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Category: Fintech

Ramp has more than doubled its annualized revenue to $700 million

Fintech startup Ramp has crossed $700 million in annualized revenue as of January of this year, according to a source familiar with the company’s internal operations. The company had crossed $100 million in annualized revenue before its third birthday in March 2022, passed $300 million by August 2023, and now effectively more than doubled that…

Fintech startup Ramp nearly doubles valuation to $13B in secondary share sale

Expense management startup Ramp has nearly doubled its valuation to $13 billion after a $150 million secondary share sale, the company announced Monday morning. New and existing backers including VC Stripes, GIC, Avenir Growth, Thrive Capital, Khosla Ventures, General Catalyst, Lux Capital, 137 Ventures and Definition Capital bought the secondaries from employees and early investors.…

TechCrunch Disrupt 2025: Final 24 hours to save up to $1,130

The early bird gets the worm and time is running out! You have less than 24 hours left to save up to $1,130 when purchasing passes to TechCrunch Disrupt 2025. If you want massive savings on Disrupt 2025 individual passes and up to 30% on group tickets, secure your low ticket rate today. These offers…

Stripe CEO says AI startups are growing faster than SaaS ever did and calling them wrappers ‘misses the point’

In its annual letter released Thursday, payments giant Stripe declared that it was “seeing an AI boom” with its data revealing that artificial intelligence startups are growing more rapidly than traditional SaaS companies have historically. In a chart, Stripe showed that the top 100 AI companies (by revenue) were able to achieve $5 million in…

ResilienceVC bucks trend, unveils $56M fund to back fintechs working on financial inclusion

ResilienceVC, a new seed-stage fintech venture capital firm based out of Washington, D.C., is announcing its $56 million debut fund, the firm shared exclusively with TechCrunch. Founded by Tahira Dosani and Vikas Raj in 2023, ResilienceVC’s mission is a straightforward one: to back fintech companies dedicated to helping Americans find financial stability. It’s writing checks…

2025 TechCrunch Events Calendar

For two decades, TechCrunch has provided a front row view to the future of technology, shaping conversations that matter and spotlighting the next big things before they break — both on the page and in person at our world-renowned events.  This year, as we celebrate our 20th anniversary, we’re launching our most ambitious events calendar…

TechCrunch Disrupt 2025: Just 2 days left to save up to $1,130

Clock’s ticking! You’ve got just 48 hours left to lock in your spot at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 and save up to $1,130 on individual ticket types or 30% on group tickets. Don’t wait — secure your pass now before prices go up on February 28 at 11:59 p.m. PT. Disrupt 2025 takes place on October…

Stripe finalizes tender sale at a $91.5B valuation, says payment volumes grew to $1.4T in 2024

Digital payments platform Stripe has yet to lay out plans to go public, but in the meantime the company has thrown past and present employees a line for some liquidity. The company on Thursday confirmed a tender offer where investors will buy up shares from those employees at a valuation of $91.5 billion. Stripe said…

Unique, a Swiss AI platform for finance, raises $30M

A four-year-old Swiss startup has raised a sizable chunk of change to capitalize on the burgeoning “agentic AI” movement. Unique said on Thursday that it has raised $30 million in a Series A funding round that was led by London-based VC firm DN Capital and CommerzVentures, the investment offshoot of Germany’s Commerzbank. “Agentic AI” is…

Taktile helps fintechs build automated decision-making workflows

The automated logic behind many financial decisions — for example, decisions that determine whether a client is approved for a credit line — is hard-coded. Often, it’s not easily changed. If a head of credit at a bank wanted to adjust the bank’s lending criteria, for example, they’d likely have to raise a ticket with…

TechCrunch Disrupt 2025: 3 days left to save up to $1,130 on passes

Tick-tock! The last three days to save up to $1,130 to TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 are winding down! Get your tickets today for massive savings on Disrupt 2025 individual passes and up to 30% on group tickets. These offers end February 28 at 11:59 p.m. PT, so don’t miss out on major savings of the year.…

Gozem nets $30M to expand vehicle financing, digital banking in Francophone Africa

