With more than 429 million active accounts and operations in over 200 countries, PayPal is one of the largest fintech companies around. As of 2017, the company surpassed $100 billion in spending and recently announced plans to expand into the US. Its monetization of its user base has helped it become an industry leader, and it hopes to have a UK banking license by 2022. Other fintech companies include Chipper Cash, an app that allows users to transfer money for free from one bank account to another. It offers these services to consumers in Ghana, Kenya, and Nigeria, and it has recently raised $150 million in a series B financing round to fund its growth.
In the UK, Revolut is the biggest fintech company. Founded in 2015, it already has more than 16 million personal customers and 500k businesses. Revolut has received $800 million in funding and is the largest privately owned startup in the world. Its valuation has risen to $33 billion and is expected to hit $2 trillion in total trading volume by 2020. The company’s value is predicted to reach $63 billion when it goes public in early 2021.
Nubank is a Brazilian digital bank based in Sao Paulo. It has more than $25 billion in market value and operates in 183 countries. It offers no-fee credit cards and has over 104 million registered users. Its operations have expanded to Argentina, Colombia, and Mexico, but it has not yet reached U.S. soil. This is why Nubank did not qualify for Forbes’ Fintech 50 list.
A number of other companies operate in the fintech sector. One example is Nubank, which launched as a free digital-only bank account in 2011. It now offers other services, including personal loans, life insurance, and a credit card. Its mobile app allows users to manage their credit cards. In January 2021, NuBank plans to have 35 million customers in Brazil. The company has recently completed a $425 million funding round led by Tiger Global.
Some of the largest fintech companies in the world include Klarna, which is now valued at $45.6 billion. It has raised more than $3.7 billion in funding since last year, and it is the highest-valued fintech in Europe. Its CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski recently said that the company would focus its US expansion plans after the recent funding round. However, the biggest fintech companies are likely to continue to grow in the U.S., as long as the market is ripe.
Stripe is another fintech company with an incredible valuation: it recently raised $250 million in a funding round led by the top venture funds in the world. The company is pursuing an IPO in 2022 and has projected growth of ten-fold in the next five years. It is also the most valuable fintech company in America, with a $95 billion valuation. In March 2021, Stripe will finalize a $600 million funding round led by multinational financial services companies.
Revolut is another European fintech company that was founded in 2014 by two former bankers. It has more than fifteen million customers worldwide. Wise has also eliminated foreign exchange fees, and customers can spend money in over 750 currencies. Its growth has led to a funding round with Softbank, which valued the company at $33 billion. However, it is not a monopoly in any country.
With its innovative technology and services, Plaid is changing the money transfer market. In July 2021, the company went public, gaining a direct listing on the London Stock Exchange. Its shares floated at 800 pence when it was first founded. The company currently has more than two thousand Twitter followers. Another popular fintech is Figure, which was founded by two former SoFi executives Mike Cagney and June Ou.
Chime is a challenger bank in San Francisco. It offers fee-free online banking services. Earlier this year, the company was preparing to go public. Since then, it has gained millions of users and is worth over $2.2 billion. Chime plans to raise $1 billion in 2020 and a billion dollars by October. Its founders are expected to hit the billion dollar mark in October 2020. These companies have a clear path to financial freedom.
Square is an excellent example of a fintech company. The company was founded in 2009 and is one of the largest in the world. Square offers mobile payments and point of sale operations, and recently secured a $460 million funding round from Softbank Vision Fund. Klarna is another example of a fintech company that recently completed its $639 million funding round. This funding round led to the company becoming the largest fintech company in Europe.
