The Weekly Wrap: all you need to know by Friday COB | April 4th

By Puja Sharma

The Weekly Wrap is published every Friday and recaps the week’s main stories and deals, as well as upcoming events and announcements for Prime subscribers only.

The Big Story

Plaid, the FinTech company that enables connections between bank accounts and financial applications, has sold approximately $575 million worth of common stock at a post-money valuation of $6.1 billion, according to media reports.

This represents a significant decline from its previous $13.4 billion valuation in April 2021, when it raised $425 million in a Series D round led by Altimeter Capital. A company spokesperson attributed the drop to a broader market correction, noting that it reflects the overall contraction in valuation multiples due to higher interest rates, which have impacted many startups that raised funds during the 2021 boom.

Despite the reduced valuation, Plaid is still valued about 15% higher than the $5.3 billion Visa was set to pay in a now-abandoned acquisition deal that was called off in January 2021 over regulatory concerns.

Deals of the week

• TBC Uzbekistan secures $20m from BlueOrchard to expand SME lending
• NymCard secures $33m to expand embedded finance in MENA
• Ayan Capital gets £25m boost for shariah-compliant car financing
• Nayla Finance raises $4m to expand micro-business lending
• Affirm joins J.P. Morgan Payments to expand pay-over-time options
• Backbase and Salt Edge partner to accelerate open banking compliance
• myPOS acquires UK-based UTP Group
• FinTech Scapia lands $40m in Series B led by Peak XV Partners
• Axis Bank and J.P. Morgan launch 24/7 Blockchain-powered dollar payments

Be on the lookout for

The World FinTech Summit 2025 is slated to take place in Bengaluru, India, serving as a premier platform for dialogue and collaboration within the global FinTech ecosystem. The event is scheduled for May 5–6, 2025, at the Sheraton Grand Bangalore Hotel at Brigade Gateway.

Spread across two days, the summit will bring together a diverse mix of stakeholders, including financial institutions, technology leaders, startups, investors, and innovators. Although the exact date is yet to be announced, the event promises to foster conversations around key challenges, emerging opportunities, and strategic partnerships that are critical to the future of financial services.

With a robust lineup of over 150 influential speakers from the BFSI and FinTech sectors, alongside 30+ policymakers and regulators and 50+ solution providers, the summit is positioned as a catalyst for shaping financial innovation on a global scale. Attendees can expect deep dives into transformative technologies, regulatory trends, and next-gen financial solutions that aim to redefine the way money moves, is managed, and is accessed worldwide.