I’m writing to you today from a sunny balcony overlooking Miami Beach.
I’m here for a few days to escape a cold and dreary New York City.
It’s been a busy morning:
Equipped with my iPhone and a handful of apps like Coinbase, E-Trade, and Venmo, I’ve already made two crypto-currency trades, sold some stock, and texted $100 to my buddy (I still can’t believe the Patriots lost the Superbowl).
Nowadays, apps like these are used by millions of people — but when they first emerged, few of us trusted them, and even fewer large corporations took them seriously.
Today I’ll show you how these “financial technology” apps became so popular…
Then I’ll reveal how investors like you could make a fortune from them.
The Rise of Fintech
Financial Technology (or “Fintech” for short) is a thriving new sector.
It includes thousands of start-ups using technology to “disrupt” traditional financial services — everything from personal investing, to getting a loan, to transferring money.
According to Ernst & Young, one-third of online consumers already use two or more of these fintech services. A few of the main reasons for their popularity include:
Convenience – Fintech apps tend to be fast, secure, and easy to use. No more waiting in line at the bank.
Low or No Fees — Traditional brokerage firms charge transaction fees ranging from $4.95 to hundreds of dollars. Meanwhile, apps like Robinhood offer stock trading for free.
Distrust of the Old Guard — According to a recent study from American Express, 53% of people distrust their bank and would prefer an alternative.
With so many people using these apps, the ten biggest fintech companies (including PayPal, Square and LendingClub) are now worth a combined ~$130 billion.
The thing is, the Old Guard couldn’t just stand there and watch these young fintech start-ups eat its lunch…
So it started buying them.
M&A Madness
According to CB Insights, more than 1,100 fintech companies were acquired in 2017…
And 58% of them were start-ups — the type of start-ups you read about at Crowdability.
Many of the buyers were major financial institutions. For example:
Mastercard paid $920 million to acquirie Vocalink, a mobile payment system…
JP Morgan spent $400 million to buy WePay, a payment processor…
And Ally Financial bought TradeKing, an online broker, for $275 million.
But big financial institutions aren’t the only buyers…
Consumer Tech Companies Are Acquiring Fintech Start-ups, Too!
You see, mainstream consumer tech brands like eBay and Airbnb are scooping up fintech start-ups, too.
Given the transaction volume these companies do (eBay, for example, sold about $88 billion of merchandise last year), it makes sense that they’d aim to control — and ideally, profit from — the technology they use to process their sales.
That helps explain why eBay spent $1.2 billion to acquire PayPal, and why Airbnb acquired peer-to-peer payment service Tilt for $50 million.
A recent CNBC report predicts that more acquisitions like these are on the horizon, with companies like IBM expected to go on a fintech “shopping spree” in 2018.
And we recently discovered a start-up that might be a target…
Introducing ZipZap
The start-up I’m referring to is called ZipZap.
ZipZap is in the $600 billion “global remittance market” — in other words, it helps people send money to their family in another country.
Traditional solutions like Western Union use outdated technologies and charge outrageous fees.
In contrast, ZipZap uses modern technologies — including “blockchain” technologies that are used by leading crypto-currency companies — so it can charge low fees and still earn a profit.
ZipZap’s business model is ideal for its target customer: the 215 million “migrant” workers who live and work in a different country than their family.
These workers don’t have the wherewithal to send thousands of dollars at once, so they’re forced to send many small transactions. But because of the high fees of companies like Western Union, this places a huge financial burden on them.
ZipZap aims to solve this problem — and it looks like it might be succeeding...
Progress Made
Currently, ZipZap enables workers in Canada to send money to China, India, and the Philippines, which are the three largest countries in terms of remittance transfers.
Just in Canada, ZipZap handled about $1 million in transfers last year.
But now the company is planning to expand to the U.S. and Latin America, which could really help it take off.
But to fund its expansion plans, the company needs capital — which is where you come in….
A Potential Investment in ZipZap
ZipZap is raising $100,000. The valuation is $20 million, and the minimum investment is $500.
Should you consider an investment?
Well, as you’ve learned today, the company has a lot going for it — for example:
ZipZap is tapping into the global remittance market — the same market that turned Western Union into a Fortune 500 company with a $9 billion market cap…
Its proprietary technology enables it to offer a high-quality product at a low price…
And M&A in this market is booming, which creates opportunities for investors like you to make big, quick profits.
On the negative side, there’s a major risk to consider: competition.
Competitors include 800-pound gorillas like Western Union, and start-ups like TransferWise, Remitly, and several others.
But ZipZap aims to differentiate itself with its low fees and a new product:
A remittance subscription that enables customers to send an unlimited number of small transactions for a flat monthly or annual fee.
And If ZipZap succeeds, early investors might receive a “remittance” of their own — a remittance of profits!
To learn more, visit the company’s funding page here »
Happy Investing
Please note: Crowdability has no relationship with ZipZap, or with any of the platforms or companies we write about. Crowdability is an independent provider of education, information and research on start-ups and alternative investments.
Best Regards,
Founder
Crowdability.com
