Latest news with #Plaid
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Will Plaid SPAC or IPO in 2025?
Key Points Visa planned to acquire Plaid in 2020, but the deal was abandoned after regulators expressed concerns. The fintech recently raised capital at a $6.1 billion valuation. Plaid's management has said that an IPO won't happen in 2025 but that it will at some point. These 10 stocks could mint the next wave of millionaires › There are several highly anticipated financial technology, or fintech, IPOs that are likely to occur within the next few years. One of them is financial data network operator Plaid, which connects financial institutions and applications, and was former a Visa (NYSE: V) acquisition target. Plaid securely connects financial institutions and applications. For example, when I wanted to link my checking account to make mortgage payments at a different bank, Plaid was the tool that was used to connect them. When I wanted to verify income deposits into my bank account for loan approval purposes, it was Plaid that made it possible. These are just a few examples, and there are many others, such as connecting with your bank account to set up secure, recurring payments. Plaid's traction has been impressive. Over half of all U.S. adults have used the platform, and from a business perspective, offering Plaid's seamless connectivity results in 25% higher sign-ups. The company makes its money primarily through volume-based subscription plans sold to business customers. At this time, we don't know Plaid's exact IPO timeline. But the company has made it clear that an IPO is in the future, so here's what investors should keep in mind and what we know so far. Plaid's failed merger and recent funding activity Plaid was founded in 2013 and has grown impressively, connecting with well over 11,000 financial institutions in the U.S. and elsewhere. In 2020, the company agreed to be acquired by Visa for $5.3 billion, but the deal ended up being cancelled because the Department of Justice sued to block it over antitrust concerns. More recently, Plaid raised $575 million in fresh capital in April of this year at a $6.1 billion valuation. This is less than half of its peak valuation in a 2021 funding round but is still more than the $5.3 billion Visa had been prepared to pay. And to be clear, it's very common for private tech companies to command lower valuations in today's market environment than in the 2021 zero-interest days. Will Plaid go public or SPAC in 2025? The recent fundraising round should take care of Plaid's near-term capital needs and makes an IPO in 2025 highly unlikely. At the time of the raise, a company spokesperson specifically said that Plaid won't go public in 2025. Of course, that isn't a guarantee that we won't see an IPO, and if the tech IPO market and valuations heat up, it's still entirely possible. It's also worth noting that Plaid doesn't necessarily need to use a traditional IPO to go public. Special-purpose acquisition companies, or SPACs, are making a comeback this year. Through the end of the second quarter, 71 of these blank-check companies have listed on the public markets in search of merger targets, more than in all of 2024, and this can be a desirable way to go public and raise lots of capital at the same time. Finally, just because management has said that an IPO won't happen this year doesn't mean something -- either a traditional IPO or SPAC merger -- won't be announced by the end of the year. The short version is that Plaid is likely to go public within the next few years, but the timeline remains uncertain -- for now. Don't miss this second chance at a potentially lucrative opportunity Ever feel like you missed the boat in buying the most successful stocks? Then you'll want to hear this. On rare occasions, our expert team of analysts issues a 'Double Down' stock recommendation for companies that they think are about to pop. If you're worried you've already missed your chance to invest, now is the best time to buy before it's too late. And the numbers speak for themselves: Nvidia: if you invested $1,000 when we doubled down in 2009, you'd have $442,907!* Apple: if you invested $1,000 when we doubled down in 2008, you'd have $40,654!* Netflix: if you invested $1,000 when we doubled down in 2004, you'd have $634,627!* Right now, we're issuing 'Double Down' alerts for three incredible companies, available when you join , and there may not be another chance like this anytime soon.*Stock Advisor returns as of July 21, 2025 Matt Frankel has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Visa. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Will Plaid SPAC or IPO in 2025? was originally published by The Motley Fool
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Crypto Industry Asks President Trump to Stop JPMorgan's 'Punitive Tax' on Data Access
Ten of the largest trade associations in fintech and crypto have called on President Donald Trump to intervene in what they say is a coordinated attack by big banks to stifle innovation and lock out competitors. In a letter sent on Wednesday, the groups, which include the Blockchain Association, and the Crypto Council for Innovation, warned that JPMorgan's plan to charge fees for access to consumer banking data threatens to de-bank millions of Americans and could cripple the adoption of stablecoins (USDC, USDT) and self-custody wallets. At the center of the fight is how Americans fund digital wallets and exchanges. Aggregators like Plaid and MX enable consumers to transfer funds from their bank accounts to platforms like Coinbase or Kraken. These connections rely on direct access to user-permissioned data. Until now, banks have allowed that access without charging fees. However, JPMorgan has begun informing aggregators that they'll need to pay for it—reportedly up to $300 million per year for Plaid alone which would amount to more than 75% of company's revenue. "Let us be clear: financial data belongs to the American people, not the banks," the letter reads. "By challenging open banking, the largest banks stand in direct opposition to your vision of making America the financial innovation capital of the world." The letter urges the White House to act before July 29, when the administration is due to file a legal brief in the court battle over the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's open banking rule. The CFPB's open banking rule, finalized in late 2024 as Rule 1033, requires banks to give consumers free access to their account data and allow them to share it with third-party services. The rule was meant to level the playing field between banks and fintechs. But banks sued to block it on the day it was finalized, and the CFPB has since asked the court to vacate the rule entirely. In a post on X, Kraken co-CEO Arjun Sethi called JPMorgan's move a 'calculated shift' that turns user-generated data into a toll, warning that the industry is witnessing a familiar pattern of centralization turning into control. 'There is a version of the future where every financial interaction is intermediated by systems that monitor, price, and gate access to your own data,' he wrote. 'Crypto presents an alternative. But that alternative is not guaranteed.' Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Business Insider
