Imprint Hits $1.2B Unicorn Valuation After Khosla-Led $150M Round
Hey FinTech Fanatic!
Imprint Payments just reached a $1.2B valuation in a new funding round led by Khosla Ventures.
The deal brings in $150M, only months after its previous raise. Imprint helps brands launch co-branded credit cards without relying on big banks.
What stands out is how the company is embedding financial products directly into partner apps. The goal is simple: better experience, higher loyalty, and less friction.
AI is doing much of the heavy lifting. Imprint is using automation to expand into debit cards and flexible financing, while competing more aggressively with large incumbents.
Imprint CEO Daragh Murphy says the model is scaling fast. Revenue is up nearly 300% year over year, while headcount grew less than 20%.
The company is positioning itself as a full loyalty and payments layer for retailers. Credit today. Debit and flexible financing next. A clear attempt to own more of the customer relationship as spending shifts back toward brands, not banks.
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#FINTECHREPORT
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PODCAST RECOMMENDATION
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The Behaviour and Culture Behind Wealth Management by DashDevs
FINTECH NEWS
🇪🇺 Nuvei receives license under EU MiCAR. The MiCAR license enables Nuvei to provide regulated crypto-asset services across the European Union and passport those services across EU member states under a single regulatory regime.
🇺🇸 SoFi launches fully reserved stablecoin to power financial infrastructure. SoFiUSD will enable SoFi to serve as a stablecoin infrastructure provider for banks, FinTechs, and enterprise platforms. They will be able to leverage SoFi’s bank-grade infrastructure to streamline their operations with faster and more efficient money movement.
🇺🇸 Avant’s data-driven platform surpasses 2 million customers. Avant’s comprehensive platform of purpose-built digital solutions, including access to personal loans, credit cards, and personal financial management tools, is designed to support customers throughout their financial journey.
🇮🇪 UAE-based Qashio launches European HQ in Dublin, accelerating its global growth strategy. Qashio, a prominent fintech company, is planning to hire more than 100 team members for the new hub, operating in sales, marketing, product, engineering, and finance.
PAYMENTS NEWS
🇩🇪 Wero unveils its e-commerce solution and announces its first merchants in Germany. The e-commerce solution is being rolled out through Sparkassen and Volksbanken/Raiffeisenbanken. Designed to offer an alternative to international payment solutions, Wero provides Europeans with a secure and seamless way to pay online.
🇦🇿 Mastercard launches WhatsApp chatbot in Azerbaijan. This expansion represents a new step in Mastercard’s strategy to connect with consumers through the platforms they use most, ensuring that valuable information about cardholder benefits is always at their fingertips.
🇮🇳 Paytm Payments Services secures RBI approval for offline and cross-border payment aggregation. This expanded authorization positions PPSL as a comprehensive payment aggregation provider across key segments, enhancing its service offering for merchants and contributing to a seamless, end-to-end payment experience.
🇧🇷 Juspay integrates Visa Click to Pay in Brazil, offering consumers a fast, secure, and hassle-free shopping experience. This collaboration focuses on solving two of the biggest challenges in e-commerce in the country: high cart abandonment rates due to checkout complexity and the need for robust transaction security.
🇪🇺 Czech FinTech Confirmo secures EU crypto licence through the Central Bank. The approval means that Confirmo is now fully compliant with Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA), the EU’s first unified regulatory regime for crypto assets.
🇺🇸 PayPal takes the lead in ‘Anti-Bank’ small business lending. With PayPal applying to establish PayPal Bank to expand and speed up lending after already providing $30 billion to over 420,000 businesses, and AI-driven lender Slope launching Amazon seller financing backed by JPMorgan Chase. Additionally, PayPal CEO Alex Chriss says stablecoins will be key as his company navigates the classic innovator’s dilemma. “If you were to build the payments ecosystem from scratch today, it wouldn’t look like the way it does today,” said Chris.
FINTECH RUNNING CLUB
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DIGITAL BANKING NEWS
🇪🇸 Revolut will open new offices in Madrid and Barcelona and plans to hire 800 people by 2028. The London-based company has chosen two iconic avenues in both cities, Diagonal and Paseo de la Castellana, to locate its centers. Both will display the Revolut logo on their facades, something for which it had to negotiate with the Barcelona City Council.
🇵🇭 Maya offers travel protection starting at P99 with a new in-app feature. To help travelers stay prepared, all-in-one digital bank Maya has teamed up with M Pioneer Insurance to bring SafeTrip directly into the Maya app. The new in-app offering gives Filipinos instant access to travel protection that’s flexible, affordable, and designed for real-life travel scenarios.
