Fintech funding deals globally 8-14 March 2021
Featuring Stripe, Starling, BlockFi, Cedar, and Flutterwave.
Digital
State of play: account-to-account (A2A) payments
In-depth analysis and understanding of the market landscape by our resident fintech analyst.
Tencent suffers $65bn market value blow, analysts put fintech business at “zero”
Tencent, like Ant, holds a financial foothold in China which rivals banks.
First Iraqi Bank selects ICS Banks core banking tech from ICSFS
Start-up bank FIB aims to transform the banking sector in Iraq and the wider MENA region.
Stripe reaches $95bn valuation on back of fresh $600m injection
This year, Stripe will continue to pursue enterprise clients.
KKO picks Pannovate to underpin digital bank launch in Mexico
KKO plan a new bank for young professionals.
Banking Tech Awards 2020 Winner: Alexandra Boyle – Rising FinTech Star
Alexandra Boyle is OpenFin’s director, head of strategic client group in Europe.
Video: Top fintech stories this week – 12 March 2021
FinTech Futures’ weekly news round-up.
Banking Technology March 2021 issue out now
Creating communities: celebrating women in fintech this Women’s History Month
Goldman-backed Flywire files paperwork for IPO which could reach $3bn
Flywire has listed itself as profitable since its Series B funding round in 2013.
NatWest shutters three-year-old fintech lender Esme Loans
Esme Loans enjoyed a London Tube advertising campaign for a time.
ICYMI funding round-up: Exabel, ClearGlass, Cheese, Flowcast & more
Plenty of funding rounds may have slipped you by this week.
Atom Bank to close funding round at half its 2019 valuation
One of Atom’s largest shareholders isn’t able to participate in the sale.
Women in fintech: Clipped wings, part-time stigma & ignorant assumptions
Women highlight gender bias in the financial services workplace.
South African fintech Adumo lands $15m from World Bank member
Adumo helps businesses move from cash transactions to digital payments.
Chip hires former 10x head of product Tom Evans as new CTO
Evans joins as the saving app gears up for new product launches.
M1 Finance completes $75m Series D funding round
Chicagoan “super app” gains new funding just months after last round.
Banking’s long road to BaaS
The opportunity for BaaS is huge and compelling, but the journey to get there is long and complex.
Digital payments: why they are here to stay
It is not just individuals who are adapting to the shift.
Banking Tech Awards 2020 Winner: Yolt – Best Mobile Initiative
Yolt’s new mobile app: nudge techniques, open banking and smarter personal finance.
PayTech Awards 2021 now open for entries!
Open to financial and payment institutions worldwide, technology and service providers, individuals and teams.
Insurtech Zego lands $150m Series C to join unicorn club
“It is clear that the way people use vehicles is undoubtedly changing”.
London fintech WorldRemit mulls taking $1.5bn Spac listing to US
Refinitiv data shows Spac mergers have surged to a record $170 billion this year.
MFS Africa invests in London with all-new executive team
“London has taken up the mantle of fintech advocate and champion.”
Sontiq acquires Breach Clarity to deploy analysis tech
BreachIQ to be integrated with Sontiq’s existing product suite.
Amazon expands pay-with-hand tech, pushes on with digital currency
Amazon hopes to contract out the pay-with-hand technology to third parties.
Nigerian fintech Flutterwave lands unicorn status with $170m Series C
It is one of the few African start-ups to have secured more than $200 million in funding.
MoneyGram and Ripple end partnership deal two years early
The two firms wind down their deal amid regulatory issues.
SoFi to acquire Golden Pacific Bancorp in $22m quest for US bank charter
US fintech switches tactics to nab an existing licence.
Suez Canal Bank extends Temenos partnership with Infinity deal
The bank is an existing user of Temenos’ core banking platform.
Chase Pay merchant integration officially winds down this month
The Chase Pay button was used by retailers such as Walmart.
PayPal buys Israeli crypto wallet Curv for its new blockchain unit
PayPal expects the acquisition to close in the first half of 2021.
Aion Bank acquires robo-advisor ETFmatic
London-based robo-advisor ETFmatic has been Aion Bank’s partner for a year.
Payfazz invests $30m in Xfers to form Fazz Financial Group
FFG aims to develop solutions for the underbanked in Southeast Asia.
Banking Tech Awards 2020 Winners: Strands – Best Open Banking Solution
Opening up banking and account aggregation services.
Flagstar Bank suffers data breach as employee data posted online
A zero-day vulnerability left Flagstar’s data exposed to cybercriminals.
Paysafe inks Azure cloud deal with Microsoft
The two firms extend an existing tech partnership.
Dozens hires new CTO from energy firm Kingo
Peter Kasprowicz is a “rare” direct hire from the Guatemalan firm
Minu raises $14m to provide on-demand salary payments in Mexico
Minu has raised $20 million since 2019, and plans an expansion in its home country.
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Setting a new standard for banking self-service solution performance.