2 days ago
- Business
- Business Insider
Fintech engineering is growing. The job can come with high salaries and energizing work.
If you've sent money through an app or deposited a check with your phone, you've used fintech. Fintech, or financial technology, is a vast ecosystem of services and solutions, including payment systems, lending platforms, and cryptocurrencies, that is revolutionizing the way businesses operate and creating promising new career paths. Behind these innovations are fintech engineers who design, build, and maintain the software that powers many modern financial products. Though the role can require specialized education, it offers creative opportunities across finance and tech industries. It's also in high demand. The World Economic Forum's " Future of Jobs Report 2025" projected fintech engineers to be the second fastest-growing job over the next five years. Jimmie Lenz, the executive director of Duke University's Pratt School of Engineering's Master of Engineering in fintech program, has nearly thirty years of experience in the financial services industry and has witnessed firsthand the increasing demand for expertise in the field. "The driver behind everything new in finance over the past 30 years has been innovation," Lenz told Business Insider. He added that technological advances continually spur change in the financial world, keeping the role of a fintech engineer both compelling and essential. Stella Zhang, the engineering manager for applied AI and growth at Plaid, a fintech company that connects consumer bank accounts to financial apps, likes that her work is helping make people's financial lives frictionless and intuitive. "This field rewards those who can zoom out to see the big picture while zooming in to perfect the details," Zhang said. "If that kind of multi-scale thinking excites you, you'll thrive in fintech." Working at the cutting edge of finance Lenz said there was immediate demand when Duke's Master of Engineering in Fintech program launched in 2020, and interest has stayed consistent. "The very first year, we probably had eight or 10 applications for every one seat," he said. Fintech engineers are often proficient in various programming languages, blockchain technologies, machine learning, and artificial intelligence. Those interested in specializing in fintech can acquire relevant skills through various routes, including intensive, short-term boot camps and specialized degree programs. While undergraduate majors vary, Lenz said he sees many applicants with backgrounds in mathematics, finance, economics, and computer science. He said the opportunity to be in a rapidly evolving field is driving interest in fintech engineering. "Students definitely see their experience as getting to be at the very front wave of things," Lenz said. He said a talented fintech engineer is able to apply their programming and software engineering skills in a financial context, so it's important that his students leave with both technical and contextual information. Zhang found her way to Plaid after "an unconventional journey through finance and tech." She studied quantitative finance at Princeton University and researched computer science and AI at Stanford University. She went on to work at Goldman Sachs, an investment bank, Citadel, a hedge fund, and Ironclad, a software company. Zhang said she was drawn to Plaid because it connected all the dots in her career. "At Plaid, I can use my understanding of financial systems to build AI that serves developers and, ultimately, hundreds of millions of end-users," Zhang said. "Working on applied AI in fintech where accuracy, reliability, and security are paramount provides exactly the level of challenge and responsibility that energizes me every day." Lenz said his students have gone on to work in large technology companies, banks, entrepreneurial start-ups, and investment and brokerage firms. Glassdoor's salary estimate for fintech engineers ranges from $109,000 to $170,000 a year, but Lenz said that based on conversations with his former students, the range can sometimes stretch to $200,000. Curiosity is key to a fintech career Kathleen DeRose, the academic director of the Master of Science in Fintech program at New York University, said new advancements like artificial intelligence keep fintech evolving and exciting. The job prospects for fintech engineers "reflect the tech transformations underway," she said. The surge of multibillion-dollar companies in the fintech space also "suggests the prospects are really good," said DeRose. When DeRose speaks with hiring managers and recruiters, she's increasingly hearing a desired characteristic that goes beyond technical skills: curiosity. "You need to have the technical chops, but the ability to learn quickly and have the curiosity to do so is the adaptive power that's wanted," she said. Zhang recommended choosing to work with companies "that give you space to experiment and fail safely." Breakthrough innovations rarely come from prescribed roadmaps, and the best ideas can come from "what if" conversations over coffee, she said. "Most importantly, remember that fintech engineering is about people, not just systems," Zhang said. "Yes, you need to understand distributed systems and API design, but you also need empathy for the small-business owner trying to make payroll or the recent graduate navigating student loans." "The best solutions come from engineers who never forget there's a human on the other end of every product experience," she added.
