In 2013, Chris Britt cofounded San Francisco startup Chime, which has made the list for seven consecutive years.
Cody Pickens for Forbes
The promise of fintech–particularly in the personal finance space–has always been a more inclusive financial system. That’s at the heart of the success of some list veterans.
Chime, in its seventh year on the Fintech 50, is the largest digital bank in America with seven million monthly users of its app. It has been a leader in driving down costs–it charges no monthly or overdraft fees on its checking accounts and makes paychecks available sooner. Tala, on the list for an impressive ninth consecutive year, leverages smartphone data and proprietary algorithms to make loans of $20 to $500 each to customers in countries including Kenya, India and Mexico. Those little loans add up–to $1.3 billion in 2024 alone. Propel, in its sixth consecutive list appearance, helps empower those getting government benefits, with a free debit card, personal finance tools and special deals. In 2024, it reached GAAP profitability as revenue climbed 24% to $47 million.
But there are still underserved segments to be found–as evidenced by two first-timers on the list. Bilt Rewards is bringing a benefit to the nation’s stretched renters–they can earn perks like airline miles on their rental payments. In 2024, Bilt processed and rewarded members on more than $36 billion in annual rent and HOA payments, up from $11 billion in 2023.
Meanwhile, True Link Financial offers a special debit card for those with dementia or other mental disabilities–the $12 per month service allows those managing the card holder’s finances to set spending controls to protect against fraud. True Link has already served 250,000 families and has 157,000 current active users of the card. It also manages a growing pile of assets–nearly $1.5 billion now–in special needs and other trusts.
Here are the eight personal finance companies that made the Fintech 50 for 2025:
Bilt Rewards
Headquarters: New York, New York.
Founded in 2021, the credit card startup lets U.S. renters earn perks like airline miles on their rent payments. Renters of 4.5 million apartment units can earn Bilt points on rent payments, and the company processed over $36 billion in transactions in 2024.
Funding: $550 million from General Catalyst, Ontario Teacher’s Pension Plan and Left Lane Capital, among others.
Latest valuation: $3.2 billion.
Date of last valuation: August 2024.
Bona fides: In 2024, Bilt’s revenue grew to about $275 million, up from $116 million in 2023, while its customer base expanded from 1.6 million to 3.5 million.
Founder: CEO Ankur Jain, 35, who previously launched multiple startups in industries ranging from real estate to childcare.
Chime
Headquarters: San Francisco, California.
The largest digital bank in America, Chime first gained a following by offering free checking accounts and no overdraft fees. It lets customers overdraw their accounts by up to $200 for free and offers a secured credit card (a plus for those with limited or poor credit histories). In 2024, Chime launched MyPay, a new earned wage access service that lets consumers access up to $500 of their pay before payday. Chime also acquired fintech startup Salt Labs last year to bring earned wage access products directly to employers.
Funding: $2.3 billion from Sequoia Capital, DST Global and Menlo Ventures, among others.
Latest valuation: $25 billion.
Date of last valuation: August 2021.
Bona fides: The Chime app has over 7 million monthly users. Its earned wage service MyPay surpassed two million enrolled users less than six months after its official launch in July 2024.
Cofounders: CEO Chris Britt, 51, who did previous stints at Green Dot and Visa; Ryan King, 48.
Esusu
Headquarters: New York, New York and Los Angeles, California.
Esusu helps renters build their credit histories and scores for free by reporting on-time rent payments to credit bureaus. Property owners pay a monthly fee per unit for this service, which boosts on-time payments, increases renter retention and enhances ESG reporting. More than 20,000 properties and 1.8 million consumers are actively reporting rent payments through Esusu.
Funding: $145 million from SoftBank, Motley Fool Ventures and Acumen Fund, among others.
Latest valuation: $1 billion.
Date of last valuation: January 2022.
Bona fides: In 2024, grew its customer base to more than 650 property managers, lenders and other financial institutions, up from 400 the year prior.
Cofounders: Wemimo Abbey, 32, a Nigerian immigrant; Samir Goel, 30. Both had nonprofit experience before starting Esusu.
Kudos Technologies
Headquarters: Los Angeles, California.
Kudos aims to help consumers maximize their credit card rewards. At checkout, its browser-based application identifies the best card to use, recommends new cards based on spending habits and helps users track benefits like monthly card rewards. Users can also earn extra rewards, called Kudos Boost, at over 15,000 merchants, all of which pay a commission to Kudos.
