Former PayPal CEO Harris shuts down latest startup weeks after launch

Former PayPal CEO Harris shuts down latest startup weeks after launch

Former PayPal CEO Harris shuts down latest startup weeks after launch 17 November 2022

Nirvana Money, a fintech startup founded by former PayPal and Intuit CEO Bill Harris, has shut down less than a month after its launch.

Nirvana was officially unveiled last month, promising a hybrid product combining a credit and debit in one "to simplify the way people earn, save and spend".

Based in Miami, the startup has at least 50 employees, according to LinkedIn. Last May, Harris boasted that he would have 200 staffers onboard by the end of 2022.

Instead, the company is shutting up shop, with a brief notice on its website stating: "The Nirvana Money service is being discontinued. Thank you for participating in the beta program of Nirvana Money. All accounts will be closed on December 1, 2022."

Harris has been active on LinkedIn, responding to comments on the closure, saying: "We've got a great concept and a stellar team, but as a credit company lending to the lower end of the credit spectrum into a recessionary environment with interest rates spiking - and all the means for cost of funds.

"Unfortunately, that's a formula for a sunnier day. Very disappointed, but the right decision."

Harris - who has founded a slew of companies, including One, the digital banking outfit acquired by Walmart - adds that "nobody (customers or investors) lost any money except me. But this risk is the nature of startups".