Market Insights
Industry-specific market commentary, analysis, and research.
Apple of Payments Discord
It seems to never learn. Apple Inc. that is. Or perhaps there’s nothing to learn. Maybe the endless battles over its closed and highly controlled
Mastercard’s Metaverse Moves
Mastercard (NYSE: MA) earned itself some buzzy media coverage these past two weeks by reporting that the card network of “consumer choice” filed 15 trademark
Masters of the Universe – Investment Banking & Financial Technology Revolutionary
She’s been doing it for more than a quarter-century, starting as a summer intern at J.P. Morgan’s London office in 1987. From commodities trading to
Market Movements
Bitcoin Set to Ignite Earnings Fireworks
As the country heads toward its Independence Day celebration this week, the Q2 earnings season, which follows shortly thereafter, stands to provide a fireworks show
Visa Direct Drives On-Demand Payroll w/ RTPs
The major card networks, Visa (NYSE: V) and Mastercard (NYSE: MA), reported this past week, Visa with fiscal Q2, and Mastercard with fiscal Q1. Both
Payments Notes – A Changing Market
Having this past week attended the first in-person, national payments technology conference – TRANSACT 2022 – since before the pandemic, I came away with the
Our Top Picks
Relevent, hand-selected news you need to know.
Week's Most Interesting
Big Tech’s New BIG Legs?
In an effort to avoid wasting anyone’s time, this ‘week’s most interesting’ has absolutely nothing – NOTHING – to do with fintech, payments, software or investment banking. In fact it has nothing to do with, well, just about anything normally discussed here. But in the spirit of entertaining subscribers in an objectively terrible week of news, including crashing financial markets, threats of nuclear war, and climate-based catastrophes, I proffer this gem of a story from Business Insider, which I just can’t stop re-reading. In fact I still can’t believe it’s not from The Onion. So sayeth the article from the 15th, the new elective
Crypto
Nilos Nets $5.2M to Build Platform That Unifies Crypto and Fiat Treasuries for Businesses
Nilos, the platform that connects fiat and cryptocurrency accounts, has raised $5.2 million in funding for its platform that allows businesses to take crypto
E-commerce
OpenStore Bags New Funding As Valuation Soars To $970M
OpenStore, the open source e-commerce aggregator platform, has thrived in the market having acquired dozens of 3rd-party e-commerce businesses representing tens of millions in
Fintech
Fintech Company Noble Launches Out of Stealth and Announces $18M in Funding from Insight Partners
Noble, the no-code platform that lets companies build, launch, and scale embedded, credit-based products and services, announced that it has raised $18 million in Series
Fraud / Risk Management
Sardine Raises $51.5m for Fintech Fraud Platform
Sardine, a behavior-based fraud and risk management platform for fintechs, has raised $51.5 million in a Series B funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz’s growth
Investment / Acquisition
Jupiter in Talks to Sell Stake in Digital Bank Starling
Jupiter Asset Management, a UK-based asset management group, is in talks to sell its stake in UK digital bank Starling Bank at a price that
Open Banking
Fintech App Portabl Raises $2.5M to Help Consumers Securely Store Financial Data
Portabl, an open banking application, recently announced the closing of a $2.5 million seed round led by Harlem Capital. Portabl offers identity management and protection
Payments
InsurePay Brings Virtual Premium Payment Options to the US Market
InsurePay, a top insurtech billing and payments platform supplier, now offers virtual premium payment choices like Credit Card, Debit Card, ACH, EFT, and Interac. The
Saas
Fintech and SaaS Startup Ledgy Bags $22M
Ledgy, a fintech and SaaS equity management platform, recently raised $22 million in Series B, achieving a “significantly higher” valuation than that in its Series
Specialty Finance / LendTech
Scratch Financial Raises $35 Million Series C Round
Scratch Financial, a fintech company reimagining patient financing, announced it has raised $35 million in Series C funding. The round was led by Norwest
Week's Most Interesting
Big Tech’s New BIG Legs?
In an effort to avoid wasting anyone’s time, this ‘week’s most interesting’ has absolutely nothing – NOTHING – to do with fintech, payments, software
A.I.
Upstart Earnings Spark Questions About Company’s ‘Fintech’ Narrative
Upstart, an artificial intelligence based lending platform that partners with banks and credit unions to provide consumer loans saw its shares sink more than
Investments - M&A
Jupiter in Talks to Sell Stake in Digital Bank Starling
Jupiter Asset Management, a UK-based asset management group, is in talks to sell its stake in UK digital bank Starling Bank at a price
Fintech
Fintech Company Noble Launches Out of Stealth and Announces $18M in Funding from Insight Partners
Noble, the no-code platform that lets companies build, launch, and scale embedded, credit-based products and services, announced that it has raised $18 million in
Payments
InsurePay Brings Virtual Premium Payment Options to the US Market
InsurePay, a top insurtech billing and payments platform supplier, now offers virtual premium payment choices like Credit Card, Debit Card, ACH, EFT, and Interac.
Saas
Fintech and SaaS Startup Ledgy Bags $22M
Ledgy, a fintech and SaaS equity management platform, recently raised $22 million in Series B, achieving a “significantly higher” valuation than that in its Series
E-commerce
OpenStore Bags New Funding As Valuation Soars To $970M
OpenStore, the open source e-commerce aggregator platform, has thrived in the market having acquired dozens of 3rd-party e-commerce businesses representing tens of millions in revenue.
Open Banking
Fintech App Portabl Raises $2.5M to Help Consumers Securely Store Financial Data
Portabl, an open banking application, recently announced the closing of a $2.5 million seed round led by Harlem Capital. Portabl offers identity management and protection
Crypto
Nilos Nets $5.2M to Build Platform That Unifies Crypto and Fiat Treasuries for Businesses
Nilos, the platform that connects fiat and cryptocurrency accounts, has raised $5.2 million in funding for its platform that allows businesses to take crypto for
Specialty Finance / LendTech
Scratch Financial Raises $35 Million Series C Round
Scratch Financial, a fintech company reimagining patient financing, announced it has raised $35 million in Series C funding. The round was led by Norwest Venture
Recent WHF Insights Newsletters
Externally Published Articles
6/8/20 – Fintech Direct Is The Fintech Acquisition Market Active? (The Answer May Surprise You)
5/28/18 – The Green Sheet I’ve Secured Growth Capital for My Payments Company – How Do I Optimize Investment Monies to Maximize Value?
3/26/18 – The Green Sheet Market Killers – The Top 5 Reasons Buyers Won’t Acquire Your ISO
2/12/18 – The Green Sheet Maximizing Portfolio Value in a Sale: Capitalizing on the Valuation Variance of Downline MLS Portfolios
Externally Published Articles
10/23/20 – Digital Transactions Why Attrition Is No Longer a Core Metric for Valuing Merchant Portfolios
5/8/20 – Fintech Direct Is The Fintech Acquisition Market Active? (The Answer May Surprise You)
5/28/18 – The Green Sheet I’ve Secured Growth Capital for My Payments Company – How Do I Optimize Investment Monies to Maximize Value?