Since its launch in 2018 as a ride-hailing service in Togo, Gozem has steadily expanded across French-speaking West Africa, integrating a wide range of services as it sought to become a super-app. The company now offers ride-hailing, commerce, vehicle financing, and digital banking across Togo, Benin, Gabon, and Cameroon. Now, in a bid to scale…

Brex eyes $500M in revenue as it adds the likes of Anthropic and Robinhood as customers

Fintech Brex expects its annual net revenue to reach $500 million in 2025, according to a person familiar with the company’s operations as cited by Bloomberg and The Information. While the startup did not comment on the specific revenue projection, it did share that Brex has seen “3x overall revenue growth” year-over-year. It also told…

Fintech founder Charlie Javice’s criminal trial has begun

The criminal trial against fintech startup founder Charlie Javice began on Friday, with lawyers laying out their opening arguments, Reuters reported.  Lawyers reiterated their original claims and defenses from the lawsuit filed by JPMorgan Chase against Javice in December of 2022. The financial services giant alleges that Javice had helped “fake millions of customers in…

TechCrunch Disrupt 2025: Lowest prices of the year end in 7 days

You read that headline correctly! The best deals for TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 tickets are about to end in just 7 days. Save up to $1,130 on individual passes and up to 30% on group tickets. Don’t wait — these offers end on February 28 at 11:59 p.m. PT. Join us in celebrating 20 years of…

Tether backs stablecoin liquidity provider Mansa in $10M seed round

As payment companies increasingly explore stablecoins for cross-border payments and real-time settlement, some startups are tapping into the zeitgeist by providing liquidity via a revolving line of credit in stablecoins. One of them is Dubai-based but Africa-focused Mansa, whose offering allows payments companies to settle transactions and fund customer accounts instantly. The startup has raised…

After raising $1 billion, fintech Varo closes another $29 million, replaces founder CEO

Fintech Varo has been hoping to raise a $55 million Series G round but has, so far, closed on $29 million to date, according to a recent SEC filing. Varo declined to comment on this new round but the fintech has raised just over $1 billion in funding since its 2015 inception, according to PitchBook. …

Kuda and CEO face allegations of sex discrimination and unfair dismissal from former executive, per filing

An employment tribunal case has placed Kuda Technologies, one of Africa’s fastest-growing digital banks, under scrutiny over allegations of workplace discrimination, harassment, and wrongful dismissal. Rosemary Hewat, Kuda’s former Group Chief People Officer (CPO), filed a complaint accusing the company and its CEO, Babatunde Ogundeyi, of sex discrimination, victimization, and unfair dismissal. According to the…

Fintech fundraising is giving me 2021 flashbacks

Welcome to TechCrunch Fintech!  This week we’re looking at some big valuation jumps, how Stripe is eyeing another shareholder sale, a colorful conversation with an early-stage VC, and more! To get a roundup of TechCrunch’s biggest and most important fintech stories delivered to your inbox every Tuesday at 8:00 a.m. PT, subscribe here. The big…

VC Sheel Mohnot talks about Twitter fame, fintech, and the truth about AI startups

If you follow fintech on X, it’s very likely that you have come across the account of Sheel Mohnot, co-founder and general partner of Better Tomorrow Ventures. With over 150,000 followers, Mohnot has built an impressive presence on the social media site. Interestingly, many of his posts have nothing to do with venture capital. Mohnot…

Tabby doubles valuation to $3.3B in $160M funding as it looks beyond BNPL and plans IPO

Consumer demand for credit options varies across regions, and for fintechs, understanding these differences is key to survival. In developed markets, where credit cards are common, consumers often view buy now, pay later (BNPL) offerings positively because of their flexible installment options. But in emerging markets like the Middle East, where credit card penetration is…

Klarna and Deel eye IPOs, and Stripe embraces crypto

Welcome to TechCrunch Fintech!  This week we’re looking at how fintech heavyweights such as Klarna and Stripe are incorporating crypto into their strategies, which companies are planning for IPOs, one fintech’s Super Bowl ad, Stripe’s new lead of startups and venture capital, and more! To get a roundup of TechCrunch’s biggest and most important fintech…

