Chime Discusses $11 Billion Valuation in IPO
Weekly news up to Monday, 2nd of June 2025
👀 NEWS HIGHLIGHT
Financial institutions are offering new options to traditional passwords to enhance security and sign-in experiences and clients are opting in. The global cost of fraud and cybercrime is projected to reach $10.5 trillion in 2025, according to a report by the World Economic Forum and data from research firm Cybersecurity Ventures.
NOW, ON TO THE SUMMARY OF LAST WEEK'S NEWS
🔦 DIGITAL BANKING HIGHLIGHTS
⭐️ Know your Rails Ingo Payments.
⭐️ Chime Discusses $11 Billion Valuation in IPO.
⭐️ KOHO Diversifies Product Lineup with Launch of International Money Transfers.
⭐️ Tietoevry Banking, Lokalbank to launch banking platform in Norway.
🌎 REGIONAL HIGHLIGHTS
UK 🇬🇧
Monzo builds investor relations team as it eyes IPO. Monzo is building out an investor relations team, a key function for listed companies, in the latest sign that the FinTech is preparing for a highly anticipated initial public offering (IPO). Read more
Starling reports strong revenue and invests in growth. Revenue increased to £714 million, while customer deposits rose to a record £12.1 billion. The number of open accounts reached 4.6 million, reflecting continued customer acquisition. Despite a drop in profit before tax to £223 million due to one-off legacy costs, underlying profit stood at £281 million.
UK FinTech Yonder is launching a rewards debit card. With this launch, Yonder aims to bridge the gap between convenience and value, giving users the ability to spend confidently while enjoying meaningful perks, without the need for credit.
Griffin begins building of agentic bank. Griffin is opening up access to a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server, providing a way for AI agents to autonomously perform tasks on behalf of customers. Keep reading
Lloyds team up with Lumio to help couples better manage their finances. Lumio’s cutting-edge app allows couples or other people who manage a household budget together to manage their finances in a shared space, track and automatically split shared expenses, and save together towards common financial goals.
EUROPE 🇪🇺
Neobank bunq adds Bizum to its Spanish customers. Users with a Spanish IBAN can send or receive money through the app, a service that will be available for bunq Core, bunq Pro, and bunq Elite individual plans. The plan is to facilitate payments for merchants once they complete the integration of Bizum.
Garanti BBVA Crypto unveils new mobile app with advanced features. Users can now easily buy and sell crypto assets in both TRY and USD trading pairs. Furthermore, users can create personalized lists of favorite coins, making it easier to monitor preferred assets.
Garanti BBVA Romania enables 24/7 instant payments with Allevo. The Instant Payments service facilitates near-instant fund transfers between participating institutions, with transaction limits set at 10,000 RON per payment and up to 49,999.99 RON for collections. Payments are processed within seconds.
Santander weighs crypto push with early-stage stablecoin plans. Santander's online banking unit, Openbank, has applied for licenses to offer retail crypto services under the European Union’s new regulatory regime, and may launch crypto services as soon as this year, pending regulatory approvals.
USA 🇺🇸
US-based FinTech Firm Purpleplum eyes global expansion and capital raise. With a modular, AI-enabled digital banking stack, Purpleplum plans to deepen its international footprint while preparing for a capital raise aimed at speeding up product development and expanding its local teams and partner ecosystem.
Revolut seeks acquisitions after record profit. The British banking firm is looking to beef up its deals team and make acquisitions for its next phase of growth after the FinTech reported a record annual profit. Keep reading
Revolut to relaunch cryptocurrency services in the U.S. The relaunch highlights Revolut’s strategic focus on expanding its presence in the burgeoning decentralized finance (DeFi) sector, reflecting a broader industry trend toward integrated financial ecosystems.
Toss sets up ESG unit in move toward U.S. IPO. The company has established a new role dedicated to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) initiatives and plans to publish a sustainability report. Market observers interpret the move as a step aimed at attracting foreign investors.
Plaid expands business banking data coverage in the US market. The company has launched Transactions for Business, a data processing solution designed to help FinTech companies build financial management tools for small businesses.
The Chime IPO: What Investors Should Know About Its $31 a Share Private Market Valuation and More. In this article, Luisa Beltran breaks down what investors should know about Chime’s upcoming IPO. Access the full article here
LATAM
Nubank launches price alert on airline tickets for high-income customers. Users will receive push and email notifications about price changes, and if the ticket drops in price within a month of purchase, they’ll automatically get a refund of up to R$500.
Mercado Pago will apply for a Banking license in Argentina, aiming to become the largest digital bank in Latin America. The banking license will allow Mercado Pago to continue improving its services, create more investment tools, and develop new lines of credit within its 100% digital model.
Mercado Libre launches new episode of CFO perspectives, featuring Martin de los Santos reflecting on Q1’2025 highlights. The company reported impressive growth metrics, with buyer count increasing 25% YoY to 67 million in Q1. The FinTech segment showed strong performance with Monthly Active Users growing 31% YoY to 64 million, marking the sixth consecutive quarter of over 30% growth.
ASIA
MyTu integrates Apple Pay. With this integration, customers simply hold their iPhone or Apple Watch near a payment terminal to make a contactless payment. The updated myTU app supports instant issuance of virtual cards, allowing users to begin spending within minutes, without the need to wait for physical cards.
Emirates NBD taps iPiD for confirmation of payee. The collaboration will enable Emirates NBD to provide real-time beneficiary validation for cross-border payments. With this solution, customers can verify payee names, IBANs, and account numbers in real time, before a payment is made.
Mashreq to offer Aani Instant Payments for SMEs. The new service aims to allow Mashreq’s SME customers to generate a link or QR code through the Mashreq Biz app, which can then be shared with their customers to enable the collection of payments faster without any bank details to be provided.
FinTech Unicorn Moneyview renames parent company ahead of IPO. It has officially renamed its parent company from Whizdm Innovations Private to Moneyview Private Limited. The rebranding aligns with its preparations for an IPO, where it plans to raise around $400 million, primarily through a fresh share issuance.