Funding: $17 million from QED Investors, SciFi VC and Patron, among others.
Latest valuation: $45 million.
Date of last valuation: September 2023.
Bona fides: By the end of 2024, Kudos was processing $25 million in monthly transactions (gross merchandise volume), up over 100% from the year prior. Total registered users also grew to 300,000, up from 150,000 in 2023.
Founders: CEO Tikue Anazodo, 33, and Ahmad Ismail, 30. Both worked as product managers at Google and Affirm before starting Kudos in 2021.
Propel
Headquarters: New York, New York.
Its Providers app enables low-income families receiving government benefits such as SNAP (food stamps), rental assistance and TANF (cash payments) to manage those benefits alongside their income and overall finances. Propel also issues a free debit Mastercard for users’ cash benefits and earnings (food stamps have their own government card), generating revenue from card interchange fees and from marketers who pay to promote affordable products, such as low-cost Wi-Fi and groceries, on the platform. In 2024, Propel achieved profitability (on a GAAP basis) and introduced multiple EBT security features that safeguard benefits for cardholders.
Funding: $90 million from Andreessen Horowitz, Kleiner Perkins and Nyca Partners, among others.
Latest valuation: $500 million.
Date of last valuation: February 2022.
Bona fides: Revenue in 2024 reached $47 million, up from $38 million in 2023.
Cofounders: CEO Jimmy Chen, 37, left a product manager position at Facebook to start Propel; COO Jeff Kaiser, 35; CTO Ram Mehta, 38.
Sunbit
Headquarters: Los Angeles, California.
Founded in 2016, Sunbit provides point-of-sale consumer financing for large unplanned expenses incurred at thousands of businesses, such as dental offices and auto repair shops for carmakers like Volkswagen, Honda and Nissan. Its loans range from $50 to $20,000 and have average interest rates of 20%. The company had more than 3.7 million loan customers in 2024, up from 2.6 million in 2023. Last year, it raised $355 million in new debt financing led by JPMorgan Chase, Mizuho and Waterfall Asset Management.
Funding: $300 million from Zeev Ventures, Group 11 and Chicago Ventures, among others.
Latest valuation: $1.1 billion.
Date of last valuation: May 2021.
Bona fides: Brought in $260 million in revenue in 2024, up from $198 million in 2023.
Cofounders: CEO Arad Levertov, 47, who served in Israel’s Shayetet-13 unit, often referred to as the Israeli Navy Seals; chief revenue officer Tal Riesenfeld, 47; CTO Ornit Maizel, 45; head of AI Tamir Hazan, 50.
Tala
Headquarters: Santa Monica, California.
Makes loans of $20 to $500 to customers in the Philippines, Mexico, Kenya and India who have little or no formal borrowing history. By leveraging smartphone data and proprietary algorithms, Tala assesses risk and allows borrowers to choose their repayment terms. In its 11-year history, Tala has served over 10 million customers and disbursed $6 billion in credit across East Africa, Latin America and Southeast Asia, with $1.3 billion disbursed in 2024 alone. Last year, Tala launched its first self-custody wallet in Peru, which lets customers deposit and withdraw fiat-backed stablecoins and get loans with Tala.
Funding: $350 million from IVP, Revolution and the Stellar Development Foundation, among others.
Latest valuation: $800 million.
Date of last valuation: October 2021.
Bona fides: Tala made loans to 2.5 million customers in 2024, up from 2.1 million in 2023.
Founder: CEO Shivani Siroya, 42, who founded Tala after studying the impact of microcredit in sub-Saharan and West African countries for the U.N.
True Link Financial
Headquarters: San Francisco, California.
True Link offers a debit card with customizable spending controls to help individuals with memory loss, mental health challenges or special needs manage their finances responsibly. The company supports over 150,000 customers, managing nearly $1.5 billion in assets and processing about $750 million in transactions each year. The service is available for $12 per month.
Funding: $60 million from Khosla Ventures, QED Investors and Centana Growth Partners, among others.
Latest valuation: $144 million.
Date of last valuation: January 2022.
Bona fides: In 2024, revenue reached $30 million, up 30% from 2023, and the company earned $2 million in net profits.
Founders: Kai Stinchcombe, 42, previously founded two startups including a sales management platform and a redistricting analytics software company. Former True Link president Claire McDonnell, 41, was a Fulbright Scholar and social-impact consultant before cofounding True Link in 2012.