🇦🇪 Digital Bank Zand secures dual international security certifications. Zand said the certifications apply to its digital and Web3 service offerings, including digital asset custody, smart contract management, and infrastructure designed to bridge traditional financial services with decentralised finance systems.
🇹🇿 Coop Bank unveils CooPesa to mark a new era of digital banking. The launch of the CooPesa represents Coop Bank´s commitment to delivering secure, convenient, and accessible banking services tailored to the evolving needs of its members. The platform enables customers to access a wide range of banking services anytime, anywhere, directly from their mobile devices.
BLOCKCHAIN/CRYPTO NEWS
🇺🇸 Coinbase has launched a broad suite of new products aimed at becoming an Everything Exchange, including the rollout of stock trading and prediction markets, simpler access to futures and perpetuals, instant trading of new Solana assets, and primary token sales.
PARTNERSHIPS
🇺🇸 Interchecks and Mastercard partner to advance account-to-account payments through Open Finance. Through this partnership, Interchecks will leverage Mastercard's Open Finance verification tools and network reach to expand the accessibility of Pay by Bank across new markets and use cases.
🇺🇸 Kraken taps Alpaca for xStocks after backed finance acquisition. This agreement allows the API brokerage platform to integrate xStocks more deeply within its brokerage-as-a-service offering. The collaboration aims to streamline how digital and traditional markets connect, promising institutions faster and more transparent access to tokenized assets outside the United States.
🇺🇸 Circle and LianLian Global announce collaboration to explore next-generation cross-border payments. The collaboration will center on opportunities to strengthen global commerce through more efficient, transparent, and inclusive payment solutions.
🇺🇸 Akamai and Visa collaborate to build trust in agentic commerce. Through its integration of Visa’s Trusted Agent Protocol with Akamai’s edge-based behavioral intelligence, user recognition, and bot and abuse protection, the companies will deliver the identity, authentication, and fraud controls required to let merchants confidently welcome AI agents with commerce intent into their digital storefronts.
🇬🇧 Equals Money | Railsr partners with Okta to secure AI-driven payments. By leveraging Okta, Equals can distinguish between normal activity and unusual patterns, providing visibility and guardrails without slowing innovation. Read more
🇧🇷 Bitpanda Technology Solutions partners with Banco BS2. The partnership framework enables the exploration of additional infrastructure components, such as custody technology and tokenization capabilities, subject to regulatory requirements and Banco BS2’s customer-facing oversight.
🇨🇱 Mercado Pago will offer bank transfers at checkout following its alliance with Fintoc. This allows users to pay directly from their bank accounts without leaving the checkout process, expanding the available payment options. Continue reading
🇺🇸 Intuit (INTU) partners with Circle to enhance FinTech with stablecoins. This collaboration aims to enhance Intuit's financial technology services by integrating Circle’s stablecoin infrastructure into its platform. The partnership is expected to boost the efficiency and speed of financial transactions using USDC.
🇺🇸 Blackstone holds early talks with Revolut on wealth partnership. The discussions are at an early stage, and there’s no certainty that an agreement will ultimately be reached. Keep reading
DONEDEAL FUNDING NEWS
🇺🇸 Khosla-led deal propels FinTech Imprint to $1.2 billion valuation. Imprint plans to use the funding to expand into debit cards and flexible financing options, and to invest in more artificial intelligence tools. The startup also plans to invest in more artificial intelligence tools.
🇺🇸 Kontigo raised a $20M seed round. The platform aims to serve both individuals and businesses worldwide without traditional banking licenses, leveraging always-on, low-cost, permissionless blockchain systems to deliver global finance with minimal operational overhead.
🇬🇧 ANNA Money secures £10m injection ahead of UK tax policy shift. The new funding has been secured in preparation for a significant shift in the tax requirements of the self-employed, which mandates the use of digital software to record and report income and expenses to HMRC.
M&A
🇺🇸 Fiserv completes StoneCastle acquisition. By integrating StoneCastle’s institutional deposit network with the Fiserv ecosystem, Fiserv is creating a differentiated offering that helps financial institutions optimize liquidity and strengthen balance sheets, and merchants expand their investment alternatives.
🇮🇹 Nexi rejects TPG’s €1 billion bid for digital banking unit. Nexi’s board decided it won’t proceed with the sale after “careful consideration” of the offer, according to a statement. Continue reading
MOVERS AND SHAKERS
🇺🇸 Acting CFTC Chair Caroline Pham to join crypto payments firm MoonPay. “MoonPay has really matured,” said MoonPay’s president, Keith Grossman, “and Caroline is the exact type of leader with the exact type of big bank and regulatory experience that’s needed for us to be able to move to the next level.”
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