FinTech Futures: Top five news stories of the week – 14 February 2025
Here’s our pick of five of the top news stories from the world of fintech this week, featuring Moneyhub, TD Bank, QuEra Computing and more.
UK paytech Paysafe reportedly exploring potential sale amid takeover interest
Paysafe reportedly mulling potential sale
Paysafe, a UK-based payments platform, is reportedly exploring a potential sale after attracting takeover interest, according to Bloomberg UK.
Citing sources familiar with the matter, the report states that Paysafe is working with an unnamed financial adviser to evaluate its options. However, the identity of the interested parties has not been revealed, with sources adding that no deal is guaranteed.
Additionally, the report adds that Paysafe is contemplating the sale of “non-core assets” that could occur ahead of any potential sale.
As of 6 February, Bloomberg UK reports the company’s valuation was down 80% from its IPO amount, now standing at approximately $1.4 billion.
US paytech Digital River reportedly shutting down
US-based payments firm Digital River is reportedly winding down its operations, according to local media outlet The Minnesota Star Tribune.
The report states that the company, which provides API-based order management, e-commerce and cross-border payment processing solutions, is permanently closing its Minnetonka-based headquarters by the end of March, citing a WARN notice.
The closure is reportedly set to incur 122 layoffs among the company’s US workforce, including remote workers.
With the global wind-down process seemingly underway, the company is said to have also initiated insolvency proceedings for its German subsidiaries, while The Irish Times reports that provisional liquidators have been appointed to oversee the closure of Digital River Technology Limited, the company’s Irish arm.
TD Bank to sell entire 10.1% stake in Charles Schwab in $14.6bn deal
TD Bank to sell its interest in Charles Schwab for $14.6bn
Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD Bank) has agreed to sell its entire 10.1% equity stake in US-based brokerage Charles Schwab, amounting to approximately 184.7 million shares of common stock.
The sale is expected to include 165,443,530 shares through a registered offering at $79.25 per share, equating to around $13.1 billion.
At the same time, Charles Schwab is set to repurchase 19,235,208 shares for $1.5 billion, with the deal expected to close on 12 February 2025.
TD Bank CEO and president, Raymond Chun, comments: “As part of our strategic review, we have been evaluating capital allocation and have made the decision to exit our Schwab investment.”
QuEra Computing raises more than $230m to develop “large-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computers”
QuEra Computing, based in Boston, Massachusetts, has raised more than $230 million in financing to “accelerate the development and production of large-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computers”.
QVT Family Office and Safar Partners were among the company’s existing investors to contribute to this latest raise, alongside new investors Google (with sponsorship by the Google Quantum AI business unit), SoftBank Vision Fund 2 and Valor Equity Partners.
The company says it will use the funding to build out its team of scientists and engineers “with a focus on technical and scientific talent”.
QuEra adds it also has plans to “broaden its portfolio of application co-design, cloud and on-premises engagements” as well as strengthen its build and test capacity to “scale up and meet growing demand for high-performance neutral-atom computers”.
Exclusive: Moneyhub shutters D2C business, lays off “around 30%” of UK workforce
Moneyhub to shutter D2C app business, job cuts commence
Open finance and data platform Moneyhub is set to shutter its direct-to-consumer (D2C) app business, a move that will also see the company reduce its UK workforce by “around 30%”, FinTech Futures can reveal.
Staff were informed of the layoffs on Tuesday this week, which has led to the elimination of “approximately 36 positions”, sources with knowledge of the matter told FinTech Futures, asking not to be named discussing inside company information.
The company’s D2C proposition, which is spearheaded by the Moneyhub app, will be closed down gradually “over the next 18 months”, sources say, coinciding with the expiration of existing paid subscriptions.
Moneyhub is now redirecting its focus entirely on its B2B proposition, which currently includes a white-label engagement platform, open data APIs, and credit decisioning and payment solutions, among others.
