Boku boss: Nasdaq is no ‘silver bullet’ for fintech listings
The boss of one of the London market’s fastest growing fintech companies has warned flocking to a listing on Wall Street is no “silver bullet” for firms seeking deeper liquidity than what’s on offer in the City.
Stuart Neal, the chief executive of Boku, told CityAM shifting the firm’s listing across the Atlantic would be “an expensive gamble” with little evidence of any “benefit”.
The remarks came as Boku delivered its financial results for the last year, where profit boomed 216 per cent to $19.6m (£14.6m) as monthly active users swelled 31 per cent to 114.4m.
The payments firm also launched a $12m share buyback but opted to not introduce a dividend, stating the current share price undervalues the company.
Neal told CityAM: “We’ve done three upgrades on revenue, upgraded our [earnings], and provided mid-term guidance…
“We think we’re doing our bit, and the share price should have followed – for varying reasons, it hasn’t.”
But when pressed on whether this would steer the AIM-listed firm away from the City, he responded: “If you look at how companies are faring on Nasdaq of a similar size…
“It is not the sort of silver bullet that people think it is.”
Boku delves into M&A opportunities
Boku, which specialises in mobile-first payments that connect merchants to local payment methods, was founded in 2008 in San Francisco but chose to list on the London Stock Exchange’s junior market in 2017.
But over the last year, the firm’s stock has taken a hit. Despite remaining up 11 per cent for the last 12 months, since the beginning of 2026 Boku has tumbled over 20 per cent.
Neal said “no automatic rerating or improvement in liquidity” would instantly come in the event of a move.
Chatter around the UK’s fintech talent heading stateside has intensified since money transfer firm Wise ditched its primary listing in the City in favour of the US, citing the deeper liquidity on Wall Street and opportunity to join major indices.
Last September, Swedish fintech unicorn Klarna also launched its long-awaited IPO on the New York Stock Exchange in a blow to London’s hopes of galvanising tech talent.
But the buy now, pay later giant – which has since attempted to transform into a digital bank – has seen its stock plummet well-over 65 per cent since its public debut to under $15.
Boku finished the financial year debt-free with net cash of $102.9m bulking up the fintech’s war chest.
“We probably need to keep at least 50 [million] on the balance sheet… but it does leave us with some cash to deploy,” Neal said.
He added the firm was open to mergers and acquisitions activity, but warned it was “dangerous to say we’re going to go and do M&A because you end up buying the wrong stuff.”
“We might sit there for a bit until we find something that we think is worth buying.”