3 of the top performing companies in the US in 2021

By Edlyn Cardoza

FinTech is a term when two words “finance” and “technology” are merged. The word FinTech applies to any type of business which uses technological tools or equipments to enhance their financial services, or processes. The current rise of AI, the emergence of cryptocurrency and blockchain, etc is revamping the FinTech ecosystem. Financial Institutions like banks are also opting for AI-powered services to better their customer services. But financial instituitions like banks, aren’t the only sector who have made tech-driven changes. Entire markets — from digital loans and mobile stock services to e-commerce payment platforms and digital currency exchanges — are rooted in digital financial access.

Currently, the FinTech industry is thriving, and is everyday watched by everyone, specifically investors. Just in the first quarter of 2021, US FinTechs raised around $13.4 billion, according to CB Insights. U.S. FinTechs valuations are jumping. More than double than last year’s average, this year $19.5 billion is the average valuation of the 11 US FinTechs that are still-private.

Below, the article reveals 2021’s top 3 US FinTech players in the market.

Chime – $14.5 billion

Headquartered in San Francisco, and known as USA’S largest digital quasi bank, Chime, is founded by a Visa alum, CEO Chris Britt, whose net worth is $1.3 billion, and CTO Ryan King.

Chime offers a zero-fee checking accounts, an overdraft protection, and a debit card. Last year, Chime offered early access to federal stimulus checks, on the launch of their starter credit card. Hence, their annual revenue this year crossed over $600 million. With several such tactics, Chime has been able to draw around 3.3 million users, or otherwise put, 5 million clients.

Plaid – $13.4 billion

Plaid was founded by former junior consultants at Bain, CEO Zach Perret, and former CTO William Hockey. They founded Plaid in 2012, and are billionaires with $1.5 billion and $1.3 billion, respectively.

Plaid allows other FinTechs like Coinbase, Robinhood, and Venmo, to connect to their customers’ bank accounts. Plaid nearly doubled customer count to 4,500 last year. Acquisition by Visa worth $5.3 billion fell through in January 2020.

Stripe – $95 billion

An Irish-American financial service and SaaS company, Stripe was founded by CEO Patrick Collison, and president John Collison. The two brothers have a total net worth of $19 billion.

The company was founded in 2011. Stripe helps process online payments for all sorts of businesses, right from start-ups to large firms, including tech giants like Zoom and Microsoft. Stripe’s valuation jumped from $35 billion last year, to $95 billion this year. It still remains the most valuable FinTech in the U.S. and one of these days, it may choose to go public.