Full article published at Caffeine Daily

According to the dictionary, ‘square one’ is an initial stage or starting point. It’s an apt description for Kiwi fintech SquareOne, which has changed its name to Emerge as it reveals its ambitious plan to move from teaching kids about money to offering services to SMEs and eventually becoming a neobank.

Neobanks or challenger banks are fintech companies that offer apps, software and other technologies to streamline mobile and online banking. They’ve disrupted the global banking sector in the same way Uber did to transport and Airbnb to the accommodation industry.

Co-founders Jamie Jermain and Jovan Pavlicevic, who have five children between them, started SquareOne in 2021. They saw a market gap for an app that provided parents with tools to help kids learn about money and savings.