Fintech
Inside Mercury’s competitive push in software and Ramp’s potential M&A targets
Image credits: Kontrec/Getty Images
Welcome to TechCrunch Fintech! This week we’ll take a look at Mercury’s latest expansions, Wallet-as-a-Service startup Ansa’s relaunch, and more!
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The big story
Digital banking startup Mercury is layering software on top of its bank accounts, giving its corporate customers the ability to pay invoices, invoice customers and reimburse employees, the company exclusively told TechCrunch. The additional features put the company in even more direct competition with the likes of Brex and Ramp, two rival fintechs that have been fighting for market share in an increasingly crowded space. Mercury says it has more than 200,000 customers sending $4 billion in outgoing payments each month through its platform, and that this move is a natural one for the company it founded seven years ago.
Analysis of the week
CB Insights took it upon itself to identify it 85 potential acquisition targets For Ramp “given his growing interest in mergers and acquisitions.” Here are some examples: Greycroft-backed Streamlined, which focuses on accounts receivable (AR) automation and whose $4 million raise was covered by TechCrunch Here; Oddr, focused on invoice-to-cash management for the legal sector; Pactum, which deals with the negotiation of artificial intelligence suppliers; and OpStart, a startup valued at $10 million in 2022 that offers “financial operations for startups.” So far Ramp has acquired CoherentBuyer e Place.
Dollars and cents
First we have you covered Handle in 2023 when they secretly went out announcing an increase of $5.4 million. Last week, the buzzy fintech shared exclusively with TC that it had raised an additional $14 million to grow its “wallet as a service” business. We were impressed by the fact that 95.6% of investors in the Series A round were women and by the attractiveness of the company. to know more Here.
Flipping houses is not for the faint of heart, no matter how fun or easy HGTV may seem. One startup wants to make the process less complicated by offering a different way to borrow money to finance such a purchase. Backward jump offers a service to real estate investors to secure short-term loans. In addition to helping users obtain financing, Backflip’s technology also helps investors source, track, compile and evaluate potential investments. Think of it as a cross between Zillow and Shopify. Stop raised 15 million dollars.
What else are we writing
Hans Tung, managing partner of Remarkable capital, formerly GGV Capital, reflects a lot on the current state of venture capital. We recently brought it to TechCrunch Equity podcast to discuss valuations, why founders need to play the long game, and why some venture capital firms are struggling more than others. We also delved into why he’s still bullish on fintech and which sectors of the fintech space particularly excite him. Watch excerpts from interviews and the actual podcast here.
Titles of great interest
The inside story of Chime, America’s largest digital bank
Marqeta expands partnership with Uber Eats
Nayax acquires VMtecnologia, expands into Latin America
Federal prosecutors are examining financial transactions at Block, owner of Cash App and Square
RIA custodian Altruist was valued at over $1.5 billion in its latest funding round
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