Mint.com Raises $14 Million in a Third Round of Funding

Some of its cash-strapped users may not be weathering the economic downturn very well but Mint, the personal finance site, is actually doing much better than most companies and has just closed a third round of funding, raising $14 million from a number of venture capital firms. This brings the total funding raised to $31.8 million for the three-year-old company.

The investment was disclosed in a SEC filing yesterday and was confirmed later by the company. The round was led by DAG Ventures joined by Founders Fund, both first-time investors in Mint, and included previous investors Benchmark Capital, Shasta Ventures, First Round Capital, and Sherpalo Ventures. The company's valuation wasn't disclosed but it apparently was a significant round-up. The money weren't necessarily needed but Mint decided to get more funding in anticipation of further growth and expenses coming over the next months.

Mint now boasts 1.4 million registered users, growing from 1 million in March, and transactions going through the site add up to $175 billion. The company also says it's identified ways for its customers to save up to $300 million. Actual revenue numbers aren't available but CEO Aaron Patzer claims they're up eight times year over year.

Mint is designed as a personal financial advisor for individuals offering detailed monthly spending and earnings information. Users can register anonymously and the site automatically pulls transactions from banks, credit card companies and other financial institutions in the US. It then presents users with ways to save up money and also keep track of their transactions.

The service is completely free for its users for the time being and most of the revenue is generated by referring them to financial services that may be beneficial to them. The company may charge for additional services at some point but a big revenue stream so far untapped is the sheer amount of data it has acquired, which could prove a very valuable and accurate resource for interested parties.