Trade financing platform Marco lands $200m credit facility, $8m equity
Marco says the combined funding will support its ambition to “close the $2 trillion global trade finance gap”.
FinTech
Business spend management firm Medius names Henrik Rosén as CTO
Rosén will be tasked with further developing Medius’ existing product suite as well as delivering new products.
What the FinTech? | S.4 Episode 3 | Generative AI in banking
In this episode, we’re joined by Miguel Navarro to discuss how generative AI could impact financial services.
US fintech Finch lands $40m in Series B funding
The round was co-led by General Catalyst and Menlo Ventures.
Shanghai Commercial Bank taps Salt Edge for PSD2 compliance solution
With the partnership, the bank says it will be able to offer customers a secure connection to external apps.
MoonPay names former Coinbase exec Asiff Hirji as new president
According to Bloomberg, Hirji assumed the role earlier this month, joining from Figure Technologies.
Panamax expands global reach with Acute Informatics acquisition
Panamax’s CEO says the acquisition of India-based Acute is a “strategic move to expand our horizons”.
Wells Fargo launches digital financial planning platform LifeSync
LifeSync, available from March, will sit within the Wells Fargo mobile app.
Swiss fintech Radicant parts ways with CEO Anders Bally
The fintech’s board dismissed Bally over differences in approach to “leadership and communications”.
Klarna to start charging late payment fees in UK
Late-paying users will be hit with a £5 fee from 16 March, City AM reports.
Indian telecom firm Airtel’s merger talks with Paytm reportedly fall through
Sources tell CNBC-TV18 that Paytm didn’t want to give up management control.
Varo Bank appoints Wook Chung as chief product officer
Chung most recently served as vice president of product, design and engineering at SoFi.
Northern Ireland renaissance: how US companies sparked Northern Ireland’s global fintech hub
Northern Ireland is the world’s top region for both new software development and fintech inward investment projects.
FinTech Futures: Top five stories of the week – 24 February 2023
Here’s our pick of five of the top news stories from the world of finance and tech this week.
Euronext in €5.5bn takeover bid for wealthtech Allfunds
Euronext has submitted an “indicative offer” to Allfunds’ board of directors.
RTGS.global CEO Dave Sissens steps down, Jarrad Hubble appointed interim CEO
Hubble joined RTGS in April last year as its chief commercial officer.
US president Joe Biden nominates former Mastercard CEO to lead World Bank
Ajay Banga has been nominated to lead the World Bank following the resignation of David Malpass.
FinTech Futures Jobs: Four boundaries you should implement at work right now
Explore thousands of open roles on the Fintech Futures Job Board today.
ICYMI fintech funding round-up: Siren, DirectID, Gimo & HedgeFlows
A handy round-up of this week’s fintech funding news from across the world.
American Fintech Council appoints Phil Goldfeder as CEO
Goldfeder brings more than two decades of experience working in the private and public sectors.
Canada’s securities regulator tightens rules for crypto exchanges
The CSA has laid out enhanced investor protection commitments it expects from exchanges operating in Canada.
OpenWallet Foundation launches to boost digital wallet interoperability
The OWF intends to provide the “software engine” that organisations can use to develop digital wallets.
Stripe unveils Tap to Pay for Android devices
Tap to Pay allows businesses to accept contactless payments using an NFC-enabled Android device.
Decisions in the right places (or why I wrote that book of mine)
Changing habits and everyday ways of working shouldn’t be a CEO initiative. It’s everyone’s job.
Buy now, worry about it later: the future of BNPL
Buy now, pay later – is there a more apt fintech application for our times than BNPL?
Enfuce wins State Treasury of Finland contract to modernise prepaid cards
The five-year contract was signed on 15 February 2023.
UK car finance fintech Carmoola secures £95m debt facility from NatWest
The firm has also bagged £8.5 million in a Series A funding round led by QED Investors.
Mizuho International taps SymphonyAI to help fight financial crime
Mizuho will use SymphonyAI Sensa to boost AML protection within its European capital markets division.
Riyad Bank taps SunTec for e-invoicing integration with Saudi tax office
The integration allows banks to share standardised e-invoices with Saudi tax office Fatoora.
Chetwood’s SmartSave Bank partners cash deposit platform Flagstone
Under the new partnership, SmartSave’s fixed rate accounts will be made available to Flagstone clients.
National Australia Bank builds its own fintechs
A closer look at how National Australia Bank’s approach to innovation has evolved in recent years.
Indian SaaS fintech Mintoak bags $20m in Series A funding
PayPal Ventures led the funding round, with new and existing investors also participating.
Singapore and India link up PayNow and UPI for real-time cross-border payments
The MAS and RBI will use a scalable cloud-based infrastructure to manage future increases in remittance volumes.
Dutch challenger Bunq becomes first EU neobank to report a quarterly profit
Bunq reported a pre-tax profit of €2.3 million over Q4 2022.
European Commission launches blockchain regulatory sandbox
While blockchain is known for crypto, the Commission says the tech has a “wider utility” beyond financial services.
Icelandic neobank Indó taps Lucinity for AML protection
With the partnership, Indó will have access to Lucinity’s transaction monitoring and case manager solutions.
Bank of Russia to launch digital ruble pilot in April
Olga Skorobogatova, first deputy chair of the central bank, announced the news.
State of play: neobanks
Neobanks as a sector are now approaching their teenage years and quickly maturing.
Interview: How Opus is leading the financial services sector forward to a more sustainable future
“The way I see it, the fintech landscape has never looked better,” says TM Praveen, CEO of Opus.
Pliant raises $28m in Series A funding
Founded in 2020 and based in Berlin, Pliant offers a B2B credit card platform.
