With consumer preferences shifting towards seamless financial solutions, the digital banking boom is accelerating in 2025.
Fintech players are challenging traditional banks by upping the ante with innovative platforms, product personalisation and flexible payment options.
With the pressure on traditional banking, most payment solutions and other financial services are undergoing a rapid digital transformation.
These five US fintech stocks are not only riding the wave but helping to shape the next era of finance.
Affirm (NASDAQ: AFRM)
Affirm is a fintech firm focusing on buy now, pay later (BNPL) solutions with an emphasis on financial literacy.
For the third quarter of the fiscal year 2025 (3Q FY2025) ending 31 March 2025, Affirm reported revenue growth of 36% year-on-year (YoY) to US$783 million.
This growth is primarily driven by a surge in gross merchandise volume (GMV) by 36% YoY to US$8.6 billion.
This increase was led by a robust performance of the Affirm Card.
The Affirm Card’s GMV saw a 115% YoY growth to US$807 million.
The number of active Affirm Card users also increased by 107% YoY to 1.9 million, with a 9% card attach rate.
Alongside the explosive growth of Affirm Card, the number of 0% annual percentage rate transactions increased by 44% YoY.
On 30 April 2025, Affirm launched AdaptAI, an Artificial Intelligence-powered promotion platform for merchant partners.
AdaptAI helps merchants give more personalised financial benefits in the form of real-time promotions and credit offers.
This AI integration across Affrim’s products drove around a 10% improvement in conversion rates.
Upstart (NASDAQ: UPST)
Upstart is an AI-powered lending marketplace for individuals, credit unions and banks.
In 1Q 2025, Upstart reported revenue growth of 67% YoY to US$213 million.
This growth was from Upstart’s AI support which enabled 92% of loans to be fully automated, thereby driving higher loan volumes.
These higher loan volumes can be seen in the rise in auto loan originations which grew fivefold YoY to US$61 million.
Moreover, AI underwriting improved operational efficiency as AI-approved loans were converted at more than three times the rate of manual reviews.
In April 2025, Upstart also partnered with First Commonwealth (NYSE: FCF) and Lake Trust Credit Union, expanding its client base in the personal loan sector.
In May 2025, Upstart and Fortress Investment Group announced a US$1.2 billion forward flow agreement which is a commitment to buy loans originating from Upstart’s platform overtime.
This agreement allows Upstart to offer better liquidity solutions and increase its loan origination capacity, resulting in scalable growth.
SoFi (NASDAQ: SOFI)
SoFi is a member-centric digital finance platform with services such as financial planning and credit products.
For 1Q 2025, SoFi reported a surge in net revenue of 33% YoY to US$771 million.
This rise was led by the firm’s membership and product growth in 1Q 2025.
The number of new members grew by 34% YoY to about 10.9 million while the number of products increased by 35% YoY to about 15.9 million.
Consequently, the fee-based revenue grew by 67% YoY to US$315 million.
Moreover, financial services and tech platform revenue grew by 66% YoY US$407 million.
In addition, SoFi’s financial service product loop creates a sustainable and scalable growth engine.
The loop leverages growing member trust and product adoption to lower customer acquisition cost and boost life-time-values.
Strategically, SoFi expanded its loan business platform, supported by US$8 billion in new commitments and partnerships with companies like Blue Owl.
This expansion increases SoFi’s loan capacity and funding stability.
Additionally, SoFi is strengthening brand-awareness through large scale events such as the Country Music Association’s CMA Fest.
These brand partnerships allow enhanced customer acquisition and retention, resulting in stronger ecosystem engagement and growth in the long-term.
PayPal (NASDAQ: PYPL)
PayPal is a leading global payment solutions platform for individuals and businesses.
In 1Q 2025, PayPal reported a revenue growth of just 1% YoY to US$7.8 billion.
The company’s transaction margin also grew by 7% YoY to US$3.7 billion, refelcting high earnings power from its core payment processing business.
The key drivers of this growth are mainly Venmo revenue and debit card adoption.
PayPal’s Venmo platform saw an impressive growth of 20% YoY in 1Q 2025.
This is due to a 50% YoY rise in Pay with Venmo total payment volume (TPV).
In 1Q 2025, PayPal and Venmo added about two million new debit card users.
This influx of new users drove debit card TPV growth to over 60% YoY.
In February 2025, Verifone expanded its partnership with Paypal to develop an omnichannel solution for enterprise merchants globally.
This partnership integrates PayPal’s software into Verifone’s payment terminals, increasing PayPal’s physical points of sale.
This collaboration strengthens PayPal’s ability to tap into the offline retail market, diversifying its revenue beyond e-commerce.
Block (NYSE: SQ)
Block is a digital commerce company focusing on its Cash App and Square for peer-to-peer payments as well as financial services.
For 1Q 2025, Block reported a 9% YoY growth in gross profit to US$2.3 billion, attributed to the successful launch of new products.
The company also had its highest adjusted operating income of US$466 million which is a 28% YoY increase.
In 1Q 2025, the gross payment volume (GPV) of Square increased by 7% YoY, driven by share gains in its existing markets.
The largest contributors to the increase in GPV were middle-market sellers which made up 41% of total GPV.
Moreover, the strong performance of Square’s banking products and software and integrated payments led to a 9% YoY growth of its gross profit.
In the same period, Cash App gross profit rose 10% YoY, boosted by higher usage of Cash App Borrow, Cash App Card and BNPL.
In March 2025, Block adopted Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) GB200 systems for Frontier models.
This adoption enables Block to enhance its generative AI capabilities across its platforms, thereby driving efficiency and accelerating innovation.
Get Smart: Defining the future of digital banking
As digital banking continues to reshape the financial landscape, these five fintech innovators are leading with strong fundamentals, strategic partnerships, and cutting-edge technology.
Their robust 2025 performances and future-oriented developments suggest high-growth opportunities.
Now may be the ideal time to tap into this digital revolution and position your portfolio for long-term upside.
Generative AI is reshaping the stock market, but not in the way most investors think. It’s not just about which companies are using AI. It’s about how they’re using it to unlock new revenue, dominate their markets, and quietly reshape the business world. Our latest FREE report “How GenAI is Reshaping the Stock Market” breaks the hype down, so you can invest with greater clarity and confidence. Click here to download your copy today.
Follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Telegram for the latest investing news and analyses!
Disclosure: Gabriel Lim does not own shares in any of the companies mentioned.
