MoneyLion, a digital banking startup whose platform also offers lending and investing, is reportedly in talks to go public by merging with Fusion Acquisition, a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC).

Why should we care?
New York-based MoneyLion, which was founded in 2013, has more than 6 million users. A merger with the blank-check company would value the combined entity at more than $2B. MoneyLion has offered subscription-based financial products at varying price points throughout its history. The MoneyLion checking account, which is called RoarMoney, mirrors the offerings of challenger bank competitors, with access to paychecks two days early and fee-free withdrawals from a 55,000-strong ATM network. Its investing products include ETFs, and thematic offerings typical of other app-based digital wealth management platforms. A public launch via SPAC would offer the company, which has reportedly raised nearly $270M, additional runway to expand and hold its own in a competitive marketplace. The challenger bank field in the U.S. has become particularly crowded in recent years, with banking app Chime leading the pack in customer numbers with an estimated 12 million users. Financial services company SoFi (which also offers banking) announced that it was going public through a merger with a SPAC last month.