(Photo Illustration by Rafael Henrique/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Digital banking startup SoFi has agreed to acquire payments startup Galileo Financial Technologies for $1.2 billion.
Galileo is a 20-year-old payments company that powers cards for competing financial startups, including Chime, Monzo, Revolut, Varo, and Transferwise. The Utah-based company raised a $77 million Series A funding round in October after years of bootstrapping.
The deal allows SoFi to accelerate the building and development of its product roadmap. This year, SoFi plans to add a suite of rewards for its SoFi Money debit card and launch a credit card, both on the Mastercard network.
“While we march forward on our mission to help people achieve financial independence through our own direct efforts, with Galileo, we can enable a broader ecosystem of companies to join us in helping the world over achieve financial independence,” SoFi CEO Anthony Noho said in a statement shared with Cheddar.
Last year was a big year for payments mergers and acquisitions, as legacy payment giants realigned to take on upstarts like Stripe and Square. The megadeals included Global Payments’ $21.5 billion acquisition of Total System Services; Fiserv’s $22 billion purchase of First Data; and Fidelity National Information Services’ $43 billion purchase of Worldpay.
Some industry observers predict it's only a matter of time before consolidation occurs among newer payments companies like Stripe, Square, and PayPal.
Galileo powers the basic functions of non-bank financial services providers, including: account set-up, funding, direct deposit, ACH transfer, early paycheck direct deposit, bill pay, transactions notifications, check balance and point of sale authorization.
These services allow new personal finance brands like SoFi to provide traditional banking services to consumers with a better look and more efficient experience.
Galileo’s payments solutions and APIs (application programming interface) extend beyond challenger banking to consumer payments for merchants, gig economy workers, commercial payments, lending and investing. They help manage accounts, authorize transactions, monitor fraud and initiate disputes.
By March it had processed $45 billion in payments, up from $26 billion in October.
Galileo will continue to operate as an independent subsidiary of SoFi. CEO Clay Wilkes will retain his role and title.
San Francisco-based SoFi, which now has one million customers, initially launched as a student loan startup, but in the last year has expanded its offerings to include several more lending, investing, and insurance products. Last year, it launched SoFi Money, its fee-free hybrid checking account with a high-interest savings rate and a debit card.
A rare magnum of Dom Pérignon Vintage 1961 champagne that was specially produced for the 1981 wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana has failed to sell during an auction. Danish auction house Bruun Rasmussen handled the bidding Thursday. The auction's house website lists the bottle as not sold. It was expected to fetch up to around $93,000. It is one of 12 bottles made to celebrate the royal wedding. Little was revealed about the seller. The auction house says the bids did not receive the desired minimum price.
The New York Times and President Donald Trump are fighting again. The news outlet said Wednesday it won't be deterred by Trump's “false and inflammatory language” from writing about the 79-year-old president's health. The Times has done a handful of stories on that topic recently, including an opinion column that said Trump is “starting to give President Joe Biden vibes.” In a Truth Social post, Trump said it might be treasonous for outlets like the Times to do “FAKE” reports about his health and "we should do something about it.” The Republican president already has a pending lawsuit against the newspaper for its past reports on his finances.
OpenAI has appointed Slack CEO Denise Dresser as its first chief of revenue. Dresser will oversee global revenue strategy and help businesses integrate AI into daily operations. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently emphasized improving ChatGPT, which now has over 800 million weekly users. Despite its success, OpenAI faces competition from companies like Google and concerns about profitability. The company earns money from premium ChatGPT subscriptions but hasn't ventured into advertising. Altman had recently announced delays in developing new products like AI agents and a personal assistant.
President Donald Trump says he will allow Nvidia to sell its H200 computer chip used in the development of artificial intelligence to “approved customers” in China. Trump said Monday on his social media site that he had informed China’s leader Xi Jinping and “President Xi responded positively!” There had been concerns about allowing advanced computer chips into China as it could help them to compete against the U.S. in building out AI capabilities. But there has also been a desire to develop the AI ecosystem with American companies such as chipmaker Nvidia.
U.S. sports betting is booming as NFL and college football fuel massive activity. BetMGM CEO Adam Greenblatt breaks down trends, growth, and what’s next.
President Donald Trump says a deal struck by Netflix last week to buy Warner Bros. Discovery “could be a problem” because of the size of the combined market share. The Republican president says he will be involved in the decision about whether federal regulators should approve the deal. Trump commented Sunday when he was asked about the deal as he walked the red carpet at the Kennedy Center Honors. The $72 billion deal would bring together two of the biggest players in television and film and potentially reshape the entertainment industry.
Disney's changes to a program for disabled visitors are facing challenges in federal court and through a shareholder proposal. The Disability Access Service program, which allows disabled visitors to skip long lines, was overhauled last year. Disney now mostly limits the program to those with developmental disabilities like autism who have difficulty waiting in lines. The changes have sparked criticism from some disability advocates. A shareholder proposal submitted by disability advocates calls for an independent review of Disney's disability policies. Disney plans to block this proposal, claiming it's misleading. It's the latest struggle by Disney to accommodate disabled visitors while stopping past abuses by some theme park guests.
