Zero Financial, a California-based fintech start-up that offers a debit-style banking experience with cash back, has raised $16m from a group of investors and has launched to its first public customers.

Participants in the new funding round are Eniac Ventures, NEA, Nyca Partners, and Silicon Valley Bank.

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The fintech offers a mobile app and Zerocard, designed to replace checking, savings, debit, and credit cards.

The app shows deposits, purchases, and transfers in a single place with a real-time net balance.

Zerocard has four levels, namely Carbon, Magnesium, Graphite, and Quartz, which offers users cash back of 1% to 3% on purchases as well as additional rewards.

In order to receive cash back and rewards of more than 1%, a user’s Zerocard balance needs to be completely paid on a monthly basis from deposits in a Zero account.

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Zero founder and CEO Bryce Galen said: “I started Zero because I was frustrated with the offerings from big banks. I was torn between using a debit card to stay on top of my spending and using a credit card to get rewards, and I wanted to manage my day-to-day finances from an app that’s easy to use, beautiful, and powerful.

“Many other people shared my belief that banking could be far better and more rewarding, so I decided to start Zero.”

Zero has collaborated with WebBank to introduce the Zerocard, with deposits held at Evolve Bank & Trust.

WebBank EVP of strategy and business development Jason Lloyd said: “With industry-leading rewards, innovative spending oversight features, and a beautiful and powerful app, Zero is a transformative banking experience.”