PayPal, Stripe & Bolt Race to Capture Apple's $100 Billion In-App Payment Empire 🇺🇸
We're also covering a super app turnaround fueled by lending 🇮🇩, the Circle-Ripple rumour mill 🇺🇸, "Banana Man" Justin Sun spotted with Eric Trump 🇸🇬 & QED's $300M bet on indian fintechs 🇮🇳
For those who know my story, I used to be a fintech entrepreneur running a fintech app called Hardbacon. While we eventually pivoted to personalized financial products recommendations based on spending, Hardbacon initially was a portfolio analysis app that charged $4.99 per month to its users. Of this $4.99, I was only getting $3.49, thanks to Apple preventing apps selling digital services, such as subscriptions, from using alternative payment methods and imposing a taxing 30% fee to handle payment. For apps selling digital goods or premium features whose marginal cost is zero, such a tax is still infuriating, but could be absorbed. But since we needed to pay various third parties on a per user basis for stuff like equities fundamentals, funds fundamentals and even accounts aggregation, Apple was making way more per subscriber than we were. Anyway, I was happy to see Apple losing against Epic Games this week, and opening the door for app publishers to stop being screwed and for payment providers to enter the App Store's walled garden!
🇺🇸 PayPal, Stripe & Bolt Race to Capture Apple's $100 Billion In-App Payment Empire
A US federal judge delivered a landmark ruling that effectively ends Apple's control over in-app payments on iOS. Apple’s legal troubles began in 2020 when Epic Games introduced a direct payment option in Fortnite to bypass Apple's 30% App Store commission. Apple swiftly removed Fortnite from the App Store, triggering the lawsuit that ended up ending Apple in-app payment monopoly.
Within 24 hours of the ruling, payment processing giants mobilized to capture a slice of the Apple's $100 billion-a-year service business that includes the 30% monopoly tax it imposes on app publishers. Michael Luo, product manager at Stripe, announced on X: "Big news iOS app developers! You can now accept payments with @stripe outside of your app, with no iOS app store commissions." Stripe quickly published a developer’s guide demonstrating how easy it was to switch from Apple's 30% payment to Stripe’s 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction. PayPal also published such a guide.
Kyle Sye, Head of Games at Bolt, a payment provider competing with Stripe in risky niches with super app aspirations, proclaimed on LinkedIn that "Apple's 30% tax was more about control than safety" as he announced Bolt's gaming app payment offering, whose rates are even lower that Stripe, standing at 2.1% + $0.30 per transaction.
Many app publishers celebrated this breakthrough, with Spotify updating its app in the US to allow for in-app purchase of the premium plan and Epic Games announcing Fortnite return to the App Store. Cameo CEO Steven Galanis shared on LinkedIn how Apple's fees had severely limited creator earnings on the platform known for allowing anyone to buy shout-outs from celebrities : "After Apple's 30% tax off the top, creators earn only 52.5% of their cameo booking fee."
The ruling also opened the door for cryptocurrency payments in iOS apps. Wasim Ahmad, whose crypto-inheritance app Vault12 was prevented from accepting crypto payments until now, updated its iPhone app over the weekend to do so: “For years, Apple profited from crypto apps — while banning actual crypto payments”, he wrote on LinkedIn. “Now, thanks to pressure from Epic Games & developer outrage, Apple finally enables crypto $ETH + $VGT payments in @Vault12Guard.”
Unfortunately for app publishers doing business outside the US, the rule change only apply to the Apple’s US App Store for now, and Apple said it would appeal the court ruling.
Source: Global Fintech Insider
🇮🇩 GoTo Doubles Loan Book to $345M By Lending Money to TikTok Shoppers
Lending is powering GoTo's turnaround The Indonesian super app that combines ridesharing, food delivery, and financial services reported its third straight quarterly profit after implementing aggressive cost-cutting measures and focusing on high-margin financial products.
Simon Ho, CFO of GoTo Group (pictured above), revealed in a CNBC interview: "What has driven the profitability of the fintech business has been lending. We have a loan book that now have reached 345M USD; it's more than doubled on year on year basis."
The company's turnaround strategy included selling its loss-making e-commerce arm Tokopedia to ByteDance's TikTok for $1.5 billion, while expanding its consumer lending operations. The fintech segment's growth is particularly fueled by buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) loans to Tokopedia shoppers.
GoTo's comprehensive fintech ecosystem now includes digital wallet services (GoPay), BNPL financing (GoPayLater), merchant lending (GoModal), and payment processing solutions (Midtrans). Meanwhile, Singapore-based super app Grab is reportedly considering a takeover of GoTo valued at over $7 billion, although Simon Ho refused to comment on the rumours, insisting that the company is “focused on organic growth”.
