This Week in Fintech

?? Toast stock has soared over 200% in the past year, and if you’ve been paying attention, you’re probably nodding along. If not, I'll catch you up ?? ?? Toast is writing the playbook on how to grow fast and make money. The company has increased “ARR” by 28% year over year while flipping to profitability on a GAAP Net Income basis (no “adjusted EBITDA” sleight of hand here). 3 strategies stick out to me: ?? Locations and GPV: These critical GTM markers are up 28% and 24%, respectively. Sure, the growth rate is slowing, but those are stellar numbers for a company at Toast’s scale. ?? The software edge: Toast has been doubling down on high-margin software, which has supercharged overall gross profit. This smells intentional — a smart strategy to pad the bottom line. ?? Profitability with discipline: Toast stands apart from the pack of its high-growth tech peers because it actually makes money (what a concept!). This achievement wasn’t magic; the Company made tough calls like RIFs and a lease termination, but those moves are paying off. Toast is executing with surgical precision, balancing growth and profitability like few others. Investors are starting to catch on, but there’s still so much untapped potential. The U.S. market has runway, international expansion is an even bigger prize, and that’s to say nothing of possible expansion into adjacent SMB verticals ?? A profitable, high-growth tech company in today’s market -- that’s the kind of unicorn investors dream about ?? (Just don't squint too hard at Hardware) It would be nice if Toast resumed publishing investor presentations – in the meantime, you'll have to suffice with my own:

Wow - Revolut cannot be stopped. The neobank is launching mortgages, smart ATMs and business credit products. https://lnkd.in/edBwTceC - an AI-enabled assistant to help its 50 million customers navigate the financial app - branded ATMs. These will dispense cash, but also cards. - facial recognition features to its ATMs - mortgages with instant approval - credit products and savings accounts for businesses We'll unpack this more in This Week in Fintech.

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??????????: ?????????????????? ???????????????? ?????? ???????????? ???? ?????????????? ?? If you're as fascinated by the evolution of fintech as I am, you’ll want to dive into my latest article on This Week in Fintech. I take a close look at Plaid—a company that started by solving fundamental problems in financial data connectivity and has grown into a driving force behind innovation in fraud prevention, IDV, payments, lending, and beyond. ?? From its fascinating early pivot from a PFM app to an API-first financial data connectivity platform and the clever product tactics used to drive that pivot, Plaid has continuously redefined what it means to be a disrupter in the financial data data space. ???????? ???? ?? ?????????? ?????????? ?????????? ??????????????? It’s not just the technical infrastructure, although that is critical. It’s the depth of its product suite, the power of its network effect, and its ability to evolve alongside the needs of its clients—whether startups or, more recently, enterprise giants. Some of the key takeaways: ?? Plaid isn’t just solving problems today—it’s unlocking new opportunities in Open Finance, Embedded Finance, and (spoiler alert for my predictions for the future of Plaid) Digital Identity. ?? The rise of Pay-by-Bank and digitisation of checks in the U.S. signals a massive shift Plaid is perfectly positioned to capitalise on. ?? The embedding of the Network Effect in many of its products means that with every new connection, Plaid's products improve and it strengthens the foundation for a more integrated and accessible financial ecosystem. If you're interested in learning more about Plaid or just curious about what’s next in financial services, this one’s for you, and as you've come to expect with these write ups, it covers A LOT more than the above such as: ???? The Visa offer (with a Godfather reference) ???? A timeline of key events from 2013-Present ???? Their big 2024 releases ???? A deep dive on their product stack with a bespoke visualisation ???? An overview of the breadth of their customers ???? Plaid’s two biggest strengths: Product Depth & the Plaid Network ???? My predictions of their next big opportunities ?? Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/ekX3YKAH Let me know your thoughts—Do want to see more deep dives like this one? Where do you think Plaid will innovate next? ???? Sandra Mianda?? Michael J. Marie Walker Leda Glyptis PhD Nicolas Pinto Ryan Wareham Panagiotis Kriaris Sanjeev Kumar #Fintech #OpenFinance #DigitalIdentity

?? Fintech Formal & The TWIF Fintech Awards ?? (This Week in Fintech 11/22) https://lnkd.in/dMadg5Uk

"Fintech is back" has become the consensus. - Jevgenijs Kazanins Read on to find out why ?? https://lnkd.in/gdzksZ98

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Brazilian neobanking giant Nubank is reportedly considering a move to being domiciled in the UK. https://lnkd.in/eqXzUy3k

We would like to thank our branding agency for the tireless months they put into our new logo.

Stablecoin issuer Paxos acquired Finnish e-money institution Membrane Finance to get a licensed e-money institution (EMI) enabling access to all EU states. https://lnkd.in/eHBUradq