(Bloomberg) — Banking Circle, a financial technology startup, is seeking to raise new funding at a valuation of around 5 billion euros ($5.9 billion), according to people with knowledge of the matter.
The company, led by Anders la Cour and Laust Bertelsen, is working with advisers to solicit interest from investors for a roughly $500 million funding round, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing confidential information.
The funding round adds to a flurry of interest in fintech companies that either specialize in back-office functions for traditional financial services firms or build entire client-facing companies from scratch.
Japan’s NEC Corp. agreed to buy banking software firm Avalog from private equity firm Warbug Pincus last year. Revolut Ltd. recently hit a valuation of more than $30 billion, while N26 GmbH, its competitor, has started a new funding round. Money-transfer firm Wise Plc last month completed a direct listing and its valuation is now nearly 10 billion pounds ($13.9 billion).
Swedish investment firm EQT AB acquired a majority stake in Banking Circle in 2018 from Saxo Bank and other minority owners. Representatives for EQT and Banking Circle declined to comment.
Banking Circle, founded in 2013, is a fully-licensed bank and facilitates cross-border payments in 25 currencies. Stripe Inc., Paysafe Ltd., Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and First Data Corp. are among its customers, its website shows.
The company processed 155 billion euros of payments in 2020, it said in May. At the time, Banking Circle said it’s targeting an annual payments volume of 250 billion euros and 100 million annual bank transfers by the end of 2021.
“Cross border payments take too long and cost too much,” la Cour said at the time. The company is tackling this problem by building a “super correspondent banking network,” that integrates local clearing and payments services.
Read more: Revolut Draws SoftBank Investment to Hit $33 Billion Value
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