Venture capital

The card brand has added a dedicated lane to its startup program to address the venture funding gap for race and gender. Overall, less than 3% of VC funding goes to startups with Black or Latinx founders.

The Curql Fund, an investor in upstart technology companies, is trying to help credit unions build relationships with cutting-edge firms.

Chargebee, a startup that helps enterprises with subscription billing and revenue management, raised $125 million in funding and boosted its valuation to $1.4 billion, reaching so-called unicorn status for the first time.

The financial-technology firm Plaid is close to a new round of funding at a valuation of about $13 billion, almost three months after scrapping its sale to Visa, according to people familiar with the matter.

Large U.S. banks are directing their venture capital dollars to fintechs in capital markets, wealth management and "future-proofing."

Capital One Financial led a $170 million investment in the startup Hopper as the financial giant seeks to make a deeper push into travel.

MissionOG spots opportunities among firms that provide pandemic-era automation and a route for legacy financial institutions to compete with challenger banks and fintechs.

Rapid changes in payments and regulations have blown open the door to new ideas, creating frontiers for fintech investors. Javier Perez hopes three decades of experience will help him have an early read on startups.

The fintech world is expanding at a sometimes breathtaking pace. Much of that growth is driven by venture capital, but how do VCs decide which companies to invest it in--or not? Join Greycroft partner Will Szczerbiak in a discussion with Olugbenga Agboola, the founder and CEO of Flutterwave, the San Francisco-based startup building the largest payments infrastructure in Africa. Guest host James Ledbetter, editor and publisher of the fintech newsletter FIN, will explore these questions: What are VCs looking for in a fintech startup? What are the hottest fintech sectors in 2021? How has the rise in fintech valuations affected the market? Where will growth be strongest in the next few years?

The latest round includes two new investors, Eurazeo Growth and Wellington Management, as well as one returning shareholder, Sprints Capital.

U.K. fintech Rapyd, backed by Stripe, has raised $300 million in a Series D round to fuel its growth through acquisitions in payment processing, card issuing and disbursements.

Walmart's fintech venture with Ribbit Capital allows it to influence more technological developments in the retail industry.

Venture capitalists will shift their focus to fintechs that support financial inclusion, according to Emmalyn Shaw, managing partner of the VC firm Flourish. Meanwhile, challenger banks will continue to grow, she says.

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.