Forbes
4 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
Why JPMorgan Is Hitting Fintechs With Stunning New Fees For Data Access
Under CEO Jamie Dimon, the bank's aggressive new fees are a big escalation in the ongoing battle between financial services incumbents and challenger fintechs. Getty Images J PMorgan Chase, the biggest bank in America, has been angry for years about being forced to hand over customer data to fintech companies for free. Now its billionaire CEO Jamie Dimon seems to be capitalizing on a moment of deregulation to slap fintechs with new fees, and the coming negotiations will determine how much damage the behemoth inflicts on their businesses. The bank's aggressive move is a big escalation in the ongoing battle between financial services incumbents and challenger fintechs. Since the start of the fintech industry, upstarts have needed access to consumers' bank data to perform basic functions like transferring money and making budgeting recommendations. Data aggregators like Plaid and MX emerged over a decade ago to fill that need. They make software that bridges bank-to-fintech connections and charge the fintechs for the service. Big banks, including JPMorgan Chase, have long given aggregators access to consumer data for free, complying with a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) rule that prohibited banks from charging for it. But in May, amid the Trump administration's crusade to vastly reduce regulation, the CFPB said it plans to repeal the rule. Now JPMorgan Chase is essentially telling aggregators: You've built a nice business off of our data–now give us our cut. The scary thing for fintechs is the size of the fees. Chase first sent pricing sheets to aggregators earlier this month. While details remain hazy, the prices are steepest for payments-related data transfers and would require leading aggregator Plaid to pay an estimated $300 million a year in new fees, according to a person briefed on the pricing sheet. That's more than 75% of Plaid's 2024 revenue. Bloomberg first reported the news of the coming fees. Have a story tip? Contact Jeff Kauflin at jkauflin@ or on Signal at jeff.273. Plaid's head of corporate affairs Freya Petersen and JPMorgan Chase spokesperson Drew Pusateri declined to comment on the size of the fees. Two fintech executives we spoke with for this article believe it's fair for JPMorgan Chase to charge something for data access. The data feed has cost the bank 'a lot of money' to set up and maintain securely, Jamie Dimon said last week. But the bank's real costs to create and operate the data connections remain a mystery, as does its method for coming up with the fees' eye-watering prices. If the fees don't come down, they could make popular features uneconomical for fintechs to offer and leave consumers worse off, fintech executives believe. Miranda Margowsky, a spokesperson for the fintech trade organization the Financial Technology Association, says Chase designed the fees 'to crush competition, levy a tax on fintech innovation, and cement their power in the marketplace.' JPMorgan Chase spokesperson Pusateri told us in a statement that the fees are a way to reign in the excessive number of times fintechs are pulling JPMorgan Chase's customers' data. 'We receive nearly two billion monthly requests for customer data from middlemen, and more than 90 percent of those are unrelated to a consumer using fintech services.' He added that the new fees 'will ensure that data is provided only when customers request it.' He also said Chase 'explicitly reserves the right to charge for data access in its current agreements with data aggregators.' Petersen said Plaid has invested heavily to build its data connections, and it provides data 'only at the behest of consumers.' She added that the data belongs to consumers, not banks. Sima Gandhi, a former fintech entrepreneur and early Plaid employee who's currently a senior advisor at regulatory consulting firm FS Vector, believes that Chase should instead develop a new data strategy that benefits consumers and passes fees on to them. For instance, Chase could create a premium feature and charge people, say, $1 a month for unlimited data sharing, in the same way that Apple charges for data storage. Chase has no plans to do that, Pusateri says. What will other big banks do if Chase's new charges take effect? They'll likely copy Dimon and tack on fees too, rather than sit back and watch their biggest competitor exert more control and create a new revenue line. PNC Bank CEO Bill Demchak has already said he's considering levying data-access fees as well. Now aggregators are praying that they can negotiate the fees down. It's possible that Chase is taking a President Trump-style approach to negotiating, starting high but being willing to go much lower. Allison Beer, the bank's CEO of Card Services and Connected Commerce, is leading the charge on the negotiations, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
