Check out These 8 Fintech Companies You Should Be Following
The fintech industry has picked up an incredible amount of momentum in the past few years. Within the first quarter of 2021 alone, the industry raised more than $13 billion in investment funding. Moreover, some fintech companies undergoing IPOs have enormous valuations. Robinhood, for example, has a valuation approaching $40 billion. Moving forward, this momentum will likely increase with the millennial generation driving the digitization of banking processes and forcing the development of new technologies. Generation Z will likely continue this pressure given its intimate relationship with technology.
Investors and entrepreneurs alike are paying close attention to the fintech space to look for the next piece of disruptive technology. Some of the companies attracting the most attention in 2021 include the following:
1. Remitly
Sending money across international borders can still prove quite difficult and involve an overwhelming number of fees. Remitly hopes to change this with a simple and intuitive platform that makes it easy to send and receive money overseas. The app supports several different currencies and allows users to receive immediate payments. In addition, users can opt for cash pickup, home delivery, or bank deposit depending on the circumstances. The fees involved are low and the exchange rates are reasonable. In addition, Remitly integrates with Passbook, a banking app designed specifically to support immigrant populations.
2. Riskified
While e-commerce has become essential during the pandemic, threats to online shopping have also increased. Riskified is a platform that e-commerce websites can use to separate legitimate purchases from cases of fraud. The platform uses artificial intelligence to pick up on red flags during the shopping process. In addition, Riskified has tools that websites can use to convert shoppers into sales, such as dynamic checkouts, chargeback guarantees, and alternative payment processing. Using this platform helps build stronger customer relationships and instill greater confidence in shoppers while reducing rates of fraud.
3. Coinbase
Based in San Francisco, Coinbase appeals to people who want to buy and sell digital currency as well as simply manage a digital wallet. Through Coinbase, users gain easy access to all digital assets from a central location. Moreover, the app already serves more than 30 countries and has facilitated the exchange of more than $150 billion in digital currency such as Bitcoin, Litecoin, and Ethereum. With digital currencies continuing to grow in popularity, more people will be looking for affordable and easy ways of managing this money.
4. Forward Financing
Small businesses often struggle to gain access to the working capital they need to grow. Recognizing this problem, Forward Financing engineered a proprietary platform for facilitating access to money. Using this platform, small business owners can gain access to capital in as little as a day. Already, the company has provided more than $500 million in financing to more than 10,000 growing businesses. Such a platform may become even more important as businesses recover from the pandemic or address new holes in the market caused by recent closures.
5. Personal Capital
People today often have their money spread across several different platforms, from traditional banks to investment brokerages. Keeping track of all these accounts can be challenging. Personal Capital offers a unique solution. Through the platform, users can manage their accounts centrally. Moreover, Personal Capital provides important insights into financial health, such as a calculation of net worth, reviews of recent transactions, and spending breakdowns according to account. In addition, users can easily access financial advisors through the product.
6. Suplari
Using machine learning technology, Suplari allows clients, including corporations, to manage costs more effectively. The technology was designed for use by finance, operations, and procurement departments.
The platform analyzes spending trends to provide reports on where money is going and offer insights on how it could be used more efficiently moving forward. In addition, Suplari can help these departments meet savings goals. Already, major companies including Nordstrom, Spending Tree, and Wayfair are making use of the Suplari platform to cut down on their operating costs.
7. SoFi
Most people associate SoFi with loan refinancing. The company’s algorithm accounts for income, credit history, and current rates to assess the likelihood of loan repayment. The platform also looks at education, career advancement, and estimated cash flow to determine the best options for users. Through the company, users can also access career services, financial advising, and unemployment protection for free. SoFi is emerging as one of the top options for managing loans and repaying them without sacrificing personal financial wellbeing.
8. Digit
Many startups are trying to streamline the process of investing and saving. Digit has its own unique approach to this quandary. The company’s app moves small amounts of money into various accounts users create. Users can make specific accounts for everything from retirement investments to saving for a vacation.
Digit uses machine learning to make the small movements in a way that will never leave users without enough money to meet their needs. The program considers upcoming bills, current balances, and personal goals to make saving and investing as mindless as possible while also minimizing risk.
