As Stripe, Ramp Valuations Rise, Some FinTechs Face Likely Down Rounds

?? NEWS HIGHLIGHT

• Barq, a digital wallet by the former Stc Pay CEO, hits 1 million users in just three weeks .

Barq, a Saudi fintech, founded and led by former CEO of Stc Pay Ahmed Alenazi, has onboarded over 1 million users in just three weeks after its public launch, the startup announced on Tuesday. The FinTech received an e-wallet license from the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) in January this year.

Founded last year, Barq offers digital personal accounts that come with local and international transfers, and Visa cards. The startup, (which started as Barraq and later rebranded to Barq), launched its financial app (or mobile wallet) earlier this month with a monthly transfer/deposit limit of SAR 100,000 ($26,650). The other digital wallets allow users to add up to SAR 20,000 ($5,330) every month.

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NOW, ON TO THE SUMMARY OF LAST WEEK'S?NEWS

?? FINTECH HIGHLIGHTS

?? Neonomics tapped by supporter's platform St?tte to simplify micro-donations through open banking.

?? Stripe to soon allow US retailers to sell directly to Nigerians .

?? Synapse’s collapse has frozen nearly $160M from FinTech users.

?? UK’s Big Plan to Deter Online Payment Scams Risks Misfiring .

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FINTECH

Molten Ventures said the value of its stake in Revolut has more than doubled after the British FinTech secured a $45bn (￡34.9bn) valuation in a share sale by employees. The London-listed VC investor said on Wednesday that Revolut’s announcement last week, which cemented its status as Europe’s most valuable private tech firm, implied an uplift of around ￡95m in the value of Molten’s holding.

MoneyRepublic launches in the UK. MoneyRepublic's UK debut offers a user-friendly platform for informed financial decisions , starting with car finance and health insurance quotes, with plans to expand soon.

As Stripe, Ramp valuations rise, some FinTechs face likely down rounds. FinTechs such as Brex, Chime, and Plaid have not yet updated their valuations in new fundraisings. Secondary market trades suggest that if these FinTechs raise more capital or go public, they may do so at lower valuations than in their last fundraisings .

PAYMENTS

TerraPay forms council with leading Digital Wallets to accelerate Cross-Border Payments interoperability. The company announced a collaboration with 5 of the leading wallet operators to establish the "Wallet Interoperability Council", aiming to leverage TerraPay's technology to facilitate interconnection and interoperability in cross-border transactions.

OPEN BANKING

Trustly and foodora join forces to offer Open Banking payments solution. This collaboration will introduce an innovative new checkout service option for foodora customers. The new payment solution will be initially launched in Finland, with imminent plans for expansion into other European markets.

European open finance provider Insurely announced the launch of a new product, Investment Data Access. A solution that provides banks and financial institutions real-time access to data on customer investments across stocks, mutual funds, securities accounts, custody accounts, investment savings accounts, and endowment insurance.

CRYPTO

Coinmotion partners with Bitpanda Technology Solutions to bring expanded Crypto offering to the Nordics. Thanks to Bitpanda’s integration, Coinmotion customers will get access to the full range of cryptocurrencies from within the Coinmotion app.

DONEDEAL

Revolut alumni raises $?????? for real-time shopping app Tilt. The round, led by Revolut and Depop-backer Balderton Capital, also saw participation from TQ Ventures, Earlybird, and Seedcamp. This funding will enable Tilt to build on the success of its live-shopping app .

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Checkout 's Chief Operating Officer, Jenny Hadlow is now at the helm of key operational areas supporting the company’s customer journey, including Revenue Operations, Merchant Operations, and Risk Operations. Find out more about her career path , her advocacy for DEIB, and her vision for the future.