Shares in fintech Fiinu fall over 60 per cent as banking licence slips out of reach
The survival of fintech firm Fiinu was left hanging by a thread on Wednesday after it confirmed that it had not secured enough funding to resubmit its application for a banking licence.
Shares in the AIM-listed digital lender, which offers short-term credit to customers, were trading 66 per cent lower after it updated the market today.
Back in April, Fiinu warned that it did not have enough funding to allow its subsidiary, Fiinu 2, to exit its mobilisation period, a period of time when a firm can only offer limited banking services.
As a result it applied to withdraw its application for a banking licence, with the aim of re-applying once it had secured more funding.
However, Fiinu confirmed today that it had not been able to secure necessary funding to seek re-application due to “challenging market conditions”.
It will now slash costs at its subsidiaries, including cutting staff and terminating or negotiating agreements with its suppliers.
Chief executive Chris Sweeney said: “The current general capital, and market specific conditions, are increasingly challenging for a business at Fiinu’s current stage of development.”
The news comes amid a difficult environment for fintech firms, many of which have struggled to access cash this year as rising rates have dented investment.
Total cash raised by UK fintech firms slumped to $2.9bn in the first six months of the year, down 37 per cent on the second half of 2022, according to new figures from industry body Innovate Finance.