Welcome to The Interchange, where we dive into all the latest fintech news. If you want to get The Interchange directly in your inbox every Sunday, make sure to sign up! This week, we’re going to cover a variety of topics, from new unicorns to a fintech company that is making a difference, and even one that is shutting down. Let’s get into it.
2024 is expected to see the first unicorn in the fintech sector. A unicorn is a startup company that has reached a valuation of $1 billion. According to a chart created by Anna Heim, Alex Wilhelm, and Miranda Halpern, the number of companies reaching unicorn status peaked in 2021 and has slowed down since the second quarter of 2022. However, despite the slow growth, financial services companies dominated the new unicorns minted last November, as reported by Crunchbase’s Gené Teare, with one-third of new unicorns in the financial sector.
Simply Homes, a proptech company, has raised $22 million to address the affordable housing crisis. The company buys single-family homes in blighted neighborhoods, renovates them, and rents them out to very low-income families. This initiative aims to help alleviate poverty and improve social and economic mobility for the tenants. Simply Homes’ model is unique in that it focuses on providing affordable housing to lower-income families, an area often overlooked by real estate tech companies.
On the other hand, some fintechs are facing challenges. For example, Navan, an expense management startup, laid off 5% of its staff to move faster toward profitability. Paytm shares declined due to a decision to offer fewer low-value personal loans. Additionally, buy now, pay later startup ZestMoney is shutting down.
In other news, X is proceeding with plans to launch a payment system, and Mastercard has introduced Shopping Muse, an AI-powered shopping assistant. A ruling in the EU could result in tighter regulations for credit scoring companies under the bloc’s privacy laws, following a case against a German credit scoring company.
Overall, the fintech sector continues to be dynamic, with companies facing both challenges and opportunities. Stay tuned for more updates on the latest fintech news!
