Welcome to TechCrunch Fintech! This week we look at the demise of Tally and Score respectively, as well as Klarna’s latest business initiative. We also have a list of fintech companies looking to increase their headcount.
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The big story
Last week I reported Scoringa 9-year-old fintech that helped consumers manage and pay off their credit card debt, close its doors after an unsuccessful attempt to obtain more capital. After raising $172 million from investors including Andreessen Horowitz and Kleiner Perkins, the news came as a bit of a shock to the fintech community. We’re not sure what exactly led to Tally’s demise, although some believe it was partly due to high interest rates, but it’s sad news regardless of the cause. CEO and co-founder Jason Brown told me: “This decision was incredibly difficult, but I am proud of what Tally has accomplished over the years. …As Tally’s journey comes to an end, efforts to help people manage their debt more effectively continue, and I hope others will build on what we’ve started.
Also last week, Dominic-Madori Davis reported that Scorethe dating app aimed at people with good to excellent credit, had close early August. In general, startup shutdowns are sharply increasing this year, according to several sources, including Map And Layoffs.for info.
Analysis of the week
Swedish fintech giant Klarna announced last week that it was expand into the banking sector. The company started as a buy now, pay later provider and has gradually expanded its offerings over the years. Klarna now offers a new “balance” account and the ability to earn money back on purchases made through its app. While US users cannot yet earn interest on the money they store in their account, European users can earn up to 3.58%. The move brings Klarna closer to competition from other fintechs, such as Revolut, as well as holders like Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase. This comes just a few months after its launch a credit card in the United States
Dollars and cents
As expected, Revolution confirmed a new valuation of $45 billion via a secondary market share sale, making it one of the most valuable private technology companies in Europe.
PayZenwhich aims to make healthcare more affordable by allowing patients to pay their bills with interest and fee-free installments over time, closed a $32 million Series B led by the NEA.
TipRankswhich uses AI and other analytics to create data sets and other insights to help people make smarter bids on stocks, is getting ripped off for $200 million by Prytek, a developer of business process products for financial services, human resources and other business verticals.
What else do we write
I recently published a call ask fintech companies that are hiring. After a little over an hour, I had received over a dozen responses. After just a few days, I heard dozens more. The number – and quality – of the responses was surprising even to me, who writes regularly in this space. We plan to update the hiring position regularly over time, so check back regularly!
Faced with increasing pressure from regulators, Apple on August 14 announced that it was open 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 this generated a record $24.2 billion of revenue from its services unit, which includes payments, in the second quarter.
Very interesting titles
Citi and Wells Fargo join $31M funding round for startup Setpoint
Tencent-backed Airwallex hits $500 million annualized revenue, targets IPO by 2026
Sling Money raises $15 million for money transfer app
Banking tech startup Amount raises $30 million
Podcasts to listen to
Tune in to the Equity podcast as the team dissects the respective rulings Scoring And Score here.
What is the right way to start a software business? Many startup advisors say B2B software should solve a problem, gain customers, and then add features as their business grows. Parker Conrad, founder of Serial, currently founder and CEO of Ripple, an HR/payroll software startup valued at $13.5 billion in April, think this is not the right way to do it. Conrad said during a recent episode of Found Podcast from TechCrunch that he thinks the advice given to software creators over the past two decades has been wrong.
Would you like to give us some advice? Email me at maryann@techcrunch.com or message me on Signal at 408.204.3036. You can also send a note to the entire TechCrunch team at tips@techcrunch.com. For more secure communications, click here to contact uswhich includes SecureDrop (instructions here) and links to encrypted messaging apps.