Welcome to Fintech! This week, we’re looking at the respective demise of Tally and Score, plus examining Klarna’s latest business move. We also have a list of fintech companies that are looking to add headcount.
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The big story
Last week, I reported on Tally, a 9-year-old fintech that helped consumers manage and pay off their credit card debt, closing its doors after an unsuccessful attempt at securing more capital. After raising $172 million from investors such as Andreessen Horowitz and Kleiner Perkins, the news came as a bit of a shock to the fintech community. We don’t really know what exactly led to Tally’s demise, although some speculate it was in part due to high interest rates, but it’s sad news no matter what the cause. CEO and co-founder Jason Brown told me: “This decision was incredibly difficult, but I’m proud of what Tally accomplished over the years. … While Tally’s journey is ending, the drive to help people manage their debt more effectively continues, and I’m hopeful that others will build on what we started.”
Also last week, Dominic-Madori Davis reported that Score, the dating app for people with good to excellent credit, had shut down in early August. Generally, startup shutdowns are way up this year, according to multiple sources, including Carta and Layoffs.fyi.
Analysis of the week
Swedish fintech giant Klarna announced last week that it was expanding into banking. The company started out as a buy now, pay later provider and has gradually broadened its offerings over the years. Klarna is now offering a new “balance” account and the ability to earn cash back on purchases made through its app. While U.S. users can’t yet earn interest on any money they store in the account, European users can earn up to 3.58%. The move puts Klarna in competition with other fintechs, such as Revolut, as well as incumbents such as Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase. It comes just a few months after it launched a credit card in the U.S.
Dollars and cents
As predicted, Revolut confirmed a new valuation of $45 billion via a secondary market share sale, making it one of Europe’s most valuable private tech companies.
PayZen, which aims to make healthcare more affordable by enabling patients to pay their bills in interest and fee-free installments over time, closed a $32 million Series B led by NEA.
TipRanks, which uses AI and other analytics to build datasets and other insights to help people make smarter bids on stocks, is getting snapped up for $200 million by Prytek, a developer of business process products for financial services, human resources and other enterprise verticals.
What else we’re writing
I recently put out a call asking for fintech companies that are hiring. After just over an hour, I had received more than a dozen responses. After just a few days, I heard from dozens more. The sheer number — and quality — of responses was surprising even to me, someone who writes about this space on a regular basis. We do plan to update the hiring post regularly over time so keep checking back!
Facing increasing pressure from regulators, Apple on August 14 announced it’s opening up NFC transactions to third-party developers. NFC, or near field communication, is the short-range wireless technology that powers Apple Pay and Wallet. The tech giant also said it generated a record $24.2 billion in revenue from its services unit, which includes payments, in the second quarter.
High-interest headlines
Citi and Wells Fargo join $31 million funding round for loan startup Setpoint
Tencent-backed Airwallex hits $500 million annualized sales, aims to get IPO-ready by 2026
Sling Money raises $15 million for money transfer app
Banking tech startup Amount raises $30 million
Podcast listens
Tune in to the Equity podcast as the crew dissects the respective shutdowns of Tally and Score here.
What is the right way to build a software business? Many startup advisers say that B2B software should solve one pain point, gain customers, then add features as their company grows. Serial founder Parker Conrad, currently the founder and CEO of Rippling, an HR software/payroll startup valued at $13.5 billion in April, thinks that’s the wrong way to do it. Conrad said on a recent episode of ’s Found podcast that he thinks the advice given to software founders over the last two decades has been misguided.
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