McMurtry Spéirling: $1.1M EV Hits 60 MPH in 1.38 Seconds
McMurtry Spéirling: $1.1M EV Hits 60 MPH in 1.38 Seconds originally appeared on Autoblog. This Is Not Science Fiction Imagine an electric track car that blasts to 60 mph in 1.38 seconds, generates 2,000 kg of downforce at zero speed, and carries a $1.13 million price tag. That's the McMurtry Speirling. Every stab at the throttle plants you firmly in your seat like Maverick's Tomcat. Few machines on earth deliver this kind of visceral thrill — and the Speirling isn't just for pro drivers. Although, budget-friendly? Only if you consider a small South Pacific island budget-friendly. Performance and Drivability Insights The McMurtry Speirling detonates off the line, eclipsing top-tier EV hypercars. It rockets from 0–60 mph in 1.38 seconds, thanks to 1,000 hp and a 1,000 kg curb weight — an unrivaled power-to-weight ratio . By comparison, the Tesla Model S Plaid takes 2.0 seconds and weighs 4,766 lb. Steering feels razor-sharp. The rack-and-pinion setup relays every surface detail without twitchiness. Suspension grips aggressively through pitch and roll, then soaks up track bumps with race-car poise. Fan-powered downforce pushes cornering g-loads past 3Gs, yet transitions stay smooth and predictable. View the 3 images of this gallery on the original article Real-World Usability and Design Notes The Speirling's cabin serves a single driver. A carbon-fiber monocoque and closed cockpit offer motorsport-grade safety. You get an adjustable steering column and pedals — but no infotainment screen, just critical lap data. Expect a 60 kWh pack built around Taiwanese cell maker, Molicel. It uses Molicel's P50B cylindrical cells with, one of the first silicon-carbon anode EV batteries on the market that has every chance of being the next big thing. This Molicel pack recharges in 20 minutes at 600 kW and delivers roughly 25 minutes of full-tilt public roads, aggressive regen and the lightweight design yield about 50 MPGe. That 50 MPGe beats the fuel economy of mainstream hybrids like the 2025 Toyota Prius Eco at 56 mpg combined, or the 2025 Honda Insight at 52 mpg combined. Unlike these small hybrids, though, noise does climb past 120 dB when fans spin up, so ear protection earns its keep. Storage and comfort take a back seat to performance, and the $1.1 million sticker guarantees exclusivity. Silicon-Anode Battery Tech Using silicon anodes boosts energy density up to 40% over graphite and cuts charge times in half. There is even some industry talk of 90-second 0-100% EV charging. Molicel deploys US-made Group14's SCC55® material under license, pairing Taiwan's cell-assembly expertise with advanced silicon chemistry. Verdict: Daily Grind Meets Enthusiast Thrill The McMurtry Speirling feels like sprinting alongside supercars — but leaving them in the dust. It won't haul groceries or connect to Bluetooth, but it delivers fan-driven grip and lightning reflexes. You trade creature comforts and cargo space for pure, unfiltered performance. This car is incredible. Its speed is out of this world. But the battery tech is where we need to be watching. Consider this almost hypersonic EV as the runway model for future EV batteries. Getting this silicon battery tech out to a larger market solves energy density and therefore range and charging anxiety, and would spark a new age for EVs. For the enthusiast who lives for tactile feedback, track precision, the world flying past at breakneck speed, and the world's first silicon-carbon battery EV, the Speirling stands alone. View the 3 images of this gallery on the original article McMurtry Spéirling: $1.1M EV Hits 60 MPH in 1.38 Seconds first appeared on Autoblog on Jul 19, 2025 This story was originally reported by Autoblog on Jul 19, 2025, where it first appeared.
