Video: Top fintech stories this week – 19 February 2021
FinTech Futures’ weekly news round-up.
Digital
ICYMI funding round-up: FlexxPay, Raqamyah, and JustUs
A trio of funding rounds that may have passed you by last week.
Newly licensed UK bank Cashplus is raising £50m
It intends to raise the funds from growth investment firms.
Stripe valuation rises to $115bn according to investors
The $115 billion figure is more than threefold its $36 billion valuation.
Banesco Panamá plans digital revamp with Backbase
Panamanian lender to integrate new products and solutions online.
Saudi Arabia plans new SME bank to underpin local funding
The new bank brings “all financing solutions under one umbrella”.
Low-code fintech OutSystems bags $9.5bn valuation in $150m raise
It claims to tackle the shortage of developers across 22 industries.
What the Fintech? | S.2 Episode 4 | TMRW never dies: digital banking in the ASEAN
Featuring Stuart Smith, head of regional engagement and UX design at UOB’s TMRW Digital Bank.
Norwegian web browser Opera launches fintech “Dify” in beta
Opera made two fintech-focused acquisitions last year.
Baptist Health Federal Credit Union picks Finastra system
Healthcare-supporting FCU revamps digital channels.
FinTech Futures presents Dock – a virtual roundtable experience
Take part in Dock on 18-19 May to discuss the industry’s pertinent problems and find the solutions.
Dutch unicorn Mollie expands to UK for post-Brexit opportunities
Molllie says it wants to help merchants with European growth post-Brexit.
Yolt Technology Services lands UK PSD2 licence
The fintech will no longer rely on ING’s licence.
Banking Tech Awards 2020 Winners Supplement out now
Showcasing the most impactful and innovative projects, products, services and people in fintech in 2020.
UK government unveils digital identity plans based on wallet tech
The government likens a digital identity wallet to a bank card authorising a payment.
Personetics raises $75m from Warburg Pincus
Data analytics and customer engagement firm plans expansion with new funding.
Neobank hopeful 11Onze to offer Catalans a non-Spanish alternative
The start-up intends to be a true representation of the country’s 7.6m population.
Aussie challenger Cape bags ex-Funding Circle CRO Rahul Pakrashi
Pakrashi says his wants “to get back” to his roots at Cape.
Swedish neobank Northmill raises $30m to power European expansion
The first stop along the way is a new product launch in Norway.
Three things banks must do to thrive in 2021
It is the banks who invest now and execute effectively, that will come out on top.
The US market: are EU-based challengers coming to rustle up some feathers?
A deep dive and step-by-step comparison of US banks’ and EU challengers’ capabilities.
Robinhood backer Tiger Global leads $200m investment in rival Public.com
Public.com – as on 1 February – decided to stop making profits from payment for order flows.
MoneyLion set to go public via $2.9bn Spac deal
The fintech anticipates year-over-year growth of around 88%.
Introducing “it’s a matter of comms”
Welcome to #itsamatterofcomms! A new bi-weekly vlog!
Fintech funding deals globally 8-14 February 2021
Featuring Fraction, BharatPe, Agibank, Monzo, and Coinsquare.
US Faster Payments Council report shows state of US payments
It provides a true illustration and understanding of how funds move on the networks.
Monzo appoints Carol Kobuke Nelson as new US president and CEO
Nelson spent 23 years at Bank of America.
Is 2021 the year to inspire better banking?
Sanat Rao says the time is right to invest in back-end systems change.
US core banking vendor Nymbus lands $53m top-up led by existing backer
Nymbus is gearing up to launch “Nymbus Labs”.
Danish edtech Female Invest targets UK expansion with $1.6m fresh capital
“It makes a big difference when you see someone like you on a platform.”
Nigeria’s Xend Finance increases size of funding round to $2m
It initially launched its platform publicly late last year after raising $1.5 million in funding.
Italian neobank illimity turns €16m loss into €31m profit in a year
The neobank’s best-performing arm, by a long way, was its NPL unit.
Raiffeisen Bank to buy Czech Republic’s consumer lender Equa bank
In 2020, Equa bank’s consolidated net profit fell by 55% to $8.5 million.
Goldman Sachs re-opens Marcus in UK with 0.5% rate
0.5% is the highest paying easy-access rate in the UK.
Huawei to acquire Xunlian Zhipay for its payments licence
The deal is yet to be officially announced.
The core wars
This battle is for core banking software, challenging the likes of SAP, Finastra and Temenos.
Dublin’s ION Group snaps up New York trading tech firm Dash
ION Group has bought a handful of other firms to date.
Equifax acquires AccountScore to boost open banking capabilities
Equifax wants higher rates of automation and verification.
Klarna’s valuation set to triple to $30bln, says report
A report says Klarna is currently working on a half a billion new share issue.
San Fran fintech Zeta lands $1.5m for couples banking
Currently, the start-up makes money on partial interchange fees.
