Fintech Highlights - 4/13/2021

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Don't forget Bank Automation's Ignite conference starts today.

And...see below for some highlights youth-focused banking, thoughts on Plaid's new funding round, and some news on some cool new companies pushing the limits...

Pinned to the Top

Kid Debit Card Startup Greenlight Valued at $2 Billion

Superstar venture firm Andreessen Horowitz is leading a new round of funding in Greenlight Financial Technology, a startup that offers debit cards meant for children, at a ~$2 billion valuation according to sources.

The new funding comes as two rivals—Current and Step, which both offer specialized charge cards to teenagers—finalize new rounds of funding likely to see big boosts in their valuations.

Over the past couple of years startups have leveraged fintech and card issuing capabilities to build banking brands that are hyper focused on small sub-segments of the population.

These brands, along with the above, hone have been successful because they can tailor features, craft succinct messages, and leverage the targeting capabilities of social platforms to find their audiences and drive adoption at an efficient cost-per-acqusition.

Many large FI's have tried to target youth customers but it's hard to get right. These brands are doing it right and seeing some success.

The BFD

Plaid is moving on from its M&A past with Visa. The San Francisco unicorn, which enables companies to create their own financial services applications, just raised $425 million in a Series D round led by Altimeter Capital.

• Why it's the BFD: Plaid could have easily taken the deal with VISA, becoming a fintech legend while powering the future of open banking and data for Visa. But as valuations have skyrocketed since the deal was announced, Plaid felt good about their future, especially now that this deal more than doubles their valuation ($13b versus $5b in the VISA terms)
• Details: CEO Zach Perret said the latest cash injection would help Plaid increase headcount, which already grew by 40% last year, and keep pace with demand.
• Bottom line: "“A new era of finance is underway, and Plaid is in a strong position to help develop the digital ecosystem that delivers the types of tools and services consumers want, at scale,” - Mary Meeker.

Fintechs

TrueLayer, a London startup that offers a developer-friendly platform for companies, including other fintechs, to utilize open banking, is disclosing $70 million in new funding. The injection of capital will be used to continue scaling its open banking network, which brings together payments, financial data and identity to enable companies to build new products that improve “how we spend, save, and transact online”. More here ->

Avant, an online lender that has raised over $600 million in equity, announced today that it has acquired Zero Financial and its neobank brand, Level, to further its mission of becoming a digital bank for the masses. More here ->

Popular saving and investing app Acorns has acquired Pillar, an AI-powered startup built to help manage student loan debt, in its second acquisition of 2021. More here ->

Bangalore-based Groww has raised $83 million in its Series D financing round. The startup allows users to invest in mutual funds, including systematic investment planning (SIP) and equity-linked savings, gold, as well as stocks, including those listed at U.S. exchanges. The app offers every fund that is currently available in India. More here ->

Insuretechs

Insuretech startup Counterpart, has raised $10 million in funding led by Valor Equity Partners. Counterpart works in the “management liability” insurance market. Counterpart will also partner with Markel Specialty, a specialty insurance division of Markel Corporation, to offer its management liability insurance products. More here ->

Aclaimant, a Chicago insuretech startup that is building a platform for employers to report workplace injuries, has raised $15M in Series B equity and debt funding in a round led by Next Coast Ventures. Aclaimant’s software helps companies improve the risk and claims management processes after a workplace injury. The platform caters to multiple industries, including construction, manufacturing, staffing, real estate and hospitality. More here ->

From the Stash

Embedded Fintech Versus Embedded Finance: Jumpstarting New Product Innovation In Banks — www.forbes.com Banks can create new revenue streams from new products and services created by fintech startups—a strategy called embedded fintech.

Why VCs are dumping money into insurance marketplaces – TechCrunch — techcrunch.comFollowing our look at why so many startups are building OKR-focused software and why venture capitalists are pouring capital into their efforts, today we’re asking a similar question about insurance marketplace startups. This month, Insurify raised a $23 million Series A that TechCrunch covered here. And even more recently, Gabi, a competitor, raised $27 million. […]

Reports / Webinars

The Next Chapter in the “Embedded” Movement: Marketplaces — medium.com In 2019, my colleague Matt Harris coined the term “embedded fintech” to describe how virtually all software-driven companies will soon embed financial services into their applications, from sending…

Fintech 2.0: Why embedded finance has brought a seismic shift in banking

And how FIs can respond

What's Going on In Banking 2021 | Fintech Trends | Cornerstone Advisors Get the What’s Going On In Banking 2021 report for the latest insights on banking trends, strategic priorities, fintech plans, & future forecasts.

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