Fintech startup Parker files for returns

Parker, a startup offering credit card and banking services for e-commerce businesses, has filed for bankruptcy and is said to be shutting down.

The startup was part of Y Combinator’s fifth batch of 2019, and its Series A was led by Valar Ventures.

Parker is out in 2023introducing a corporate loan that it said was designed for use by electronic commerce companies. At the time, co-founder and CEO Yacine Sibous said the start-up’s “secret sauce” was an inventory system that could monitor e-commerce revenue.

“We were thinking about creating better financing for e-commerce startups with the goal of increasing the number of independent investors,” Sibous told TechCrunch.

Parker’s website is still up and does not mention any discontinuation. In fact, the banner above boasts that the company has it earned more than $200 million net proceeds, including a $125 million loan arrangement.

However, several media reports say that Parker’s credit card partner Patriot Bank sent out a message to customers this week to confirm closing. Parker’s competitors seem to be jumping on the news theirs documents seeking to attract former customers of the company.

And Parker’s problems seem to be confirmed in its May 7 filing for Chapter 7 protection. The documents state that the company has between $50 million and $100 million in assets, with equal amounts of debt. It also says that Parker owes between 100 and 199.

Fintech consultant Jason Mikula recently he said that Parker was negotiating to raise money, the failure of the negotiations led to an abrupt halt. Mirkula added that this has “left small customers in a difficult position” and raised “questions about (his bank partner’s) management of the Piermont and Patriot program.”

Parker did not immediately respond to an email from TechCrunch.

The CEO of the company Sibous did not specifically admit the closure or failure of LinkedIn, and in a recent posthe reiterated the $200 million investment, adding that the company reached $65 million in revenue. But he also said that if he were to do it again, he would do things differently, such as: “Avoid doing extreme things, choosing wisely, and saying bad things.”