The company owned by YouTube star MrBeast has acquired the youth-focused fintech firm and banking app Step for an undisclosed amount, the two businesses announced Monday. 

“Financial health is fundamental to overall wellbeing, yet too many people lack access to the tools and knowledge they need to build financial security," Jeff Housenbold, CEO of Beast Industries, said in a release Monday. "This acquisition positions us to meet our audiences where they are, with practical, technology-driven solutions that can transform their financial futures for the better."

MrBeast – real name Jimmy Donaldson – counts over 450 million subscribers to his YouTube channel and roughly 5 billion monthly views, according to Monday’s release.

That sort of reach could act as a boon for Step, which has labeled itself as an “all-in-one money app” aimed at offering “banking for the next generation.” The platform – which attracted high-profile investors such as singer Justin Timberlake, NBA great Stephen Curry and actor Will Smith – has amassed roughly $500 million in funding and about 7 million users, according to its website.

“Our goal has always been to improve the financial future of the next generation,” Step founder and CEO CJ MacDonald said in Monday’s release. “There are a lot of synergies between Step and what Jimmy, Jeff and the team at Beast Industries believe in when it comes to helping people and giving back. We’re excited about how this acquisition is going to amplify our platform and bring more groundbreaking products to Step customers.”

Those synergies include closing the financial literacy gap, the companies said.

“Nobody taught me about investing, building credit or managing money when I was growing up,” Donaldson, 27, said Monday in a post on X. “That's exactly why we’re joining forces with Step. I want to give millions of young people the financial foundation I never had.”

Monday’s deal, however, goes far beyond celebrity endorsement: It would mark Beast Industries’ entry to financial services after Donaldson’s LLC filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office last October to trademark Beast Financial and MrBeast Financial.

Theodora Lau, founder of Unconventional Ventures, told American Banker the transaction could be a watershed moment in fintech.

"Banks have long held the belief that they have the upper hand because of the inherent trust that consumers place in banks," Lau said. "But if a YouTuber with a massive following succeeds in bringing people on board and being an active part of the Step ecosystem, then perhaps it's soul searching time."

In a 2020 interview, Step CEO MacDonald noted the niche his company was trying to carve out in the marketplace.

“Banks have had products for teens and for young adults for years, they’re just not great products,” MacDonald said. “They’re just their app or their infrastructure, reskinned for the younger generation, but it’s not really built for them.”

MacDonald said good and bad habits are formed in the early years, but when Step launched, few products truly tailored to young people’s needs.

“There is parent involvement, which helps us operate and deal with people that are under the age of 18, but essentially, the way we designed the card, the card is in the kid’s name,” MacDonald said. “And once they start using it they’re building and establishing credit.”

MacDonald described Step as “Venmo meets Chase for the next generation.”

“Our goal is to grow with the consumer each step of their journey in life, hence the name,” he said. “We are not a teen bank. We’re a banking platform and hopefully a brand for the next generation. We fundamentally believe that your journey starts as a child or a teenager, and we just want to be there with you from the beginning and grow with you. And if we do our job right – offer relevant financial products and services – hopefully we have a customer for life.”

Step’s banking partner could prove a challenge. Evolve Bank & Trust issues the fintech’s credit card and provides deposit insurance. The West Memphis, Arkansas-based bank has been embroiled in the missing-funds saga tied to the 2024 collapse of middleware fintech Synapse.

Beast Industries was valued at $5.2 billion in 2024. Last month, it received a $200 million equity investment from cryptocurrency treasury firm Bitmine. 

Beast Industries has also disclosed plans to launch a phone service, Beast Mobile, in the near future.