking landscape.