Stripe mulls employee shareholder sale at $85B-plus valuation

Stripe is in talks for another shareholder sale that could value the company at “at least” $85 billion, according to multiple reports and a source familiar with the matter. The Information first reported the news that the payments infrastructure giant is working to sell employee-owned stocks. The move would help workers gain some liquidity as…

Insurance co’s stand to lose billions from disasters like the LA fires; Comulate raises $20M to build tech to help them work more smoothly

Unimaginable disasters like the fires in Los Angeles with their hundreds of billions of dollars in destruction put a huge focus on the role the insurance industry plays in the process of rebuilding. Those events will also lead to major financial losses at the insurance companies themselves. And longer term, all of this will put…

Ghanaian fintech Affinity bags $8M to scale digital banking in a mobile money-driven market

Africa’s top digital banking platforms typically dominate high-growth, populous markets like Nigeria, South Africa, and Egypt. But Affinity Africa, an upstart from Ghana, wants to join the conversation. The startup has raised $8 million in seed funding to expand its financial products further across the country, where mobile money is the dominant financial tool. While…

QED leads $11M investment in Nigerian fintech Raenest

As Africa’s tech ecosystem booms, more local talent is landing remote jobs with Big Tech firms and global startups. But getting paid remains a challenge for many of these freelancers and remote workers. They struggle to open accounts that accept US dollars, with foreign employers using incompatible payment platforms, and face slow invoicing and payment…

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Plaid working with Goldman Sachs on raising $300M to $400M in tender offer

Plaid, a company that connects bank accounts to financial applications, is working with Goldman Sachs on a deal to allow early-stage investors and employees to sell existing shares, which will raise between $300 million and $400 million, Bloomberg reported citing sources. The tender offer, as such deals are called, will likely value the company lower…

Fintech Ramp lands Eagles’ Saquon Barkley as investor and Super Bowl commercial star

Philadelphia Eagles’ star running back Saquon Barkley has not only become an investor in fintech startup Ramp, he is also the star of the company’s first Super Bowl commercial. Interestingly, it was Barkley who reached out to Ramp about investing, not the other way around as is so often the case with celebrity endorsements.  Barkley…

Superlogic raises $13.7M at a $200M valuation to help consumers use reward points toward cool ‘experiences’

Superlogic, a startup that helps give consumers a way to apply rewards points toward experiences, has raised $13.7 million at a $200 million valuation, the company tells TechCrunch exclusively. Lin Dai, CEO and co-founder of Miami-based Superlogic, said his company’s technology is designed to “enhance the value of rewards points” by giving consumers a broader…

Stripe makes $1.1 billion crypto bet as it closes on Bridge acquisition

Stripe has closed on its $1.1 billion purchase of stablecoin platform Bridge – marking the payment giant’s largest acquisition to date and tangible push into crypto. Co-founded in 2022 by Coinbase and Square alumni Zach Abrams and Sean Yu, San Antonio, Texas-based Bridge built an API that helps companies accept stablecoins. The pair raised $58…

An angel investor was so intrigued by this startup, he joined as a co-founder

Welcome to TechCrunch Fintech!  This week we’re looking at a startup out to help people navigate long-term care, a flurry of activity in Africa, another fintech company shutdown, and more. To get a roundup of TechCrunch’s biggest and most important fintech stories delivered to your inbox every Tuesday at 8:00 a.m. PT, subscribe here. The…

Deel unloads $300M in secondary sale, brings General Catalyst on as an investor

Fintech-turned-HR outfit Deel is trying to lay the groundwork for an IPO. On Tuesday, it said its annual revenue run rate climbed to $800 million in 2024 after growing by 70%. The startup, which helps businesses globally hire, manage and pay employees remotely, also said it has sold $300 million in secondary shares to General…

