Our Mission

Our People

We’re a group of parents that just happen to also be experts, in security, banking, and technology. 

We wanted to give our children a head start in life with a clean and protected identity and a strong credit profile. We built FreeKick for our families and want to share it with yours. 

Our Platform

FreeKick is part of Austin Capital Bank. Member FDIC. 

Located in Austin, Texas, Austin Capital Bank is an FDIC-insured independent community bank. We are dedicated to serving communities defined by common needs, not common geography. We have an entire division of experts dedicated to digital banking products that help consumers and small businesses across America. 

As a 7-time consecutive INC 5000 award recipient, we’ve been consistently recognized as one of the best performing financial institutions in the nation and in 2021 we were ranked as the top performing consumer lending bank in the United States for banks of our size. 

Our Principals

Erik and Bob are first and foremost parents and secondarily entrepreneurs with decades of experience in financial services and technology. They have created some of the most innovative and successful credit building and digital savings products in the nation. 

While they both share an entrepreneurial zest for creating new products, they also share a passion and sense of responsibility for serving families, communities, and schools, having served their communities in numerous volunteer and leadership roles, including: 

• Junior Achievement 
• K-12 STEM and robotics programs 
• Austin Sunshine Camps for Underprivileged Youth 

Erik Beguin 
CEO and founder of Austin Capital Bank 
Creator of FreeKick 
LinkedIn Profile 

As a former advisor to numerous federal consumer protection and banking agencies, I became acutely aware of the threat to our nation’s children from Synthetic Identity Fraud. It’s a heinous crime targeting the most vulnerable among us; the elderly, homeless, and most of all our children. With my knowledge and the resources available to me I felt compelled to take action to protect our children. 

As the founder and CEO of an independent community bank and creator of the first nationwide credit builder bank accounts, I also understand how important good credit is for our children. Strong credit can open doors and provide young adults with opportunities that are unavailable to individuals with no or poor credit. 

Finally, as a husband and parent of boys that range from college to elementary school, I knew I needed to do something to protect their identities and build their credit before they needed it. I created the FreeKick savings account for my own family and want to share it with yours. Bob added the amazing idea to support schools while we protect children, and FreeKick.bank was born. 

Credentials: 

• Co-Founder and CEO of  Austin Capital Bank 
• Former advisor to the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System 
• Former two-term advisor to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)  
• Former chairman of Community Depository Institutions Advisory Council for the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas 
• Member of Texas Bankers Association Future of Banking Taskforce 

Bob Weinschenk
President, Digital Banking Products
Austin Capital Bank
Builder of FreeKick
LinkedIn Profile

I’m a geek by nature, an engineer by training, and a serial entrepreneur by career.  There’s nothing more compelling to me than working with some of the brightest and most passionate people I know to solve problems and build products that do good.  FreeKick is just such a product – protecting families, building credit for kids, and enabling donations to schools.  When not heads down on building new products I can be found in our school district’s robotics building working with some of the absolute brightest and most passionate students ever.  

Credentials:

• Former CEO of SmartyPig – a goal-based digital savings platform
• Co-founder/CEO of seven successful venture-led start-ups across a variety of industries, two spun out of Stanford University
• Board member for the most successful trauma blood catheter company in the world (product used to save lives worldwide)
• President of one of the largest and most successful high school STEM/robotics non-profits in the United States