Plaid, a firm that links financial apps to users’ bank accounts for payment processing and data validation, has permitted employees to liquidate portions of their shares at an $8 billion valuation, the company disclosed to TechCrunch on Thursday.

This valuation indicates a 31% rise from the $6.1 billion valuation the 13-year-old firm reached in April of the previous year, when it secured a $575 million funding round led by Franklin Templeton, partially aimed at enabling employees to sell shares to cover taxes associated with converting expiring restricted stock units (RSUs, a form of equity compensation) into shares.

Although it now boasts a larger headline figure, Plaid’s valuation remains 40% lower than its $13.4 billion peak in 2021, when ultra-low interest rates triggered a significant boom in fintech valuations.

Such share transactions are increasingly prevalent among private firms employing liquidity as a retention strategy. Recent instances include Stripe, which announced this week the option for employees to sell shares at a $159 billion valuation, along with Clay, ElevenLabs, and Linear.

In addition to aiding retention and assisting staff with tax obligations incurred when RSUs vest, these actions diminish the pressure on management to pursue an IPO prematurely.