Welcome to TechCrunch Fintech (formerly The Interchange)! I’m standing in for Mary Ann, who is taking a well-deserved break. This week, we cover Griffin Bank obtaining its license ahead of major players, a deep dive into Stripe’s annual letter, funding rounds, and more!
The main highlight
One of the key stories this week revolves around Griffin Bank in the U.K. Surprisingly, the banking-as-a-service company managed to achieve what even the region’s most valuable fintech company, Revolut, has yet to do — secure a banking license. Despite the challenges in obtaining banking licenses, Griffin Bank accomplished it after a year, surpassing Revolut’s three-year pursuit of the same goal.
With a banking license in hand, Griffin now offers a comprehensive platform for fintech companies to provide banking, payment, and wealth solutions through automated compliance and an integrated ledger. It’s likely that the company will focus on offering banking services to businesses rather than individual consumers.
Insights of the week
Alex Wilhelm and I delved into Stripe’s annual letter and identified a few noteworthy points:
- The company’s growth is remarkable, hitting the $1 trillion total payment volume milestone in 2023, with a 25% increase in payment volume. Achieving $1 trillion in payments suggests a significant growth, with $200 billion added in total payment volume in a single year, showcasing Stripe’s scale.
- Stripe observed a surge in new startup formations in 2023, despite a decline in venture capital activity. Additionally, these startups showed a 60% increase in revenue collection within the first year, and a 57% likelihood of processing $1 million in their initial year compared to those founded in 2019.
Financial updates
A new unicorn emerged in the form of Perfios, an India-based company offering real-time data aggregation and analysis tools to financial institutions. Perfios raised an $80 million funding round, elevating its valuation above $1 billion, with Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan leading the financing. The company intends to go public next year.
Manish Singh highlighted India’s digital payments app Paytm, which secured a crucial license necessary for continuity and app feature functionality, just in time before their banking operations faced restrictions on March 15.
OpenMeter, a startup facilitating usage-based billing tracking, received a $3 million funding round from Y Combinator, Haystack, and Sunflower Capital.
Other stories we’re covering
Reddit’s impending IPO could lead to an intriguing development as the company plans a share sale that enables immediate selling for community members, potentially creating a meme stock phenomenon. More details can be found in a new SEC filing.
An analysis by RevenueCat reveals that most subscription mobile apps struggle to generate revenue, with only 17.2% reaching $1,000 in monthly revenue. However, once they surpass this threshold, their growth potential increases.
TikTok broadened its Effect Creator Rewards program to more regions and reduced the payout threshold, now available in 33 regions worldwide.
Highlighted headlines
HSBC to recruit nearly 50 bankers for startup and venture lending in the US
Green Dot to facilitate cash transactions for 3 additional fintech companies
Exploring the current valuations of top fintech companies amid a 70% decrease in funding
Maxwell launches a POS feature tailored for lenders to enhance workflows
JPMorgan’s outreach to Silicon Valley yields mixed results
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