Egypt’s Khazna banks $16M for its financial super app and expansion into Saudi

A large portion of Egypt’s population lacks access to traditional banking, forcing many to rely on cash transactions and informal lending. Khazna, a fintech startup founded in 2019, is tackling this issue by offering financial services tailored for low- and middle-income workers. The company provides solutions like salary advances, digital payments, and microloans to help…

Stripe brings aboard new head of ‘startup and VC partnerships’

Asya Bradley, a former fintech founder and investor, has joined payments giant Stripe as its new head of Startup & Venture Capital Partnerships. Bradley announced the news on February 2 in a post on LinkedIn, though her bio shows that she joined Stripe back in November. Neither Stripe nor Bradley were immediately available for comment. …

TechCrunch Disrupt 2025: Secure your ticket at this year’s lowest rates

Missed the 2-for-1 deal for TechCrunch Disrupt 2025? No problem! Super Early Bird prices are still available, with savings of up to $1,130 on individual tickets and up to 30% on group passes. These savings are only good until the end of this month. Celebrate 20 years of TechCrunch Disrupt from October 27-29 at Moscone…

Dub: the copy trading app that has teens talking

Social media changed everything from news consumption to shopping. Now, Dub thinks it can do the same for investing through an influencer-driven marketplace where users can follow the trades of top investors with a few taps. Think of it as TikTok meets Wall Street. Founded by 23-year-old Steven Wang — a Harvard drop-out who began…

CFPB fines fintech Wise, alleging it charged deceptive fees

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has hit UK-based remittance company Wise with about a $2 million fine for what it described as “a series of illegal actions.” Those actions include advertising inaccurate fees and failing to properly disclose exchange rates and other costs, the CFPB alleges. Specifically, the agency claims that the fintech company…

TechCrunch Disrupt 2025: Last 24 hours for 2-for-1 Pass

Final hours for 2-for-1 Passes! One of the best Super Early Bird Deals for TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 will be wrapping up in just 24 hours for the rest of the year. The 2-for-1 Pass lets you bring a friend, colleague, or business partner, for nearly free. Buy one pass at the Super Early Bird rate…

Fintech startup Cushion shuts down after 8 years and over $20 million in funding

Cushion, a fintech startup that described itself as the “Plaid for buy now, pay later (BNPL),” has shut down. On Thursday, founder and CEO Paul Kesserwani posted on LinkedIn about the decision to wind down the company at the end of 2024. In the post, Kesserwani said that “despite bringing multiple new fintech products to…

QED seeds $9.9M in Cedar Money, a stablecoin payment platform

The newest generation of startups aiming to solve cross-border payments are focusing on stablecoins — cryptocurrency coins often pegged to actual currencies or other commodities to help them keep stable prices — to build solutions that work faster and often cheaper than classic financial rails. This trend is also driving a surge in investor interest…

European embedded banking startup Swan adds another $44 million to its Series B

French startup Swan has raised another €42 million (around $44 million at current exchange rates). The company considers this round as the second part of the Series B round that was originally announced in September 2024. Swan helps other companies offer financial products at scale. The company can generate both virtual and physical cards that…

Health insurance startup Alan keeps growing at a rapid pace

With its 700,000 customers, Alan could be considered as a mature company. But the health insurance company that wants to become a digital companion for your health is still growing like a startup. On Wednesday, the company shared some financial metrics. The most impressive one is its top-line revenue. In 2024, the company generated €505…

TechCrunch Disrupt 2025: Only 3 days left for 2-for-1 Pass

Only 3 days remain to score the ultimate deal for TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 — two of the same ticket types for the price of one! Don’t wait to take advantage of these massive savings. This limited-time offer ends this Friday, January 31 at 11:59 p.m. PT — after that, these 2-for-1 Passes will be gone.…

Formance raises $21M to build the AWS for fintech infrastructure

If you talk to a fintech entrepreneur about their business, chances are they’ll end up talking about ledger issues at some point. A ledger is a record of money movements that serves as the source of truth for financial assets, but when a company starts having multiple bank accounts, payment processors and funds spread across…

This fintech has a fix for the biggest cross-border payments issues in Francophone Africa

Until a few years ago, it used to be difficult to make payments across borders almost anywhere in the world. But it’s still a big problem in Africa, where fragmented, disconnected systems, high fees, and poor infrastructure make it tough for businesses and individuals to move money quickly and affordably. The majority of people and…

This startup is selling for $1B, so why is its founder not proud of the outcome?

