Fintech Update, 7/18 - 7/24
Hi! It’s Monday, July 25, 2022.
The Rundown
British digital bank Starling withdrew its application to Ireland’s central bank for an EU banking license nearly four years after initiating the process. After facing issues with its application in the past, and pausing talks with regulators during COVID, CEO Anne Boden stated that “an Irish subsidiary would not deliver the added value we are seeking” and that the fintech will “now be focusing on taking our software to banks around the globe through our [SaaS] subsidiary, Engine, and by expanding our lending across a range of asset classes.” On the bright side, the company also reported its first annual profit, bringing in a pre-tax profit of ~$38 million.
Varo CEO Colin Walsh announced that the company is laying off 75 employees, about 10% of its workforce, to ensure that the company “has sufficient capital to execute on our strategy and path to profitability.”
Corporate spend management firm Ramp reported that it has more than doubled its revenues over the last year. In a fraught market, a startup in such a competitive space seeing this growth is encouraging (though it may be reflective of a need for companies to cut costs which aligns nicely with Ramp’s value prop).
Qonto, the French online bank for SMBs, announced that it is acquiring German SMB digital banking platform Penta.
Instagram now allows users to purchase products from qualified businesses via DMs, which the company says will consolidate purchasing with customer support.
Selected fundings
X1, the credit card that underwrites consumers based on income, raised $25 million in a Series B funding round led by FPV.
TomoCredit, the fintech offering credit to the credit invisible population, raised $22 million in Series B funding at a $222 million valuation.
Fonoa, the Irish fintech that automates tax obligations for digital services companies, raised $60 million in Series B funding.
Bloom, the Sudanese fintech offering a high-yield savings account, raised $6.5 million in seed funding.