Payments
PayPal isn't going to make anyone's list of Hottest Fintech Companies but this 'Original FinTech' has been on a tear over the last year. The company has added 72m users, partnered with merchants like Nike, and almost tripled its market cap. Now Schulman and team have their sights set on building the ever-elusive ‘super app'. That’s not a good idea.
Read MoreAnt Group was on track to be the largest IPO in history. Then, Jack Ma poked the Dragon, setting off a chain of events that derailed the runaway money train and halted the IPO. At first glance, the story fits a common narrative. But what if Jack Ma wanted to halt the IPO?
Read MoreDon’t let Ant Group’s name fool you, it is anything but small. The centacorn formerly known as Ant Financial finally filed to go public, jointly listing in both Shanghai and Hong Kong, and sharing more details on the business. Founded in 2004 as an offshoot of Alibaba, the far-reaching behemoth has come to dominate the payment and financial services markets over the last 15 years. The scale and scope of the company make it far more than ‘just another wallet’.
Read MoreA financial powerhouse was born as Fiserv agreed to buy First Data for $22 billion in an all stock deal. The news comes as a surprise for many in an industry that doesn’t see transactions of this size very often. The combined company (which will go by Fiserv in a tragic waste of an opportunity to rebrand) forges a mammoth technology vendor attempting to prove that despite all the noise around young tech companies like Square and Stripe, old dogs can also learn new tricks. The big question is whether it is too little too late.
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