UOB to spend $500m on boosting digital banking capabilities
The investment comes after the pandemic accelerated digital-first banking across Southeast Asia.
Consumer/Personal Finance
Coventry Building Society seeks first chief data officer
The savings and mortgage lender has more than 2,700 employees and 1.8 million members.
Ascend Money becomes Thailand’s first fintech unicorn with $150m fundraise
Thai fintech plans to boost financial inclusion efforts in Southeast Asia.
Challenger bank Mox appoints former ING exec Barbaros Uygun as CEO
Current CEO Deniz Güven will step down with effect from 27 September.
Aussie BNPL firm Zip targets Indian expansion with ZestMoney investment
The investment underlines Zip’s strategy to capitalise on the high-growth Indian BNPL market.
Bhutan central bank partners with Ripple to pilot CBDC
The CBDC pilot with the South Asian country is designed to boost financial inclusion.
Barclays hires payments veteran Antony Stephen to boost BNPL solution
Stephen joins from Amazon and will work on scaling Barclays’ BNPL platform.
JP Morgan Chase acquires Frank to firm up student offering
US firm hopes the deal for the college-focused financial wellness platform will boost student engagement.
Zolve launches immigrant-focused banking products
The neobank’s new suite of products will help new arrivals to the US build credit.
Monese moves into digital banking with Investec
The new partnership will see the international bank begin to offer digital banking services to UK customers.
Fintech funding deals globally 13 September – 19 September 2021
Featuring BitSight, Melio, SellersFunding, Form3 and Xendit.
Canadian fintech start-up Neo Financial lands $50m Series B funding
New funds will be used for further product development and to grow its team.
Sberbank deputy chair: “We’re the number one target for hackers around the globe”
Fintech Futures speaks with Sberbank’s Stanislav Kuznetsov about the importance of cybersecurity.
ICYMI funding round-up: TomoCredit, Lightyear, X-Margin, Coinfirm & more
More funding deals you may have missed during a busy week of news.
Dutch digital bank Bunq partners with Paysafe to offer cash deposits
The two companies say the partnership will facilitate “quick and secure cash deposits”.
Payroll platform Papaya Global hits $3.7bn valuation with $250m Series D round
Papaya has now raised $440 million in total capital since its seed round in 2016.
Fintech start-up Koyo raises $50m in Series A round
The lender will use the cash to target the UK’s “near-prime” consumer credit market.
Irwin secures $20m in Series A funding round led by K1
The investment will help further the fintech’s mission to upgrade the capital markets software offering.
African fintech Wave hits unicorn status with $200m Series A round
The fintech start-up says it wants to “bring digital finance to everyone in Africa”.
Digital challenger Varo Bank lands $510m in Series E funding round
Funds will be used to boost product and tech development and fuel customer growth.
Fintech ecosystem MNT-Halan lands $120m funding
The Egyptian digital platform connects merchants and users who are typically excluded from financial institutions.
Visa partners Indian paytech to push offline payments
Innoviti says it is committed to building a cashless India, driving financial inclusion across the country.
Mastercard grows open banking offering with Aiia buy
The acquisition of the European open banking provider marks the latest move by Mastercard in the space.
Investcorp tech fund snaps up e-wallet firm MIR
The acquisition marks the eighth investment from the private equity firm’s Investcorp Technology Fund IV.
Fintech software firm Veritran hits $225m valuation with Trivest investment
Veritran’s enterprise low-code platform facilitates billions of transactions annually.
Financial wellness platform Origin raises $56m funding at $400m valuation
The funds will be used to develop new products and expand its employee customer base.
CIBC acquires Costco’s Canadian credit card portfolio
CIBC will also become the exclusive issuer of Costco Mastercards in Canada.
It’s time to put our heart back into our ecosystem – and build what matters
Access to financial services is a crucial tool to help our most marginalised citizens escape poverty.
Your financial digital twin
What if you had a digital twin that could manage your money faster and better than you?
IKEA parent company Ingka Group invests $22.5m in BNPL fintech Jifiti
The minority stake investment will expand IKEA’s financing offering in-store and online.
Nigerian central bank partners with Bitt to deliver new digital currency
The Barbadian fintech says digitising the Naira will benefit the entire Nigerian financial ecosystem.
US Bank boosts fintech investment with stake in two VC firms
The bank says becoming a limited partner in the firms will enhance its fintech offerings.
Aspiring challenger bank W1TTY receives UK EMI licence
The firm’s smart finance app will launch in the UK early next year.
Mexican fintech Flink lands $57m in Series B round
New investment follows the company’s $12 million Series A round in February.
Video: fintech news pick of the week – Mastercard, Ramp, PayPal & more
Our top pick of news from the world of finance and tech in bitesize video format, every week.
ICYMI funding round-up: Pngme, Recognise Bank, pawaPay, Finexio & more
Another collection of funding rounds and raises from all over the world you might have missed this week.
OPay becomes Africa’s latest fintech unicorn with $400m Series C round
The Nigerian start-up says the new investment takes its valuation up to $2 billion.
What Gen Z can tell us about the future of banking
All too often, the voices of young people seem to be ignored. Now is a critical time to talk and listen.
Paysafe agrees deal to acquire German digital payments firm viafintech
It is Paysafe’s third acquisition in the last month, following deals for SafetyPay and PagoEfectivo.
Real estate fintech Reali raises $250m funding
The California-based firm will use the funds for national expansion and product development.