Welcome to TechCrunch Fintech!  This week we’re looking at the story behind the sale of Divvy Homes, Ramp’s new product, some notable fundraising deals, and more! To get a roundup of TechCrunch’s biggest and most important fintech stories delivered to your inbox every Tuesday at 8:00 a.m. PT, subscribe here. The big story Last week,…

X announces a partnership with Visa to power X Money’s wallet

Elon Musk-owned social network X announced a partnership with Visa to handle person-to-person payments for its upcoming X Money product. The company will use Visa Direct, which is Visa’s solution for real-time money transfers, to load money into X Money’s wallet, connect to a debit card for paying other users, and transfer money back to…

TechCrunch Disrupt 2025: 5 Days left to claim your 2 for 1 Passes at the lowest rate of the year

The clock is ticking for one of our Super Early Bird sales! You have just 5 days left to lock in your 2 for 1 Passes at the lowest rates of the year for TechCrunch Disrupt 2025. Save up to $1,400 on two of the same individual ticket type. This limited-time offer ends this Friday,…

Method is helping fintech companies like SoFi build repayment functionality into their apps

It can be challenging for developers of fintech apps to integrate repayment, balance transfer, and bill pay functionality. Devs often have to deal with a patchwork of brittle screen-scraping APIs to extract data from users’ financial institutions — or worse, tools to process mounds of physical checks and paperwork. Three friends and entrepreneurs — Jose…

African fintech Moniepoint gets Visa backing, plans to work on contactless payments

Visa has joined African fintech Moniepoint as a new investor. The business banking and payments platform confirmed to TechCrunch that it received a “strategic investment” from the global payments giant as both companies look to drive financial inclusion and support the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across Africa. Sources close to the deal…

Funding to fintechs continues to decline, but at a slower pace

Welcome to TechCrunch Fintech!  This week, we’re looking at just how much fintech startups raised in 2024, a slew of fundraising deals, Plaid’s reported revenue growth last year, and more! To get a roundup of TechCrunch’s biggest and most important fintech stories delivered to your inbox every Tuesday at 8:00 a.m. PT, subscribe here. The…

Stripe is laying off 300 people, but says it still plans to hire in 2025

Fintech giant Stripe is laying off 300 people, according to a leaked memo reported on Tuesday by Business Insider. The affected employees are “largely in product, engineering, and operations roles,” the memo said. Despite the layoffs, Chief People Officer Rob McIntosh said that Stripe intends to still grow its headcount by 17% “to land at…

Qomodo raises $13.9M to expand BNPL for Italy’s main-street retailers

Payments and financial solutions are two-a-penny at this point, but mostly for online e-commerce. What about physical stores? In 2023 Qomodo, a Milan-based “all-in-one” payment methods aggregator for physical merchants, came out with a €34.5 million ($36.9 million) pre-seed round (mostly debt), which we covered, to expand the BNPL model into other categories. It’s now…

MoneyHash, which provides single access to payment services in MENA, banks $5.2M

When merchants or companies launch online, they typically start by partnering with one or two payment processors. But as they grow and expand into new regions, they often need to onboard additional payment partners to meet different customer (and sometimes regulatory) needs, a process that comes with some hurdles.  That’s given rise to companies to…

Karmen secures $9.4 million for its revenue-based financing products

French startup Karmen has secured a small funding round so that it can improve its instant financing products. The company offers short-term loans to small companies facing a working capital crunch. It’s a €9 million equity-and-debt round ($9.4 million at today’s exchange rates) with Seventure Partners buying a stake in the small startup. Financière Arbevel…

Prepaid payments platform Recharge raises €45M to go on M&A spree

With inflation still stubbornly high in comparison to previous years, and the siren voices of subscription services like Netflix and Spotify continuing to lure, consumers have understandably turned to alternative forms of payment to manage their household bills. As a result, online prepaid payment platforms have benefited.  That’s the bet being laid today by Recharge,…

