3 No-Brainer Fintech Stocks to Buy Right Now for Under $200

Financial markets are known for their unpredictable nature with fluctuating trends and movements. However, investors who show patience and a long-term perspective often encounter lucrative rewards on Wall Street.

By focusing on the long term, investors can benefit from the potential growth and stability that come with sustainable market cycles and trends. This approach allows investors to capitalize on the gradual upward trajectory of their investments over time, rather than being swayed by short-term market volatility.

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Today, thanks to the low barriers to entry offered by online brokerages, anyone can begin their journey to building long-term wealth. You don’t need much to get started; even $200 can be enough to start investing right now. If you’re ready to start building your portfolio, here are three stocks you can buy today for less than $200.

SoFi technologies

In recent years, SoFihis (SOPHIE 3.69%) the business has transformed, expanding beyond the provision of student loans into a full financial services company. The company offers consumer loans, banking and investments through its platform.

Since acquiring Golden Pacific Bancorp, the fintech has done an excellent job of adding customers and growing its deposit base. This allows it to collect deposits and hold more loans on its books. As of the end of 2022, SoFi’s deposit base grew from $7.3 billion to nearly $23 billion at the end of the second quarter.

The company has done an excellent job of attracting customers to its platform with its high yield savings accounts. About 90% of SoFi’s deposits come from direct deposit customers, which bodes well for its future growth.

Another key part of SoFi’s growth story is its technology platform. The company has invested heavily in Galileo and Technisys, which provide back-end infrastructure for fintechs without bank charters. By partnering with SoFi, these companies can process payments and offer other banking services.

At the end of the second quarter, SoFi has 158 million Galileo accounts as its technology platform becomes increasingly important to its bottom line. Through six months of this year, SoFi’s profit from its technology platform is $62 million, almost twice as much as last year.

Its growing customer base and increasingly important technology platform, improved earnings and cheap valuation — at about three times sales — all make SoFi a great stock to buy today.

PayPal

PayPal (PYPL 0.73%) has introduced digital payments for several decades. Although the company faces increasing competition from other payment networks, it continues to be the most popular digital payment app of all generations, according to a survey of 2,000 Americans by The Motley Fool’s The Ascent.

PayPal has struggled with shrinking margins and slower growth, causing shares to trade around their cheapest since it spun off from eBay in 2015. However, the company is under the guidance of CEO Alex Chriss, who took over the top role earlier this year after former CEO Dan Schulman retired.

Under Chriss, PayPal is working to expand its offerings and make them more attractive to e-commerce providers on the web. One offering, PayPal Complete Payments, targets small and medium-sized businesses. Fastlane by PayPal technology promises to lower payment friction, increase conversion rates and reduce payment times.

PayPal is making good progress in this year of transition. Volume through PayPal Complete Payments increased by 40% in the first half of this year. Not only that, but the company recently expanded its partnership with Adyen for its Fastlane product, further validating the product, which it plans to roll out globally in the future.

With shares trading at around $70 a share, PayPal is priced at 17 times earnings and 2.4 times sales. Now seems like a great time to buy the stock, which is sitting at its valuation low since its 2015 IPO.

Block

Block (SQ 3.28%) is also undergoing a transformation this year under the leadership of its CEO and co-founder, Jack Dorsey. The company is undergoing a restructuring as it eliminates business silos and dismantles the business unit reporting structure. According to Dorsey, the move brings Block “back to the way we started as a company” and will allow it to focus on “collaboration, craftsmanship and flexibility.”

Block has several business units, including Square, its point-of-sale offering for businesses; Cash App, its cash transfer and investment app; Tidal, its music streaming service; and its Bitcoin business, which focuses on decentralized finance (DeFi) and the development of mining chips and other technology solutions for the Bitcoin network.

Last year, Dorsey said he wanted to “reset the relationship with Square and Cash App and restructure Afterpay to ensure a stronger connection between each” and that “combining the two ecosystems allows us to offer consumers experiences that others cannot does, especially for trade. “

Block is making progress toward these goals, but has yet to maximize its potential. The stock is priced at $63 per share, or 1.7 times sales and 13.8 times estimated one-year earnings, making now a great time for long-term investors to get a stake in the fintech.