Stripe, a U.S. fintech startup, has said it has raised $600 million as companies that are providing financial and payment services via online are witnessing a surge in these times due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“The pandemic is accelerating the trend as more customers look to pay without contact and use banking services without stepping into branches,” venture capitalists say. They do not expect that to change even after the virus is under control. “This is a one-way street,” said QED Investors founder Nigel Morris.
Stripe, whose products let companies receive online payments and bill customers, raised $250 million in a Series G round in September. The latest is an extension of that round and the company is now valued at $36 billion, it said.
In late March, Fast, a one-click check-out tech company started late last year, raised $20 million in a funding round led by Stripe. Finix, which helps software companies and online platforms add payment options, also raised $35 million in February and an additional $10 million again in March.
“For the people that have a strong balance sheet and many years of runway, this is a huge opportunity,” said Mark Goldberg, partner at Index Ventures, which invested in Fast. He has told the company to “go hire amazing people.”
Despite some of the high-profile investment deals in fintech infrastructure, Goldberg says the coronavirus pandemic-induced recession will result in a “healthy pruning” of companies in fintech.
“For us to invest in something, it’s going to have to be really special,” said QED’s Morris. “But there are really special things out there.”
Stripe was founded in 2010 by founders John Collison and Patrick Collison. Stripe combines economic infrastructure with a set of applications for new business models like crowdfunding and marketplaces, fraud prevention, analytics, and more. As the world’s fastest-advancing developer platform, Stripe navigates global regulatory uncertainty and partners closely with internet leaders like Apple, Google, Alipay, Tencent, Facebook, Twitter to launch new capabilities.
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