Fintech Highlights - 10/1/2024
Here's what we've been watching this week 👇
Pinned to the Top
Fintech banking startup Chime has hired Morgan Stanley to lead its planned initial public offering next year, Bloomberg reported.
The company was last valued at $25 billion in 2021, at a time when fintech valuations soared amid low interest rates. Those valuations have since reduced.
Chime launched a new cash advance product in May that allows customers to access up to $500 of their wages before they are paid, as it looked to bolster its customer ranks ahead of its IPO. Chime CEO Chris Britt said that the company had 7 million active users at the time, and that it was profitable in the first quarter of 2024.
The BFD
EverBank has announced plans to acquire Sterling Bank for $261 million, through a stock purchase agreement.
Jacksonville, Fla.-based EverBank is set to acquire Sterling’s 25 branches, $900 million in loans and $2 billion in annual deposits, and aims to expand its operations in San Francisco and other localities in California.
Why this is the BFD: This acquisition represents a significant move in the banking sector, expanding EverBank's reach while marking the end of Sterling Bancorp's independent operations.
Next steps: Once the deal closes, expected by Q1 2025, Sterling Bank will be merged into EverBank, with its branches becoming EverBank financial centres and its employees becoming EverBank associates.
M&A
Jupiter, an Indian fintech that's raised over $500m from firms like Tiger Global and QED Investors, is in talks to buy up to a 9.9% stake in SBM Bank India, per TechCrunch. More here ->
Visa (yes, the one just sued for alleged antitrust violations) agreed to buy Featurespace, a British developer of payments protection technology that raised around $150m from firms like Insight Partners, Highland Europe, Invoke Capital, TTV Capital, Cambridge Angels, and Touchstone Innovations. More here ->
FrontView REIT, a Dalla-based commercial REIT for net lease outparcel properties, filed for a $251m IPO and plans to list on the NYSE (FVB).More here ->
Rightmove (LSE: RMV), a British online real estate portal, received its fourth takeover bid from REA Group (ASX: REA), owned by Rupert Murdoch. This one is worth $8.3b, with Rightmove recently rejecting an $8.1b offer. More here ->
TPG is in advanced talks to buy a $2b minority stake in Kansas-based wealth manager Creative Planning, at a valuation north of $15b, per Reuters. More here ->
Marsh McLennan (NYSE: MMC) agreed to buy McGriff Insurance Services, a provider of insurance broking and risk management services, for $7.75b from TIH, a portfolio company of Stone Point Capital, Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, and Mubadala. More here ->
Matrixport, a Singaporean crypto financial services firm valued at over $1.5b by VCs, acquired Crypto Finance, a Swiss crypto asset manager that had raised $30m from firms like Lingfeng Capital. More here ->
Fintech
Daylight, a New York-based transaction recommendation engine, raised $6m in seed funding. Daylight operates as a personalized "onchain for you" transaction engine, providing tailored recommendations for blockchain activities. More here ->
Mesa, a mortgage fintech, raised $9.2m in seed funding. Mesa aims to address the escalating costs of homeownership, by introducing innovative products designed to reward homeowners for their expenditures related to homeownership. More here ->
Outgo, a Seattle-based freight carrier banking startup, raised $15m. by focusing on automation and technology, the company aims to revolutionize the freight payments experience for carriers, addressing issues like slow funding speeds, high fees, and lack of transparency that have long plagued the industry. More here ->
Infact, a British challenger credit bureau, raised £4m in seed funding. Infact aims to address the limitations of traditional credit reference agencies by: 1) providing a real-time, API-driven platform forlenders to report and access consumer credit risk data instantly and 2) offering a solution that better reflects modern credit. More here ->
Apron, a London business payments startup, raised $30m in Series B funding. Apron is a London-based fintech startup that aims to streamline invoice and payroll processing for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). More here ->
nDebted, an Australian debt collection startup, raised A$60m in Series C funding at a A$350m valuation. InDebted aims to transform traditional debt collection practices by using technology to create a more customer-friendly experience. More here ->
M2P Fintech, an Indian provider API infrastructure to banks, raised $100m in Series C primary and secondary funding led by Helios Investment Partners with participation from Bank Muscat. More here ->
Investtech
Desia, an Italian investment platform, raised $3.3m. The company's goal is to transform the financial investment industry by leveraging AI to automate data extraction and analysis. More here ->
Crypto
Drift Protocol, a Solana exchange operator, raised $25m in Series B funding led by Multicoin Capital. More here ->
Tetrix, a New York-based platform for alt asset portfolio management, raised $5m. More here ->
Celestia Foundation, the organization behind the modular blockchain network, raised $100m. More here ->
Polymarket, a blockchain-based predictions market, is in talks to raise more than $50m, per The Information. More here ->
Insuretech
Arqu, an SF-based wholesale insurance brokerage, raised $10m in Series A funding. More here ->
CarePay, a Dutch health insurance platform, raised €10m. CarePay's end-to-end insurance platform connectsmembers, payers, and providers, offering severaladvantages. More here ->
Proptech
GEOX, an Israeli platform for analyzing real estate risk from climate-related disasters, raised $19m in Series A funding. More here ->
Findable, a Norwegian startup automating property sales paperwork, raised €9m in Series A funding. More here ->
Airship, a provider of sales tools for HVAC contractors, raised $4m in pre-seed funding led by QED. More here ->
From the Stash
Citizens invests in gen AI training - Citizens Bank is training employees on generative AI, engineering, cloud application and development, security and operations. “We have a targeted approach to upskill colleagues in roles that support or use generative AI, with a focus on our use cases that have launched,” Michael Ruttledge, chief information officer and head of technology services at Citizens More here ->
Auto lenders lean into AI for customer service - Auto lenders are incorporating artificial intelligence into their processes to improve customer service automation and credit decisioning while eyeing uses for underwriting. Subprime auto lenders can use AI to ensure staff and resources are assigned to tasks that help navigate affordability challenges, operational costs and credit risk, Harvey Singh, chief operating officer at Veros Credit, said. More here ->
11 bank tech execs to watch in 2025 - Financial institution leaders have prioritized innovation and efficiency efforts in 2024 while navigating continually evolving technologies. This year, bank executives have been tasked with keeping up with generative AI and boosting their cybersecurity efforts in a fraud-ridden environment. And they have done so while maintaining compliance as they await impending regulations. More here ->
Movers and Shakers: Exec changes at TD - TD Bank announced a flurry of executive changes, including the retirement of its chief executive and the CEO of TD Securities. Riaz Ahmed, group head of wholesale banking and president and Chief Executive of TD Securities, will retire in January after three decades at the bank, a Sept. 19 release stated. More here ->
Robinhood, Revolut Reportedly Explore Launching Stablecoins - Trading brokerage Robinhood and digital banking app Revolut are considering launching stablecoins, Bloomberg reported, moves that could take market share from Tether and other top stablecoin issuers. More here ->
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