Fintech Highlights - 5/4/2021
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Here’s what’s worth watching this week….. 👇
Pinned to the Top
This was a relatively quiet week in fintech and insuretech.
What did happen - is a lot of late stage startups like Oscar Health and Root have announced their IPO intentions or have gone public, to solid valuations.
There is a solidification in the market, that upstart companies can take market share from incumbent players by focusing on customer benefit, making financial services products frictionless and by growing brand awareness and equity.
Fintechs
Pleo, which offers expense management tools and “smart” company Mastercards is today launching Bills. It's a platform to consolidate, track and pay business-to-business bill payments and a supplier’s terms of service. It will offer free-of-charge domestic transfers. More here ->
Paxos, a New York-based cryptocurrency infrastructure and white-label services platform, raised $300 million in Series D funding at a $2.4 billion valuation. More here ->
Toronto-based Wealthsimple, a provider of tools for managing money, raised $610 million in fresh funding at a valuation of around $4 billion. More here ->
Flywire, a Boston-based vertical payments company, filed for a $100 million IPO. Reuters previously suggested it could seek a $3 billion valuation. More here ->
Insuretechs
Oscar Health has boosted it's IPO valuation target to to $1.18 billion. The health insurance startup and its existing shareholders are offering 31 million shares at $36 to $38 apiece. More here ->
Root raised $724 million in their IPO. The Columbus, Ohio-based company sold 24.2 million shares, together with investors selling 2.6 million shares of their own, at $27 each. More here ->
From the Stash
5 Free Fintech And Cryptocurrency Newsletters You Need To Read — www.forbes.com The rise in popularity of fintech has brought with it an increase in the number of blogs and newsletters focused on the industry. Here's a list of 5 that go beyond curating the news, and provide in-depth insights into the world of fintech.
Why Home Equity Loans Are Still So Hard to Come By — www.wsj.com Several top banks have yet to resume originating Helocs, and demand for refinancings may be to blame.
Current, a new digital bank, built its own tech - Protocol — The people, power and politics of tech — www.protocol.com A current bank account will get you all the things other digital banks have: account opening, debit card processing, real-time transaction decisioning and direct integration for rewards, cash deposits, ACH transfers and mobile check deposit. But Current built its own core banking infrastructure thanks to CTO Trevor Marshall's background.
Japan's first app-only bank to run entirely on Google Cloud — www.finextra.com Minna Bank, Japan's first app-only bank, is set to open for business in May after acquiring a banking licence from the country's Financial Services Agency.
Reports / Webinars
Mobile Finance Apps Report — s3.amazonaws.com
Banking on the future of fintech
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