PitchBook, a SaaS company that delivers data, research and technology covering the private capital markets, has released its list of the 10 most valuable fintech startups in North America and Europe. The companies cover a broad range of areas including cryptocurrencies, payments, credit, investment and trading.
PitchBook notes two main trends in its top 10 list: the removal of traditional banking fees, as well as the elimination of geographical limitations and complex processes in traditional credit and money services.
The following are the 10 most valuable fintech companies in North America and Europe, according to PitchBook data.
1.Stripe
Valuation: US$22.5 billion
Founded: 2010
Description: Stripe is an American technology company based in San Francisco, California. Its software allows individuals and businesses to make and receive payments over the Internet. Stripe provides the technical, fraud prevention, and banking infrastructure required to operate online payment systems.
2.Coinbase
Valuation: US$8.1 billion
Founded: 2012
Headquarters: San Francisco
Description: Coinbase is a digital currency exchange that brokers exchanges of Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, Ethereum Classic, and Litecoin with fiat currencies in approximately 32 countries, and bitcoin transactions and storage in 190 countries worldwide.
Coinbase has two core products: the Coinbase Pro professional trading platform, and a user-facing retail broker of Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ether, Ethereum Classic, and Litecoin for fiat currency. The company also offers an API for developers and merchants to build applications and accept payments in digital currencies.
3.Robinhood
Valuation: US$7.6 billion
Founded: 2013
Description: Robinhood is the developer of an investment platform that offers commission-free trading in stocks, ETFs, options and cryptocurrencies, as well as margins. The firm is a FINRA-approved broker-dealer, registered with the US Securities and Exchange Commission and is a member of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation.
4.Klarna
Valuation: US$5.5 billion
Founded: 2005
Description: Klarna Bank AB, commonly referred to as Klarna, is a Swedish bank that provides online financial services such as payment solutions for online storefronts, direct payments, post-purchase payments and more. The company’s core service is to assume stores’ claims for payments and handle customer payments, thus eliminating the risk for seller and buyer.
The company currently plans to expand payment presence in the US.a
5.Social Finance (SoFi)
Valuation: US$4.3 billion
Founded: 2011
Description: Social Finance, commonly known as SoFi, is an online personal finance company that provides student loan refinancing. The company’s platform includes online banking, personal, mortgage and wealth management, enabling students to get lower interest rates based on their career experience, monthly income, financial history and education.
6.Credit Karma
Valuation: US$4 billion
Founded: 2007
Description: Credit Karma is a multinational personal finance company, best known as a free credit and financial management platform. Credit Karma provides free credit scores and credit reports from credit bureaus TransUnion and Equifax, alongside daily credit monitoring from TransUnion. It also provides credit tools, free tax preparation, monitoring of unclaimed property databases, a tool to identify and dispute credit report errors, as well as an account aggregation service called Yodlee.
7.Opendoor
Valuation: US$3.8 billion
Founded: 2013
Description: Opendoor operates an online real estate marketplace aimed at simplifying home buying and selling. The marketplace helps sellers receive an offer without listing or showing their home, and buyers to browse for homes on sale and instantly unlock them using the company’s application, enabling customers to buy and sell properties in a hassle-free way.
8.Gusto
Valuation: US$3.8 billion
Founded: 2011
Description: Gusto, formerly ZenPayroll, is a company that provides a cloud-based payroll, benefits, and human resource management software for businesses based in the US. Gusto handles payments to employees and contractors and also handles electronically the paperwork necessary to help client companies comply with tax, labor, and immigration laws.
Separately, Gusto offers employee health insurance, dental insurance, and vision insurance enrollment and administration. In addition, the company provides other employee-benefit and related products through third parties, including 401K and workers’ compensation insurance.
9.N26
Valuation: US$3.5 billion
Founded: 2013
Description: N26, formerly known as Number 26, is a German direct bank that offers its services throughout most of the Eurozone and in the UK. The company provides a free basic current account and a debit MasterCard card to all its customers, as well as a Maestro card for their customers in certain markets. Additionally, customers can request overdraft and investment products. It also offers premium accounts which offer additional features for a monthly fee.
N26 counts more than 3.5 million customers.
10. Transferwise
Valuation: US$3.5 billion
Founded: 2011
Description: TransferWise is an online money transfer service supporting more than 750 currency routes across the world including GBP, USD, EUR, AUD and CAD. The company also provides multi-currency accounts. In 2018, TransferWise’s customer-base reached 4 million who collectively transfer around US$4 billion per month.
Know Your Market
Shiroyama 601 is invested in your success. We provide you with current news and updates about B2B marketing, PSP technology, leadership consulting and business development in our weekly blog.
Our experienced writers research the latest industry developments and deliver their opinions. Shiroyama 601writers do not accept any outside payments or gratuities for their posts. Everything they compose is of their own opinion, based on their own research.
Keep up to date with our blog and keep up to date with what’s happening behind the scenes in the industry.
