US investor Stash lands $125m Series G ten months after last round
Stash’s last valuation sits at around $812 million.
Consumer/Personal Finance
US fintechs Albert and Crux Informatics in funding rounds
Featuring Albert’s $100 million Series C funding round and Crux Informatics’ $36 million convertible note.
What’s in store for financial services in 2021?
A look at what the rest of this year might have in store for the world of financial services and fintech.
Plaid launches incubator FinRise for fintech founders of colour
The incubator is looking to accept just three-to-five start-ups.
New York cash advance app Brigit reveals $35m Series A
Brigit’s CEO is a former Deutsche Bank and Infosys executive.
Goldman Sachs mulls acquisitions to bulk up Marcus
Goldman’s CEO intends to make Marcus a pillar of the US bank’s growth.
PAYMYNT Financial buys crypto e-wallet LettucePay
LettucePay operates on top of Stellar Network, an open source blockchain platform.
BBVA shutters Simple after paying $117m for it in 2014
The bank is cutting out standalone entities which no longer make sense to operate solo.
SoFi set to go public via merger with Palihapitiya’s fourth Spac
The IPO will value SoFi at $8.65 billion.
Customer service start-up Glia lands $78m to help banks and credit unions
The round was led by Shopify and Checkout.com backer Insight Partners.
Webinar: Deep dive on ServiceNow’s purpose built product for finserv operations
How to improve customer and employee experiences. Featuring a demo of The Now Platform from ServiceNow.
2020 review: Top 10 fintech and bank M&A deals
Despite COVID-19, the financial sector has still enjoyed some notable M&A deals.
Personalisation: the Gen Z banking imperative
This generational cohort represents a lucrative target market for financial services institutions.
US state regulator says Robinhood is “aggressively marketing” to novices
The regulator calls out Robinhood’s approach of “gamifying” trading.
Mozper lands $3.55m to launch kid debit card in Mexico
In August, Mozper – with the help of partner Visa – launched its closed beta with 500 families.
Financial assistant app Cleo raises $44 million
Cleo has four million Gen-Z and millennial users; and recorded a 400% revenue growth in the last year.
The perennial BNPL crown
Blind allegiance has seen the BNPL sector explode in 2020.
Web Summit 2020: A fintech summary
Stripe is looking at products around digital identity.
Libra and Facebook exec joins rental insurtech LeaseLock
The fintech removes the need for renters to pay a deposit for a rental property.
Banking Tech Awards 2020 hosted online by Tom Ward
Join comedian Tom Ward for the 2020 Banking Tech Awards. Broadcast online on 10 Dec, 3:30pm GMT and is free to attend.
San Fran alternative lender Oportun applies for banking charter
Oportun currently has licences in 12 states.
New York challenger Current lands $131m in Series C funding round
The capital will go towards Current’s product offerings.
Google Pay unveils integrated banking challenger Plex
Plex will sit in the wider, revamped Google Pay app.
Rebooting savings during the COVID-19 crisis
How then should we think about structuring our savings plan for success?
MSU Federal Credit Union built its own app in 2009 – where is it now?
MSU holds around $5.5 billion in assets and is America’s 48th largest credit union.
PNC buys BBVA’s US arm for $11.6bn creating America’s fifth-largest bank
PNC expects the acquisition will generate around $900 million in cost savings.
Uber plans return to financial services with hires “across the board”
The firm is “not ready to announce anything yet”.
HSBC launches Global Money account in US to rival fintechs
The bank’s aim behind the new service is to create “one global account”.
US fintech lender Upstart Holdings files for IPO
To date, the fintech has raised some $165 million in funding.
Alliance Data to buy BNPL fintech Bread for $450m
The acquirer expects the deal to increase its earnings per share by 2023.
A banker goes a-banking, volume 7: why can’t we be friends?
What 15 years of digitisation & modernisation have gotten us from the consumer’s point of view? It’s not looking great.
Mexico’s credit alternative challenger Klar lands $15m Series A
“We help people build credit by looking at how and where they spend their money.”
Future economic relief should care for more families
Deserving families have continued to be unfairly excluded from government relief throughout the COVID-19 crisis.
Canadian robo-advisor Wealthsimple lands unicorn status with $87m raise
Wealthsimple serves some 1.5 million users.
Affirm files IPO application, but financials are confidential
Fintechs in the BNPL space have seen their valuations rocket.
LendingClub shuts retail P2P offering as it focuses on institutional investors
The fintech allowed consumers to invest in Notes, corresponding to fractions of loans.
Argentina’s money management app Ualá launches in Mexico
“It’s a much better product than we had in Argentina [upon launch],” says the CEO.
JP Morgan-backed Greenlight joins unicorn club with $215m Series C
The start-up says the new funding will be used to push its customer growth further.
The shifting ground of payments: are banks and SMEs aligned?
It’s safe to assume that in time, every business and consumer will expect immediate settlement as a norm.
Challenger Envel plans “autonomous” banking with Autumn launch
The fintech claims it will “optimise” users’ money.
