Chime Financial said on Friday it had raised $750 million in its latest funding round led by Sequoia Capital Global Equities, valuing the financial services startup at $25 billion.
Chime’s latest fundraise is likely to be a precursor to its stock market listing in the United States early next year.
The company had held preliminary talks with investment banks for a stock market floatation that could value it at more than $30 billion, Reuters reported in March, citing people familiar with the matter.
Other major investors in the Series G round include SoftBank Group Corp’s (9984.T) Vision Fund 2, General Atlantic, Tiger Global and Dragoneer Investment Group.
Launched by former Visa (V.N) executive Chris Britt and Comcast Corp (CMCSA.O) alumnus Ryan King in 2012, Chime makes money by earning a fee from payment processors such as Visa every time a customer uses a Chime debit or credit card.
It provides financial services through partnerships with brick-and-mortar banks, primarily through a Chime-branded checking account with no fees and a ‘Spot Me’ feature that allows customers to go overdrawn without penalty.
A change in consumer behavior around banking and financial services has benefited fintechs like Chime as they grow more comfortable with digital channels, a trend accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
U.S. digital banks have also caught investor and public interest, highlighted by rising cases of mega funding rounds and public listings.
Chime said it would use the funds raised to scale its operations and launch new products and services.
