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Hello Fintech Friends,

Well – you can say a lot about fintech but you can't say it's boring! This week, one-click checkout startup Bolt, which has been the subject of serial lawsuits from its customers and investors, gave shareholders around 2 days to approve a pay-to-play ultimatum. Either join a new $450 million round of funding valuing the company at $14 billion – which, if you believe their 2021 revenue numbers of $30 million and their forecasted 2024 revenue of $28 million, would be a 500x multiple – or get bought out at $0.01 per share.

The company operated at a $100 million loss in 2023. Its founder, who stepped down in 2022 under fire for allegedly misleading investors, would return as part of the new fundraise.

And those are not even the weirdest details. Nobody is exactly sure who the investors are in the round. The Information reported that Silverbear Capital and a new fund called The London Fund would 'lead' the round, until it emerged that the former was only acting as a facilitator, while the latter would contribute $250 million in marketing credits. The head of Silverbear claims never to have spoken with Bolt. Several shareholders are now boycotting the round and considering legal action.

Maybe the best summary of the situation comes from Axios: "I've never seen anything like this," said one of Bolt's larger venture backers, who added that he's not convinced that the new money is legit.

It should be an interesting week!

Please enjoy another week of fintech and banking news below. (👍👎 Have feedback for us? Let us know!)

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🤝 Event of the Week

M2020 Fintech Founder’s Dinner with Wilson Sonsini and Foundation Capital · Luma

Who: Series A Fintech Founders What: Founders Private Dinner during Las Vegas Money2020 Conference Where: Mercato Della Pescheria, 3377 S Las Vegas Blvd Suite…

This Week in Fintech

💼 Fintech Job of the Week

Modern Life is looking for an amazing Strategic Growth Director and Sr Software Engineer to join their team of 35.

Modern Life's integrated tech platform and AI-driven solutions transforms the purchase experience for life insurance - a $165B market and one of the most complex and challenging financial products to buy and sell.

Share your job with 2,000+ fintech people in our Slack #hiring-and-jobs channel.

💬 Quote of the Week

🏦 Financial Services & Banking

🚀 Product Launches

Switzerland's banks officially launched the country's instant payments system.

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority launched a generative AI sandbox for banks to experiment with how the tech might be used.

📰 Other News

What’s the deal with the FDIC’s proposed brokered deposits rules?

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) recently proposed significant changes to the rules governing “brokered deposits” at US banks. Specifically, the proposal would change the definition of “brokered deposits,” making it difficult to come up with a succinct legal definition. So a functional definition will have to do: The brokered

This Week in FintechJonah Crane

The UK's Payment Systems Regulator is setting out next steps to introduce variable recurring payments in the country.

Mastercard plans to cut about 3% of its global workforce (1,000 people) in a re-org.

💻 Fintech

🚀 Product Launches

Metamask began the rollout of its blockchain-based debit card, built in partnership with Baanx and Mastercard, to let users debit directly from their crypto wallets.

PayPal is on a release tear: it integrated with payroll provider UKG to provide an early wage access product and partnered with European payments giant Adyen to distribute its Fastlane product which enables payments without passwords.

Latin American e-commerce giant Mercado Libre launched its own stablecoin with Ripio to enable customers to hold their funds and pay for good while avoiding currency volatility fluctuations.

Consumer investing platform Public launched a new bond investing feature to let users earn between 6% and 9% on corporate bonds.

401k software provider Carry launched new features including alternative investments, mega backdoor Roth, and payroll integrations.

Pipe launched an embedded capital-as-a-service tool for small businesses.

Canadian neobank Neo launched a cashback checking account.

Personal financial automation platform Candle launched an integration to manage Apple's financial products on the app.

British socially-responsible fintech Science Card launched an e-money account to support scientific projects across health, climate change and tech.

Fintilect, an alliance of three fintech companies owned by a family office, launched to provide banks with a suite of AI-driven customer engagement tools.

Imagine slashing FinOps manual labor for payouts and reconciliation by 70% across Latin America. With Radar, it's possible. Transform your financial operations with our cutting-edge suite, designed to optimize cash flow, streamline transactions, and enhance financial visibility. Check out Radar here.

Want to sponsor a newsletter? See our sponsorship information here.

📰 Other News

Dynasties in the Making: 15 Companies Cultivating Tomorrow’s Fintech Leaders

By Gilgamesh Ventures and the Wharton School of Business Everyone knows about the PayPal Mafia. Beyond changing how money moves, in the last two decades PayPal has propelled several cohorts of revolutionaries that have reshaped how finance works, including Elon Musk, Peter Thiel, Max Levchin, Reid Hoffman, and others. But

This Week in FintechAndrew Endicott

Brazil expanded its PIX instant payments system to Europe via partnership with Spain's Wipay.

Lending startup Upgrade doubled its annual run-rate revenue from $120 to $240 million.

🤝 Partnership Corner

Money movement provider TerraPay formed a 'Wallet Interoperability Council' with five payment operators to facilitate interoperability in cross-border transactions.

Real estate payments platform Bilt Rewards partnered with Valiant Residential, a portfolio of multifamily residential properties.

InCred Finance, an Indian lending-focused non-bank financial corporation, and Ola Money announced a partnership to provide personal loan services to Ola users directly through the Ola app.

👎 The Bad News

Received, which provides complex billing for B2B software companies, shut down.

Score, the dating app for people with good to excellent credit, quietly shut down.

Fintech partner bank Evolve reportedly paused processing wires over $3,000.

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