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Hyperline secures $10 million for its automated billing platform

French startup Hyperline wants to build the next-generation Chargebee. Over the past two years, the startup has built a new billing platform that can be used for recurring subscriptions, one-off purchases, usage-based billing and more. Hyperline raised an initial €4 million funding round from Index Ventures back in 2023 ($4.1 million at today’s exchange rate).…

Nelly raises $51 million to digitalize medical practices across Europe

Nelly wants to become the biggest fintech startup in the healthcare industry. The Berlin-based startup is already working with more than 1,200 medical practices in a handful of European countries. But there are thousands more that could benefit from an upgrade for their administrative workflows. That’s why Nelly recently raised €50 million in funding (around…

LemFi moves remittances further into Asia and Europe with $53M in new funding

For many emerging market economies, remittances have become a lifeline. Inflows surpassed $669 billion in 2023, according to World Bank research, and they now represent significant portions of GDP in these countries, often outpacing foreign direct investment as the primary source of foreign exchange.  Traditional banks and agents maintain a firm grip on the remittance…

Robinhood agrees to pay $45M in SEC settlement

Robinhood has agreed to fork out $45 million to settle an investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission over several alleged violations, reported the Wall Street Journal on Monday. The settlement is being made via two of Robinhood’s brokerage units. One of the violations relates to Robinhood’s November 2021 confirmation that it was hacked “with…

Clearwater agrees to buy investment management platform Enfusion for $1.5B

Clearwater Analytics, a company developing accounting, compliance, and risk reporting tools for asset managers, said on Monday it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire investment management platform Enfusion for $1.5 billion. Clearwater, which says it has obtained an $800 million loan to fund the transaction, along with a $200 million revolving line of…

Moody’s agrees to acquire Cape Analytics, which develops geospatial AI for insurance providers

Financial services firm Moody’s announced on Monday that it has agreed to acquire Cape Analytics, a geospatial AI startup, for an undisclosed sum. The deal, which is expected to close in Q1, subject to customary closing conditions, will give Moody’s access to Cape’s geospatial AI analytics technology for insurance underwriting. With the tech, Moody’s plans…

Float Financial, which aims to be the Brex of Canada, lands US$48.5M Series B

Float Financial, an expense management and corporate card startup focused on the Canadian market, has raised $48.5 million in a Series B funding round. The Toronto-based fintech likens itself to U.S.-based fintech giants Brex and Ramp but says it is different in that its sole focus is on Canadian SMBs, which CEO and co-founder Rob…

Groww, India’s biggest trading app, prepares for IPO

Groww, India’s largest retail stockbroker, is positioning itself to file for an IPO in 10-12 months and is seeking a valuation between $6 billion to $8 billion, sources familiar with the matter told TechCrunch, in what would be a landmark listing for the country’s fintech sector. The Bengaluru-headquartered’s listing would be the first IPO by…

Bench customers are now being forced to hand over their data or risk losing it, they say

After accounting startup Bench abruptly shut down on December 27 and was bought in a fire-sale by Employer.com, Bench customers are now learning they can’t easily just take their financial data and leave.  And some are very unhappy about it, three customers told TechCrunch. To recap: When Bench, a startup based in Canada that raised…

India’s payment push is cutting out Visa and Mastercard

As global regulators increase their scrutiny on Visa and Mastercard over merchant fees, India has chosen a different path: creating rival payment networks that are increasingly sidelining international card networks. The strategy builds on India’s Unified Payments Interface, known as UPI, a nine-year-old system that now processes more than 13 billion real-time transactions monthly, or…

Nomupay raises $37M on a $200M valuation to build payment rails in underserved markets across Asia

Wirecard, a German fintech that raised hundreds of millions of dollars only to collapse in 2020 in a sea of scandal and insolvency, still makes headlines today as lawsuits continue against different entities and people once connected to the business. Meanwhile, a Dublin-based startup called Nomupay that was formed in 2023 out of some of…

