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The mobile payments group’s equity chime surged with the company’s debut in New York, highlighting the optimism of fintech investors amid an explosion of activity in the early public markets in the US.
Chime opened on Nasdaq at $43 per share on Thursday, surpassing the $27 IPO price by 59% and completely diluted the group’s market capitalization of around $17 billion. The shares were extended to $40 in early afternoon trade. Approximately 32 million shares have been sold and raised $864 million for the company.
Chime offers free banking services to Americans making less than $100,000. This is a market that the company considers to be unserved by traditional banks.
“Our message… about the fundamentally broken banks.
Chime delayed floats in early April when President Donald Trump unleashed so-called mutual tariffs and volatility across financial markets. Chime’s final venture capital funding was valued at $25 billion in 2021, a budding period for tech startups.
The US IPO market has resumed as Trump retreated from some of his more aggressive tariff plans and eased stock market volatility in the process. If the VIX index, which is a measure of anticipated stock market volatility, is under the age of 25, then the majority of our IPOs occur. Currently, they are 18 years old, starting from over 50 in early April.
Separately, the company’s debut on Wednesday has more than doubled stakes in space and defense group Voyager. However, cryptocurrency groups were at the forefront of the early revival of the IPO market.
Circle Internet stocks rose 168% on the first day of trading last week, but the cryptocurrency exchange trades bullish and Gemini.
Unlike traditional retail banks, which make money through loans, chimes make money primarily by collecting payment fees. That listing comes as it prepares for an increase in financial stress among US consumers due to concerns that Trump’s tariffs will slow down US economic growth or cause a recession.
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Chime is serving “everyday Americans who live their payroll on wages to pay paychecks” — has not seen a decline in consumer strength, Newcombe said. However, he added that the company is paying attention to unemployment rates. Essentials such as gas, groceries and utilities account for around 70% of customer payments.
Chime offers current accounts and individual-to-person transfers through two bank partners, Bancorp Bank and Stride Bank.
“We don’t feel that we need a banking license to serve our members in a great way,” Newcomb said. “There’s no need to own a bank charter, branches, or ATMs so that Uber doesn’t have to own a car to provide better transportation services.”
