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Welcome to TechCrunch Fintech (formerly The Interchange)! We\u2019re back after a brief hiatus, and I can tell you that judging by the volume of pitches I received last week, venture investing in the fintech space is definitely picking up. This week, we\u2019re looking at Plaid\u2019s latest step toward an IPO, one BNPL company\u2019s financial results, and more. Let\u2019s dive in!<\/em><\/p>\n To get a roundup of TechCrunch\u2019s biggest and most important fintech stories delivered to your inbox every Sunday at 7:30 a.m. PT,\u00a0<\/em>subscribe here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n This past week, Plaid announced it had hired its first-ever president<\/a>. Notably, the former Cloudflare chief product officer, Jen Taylor, has plenty of experience in helping take a private company public \u2014 something we expect Plaid will be doing in the relatively near future. Coincidentally, I was already working on a \u201cHere are the fintech startups that could go public in 2024<\/a>\u201d piece. With the help of F-Prime Capital, I compiled a list of the fintechs that have the potential to go public sooner rather than later. Klarna, Chime, Stripe are just a few of those mentioned.<\/p>\n Speaking of public companies, buy now, pay later outfit Affirm released its earnings this past week. Despite notching 48% higher revenue of $591 million compared to estimates of $521 million, investors remained cautious. After a 7% run-up on Thursday, shares dropped by nearly 11% on Friday to close at $43.86<\/a>. It\u2019s important to note, though, that this is not that<\/em> far from Affirm\u2019s 52-week high and is nearly double what it was trading<\/a> at in November. In general, public fintechs had a better year last year. \u201cAggregate market cap reached $573B by year-end 2023, up from the trough of $389B in December 2022 \u2014 but down from a $1.3T peak in September 2021,\u201d per an email from F-Prime Capital.<\/p>\n Ingrid had a great scoop with the news that Entrust is buying<\/a> AI-based ID verification startup Onfido for more than $400 million.<\/p>\n New unicorn alert! Romain reported that accounting software startup Pennylane became France\u2019s latest unicorn<\/a> with a \u20ac40 million fundraise.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Christine reported that another accounting startup \u2014 Finally \u2014\u00a0raised $10 million<\/a> in equity funding. Miami-based Finally aims to help businesses automate accounting and finance functions.<\/p>\n ICYMI: Spend management startup Ramp acquired AI-powered startup Venue<\/a> as it expands its procurement offering, and Metronome\u2019s usage-billing software finds a hit in AI as the startup raises $43 million in fresh capital<\/a>.<\/p>\n Reliance Industries spinoff Jio Financial Services said that it is not negotiating with Paytm<\/a> to acquire its wallet business, quashing \u201cspeculative\u201d media reports as the firm scrambled to put out a fire from the central bank\u2019s clampdown the previous week.<\/p>\n An Indian parliamentary panel has urged the government<\/a> to support the growth of domestic fintech players that can provide alternatives to the Walmart-backed PhonePe and Google Pay apps that currently command more than 83% of the country\u2019s digital payments market.<\/p>\n PayPal is working on a new consumer app<\/a> for its mobile customers and suggested that it will be \u201cready\u201d to take advantage of the new EU regulation, the Digital Markets Act (DMA), when it goes into effect next month for tech \u201cgatekeepers\u201d like Apple.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t miss Tage\u2019s deep dive on how African startups are facing many of the same problems<\/a> plaguing fintechs in more mature markets like the U.K. and the U.S.<\/p>\n Kin Insurance fuels growth with $15M in funding<\/a><\/p>\n Construction insurance tech startup Shepherd nabs $13.5M Series A funding round<\/a><\/p>\n RealReports raises $2M in seed funding<\/a><\/p>\n Pagaya Secures $280 Million Credit Facility for AI-Driven Consumer Finance Products<\/a><\/p>\n Navro secures EMI licence and raises $14m to revolutionise global payments<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\nThe big story<\/h2>\n
Analysis of the week<\/h2>\n
Dollars and cents<\/h2>\n
What else we\u2019re writing<\/h2>\n
High-interest headlines<\/h2>\n