Wirecard Crisis Bound to Effect Broader EU Fintech Markets

Wirecard was once seen as one of the hottest fintechs in Europe and as recently as last week their share price was still €98; shares now trade at €14 and the company is reeling from an accounting scandal where €1.9bn of cash never existed; Wirecard CEO resigned and was arrested as of this writing; the crisis could reach much farther as many might see this as a reason to not invest in other fintech companies; fintechs do not yet have the benefit of being around for decades, each crisis is amplified and could damage the market for years; the Wirecard issues come at the worst time for fintechs as they are dealing with the ramifications of the pandemic; companies would benefit from being more open and transparent to prove to investors and partners they are not the next Wirecard. Financial Times.