Hello Fintech Friends,

Today’s newsletter is brought to you by Persona, fighting AI-powered fraud for fintechs.

Is Stripe becoming a bank? The payment processor has been selling its banking-as-a-service offering for a few years, letting customers embed out-of-the-box financial services. With a banking license, Stripe may be able to not only directly access payment card networks and process payments without a BIN sponsor, but also offer more true banking services both to customers and their users.

Elsewhere, the SEC late last night published its guidance on stablecoins. I broke down a few notes of interest on Twitter (the US regulatory outlook is a big topic for Stablecon).

Lastly, we got to help break Plaid's fundraise news this week, which was fun. Check out Maria Najjar's overview of the financial data platform's $575 million raise:

Plaid raises $575M at a $6.1B valuation as it tracks toward IPO

Twelve years ago, Plaid set out to bring financial services into the digital age at a time when most interactions still required physical presence, creating barriers for millions who needed better access. The company believed that by building the right infrastructure, it could bridge that gap and offer a seamless,

This Week in FintechMaria Najjar

Please find another week of fintech financing events below.

(👍👎 Have feedback for us? Let us know. Find me at @nikmilanovic, @twifintech, and @ndm)

GenAI fraud attacks are up 50x over the last few years. Successful attacks can cost your fintech millions. Quickly get up to speed on GenAI fraud with Persona's free expert-led course.

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📊 Stat of the Week

Phone call fraud and 'voice phishing' are up 79% in 2025. (Source)

This article may be premature based on the broader shape of the economy and impact of tariffs, but Pitchbook this week published good data on the fintech funding market:

• Median pre-money valuations for all venture-backed fintech companies jumped 94.4% year-over-year.
• The number of VC-backed fintech exits ticked up 5.3%.
• Venture investment into digital banks last year almost tripled, from $1.07 billion in 2023 to $2.92 billion in 2024.

We'll see what happens, with many announced fintech IPOs now on-hold.

💸 Venture Financing

• ​Plaid completed a $575 million secondary sale at a $6.1 billion valuation; a decrease from its 2021 valuation but increase from secondary trading.
• ​Zepz, a cross-border payment provider, secured $165 million in growth financing, led by HSBC.
• ​Felix Pago, a Latin American remittances startup, raised $75 million in a Series B funding round.
• ​Flagright, an AI compliance platform, raised $43 million to enhance its services.​
• ​Thatch raised a$40 million Series B to provide employees with more control over their health insurance payment choices.​
• ​YAP, a Dubai-based digital banking platform, secured $41 million to support its regional expansion plans in Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Ghana, and Egypt.
• ​Weefin raised €25 million to expand its sustainability-focused fintech solutions across Europe.​
• ​Turbine raised $22 million to assist venture capital investors in obtaining liquidity without selling their stakes.​
• ​Djamo, a digital banking startup operating in Francophone West Africa, raised $17 million and reported having 1 million users.
• ​Codex, a blockchain specifically built for stablecoins, completed a seed funding round of $15.8 million.
• ​Roam, an assumable mortgage platform, raised $11.5 million in seed funding.
• ​RapidClaims, a revenue cycle and claims management company for healthcare providers, raised an $11 million Series A to reduce claim denials.
• Atomic, which works with 8 of the top 10 financial institutions to deliver solutions around payroll connectivity, raised $10 million.
• ​Incentify, an AI startup that helps companies find and use tax credits and incentives, raised $9.5 million in a Series A funding round.
• Charm, an AI-powered security platform that protects banks and their customers from scams, raised an $8 million seed round.
• ​Fuse, a Dubai-based cross-border payments API, raised $6.6 million to provide virtual International Bank Account Numbers (IBANs) in the MENA region.
• ​GRACE, a Franco-Swiss financer specializing in luxury item protection, secured €5.9 million in a seed round.
• Youlify, which builds automation tools for health-care revenue cycle management, raised $4.3 million.
• Accounting firm Frazier & Deeter received a strategic investment from General Atlantic.

💵 Debt Financing

• Shariah-compliant British used car financer Ayan Capital raised £25 million in Shariah debt.

GenAI fraud attacks are up 50x over the last few years. Successful attacks can cost your fintech millions. Quickly get up to speed on GenAI fraud with Persona's free expert-led course.

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