When Starbucks sells you a latte, it’s not merely selling coffee: it’s sitting on one of the largest unofficial bank accounts in the country, thanks to the billions loaded onto its gift cards and app balances.
That’s the kind of “bank-like” thinking Miles Schwartz wants every business to be able to do. His company, Zūm Rails, is building the tech to make it happen.
Schwartz, co-founder and CEO of Zūm Rails, has seen his team grow from just six people last year to around 75 today, with about 20 based in the U.S. The Miami and New York-based fintech has nearly tripled revenue in that time, fueled by U.S. expansion and a major new offering: card issuance.
“Now we’re not just moving money, we’re giving our clients the ability to issue prepaid or secured cards, both physical and digital,” Schwartz told Refresh Miami.
“That means if you’re Western Union and you want to give a newcomer to Canada a card because they don’t have credit yet, you can do that,” he continued. “If you’re Robinhood or Questrade, you can let customers invest directly from their account and still pay bills from it. We’ve put the whole box together so companies can offer bank-like services in a way that wasn’t possible before.”
Zūm Rails’ customers range from investment brokerages to marketplaces, lenders, and even crypto exchanges. The core is instant money movement – getting funds from point A to point B – but with guardrails like name matching and risk checks to stop fraud. Schwartz’s bet is that once companies have that trust with their users, adding banking services is the natural next step.
“What’s the difference between them and a bank anymore?” he said. “If you’re holding someone’s money in your app, why not give them a card, a deposit account, bill payment, and savings options?”
This “business bank in a box” vision didn’t come together overnight. Launching in the U.S. meant starting from scratch: building brand recognition, securing the right bank partners, and understanding a sprawling, complex market.
Schwartz didn’t delegate that learning. He went to every conference, met with every bank and provider, and mapped out the ecosystem himself.
“It’s perseverance,” he said. “In Canada, after a while, everyone knew who we were. In the U.S., we had to earn that trust from the ground up. I didn’t want to hand something that critical to a new hire without knowing it inside and out myself.”
The long game is clear: stay ahead of where customers will be in two years. Schwartz believes that simply moving money is becoming commoditized. The moat comes from layering on software, compliance, and value-added services. Essentially, everything a business would need to become “bank-like” without piecing together a dozen separate vendors.
“We can build your entire bank in a box in 30 days,” he said. “One API, one platform, one portal. It’s a no-brainer compared to stitching together five or six different providers.”
For Schwartz, part of the startupy thrill comes from the firm’s ambitious product roadmap, but also from the personal growth that comes with building at breakneck speed.
“If I’m the same leader I was three months ago, Zūm would become obsolete,” he said. “I’ve technically been underqualified for every stage of the company. My job is to get qualified fast. That’s the fun part: leveling up constantly so the business can too.”
READ MORE IN REFRESH MIAMI:
- Why this Canadian fintech leader is making Miami its new home base
- What SaaS Ventures’ Collin Gutman sees in Miami’s startup scene
- Castle secures $1M to make bitcoin the quiet hero of Main Street balance sheets
- Miami-based Waltz raises $25M line of credit to fuel its real estate push into Latin America
- Payabli raises $28M to turn software companies into payments powerhouses
- PRIMA raises $5M to turn hot tables into a referral business - September 4, 2026
- WellStack acquires DeLorean AI, plans to grow platform and South Florida footprint - September 3, 2026
- Inside OpenSeed’s plan to bring calm back to work, 12 minutes at a time - September 3, 2026