LA's Linker Finance Inks Fraud-Tech Deal
LA-based Linker Finance is partnering with Sardine to bring real-time fraud prevention to community banks. The deal reflects a key fintech trend: embedding advanced AI and risk tools into core banking platforms to serve smaller institutions that lack in-house resources.
Pasadena-based Linker Finance, founded in 2023 by Jorge Garcia, Alejandro Corpeno, and Claudia Bardales, aims to bridge the technology gap for community banks. Garcia, the CEO, was motivated to start the company after his own frustrating experiences with the digital services offered by community banks. Prior to Linker, Garcia founded and sold a company to Disney and is an alumnus of the Stanford Latino Entrepreneurship Initiative. The company has raised a total of $3.72 million over two seed rounds. A $3.7 million round in August 2024 was led by Ten One Ten Ventures and Chingona Ventures, with participation from others including Techstars and Commerce Ventures. This funding is earmarked for product development and team expansion, with a focus on new features for business and commercial banking. Sardine, founded in 2020, specializes in a unified approach to risk management, combining device intelligence and behavioral biometrics to detect fraud. The company's technology is designed to identify financial crimes like identity fraud and money laundering at various stages, from account opening to payment processing. Sardine's client roster includes prominent names like FIS, GoDaddy, Brex, and Checkout.com. The partnership addresses a critical need, as community banks face escalating and increasingly sophisticated fraud threats. A 2025 survey identified card fraud as the most common and costly type of fraud for these institutions. Furthermore, 56% of community bankers believe check fraud will have the most significant negative impact on their institutions in 2026. This collaboration is part of a larger trend of community banks partnering with fintech companies to stay competitive against larger financial institutions. These partnerships allow smaller banks to offer advanced digital services, such as mobile banking and improved user interfaces, without the need for massive internal investment in technology. Sardine's platform uses AI and machine learning to analyze user behavior, helping to stop scams and account takeovers before they happen. The company has raised $75 million from investors including Andreessen Horowitz Growth, Visa, Google Ventures, and Experian. This backing allows them to offer a comprehensive API that integrates with a bank's existing core systems.