Source: Global Fintech Insider & Bloomberg
🇺🇸 Rick Song's Persona Raises $200 Million to Fight Digital Identity Fraud
Persona, the identity verification platform co-founded by CEO Rick Song (2nd from the left) and CTO Charles Yeh (3rd from the left), secured $200 million in Series D funding led by Ribbit Capital and Founders Fund. The company, which aims to solve the increasing threat of bots currently comprising 50% of internet traffic, now holds a $2 billion valuation.
Andy Chen, General Partner at Coatue who invested $750,000 in Persona’s seed round in 2018, revealed in a LinkedIn post that Song stood out from the beginning. "I first met Rick Song back in 2011 when he applied to the Kleiner Perkins Fellows Program... Rick stood out immediately - he aced every round of interviews," Chen wrote. After the program, Song joined Square, where he started working on identity fraud. "He earned a reputation as a stellar engineer and was asked by the leadership to help start what would become Square Capital", wrote Andy Chen.
According to Chen, the success of Persona stems from the co-founders’ focus on talent, noting that “Persona’s first 50 employees are still with the company, many now in leadership roles”.
Source: Global Fintech Insider
🇨🇦 Canadian Equity Crowdfunding Doubles While UK Market Shrinks
Canadian equity crowdfunding is booming. Market leader FrontFundr facilitated $68.3 million across 66 successful campaigns in 2024, doubling their previous year's total. The Canadian platform founded by CEO Peter-Paul Van Hoeken (right), now commands 93% market share under the equity crowdfunding exemption and has raised over $258M to date. Fintech startup Blossom Social set records with the fastest raise, securing $1.35M in just 3.5 days. Technology companies overall saw a 17% year-over-year increase on the platform. FrontFundr's investor demographics are expanding, with women representing 26% of equity crowfunding investors and the 30-39 age group being most active. In the UK, where the equity crowdfuding market is years ahead, equity crowdfunding platforms collectively raised £324m million ($430M) in 2024, which is way more than what was raised in Canada on population pro-rata basis. That said, the amount of money raised annually through equity crowdfunding in the UK is down 58% since the market peaked in 2021.
Source: Global Fintech Insider
🇸🇬 Crypto Banana Man Justin Sun Spotted With Eric Trump at TOKEN2049
Controversial crypto entrepreneur Justin Sun (right) was seen rubbing shoulders with Eric Trump (left) at TOKEN2049 in Singapore last week. The TRON founder proudly shared a picture of their encounter on LinkedIn, showing himself with President Trump's son, displaying the infamous banana artwork he purchased for $6.2 million. "Great seeing you at TOKEN2049 Eric Trump! 🤝" Sun wrote in his post. This high-profile meeting comes months after Sun invested $75 million in World Liberty Financial, the Trump family-backed crypto token where he now serves as an official adviser. The project lists President Donald Trump as its "chief crypto advocate" and his son Barron as its "DeFi visionary," with the Trump family entitled to 75% of the tokens' revenues. Sun's connection to the Trump family has raised eyebrows given that, following his investment in the Trump’s family crypto venture, the SEC suddenly paused its fraud case against him.
Source: Global Fintech Insider
🇺🇸 Stripe and Visa Create Global Stablecoin Card Platform Starting With Six Latin American Countries
Visa is partnering with Stripe-owned Bridge to enable fintechs to rapidly launch stablecoin-linked card programs. The stablecoin cards issuing service will initially roll out in six Latin American countries: Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, and Chile. It opens the door for fintechs to launch in multiple countries at once, instead of having to negotiate with separate issuers for each nation. Bridge handles conversion from stablecoins (cryptocurrencies that track traditional currencies like the US dollar) to local currencies during transactions. Kansas City-based Lead Bank, led by former Square Capital head Jackie Reses, will issue the cards. In a X post, Bridge co-founder Zach Abrams highlighted: "Together, we've built one card program that can serve the world. Developers can now launch global cards in minutes." The first two fintechs to launch stablecoin credit cards using the new Bridge issuing platform are Dubai-based SquadLabs with Fuse Wallet (pictured above) and Mexico City-based AIRTM.
Source: Bloomberg & Global Fintech Insider
🇺🇸 Circle Rejects Ripple's $5B Takeover Bid as Too Low
Circle has rejected a $4 billion to $5 billion takeover bid from Ripple, considering the amount insufficient. The acquisition attempt highlights Ripple's ambition to dominate the stablecoin market where Circle's USDC has a commanding lead with $61.7 billion market cap compared to Ripple's RLUSD at just $316.9 million. This move comes amid Ripple's aggressive expansion strategy, following its $1.25 billion acquisition of prime brokerage Hidden Road in April. For Ripple, acquiring Circle would provide immediate scale in the stablecoin space and complement its recent launch of a cross-border payment network. Following the rejection, rumours circulated in crypto blogs about a subsequent $20 billion offer, but no credible sources have confirmed this information. Meanwhile, Circle continues to focus on its planned IPO, for which it filed on April 1st.