Employer.com offers to buy failed fintech Level, a week after it makes offer for Bench

Employer.com has offered to acquire Level, a fintech startup that just last week abruptly shut down after failing to find a buyer, according to The Information. But Level is still mulling over the offer, its Employer.com CMO Matt Charney told TechCrunch. “It’s with legal,” he said. Founded in 2018 by early Square employee Paul Aaron,…

Inside the wild fall and last-minute revival of Bench, the VC-backed accounting startup that imploded over the holidays

Friday, December 27, was supposed to be the start of a relaxing holiday weekend. But it was chaos for thousands of small business owners who use Bench, an accounting and tax startup based in Canada that raised $113 million from investors like Bain Capital Ventures and Shopify. That morning, they found themselves unable to log…

Thomson Reuters acquires tax automation company SafeSend for $600M

Thomson Reuters has acquired tax automation company SafeSend in an all-cash transaction valued at $600 million. Founded in 2008, Ann Arbor, Michigan-based SafeSend serves a cloud-based platform designed to streamline the processing and sharing of sensitive financial documents. It provides tools for delivering tax returns, gathering e-signatures, collecting payments, automating workflows, meeting compliance obligations, and…

Robinhood, already a ‘comeback’ stock, has even more aggressive plans for 2025

Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev has a lot to celebrate this holiday season. After a bumpy few years following Robinhood’s 2021 IPO — a period during which shares of the commission-free trading app plummeted by more than 90% after it abruptly restricted trading in some meme stocks —  the 12-year-old company was just declared Yahoo Finance’s…

India again delays rules to break PhonePe-Google Pay duopoly

India has once again pushed back a contentious plan to limit big technology companies’ control of the nation’s digital payments system, extending a regulatory uncertainty that has weighed on the sector for years. The National Payments Corporation of India said on Tuesday it would extend the deadline for implementing a 30% cap on any individual…

India lifts WhatsApp payment curbs

India has removed restrictions on WhatsApp’s mobile payments service in a significant victory for Meta in its largest market by users as it seeks to compete with entrenched fintech rivals. The National Payments Corporation of India, the payments body overseeing the popular UPI payments network, said Tuesday that WhatsApp can now roll out WhatsApp Pay…

India’s mobile payments dilemma

India’s payments regulator is set to decide as early as Monday whether to curb the dominance of Walmart’s PhonePe and Google in the nation’s fast-growing mobile payments market, a move that could reshape how its billion-plus population moves money. The decision centers on UPI, or Unified Payments Interface, a network backed by more than 50…

Africa’s newest fintech unicorns are winning by keeping their feet on the ground

Africa’s tech ecosystem just got a boost of attention, with South Africa’s TymeBank and Nigeria’s Moniepoint both raising funds in recent weeks at valuations of over $1 billion and joining the coveted unicorn pantheon. But those valuations don’t just reflect investor confidence. They signal the success they’ve had in taking disruptive fintech models originally developed…

Bench shuts down, leaving thousands of businesses without access to accounting and tax docs

Bench, a Canada-based accounting startup that offered software-as-a-service for small and medium businesses, has abruptly shut down, according to a notice posted on its website.   “We regret to inform you that as of December 27, 2024, the Bench platform will no longer be accessible,” the notice reads. “We know this news is abrupt and may…

Revenue-based financing startups continue to raise capital in MENA, where the model just works

In an era where it’s become tougher to raise venture capital, many companies have turned to non-dilutive, Revenue-Based Financing (RBF) as an alternative. As a result, plenty of startups have risen to meet that challenge, none more so than in the MENA region, which has taken to the model like a duck to water. The…

‘We want to pay it forward’: Funding Societies raises $25M to boost capital for SMEs in Southeast Asia

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) account for nearly 50% of Southeast Asia’s GDP, contributing to job creation, innovation, and overall economic expansion. Nevertheless, as in other parts of the world, SMEs in Southeast Asia face challenges when it comes to sufficient working capital. In a nutshell, SMEs are typically deemed too risky for traditional banks…