The fintech revolution is reshaping the way we manage, invest, and move money, breaking down traditional barriers and empowering individuals worldwide. As financial technology continues to evolve at a rapid pace, a select group of innovative companies are leading the charge by offering groundbreaking solutions that redefine banking, payments, and digital assets. Whether youāre a savvy investor, an industry professional, or simply curious about the future of finance, discovering these trailblazing fintech companies is essential to understanding todayās dynamic financial landscape.
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- Ā Alina InvestĀ - The AI Wealth Manager for GenZ Women
Alina is aimed at women under 25 who identify as beginner investors. They're an SEC-registered investment advisor that charges $120/year for membership. The service "buys and sells for you" and gives up notification updates of recent transactions like a wealth manager would.
š Getting people to invest early is crucial to building long-term wealth. One thing that holds them back is a lack of confidence and experience. Being targetted "for beginners" and people who live on TikTok should appeal. I love the sense of "we're buying and selling for you." Funds always do that, but making it an engagement mechanic is very smart. The risk here is that building a wealth business will take decades for the AUM to compound. But the next generations, Wealthfront or Betterment, will look something like Alina.
2.Ā Blue layerĀ - The Carbon project funding platform
Bluelayer allows Carbon project developers to take from feasibility studies to issuing credits, tracking inventory, and managing orders. Developers of reforestation, conservation, direct air capture, and other projects can also directly report to industry registries.Ā
š Carbon investing and tax credits are heavily incentivized but need transparent data.Ā By focusing on the developers, Bluelayer can ensure the data, reporting, and credits lifecycle is all managed at the source. This is smart.
3.Ā AkirolabsĀ - Modern Procurement for enterprise
Akiro is a "strategic" procurement platform aiming to help enterprise customers identify risks, value drivers, and strategic levers before issuing an RFP. It aims to bring in multiple stakeholders for complex purchasing decisions at multinationals.Ā
š Procurement is a great wedge for multinational corporate transformation.Ā Buying anything in an enterprise that uses large-scale ERPs is a nightmare of committees and spreadsheets. Turning an oil tanker-sized organization around is difficult, but the right suppliers can have a meaningful impact in the short term. That only worksĀ if you can buy from them. Getting people on the same page with a single platform is a great start.
4.Ā NeoTaxĀ - Automated Tax R&D Credits
NeoTax allows companies to connect their engineering tools to calculate available tax advantages automatically. Once calculated, the tax fillings are clearly labeled with supporting evidence for the IRS.
š AWS and GCP log files and data are a goldmine.Ā Last week, I covered Bilanc, which uses log files to figure out per-account unit economics. Now, we calculate R&D tax credits. The unlock here is LLM's ability to understand unstructured data. The hard part is understanding the moat, but time will tell.
In an era where technology and finance are increasingly intertwined, these four fintech companies stand out as catalysts for positive change. By driving progress in digital payments, asset management, lending, and decentralized finance, they are not only making financial services more accessible and efficientāthey are also paving the way for a more inclusive and empowered global economy. Staying informed about their innovations can help you seize new opportunities and take part in the future of finance.
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PayPal issued low guidance and warned of a ātransition year.ā The stock is down 8% in extended trading despite PayPal reporting a 9% growth in revenue and 23% EBITDA. Gross profit is down 4% YoY. PayPal's total revenues were $29Bn for the year
Adyen reported 22% revenue growth and an EBITDA margin of 46% for the full year. Adyen's total revenues were $1.75bn for the full year. The margin was down from 55% the previous year, impacted by hiring ahead of growth.
š¤Ā PayPalās Braintree (unbranded) is losing market share in the US, while Adyen is winning it.Ā eCommerce is growing ~9 to 10% YoY, and PayPalās transaction revenue grew by 6.7%. The higher interest rate environment meant interest on balances dragged up the total revenue figure. Their core business is losing market share. Adyen is outgrowing the market by ~12%.
š¤Ā The PayPal button (branded) is losing to SHOP Pay and Apple Pay.Ā The branded experience from Apple and Shopify is delightful for users; itās fast and helps with small details like delivery tracking. That experience translates to higher conversion (and more revenue) for merchants.
š¤Ā The lack of a single global platform hurts PayPal, but it helps Adyen.Ā In the earnings call, the new CEO admitted their mix of platforms like Venmo, PayPal, and Braintree are holding them back. They aim to combine and simplify, but thatās easier said than done.
š¤Ā Making a single platform from PayPal, Venmo, and Braintree wonāt be easy.Ā Thereās a graveyard of payment company CEOs who tried to make āone platformā from things they acquired years ago. Itās crucial if theyāre going to grow that they get their innovation edge back. Adyen has one platform in every market.
š¤Ā PayPalās UK and European acquiring business is a bright spot.Ā The UK and EU delivered 20% of overall revenue, growing 11% YoY. Square and Toast donāt have market share here, while iZettle, which PayPal acquired in 2018, is a strong market player. Overall though, itāsĀ yet anotherĀ tech stack and business thatās not part of a single global platform.
The two banks provided accounts to UK front companies secretly owned by an Iranian petrochemicals company. PCC has used these entities to receive funds from Iranian entities in China, concealed with trustee agreements and nominee directors.Ā
š¤Ā This is the headline every bank CEO fears. Oof.Ā Shares of both banks have been down since the news broke, but this will no doubt involve crisis calls, committees, appearing in front of the regulator, and, finally, some sort of fine.
š¤Ā The "risk-based approach" has been arbitraged.Ā A UK company with relatively low annual revenue would look "low risk" at onboarding.Ā One business the FT covered looked like a small company at a residential address to compliance staff. They'd likely apply branch-level controls instead of the enterprise-grade controls you'd see for a large corporation.Ā
š¤Ā Hiring more staff won't fix this problem; it's a mindset and technology challenge.Ā In theory, all of the skill and technology that exists to manage risks with large corporate customers (in the transaction banking divisions) are available to the other parts of a bank. In practice, they're not. Most banks lack a single data set and the ability for compliance officers in one team to see data from another part of the org. Getting the basics right with data and tooling is incredibly hard and will involve a multi-year effort.Ā
š¤Ā These things are rarely the failure of an individual or department; the issue is systemic.Ā While two banks are named in this headline, the issue isĀ everywhere. Banks need more data and better data to train better AI and machine learning. That all needs to happen in real-time as a compliment to the human staff. Throwing bodies at this won't solve the visibility issue teams have.
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