Bolt founder Ryan Breslow announces new CEO after Silicon Valley Twitter rant
Breslow has moved to a new role as executive chairman, focusing on funding and acquisitions.
Financial Services/Finserv
New US debit card fintech Xrent aims to help renters get on the property ladder
The fintech’s ‘rent-to-mortgage’ programme is designed to direct rent payments toward homeownership.
Crypto paytech BCB Group acquires software firm LAB577, gains new CTO and COO
LAB577 founder Richard Crook and Farzad Pezeshkpour join BCB Group as COO and CTO, respectively.
Digital acceleration shines a light on new challenges facing small businesses
The search for adequate SME funding and opportunities to minimise costs are at an all-time high.
Banking Tech Awards 2021 Highly Commended: au Jibun Bank – Best UX/CX in Finance Initiative
The importance of supporting investors along their journey and how au Jibun Bank does that.
UK mortgage lender Generation Home lands £1bn debt financing to expand first-time buyer offering
Start-up says the new funding will help “over 4,000 more families” buy their first home.
Digital asset custody platform Fireblocks worth $8bn following $550m Series E
The round makes Fireblocks the highest-valued digital asset infrastructure provider in the world.
Black-owned wealthtech start-up Esusu hits $1bn valuation following $130m Series B
Esusu is now one of just a handful of Black-owned unicorn start-ups in the world.
Why everyone will know the term embedded lending in 2022
SME demand for finance is set to continue to grow globally in 2022.
Fintech funding deals globally 24 January – 30 January 2022
Featuring Fireblocks, FTX US, Creditas, Esusu and CoinTracker.
Garden of Eden: how Africa’s digital transformation promises to boost the continent
Demographics, technology and opportunity have set the stage for Africa to become a global fintech powerhouse.
German software firm SAP to acquire capital management fintech Taulia
Taulia will continue to operate as a standalone company under its own brand.
Digital bank N26 confirms departure of COO Adrienne Gormley
N26 says Gormley has “played an important role” in scaling its operations division.
The proliferation of digital transformation: from ‘nice to have’ to a necessity for success
Digital transformation has become the benchmark for survival in the financial market.
Banking Tech Awards 2021 Highly Commended: QuickFi – Best Use of IT for Lending
QuickFi eliminates loan officers and other salespeople in favour of an entirely new borrower self-service experience.
Video: fintech news pick of the week – UBS, Katana Labs and Walmart
Our top pick of news from the world of finance and tech in bitesize video format, every week.
FinTech Futures Jobs: Three interesting new roles to consider this week
Exciting open vacancies at Starling Bank, Klarna and Crowdcube. Apply today!
Rabobank revamps trade finance ops with Surecomp
Rabobank is fully live with Surecomp’s front- and back-office solutions, allNETT and DOKA-NG.
Crypto paytech BCB Group lands UK blockchain industry’s largest Series A with $60m raise
BCB claims to have processed nearly $100bn worth of payments in just over five years of business.
Aussie BNPL firm Zip confirms Sezzle takeover talks
The potential deal would follow a string of acquisitions by Zip over the past 18 months.
ICYMI funding round-up: ApexEdge, DirectID, Everything, NALA, Tuum, & OZÉ
Our weekly round-up for you to get the latest fintech funding news.
Walmart-backed Hazel snaps up fintech platforms Even and One in super app push
Walmart CEO says the app will allow users to “manage their money in one place”.
UBS agrees $1.4bn deal to acquire wealth management platform Wealthfront
Millennial and Gen Z-focused Wealthfront caters to “the next generation of investors”.
Insurance payments platform Ascend lands $30m Series A
Ascend claims to be “the first modern insurance payments platform”.
Brazilian fintech platform Creditas scores $260m in Series F funding
Creditas is now valued at $4.8bn, with total funding raised to date standing at $829m.
JP Morgan acquires 49% stake in European SME paytech Viva Wallet
JP Morgan says Viva Wallet is a “natural fit” for its payments business.
Aladin Bank turns to Google Cloud for Islamic banking tech innovation
Aladin Bank, an Islamic bank in Indonesia, has announced a “strategic collaboration” with Google Cloud.
BNPL provider Splitit appoints new CEO, Nandan Sheth
Nandan Sheth moves from Fiserv, where he was head of global digital commerce and the firm’s Carat business.
Pinwheel raises $50m in Series B to help create “fairer financial system”
Pinwheel provides an API that allows businesses to connect payroll accounts to their applications.
UK credit card Keebo launches for “credit invisibles” in “passion economy”
Keebo tackles financial exclusion in the “passion economy” – an economy built around “creators with a purpose”.
Modifi acquires Seawise Capital’s trade finance and SaaS business in India
Modifi’s business in India has grown more than 2,100% over the past 18 months.
Santander enters BNPL market with launch of new platform Zinia
Already live in Germany, Santander now plans to roll out the service in the Netherlands and Spain.
Al Rajhi Bank Malaysia taps Thought Machine to power new digital bank
ARBM will deploy the Vault core banking solution to deliver Shariah-compliant banking products.
Baton Systems appoints ex-Barclays exec as its first COO
David Ornstein steps into a newly-created role of chief operating officer (COO) at Baton.
Zafin acquires fellow Canadian fintech Fincad
Together, Zafin and Fincad will become “one of Canada’s largest B2B fintech companies”.
Crypto asset software and data provider Lukka lands $110m in Series E
New York-based Lukka is now valued at $1.3 billion.
Technology holds the key to solving the Covid loan repayment crisis
The adoption of new tech by governments can help SMEs access the cash needed to repay their Covid loans.
Banking Tech Awards 2021 Winner: Snoop – Best Open Banking Solution
What’s next for the award-winning app that helps people “live smarter”.
Alternative lender 365 Business Finance secures £55m funding
365 Business Finance aims to quadruple its lending to UK SMEs over the next two years.
Rupifi appoints early investor Rajesh Kamra to lead B2B payments innovation
Rupifi says it’s India’s “first embedded finance company” in the B2B payments space.
