Venture capital

Fintech success stories have encouraged investors to back more startups, but newcomers will be hard-pressed to attract enough customers to compete while keeping expenses down.

E-commerce and digital finance are expanding quickly due to the pandemic, economic downturn and plans for recovery — providing opportunities for VCs that back technology that powers faster, more digital payments.

The new initiative is aimed at boosting credit union innovation through investments in fintech and other areas.

The company's Silicon Valley Bank unit reduced its loan-loss cushion by $52 million. Private-equity and VC clients have warmed to the practice of doing deals virtually, which increases lending opportunities, SVB executives said.

Mexican payments startup Klar has raised $15 million in a Series A round in an effort to challenge traditional banks by expanding access to debit cards and credit lines.

Atlanta-based fintech Greenlight has raised $215 million in a Series C round and announced that it has achieved a valuation of $1.2 billion, giving it unicorn status.

Petal, the credit card aimed at millennials and others with limited credit histories, has raised $55 million in a Series C as main street banks pull back on credit during the COVID-19 crisis.

The new unit plans to connect the startups it backs, such as the global payments network Veem, with experts at the company who can provide business advice.

Bolster, a marketplace for executives who can fill roles on an interim or advisory basis, is expected to fill a key need for the bank’s technology and life science clients.

Betsy Cohen, formerly of The Bancorp Bank, and venture capitalist Ryan Gilbert have created a vehicle to raise hundreds of millions of dollars, purchase a technology company and expand it.

Vanessa Colella, innovation chief at Citi, says remote working has had a democratizing effect. She also touches on the types of technology Citi has been incubating, the startups it’s investing in and her efforts at fostering a culture of generosity.

Jo Jagadish, who joined TD Bank in April as head of commercial products and payments innovation, spent her childhood moving from country to country, so she's used to a world without borders — the kind of world emerging from the capabilities of fintech and demands of the pandemic.

The company said it will use the new funding to accelerate its growth.

PayPal is improving its ability to reach innovators, adding a key executive in its recent hire of former Wells Fargo senior vice president and fintech veteran Peggy Mangot to be operating partner at PayPal Ventures, PayPal’s VC team.

Fintechs are facing unique challenges in the pandemic. There might be a resurgence in funding on the horizon, but startups are looking to see what they can do now to weather the storm.

Business models and adaptability will determine the success — or failure — of financial technology companies as they deal with fallout from the coronavirus outbreak.

Fueling its market expansion, U.K. earned wage access startup Wagestream has raised £20 million (about $25 million) in a Series B fundraiser from several VC firms.

VCs and lenders rely on business data such as transaction records to inform funding decisions for fintechs or small businesses, but bias and uneven representation in management still result in gender and racial disparity.

Checkout.com’s $150 million funding round triples the e-commerce company’s valuation to $5.5 billion, and it follows an even larger $600 million bet on Stripe this spring.

The mobile bank raised $241 million in its Series D round of funding, and expects to receive approval from regulators to become a nationally chartered bank this summer.