Financial technology, commonly referred to as ‘Fintech’, has gained rapid growth in the tech industry in recent years.
Fintech refers to all companies or startups established primarily to solve all finance-related problems in the finance industry, utilizing modern technological devices and techniques.
Let’s check out ten fintech companies that have shown resiliency amidst tough environment and the strengths that will carry them through into the future.
1. TransferWise
TransferWise is one of the most famous fintech companies in Europe. It offers its clients a way of making transactions from different parts of the world using its peer-to-peer money transferring service.
TransferWise supports different currency accounts. It also permits up to 750 currency pairs such as USD-AUD, USD-GBP etc. Between 2013 and 2017, it raised a whopping sum of $109 million from business capital giants like Andreessen Horowitz and Richard Branson.
TransferWise recorded its first 4 million users in 2018 and marked it with a profit of $8 million. The company has grown to be among the first five most valued fintech companies in Europe.
2. Chime
Chime is a neobank company based in the United States. The company provides banking services to clients but surprisingly doesn’t charge a fee for maintenance of an account. It gets a greater percentage of its revenue from interchange collections which it charges retail business owners for card transaction processing.
The company was established in 2013 and attained its one million account mark in 2018. By 2019 end, it already had 6.5 million accounts under it. According to data by Crunchbase, the company over the years has been able to raise more than $800 million in funds.
3. Ant Financial
Ant Financial is regarded as one of the most prominent fintech companies worldwide. It is located in the Hangzhou city of China. Ant Financial is the owner of several leading financial services such as Yu’e Bao which is the world’s third-biggest money market fund and Alipay a heavyweight online payment platform.
The company runs the Sesame Credit (a private credit evaluation system). Alipay used to be a subsidiary of the Alibaba Group, but in 2014, it got rebranded into what is known today as the Ant Financial Services.
Ant Financial in 2015 secured a $6.5 billion investment deal from investors such as China Investment Corp and other local investors. In 2017, It was valued at $60 billion. Currently, this company has value more than the market capitalization of many leading global banks.
Ant Financial in 2015 secured a $6.5 billion investment deal from investors such as China Investment Corp and other local investors. In 2017, It was valued at $60 billion. Currently, this company has value more than the market capitalization of many leading global banks.
4. Stripe
Stripe offers services that enable users to process their payments without much stress. The company which was established in 2011 got its first major investment from the co-founder of PayPal, Peter Thiel. It was a $2 million investment. Just after one year of establishment, it achieved a $100 million valuation.
In September 2019, Stripe received a $35 billion valuation from notable venture funds such as General Catalyst and Sequoia Capital. The fact that they run on a highly technologically advanced system has placed them ahead of others.
5. Coinbase
Recall that there was a boom in the cryptocurrency market in 2017; that was what put Coinbase on the spotlight. Coinbase has grown to emerge to be the world’s biggest digital currency exchange today. The platform is famous for trading digital currencies such as the popular Bitcoin and the more recent Ethereum as well as Litecoin.
The company has raised not less than $217 million in funding since its establishment, and in 2017, it made a revenue generation of over $1 billion. Obviously, the fate of the company is intertwined with the future of digital currencies.
***
>> To read more about this story and other exclusive features about the digital banking landscape, download the latest issue of The Digital Banker Magazine HERE.