Stripe’s valuation and the future of FinTech

This appeared in The Millennial Source

The future of FinTech — a portmanteau of “finance” and “technology” — and traditional banks has become a talking point as experts debate whether the newest form of banking can topple traditional banking practices.

Earlier this month, Stripe, an online payment processing platform for internet businesses, became the most valuable startup in the United States.

After a successful round of Series G funding, Stripe raised US$600 million with a valuation of US$95 billion. The future of FinTech — a portmanteau of “finance” and “technology” — and traditional banks has become a talking point as experts debate whether the newest form of banking can topple traditional banking practices.

What is FinTech?

FinTech refers to businesses that integrate modern technology with banking in order to improve and automate financial services and processes, but the concept of integrating technology with banking isn’t a new one.

Technology has long been part of the financial world, especially since the introduction of credit cards, ATMs and e-trading. Online banking has existed for well over two decades, but the innovations offered by modern technology have given rise to FinTechs such as Venmo, CashApp and Alipay.