ICYMI fintech funding round-up: in3, Noh, PictureWealth, Touché, and Yep!
At FinTech Futures, we know that it can be easy to let funding announcements slip you by in this fast-paced industry. That’s why we put together our weekly In Case You Missed It (ICYMI) funding round-up for you to get the latest funding news.
in3 raises $11.1m
in3, a Dutch buy now, pay later (BNPL) business, has announced an $11.1 million funding round led by Finch Capital.
The start-up has also partnered with global paytech Worldline to launch a free BNPL service for consumers, starting in the Netherlands. Through this partnership, in3 will offer a technology stack that will allow both online and offline merchants who are part of the Worldline network to offer BNPL payment services to their customers without additional integrations.
The BNPL sector in the Netherlands is expected to grow by 74.8% in 2022 and reach $7.6 billion, the vendor says. The new money will go towards expanding the team and investing further in its technology,
in3 was created in 2018 as “an antidote to the traditional BNPL market”, says CEO Hans Langenhuizen. It now has 1,500+ merchants on its client list.
“in3 was our honest approach to offer BNPL to consumers without costs which effectively allowed people to pay in three instalments within 60 days, with 0% interest. Because of the term of 60 days, a registration in the credit registers is not required. This gives the consumer the possibility to buy what they want instead of compromising on quality products,” he explains.
“For example, you can buy that refrigerator at no extra cost and then you have three salaries to pay for it. Our merchants profit from in3 in their checkout as well: it results in a substantial increase in transactions and importantly, a higher average transaction value. We see that the buyer more often goes for the more expensive product.”
Noh raises $3m
Noh, an automatic bill-splitting app in Brazil, has closed a $3 million seed round led by Kindred Ventures, with participation from Positive Ventures; Twitter co-founder Biz Stone and Frederick Blackford’s Future Positive fund; The Twenty Minute VC by Harry Stebbings; and Propel Venture Partners.
Several angels also took part, including Patrick Sigrist (iFood), André Penha (Quinto Andar), Tom Blomfield (founder of Monzo), Pedro Condrade (founder of Neon), Ayo Omojola (Cash App), Dhaval Chadha (Justos), and Scott Belsky (founder of Behance).
Founded in November 2021, the fintech will launch its first product – an app that functions as a shared digital wallet – in mid-March. Users will be able to make payments by bank slip (or “boleto”), Pix (Brazil’s ubiquitous electronic payment system), or a prepaid Visa card issued by Noh.
After registering and opening an account with Noh, each user can create as many groups as they want. Groups can be fixed, for people who share recurring expenses (such as electricity bills, rent, or weekly football games), or temporary, for one-off purchases like a vacation trip or birthday lunch with friends.
Users then transfer funds to the shared digital wallet, and set how much each person will pay for an expense or account.
Noh’s app is free to download, and there is no charge for users to make transactions. As Noh functions as a payments solution, its revenue comes from the establishments’ interchange fees for each transaction.
“In Brazil, sharing is a way of life. We share almost everything: our housing, our food, Netflix, the lottery ticket pool. However, when it comes to paying for these things, we still depend on one person with one card or bank account. Noh brings people together in a single payment”, says Ana Zucato, CEO of Noh.
Open banking will play a key role in Noh’s growth plans, she adds. In due course, by adding banking integrations, the amounts can be debited directly from the users’ bank accounts.
“Imagine that in every e-commerce marketplace or delivery application you will be able to find a ‘Split Account’ button. This button will be powered by Noh,” Zucato says.
PictureWealth raises $10.2m
PictureWealth, a wealthtech start-up in Australia, has raised AUD 14 million ($10.2 million) from an undisclosed institutional investor, bringing its total funding raised to date to AUD 30 million ($22 million).
It has also hired Allan Maitland, former head of Westpac’s Consumer Bank for Western Australia, as CEO of PictureWealth Advisory, the largest subsidiary in the PictureWealth group of businesses.
David Pettit, co-founder at PictureWealth, will continue as group CEO, focusing on stakeholder engagement, strategy, and mergers and acquisitions (M&A).
“It seems that all good things come in three’s: we have secured our first investor in our Series A, have just got Allan on board and are moving our HQ into a new 60-person office in the Perth CBD,” comments co-founder and chairman Neal Cross.
PictureWealth was founded in 2014. “We help you paint your financial picture by organising all your money matters in one place,” it says. “Your welfie (wealth + selfie) shows you the big picture of your current financial status, including your net worth, income, cash flow, super, insurance, estate planning and goals.”
Mashreq invests in Touché
Touché, a start-up that provides payment solutions for the food and beverage (F&B) and hospitality industries, has received an undisclosed investment from UAE banking heavyweight Mashreq Bank.
Touché enables the F&B and hospitality world to service clients through a single device, which links to their infrastructure and acquirer. It’s certified by Oracle and runs on a fully integrated mobile Android-based smart payment terminal, offering modules for full-service and quick-service businesses: Order@Table, Pay@Table, Benefit@Table, RoomChg@Table and Order&Pay.
“For too long the credit card world has been biased towards the cardholder. Touché brings value-added services to the physical merchants for them to have tangible benefits,” says CEO and founder Sahba Saint-Claire.
Touché was founded in 2014. It’s headquartered in Singapore, with offices in Barcelona, Tokyo and Dubai.
Yep! raises $1.5m
Yep!, a San Francisco, US and Lagos, Nigeria-based fintech, has raised $1.5 million in a pre-seed round led by Greenhouse Capital, a pan-African venture capital firm.
Yep! describes its offering as “the financial super app for Africans, created with the mission of providing financial possibilities for all Africans”.
The money will be used to double Yep’s current agent network to 200,000+ by the end of this year and open for business.
Once live, Yep! will offer banking, payment and remittance services to consumers, small businesses and merchants. In due course, the start-up also wants to introduce checking and saving accounts, a credit card and a physical bank for African migrants.
The start-up’s agent banking platform, PayCentre Africa, operates in Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Niger, Nigeria and Togo.
