The fintech layoffs just keep on coming

The interchange is where you'll find us. Thank you for signing up and voting for confidence after you received this. If you read this as a post on our site, you should sign up here so you can receive it in the future. I take a look at the hottest news from the last week. This will include everything from funding rounds to trends to an analysis of a particular space. My job is to stay on top of the news and make sense of it so I can keep you up to date.

I take a week off and come back to wreak havoc in the financial world.

It was sad that we got news of layoffs.

I will try to round up as many of them as possible.

• Chime confirmed that it is letting go of 12% of its employees. This equals about 160 people. According to an internal memo obtained by TechCrunch, Chime co-founder Chris Britt said that the move was one of many that would help the company thrive “regardless of market conditions.” In the memo, Britt said that he and co-founder Ryan King are recalibrating marketing spend, decreasing the number of contractors, adjusting workspace needs and renegotiating vendor contractors.
• Opendoor announced it was letting go of 18% of its staff. This is around 500 people. Opendoor co-founder and CEO Eric Wu said his company, a publicly traded real estate fintech, was navigating “one of the most challenging real estate markets in 40 years.”
• Chargebee has laid off about 10% of its staff. As reported by Jagmeet on November 2, “Chargebee, backed by marquee investors including Tiger Global and Sequoia Capital India, has laid off about 10% of its staff in a ‘reorganization’ effort due to ongoing global macroeconomic challenges and growing operational debt. The Chennai and San Francisco–headquartered startup, which offers billing, subscription, revenue and compliance management solutions, confirmed to TechCrunch that the update impacted 142 employees.”
• Stripe lays off 14% of its staff. As reported by Paul, “Stripe has announced that it’s laying off 14% of its workers, impacting around 1,120 of the fintech giant’s 8,000 workforce.” In a memo published online, Stripe CEO Patrick Collison conveyed a familiar narrative in terms of the reasons behind the latest cutbacks: a major hiring spree spurred by the world’s pandemic-driven surge toward e-commerce, a significant growth period and then an economic downturn ridden with inflation, higher interest rates and other macroeconomic challenges.
• Danish startup Pleo may lay off 15% of its workers. Jeppe Rindom, co-founder and CEO of Pleo — which less than one year ago raised $200 million at a $4.7 billion valuation — revealed that the company’s new strategy will impact 15% of its roles. He added that “up to 150 of our colleagues may have to leave.” Pleo is a developer of expense management tools aimed at SMBs to let them issue company cards and better manage how employees spend money.
• Credit Karma, now a subsidiary of Intuit, has “decided to pause almost all hiring.” This is according to an internal email sent to employees by chief people officer Colleen McCreary. McCreary referenced “revenue challenges due to the uncertain environment.” This was reiterated in Intuit’s fourth quarter earnings call, during which the company shared on November 1 that “all Credit Karma verticals have been negatively impacted by macro uncertainty. Credit Karma experienced further deterioration in these verticals during the last few weeks of the first quarter.”
• Remote online notarization services provider Notarize cuts its team by 60 people. A spokesperson told me via email that “the reorganization impacted nearly all teams and the decision was in service to the larger strategy we have been enacting at Notarize, and will enable us to move faster to best serve our customers.” The spokesperson added that in September, one small real estate–focused team was laid off in response to both its strategy shift and “the drastic drop in demand from the specific customers that they served.” The recent layoffs follow a larger layoff in June that impacted 110 people. Prior to that reduction, Notarize had about 440 employees. It currently employs 250 people across the United States.

I am leaving on a trip to celebrate my 20th wedding anniversary and it is possible that more layoffs took place between then and now.

Kyle Wiggers helped me draft the Weekly News and Fundings section so I could get offline and pack for my trip.

Weekly News

According to an email from the startup, it has launched a service called Jeeves Pay that is billed as a credit-backed business payments solution. The problem of having to rely on cash or revenues to fund local and cross-border business and vendor payments is solved by Jeeves Pay. The company says that it is now available to all customers.

Growth in the corporate card and spend management market can be achieved through the growth of startup companies. The company on Wednesday announced a partnership with Techstars to extend Brex services to companies within the program. Techstars participants will receive a Brex platform support team, access to exclusive Brex events, and free use of Brex's Pry financial forecasting platform. Henrique Dubugras described the move as a customer acquisition play.

Brex has recently changed its strategy, which involves a stronger emphasis on software and the enterprise. The highlights from the conversation include why Brex stopped serving businesses funded outside of the venture capital structure and the implications of the company's layoffs earlier this year.

A space that is estimated to be worth tens of thousands of dollars was participated in by Ramp CEO Eric Glyman, Airbase CEO Thejo Kote, and Anthemis partner Ruth Foxe Blader. Some of the advice she is giving to her portfolio companies was offered by Blader. The highlight of our recap is.

How can proptech companies survive? Three seasoned investors were asked to give their views. Proptech companies that let consumers fractionally invest in properties and increase access for those seeking a rent-to-own approach are more likely to survive. It seems that companies that help others navigate difficult times are in high demand.

Is it time for landlords and tenants to stop using paper checks? There is a bet that they are. Property owners and managers will be able to use the pilot platform from the bank. More than 100 million Americans pay a combined $500 billion annually in rent to 12 million property owners, but convincing landlords to move from checks and money orders won't be easy According to JP Morgan, only 22% of rent payments are made electronically.

Other news is also present.

The funding gap for GermanSaaS companies is closed by Capchase.

Customers of Ramp will be able to pay global employees in more than 175 countries and 80 currencies.

Digital homebuying platform Prevu acquires mortgage technology of Reali, a real estate tech company that announced earlier this year it was shutting down.

Marqeta expands its platform with new banking capabilities.

Fundings and M&A

It was seen on a website.

Givingli made $10 million from digital card and gift giving.

It is possible to plan retirement for people without millions of dollars of savings.

Money Fellows raises over $30 million in funding.

Paper checks are used for B2B payments.

Retail investors are being rallied to vote against the proxy vote.

The digital family office platform is funded by $90 million.

Crowded gives associations banking flexibility.

Money and ex-uber talent are needed to fix freight invoices.

The startup wants to help other startup put their money to work.

We travel books $27 million to build new technology.

Fights related to finance are curbed by an ex-uberant.

Orum raises $22 million to use artificial intelligence.

The right credit card is recommended by Kudos.

Elsewhere.

InterPrice Technologies is a treasury capital markets funding platform.

The valuation has more than tripled after the latest funding.

The company raises over $50 million in funding.

For this week, that is what I have to say. I would like to thank you again for reading. Hopefully, with more positive news, you will see me next time.