November fintech VC roundup: Payments pay off as expenses startups shine

This article is part of a new monthly series from The Block that takes a closer look at where the most recent venture capital investments have been flowing.

This year has seen a monster increase in fintech VC raises, more than doubling from 2020’s $41.8 billion to $108.6 billion.

Many of the landmark rounds of 2021 went to fintechs dipping their toes into crypto, with Robinhood, Revolut and N26 scoring major rounds. 

While much of the fintech chatter this month centered on Indian super-app Paytm’s lackluster public listing, the private market has shown a lot of love for payments. According to Dealroom, $3.4 billion was raised in the payments market in the month of November.

Excluding the Indian payments giant’s $1.1 billion anchor round before its IPO, crypto payments infrastructure firm MoonPay led the way. The startup scored over half a billion in funding — its first VC round since it was founded. 

There were big moves in the consumer credit sector too, with BNPL and credit card challengers from the UK to the Philippines to Hong Kong drawing interest from VCs. 

Firms overseeing the less sexy but lucrative B2B financial management sector also charmed investors, tapping $1.5 billion from VCs.

Below is a roundup of the five biggest raises across the five categories of wealthtech, banking, lending, payments and financial management in November. In total, the fintech sector raised $10.4 billion with 21 mega-rounds of over $100 million. 

Payments pay off 

In November, the payments sector saw remarkable growth in the Global South with four out of the five biggest raises occurring in Africa, LatAm and Asia. 

• Paytm raised a mammoth $1.1 billion for its anchor round as it prepared to go public. Blackrock, GIC and Birla MF were among the investors that participated in the round. 
• Crypto payments startup Moonpay raised a monster $555 million Series A. The round was led by Coatue and Tiger. 
• Chipper Cash has raised a $150 million Series C extension led by FTX. The company is a cross-border payments company that also offers crypto investment tools and instant bill payments. 
• Brazilian payments outfit Cloudwalk raised $150 million in a round led by DST Global and Coatue only five months after its Series B. The payments fintech is now valued at $2.2 billion. 
• MFS Africa, a digital payments fintech headquartered in South Africa, raised $100 million in Series C financing. This is split between $70 million equity and $30 million debt and was led by AfricInvest FIVE. 

Neolenders and the BNPL boom

This month saw BNPL go B2B as well as some huge raises for credit card challengers. 

• Filipino micropayments and loan company Mynt raised $300 million in a round led by Warburg Pincus, Insight Partners and Bow Wave to become the country’s first fintech unicorn. 
• Upgrade Inc., an online lending platform with card offerings, raised $280 million in a round led by Coatue Management and DST Global. It’s now valued at a cool $6 billion. 
• Indian credit card challenger Slice raised $220 million, joining the fast-growing stable of fintech unicorns in the South Asian country. The round was led by Insight Partners and Tiger Global.
• Qupital secured a $150 million Series B round with investors including Citi and the Alibaba Group. It plans to use the funds to scale its e-commerce lending business and build out its B2B BNPL product. 
• In Europe, the BNPL boom also shows no signs of slowing down, with Klarna-challenger Zilch raising $110 million thanks to Goldman Sachs, Ventura and DMG Ventures. 

Expenses fintech firms are so…expensive? 

This month we’ve seen financial management startups double down on specific niches, with hospitality and entertainment-focused accounting software coming to the fore. 

• France’s Qonto is reportedly in discussions with Tiger Global to raise a $400 million round. This would value the fintech at $4.8 billion. 
• At first sight, Plate IQ may seem like just another expenses fintech, but its focus on the hospitality industry netted it $160 million in a round led by FTV Capital. 
• Automated expenses fintech Payhawk closed a $112 million Series B round led by Greenoaks. This valued the platform at $570 million. 
• Tiger Global led a $100 million round into Wrapbook, a payroll startup aimed at the entertainment industry. 
• Business planning and forecasting firm Pigment raised a $73 million Series B round led by Greenoaks. 

The crowdfunding boom 

Wealthtech saw a huge increase in uptake over the pandemic. This month, alternatives to the typical stocks and shares trading take center stage — VCs invested in crowdfunding and alternative asset platforms that allow individuals to take part in real estate and private equity markets. 

• Indian zero commission broker Upstox raised $200 million from Tiger Global this month. Its $3bn valuation means that it’s India’s 40th unicorn this year. 
• Moonfare raised $125 million in a Series C round led by Insight Partners to create an investment solution that allows individuals to invest in private equity deals. 
• The Korean Development Bank and Lotte Holdings funneled $85 million into crowdfunding startup Wadiz. It’s now valued at $838 million, just shy of unicorn status. 
• Alt Platform has raised $75 million for its alternative asset auction platform. Whilst the company currently focuses on trading cards, it plans to expand into NFTs over the next few years. 
• Yield Street raised a $50 million follow-on round from its Series C in June. It provides a platform for making investments in real estate, legal, finance, and commercial loans. 
• Honorable mention: Circle led a$13.5 million round into Crowdcube as it expands its presence in Europe. 

Builders and bankers

This month has seen the fight for VC funding between banking-as-a-service (BaaS) providers and challenger banks heat up.

Whilst Za takes the top spot, BaaS startups are not long behind. 

• Hong Kong’s first challenger bank Za has raised $230 million in a Series A round that secured its unicorn status. Its investors include insurance giants Zhoghan, AIA Company, and jewelry group Chow Tai Fook. 
• In the latest big deal for BaaS, Thought Machine closed a $200 million round led by Nyca Partners. The company helps banking giants take the leap into cloud-native core banking. 
• SME challenger bank Allica Bank secured $110 million in Series B funding. The round was led by Atalaya Capital. 
• Jumo raised $120 million for its AI-powered BaaS platform for emerging markets. It’s now valued at $400 million. 
• Hong Kong and Melbourne-based Airwallex built a banking solution for the e-commerce vertical. It raised $100 million in a round led by Lone Pine Capital, with participation from Sequoia Capital China.