Earnings season has been volatile, especially in the FinTech space.
Though stocks have gyrated on guidance, earnings per shares and the “over/under” versus consensus estimates, a few trends remain intact. Platforms continue to see momentum, as detailed in reports from the likes of Marqeta, which has seen a boon in card issuing programs, or buy now, pay later (BNPL) providers such as Sezzle and Affirm, which have heralded robust demand for paying over time.
Capital raises and acquisitions give a sense of where the puck is headed, so to speak — in the first instance, money supports nascent and early stage business models. In the second case, acquisitions are a way for buyers to gain a foothold in an established business and use it to compliment existing holdings.
Circula, a German FinTech focused on expense management for small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs), said it secured 15 million euros ($16.9 million) in funding from investors including Capnamic Ventures, Alstin Capital, Peak and San Francisco-based Storm Ventures, in addition to existing investors.
Separately, as reported this week by TechCrunch, Amsterdam’s Finom, a digital bank focused on SMBs, raised 92.7 million euros ($104.4 million) from General Catalyst’s Customer Value Fund, where the capital will be used to fund growth initiatives.
In addition, Juice, A U.K.-based alternative lending platform for smaller firms, raised 25 million pounds ($33.3 million) this week. The platform offers flexible credit lines to SMBs, based on real-time data provided to Juice. The funding comes from family offices Aern Capital and Falco Capital, and the credit line comes from Paragon Bank. Juice has stated that with the backdrop of the funding, the company is targeting a 100 million pound ($133.2 million) loan book by 2028.
Also in the U.K., U.K. mortgage FinTech Sprive raised 5.5 million pounds ($7.3 million), with the funding coming from Channel4Ventures, Velocity Capital and Two Magnolias in this latest round. The company uses AI and smart automation to help homeowners pay down their mortgages faster by allocating spare cash to overpayments and by, the company said in its announcement, “continuously scanning the market to help find better mortgage deals.”
In U.S.-related news, FinTech Glide raised $15 million in a Series A round, led by Acrew Capital, with participation from Pear VC, Pathlight Ventures, existing investors 186 Ventures and NOMO Ventures, and world-class enterprise operators. The funding will be used to scale AI capabilities. Glide has described its offerings as geared toward helping community banks and credit unions modernize their core infrastructure with an eye on offering embedded tools for deposit origination, accounts, lending, onboarding and back-office operations.
As for acquisitions, as PYMNTS reported this week, accounts payable (AP) automation software provider AvidXchange is on track to be acquired by Corpay and global asset management firm TPG. The firms will acquire AvidXchange for $10 per share in a cash transaction that values AvidXchange at $2.2 billion, which at the time represented a 22% premium to the share price just ahead of the announcement. AvidXchange will become a private company once the deal is closed.