Source: Bloomberg & BeInCrypto
🇩🇪 PayPal Launches Mobile Wallet to Challenge Apple Pay and Google Pay in Germany
PayPal is rolling out a new mobile wallet feature in Germany that will allow users to pay in stores using NFC technology, positioning itself as a direct competitor to Apple Pay and Google Pay. The upcoming app update, expected in the coming weeks, will enable "Tap to Pay" functionality at any terminal that accepts Mastercard payments, eliminating the need for the more cumbersome QR code system PayPal previously used. The move is particularly significant for iPhone users, who can now use alternative payment apps thanks to the European Digital Markets Act (DMA) that forced Apple to open its NFC interface to third-party providers. PayPal is differentiating its offering with features like BNPL loans, allowing in-store purchases to be split into 3, 6, 12, or 24 monthly payments.
Source: Spiegel
🇺🇸 Dub Raises $30M Series A Just Months After $17M Seed Round
Copy trading app Dub has secured $30 million in Series A funding, an astonishingly quick capital raise coming just three months after raising a $17 million seed round in February. The round was led by Notable Capital and Neo, with participation from Sandberg Bernthal Venture Partners, Peak6 Strategic Capital, and Correlation Ventures. Founded in 2021 by 23-year-old Steven Wang, Dub allows users to automatically mirror trades of politicians, celebrities, and other users who make their investments public. The platform already boasts over 1 million downloads and 50,000 paying subscribers at $10 per month. The funding will help Dub launch a free version of the app and expand beyond equities into crypto and event contracts.
Source: Fortune
🇮🇳 Capital One Co-Founder's QED Allocates $300M to Invest in Indian Fintechs
QED Investors, a US-based fintech-focused VC fund backed by Capital One co-founder Nigel Morris, is deploying $300M into Indian startups. The US-based venture capital firm plans to invest between $250 million to $300 million across early and growth-stage startups in India and the wider Asia Pacific region from its $925 million fund raised in 2023. "While we do not have separate allocation for each geography, India will of course attract the major share of the investment planned for Asia," Sandeep Patil, partner and head of Asia at QED Investors, told The Economic Times. The firm offers $3-20 million for first checks and $20-50 million for growth stage companies, having already invested around $220 million across Asia in the last five years in startups like neo-banking platform Jupiter, credit card platform OneCard, and embedded finance startup Upswing.
Source: The Economics Times
Upcoming Fintech Events
🇺🇸 FinovateSpring will be held in San Diego on May 7-9, 2025 (1,299 USD), with speakers such as Vishal Garg, founder & CEO at Better.com & Lauren McCollom, Head of Embedded Finance at Grasshopper Bank.
🇦🇪 Dubai FinTech Summit will take place in Dubai on May 12-13, 2025 (899 USD), with speakers such as Arik Shtilman, co-founder and CEO of Rapyd & John Caplan, CEO of Payoneer.
🇺🇸 Stablecon will take place in New York on May 29, 2025 (1,295 USD), with speakers such as Cuy Sheffield, Head of Crypto at Visa and Edward Woodford, CEO & co-founder of Zero Hash.
🇳🇱 Money20/20 Europe will be held in Amsterdam on June 3-5, 2025 (3,395 USD), with speakers such as Steven van Rijswijk, CEO of ING & Yoni Assia, CEO of eToro.
🇬🇧 The Future of FinTech Conference 2025 will be held in London on June 12, 2025 (527 USD), with speakers such as Kirsty Rutter, Strategic Investment Director at Lloyds Banking Group & Chris Waring, Head of Digital Customer Journeys at NatWest.
🇮🇱 Money Tel Aviv will be held in Tel Aviv on June 18-19, 2025 ($83), with speakers such as Ido Shamash, head of payments at Wix & Ran Cohen, CEO at BridgerPay.
🇨🇦 The Customer Experience for Financial Services Summit will be held in Toronto on September 18–19, 2025 ($995), with speakers such as Amit Mondal, VP & Head of Digital Analytics & Experimentation at Amex & Angela Crapsi, AVP of Operations at Flexiti/Questrade.
Who Am I?
Hi, my name is Julien Brault.
From 2017 to 2024, I was the CEO of Hardbacon, a fintech I co-founded, which reached 400,000 unique visitors at its peak.
A Google update ultimately sealed the company’s faith and I started this newsletter to keep myself busy in the aftermath.
Why share this?
Because my goal is to use my experience as an economic journalist, fintech entrepreneur and product manager to present the most essential fintech news from around the world through the eyes of an insider.
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