UK neobank Kroo gains full banking licence
Kroo can now offer depositors protection for up to £85,000 through the FSCS.
Europe
Crypto paytech Wirex makes a comeback in the UK
Along with resuming services, Wirex also announced that it is launching multiple offerings.
Lithuania’s SME Bank partners kevin. for A2A e-commerce platform
The new offering is a unified payment infrastructure enabling account-to-account (A2A) payments across the Baltics.
Marygold acquires Tiger Financial & Asset Management for UK expansion
Tiger’s core business is managing clients’ financial wealth across a range of products.
Raisin Bank acquires payments division from Bankhaus August Lenz
The acquisiton, for an undisclosed sum, will be headed up by Bankhaus payments veteran Mirko Siepmann.
Stripe simplifies bank transfers for UK, EU and Mexican businesses
Stripe says that bank transfers, despite their popularity and ease of use, are “filled with friction”.
Fintechs Stanhope and Stenn hire new CPOs as they look to scale
Groombridge will be leading Stanhope’s payments offering, while Bajwa will be developing Stenn’s financing solutions.
SME paytech SumUp raises €590m at €8bn valuation
SumUp says the latest funding is “indicative of our strength, execution, and potential”.
B2B BNPL fintech Hokodo raises $40m in Series B funding round
Hokodo says it will use the funding to expand into new European markets and develop new products.
Europe funding round-up: Bits of Stock, Formance, Aveni, and Datia
A handy round-up of the recent funding endeavours of fintech companies across Europe.
Sustainability data platform ESG Book raises $35m Series B
The new capital will be used to scale the company and further develop ESG Book’s technology capabilities.
B2B BNPL fintech Playter lands $55m funding round
The round was led by Adit Venture Capital and Fasanara Capital.
Payment Systems Regulator outlines upcoming card fee market reviews
Both reviews focus on Mastercard and Visa; the pair make up 99% of debit and credit card payments in the UK.
UK challenger bank Recognise appoints Sahil Thapa as CTO
Recognise says Thapa “has the vision and ability to lead the Bank’s technology strategy”.
GoCardless rolls out two open banking solutions in Germany
GoCardless says: “Open banking is growing rapidly, with 64 million active users projected in Europe by 2024.”
UK start-up StrideUp in £280m funding deal for new mortgage plan
It has also entered a strategic partnership with ARA Venn, a real-estate debt investment manager.
State of play: Money 20/20 Europe
Fintech analyst Philip Benton recaps key themes and trends at Money 20/20 Europe.
Gen Z financial assistant app Cleo raises $80m at $500m valuation
Cleo will use the funds to shore up and expand its services as a global economic winter begins to bite.
Intesa Sanpaolo sells Croatian merchant acquiring business to Nexi
The €180m deal forms part of a broader multi-year partnership in the merchant acquiring space.
Santander Mexico CEO Héctor Grisi to lead banking multinational in 2023
He will replace José Antonio Álvarez as group CEO next year, following a transition period.
BNPL regulation by UK gov set to “protect millions”
Lenders offering BNPL services will need to be approved by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
UK neolender Proportunity set to launch zero deposit mortgage product
The announcement was made as part of its crowdfunding campaign with Seedrs.
The Bank of London invests in Belfast and creates over 200 new jobs
The Bank of London says it is making a “multi-million pound” investment in Belfast.
Santander UK appoints new COO and CTO
Elisabet Pinilla will join as the new CTO, and Stephen White as the new COO.
Paytech PPRO hires Rahul Raswant as new chief financial officer
Raswant has held roles at Standard Chartered Bank and consultancy McKinsey.
Denmark’s Mazepay receives pan-European payments license to streamline B2B purchases
The license will enable Mazepay to handle transactions on behalf of companies.
Banking start-up Fiinu to launch plug-in overdraft, list on LSE
Fiinu is set to be acquired by media company Immedia for approximately £37.5 million.
German fintech Upvest raises $42m in Series B round
Upvest says the funds will be used towards building out its investment API, expansion plans and hiring talent.
Nets sells invoicing and bill payment business EDIGard to PE firm AnaCap
EDIGard is headquartered in Norway and operates across Sweden, Denmark, Finland, UK and Germany.
NatWest, Citi, Barclays trial Finteum intraday FX swap and repo platform
Given the rising interest rate environment, liquidity optimisation is a high priority, Finteum says.
Euronext migrates core data centre from UK to Italy
The move has been a strategic decision made in response to multiple factors including Brexit.
MDXT acquires low-code/no-code SaaS workflow solution Iceflow
Iceflow creator Graham Denyer will join MDX Technology as CTO.
Money 20/20 Europe: Digiseq connects the digital and physical world
At Money 20/20 Europe, FinTech Futures sat down with David Birch, chair of wearable payments disruptor Digiseq.
Airbank raises $20m to build “the most comprehensive global SMB banking solution”
Airbank raises $20m in a Series A funding round led by Molten Ventures.
Virgin Money in three-year deal with Trade Ledger to digitise business lending
“At the heart of the partnership is the delivery of a digital decisioning platform,” Trade Ledger says.
CaixaBank and Microsoft establish AI innovation lab
The projects will aim to improve efficiency, customer experience, cybersecurity and other areas.
Money 20/20 Europe: A new era for a digital Sterling
Project New Era, set to launch in September, is a pilot evaluating the future digital currency ecosystem in the UK.
Challenger bank for UK SMEs, Allica, secures additional £55m funding
The total funding raised by Allica Bank now stands at £285 million.
Nexi sells capital markets tech business to Euronext for €57m
Nexi is selling its tech businesses that are powering MTS and Euronext Securities Milan to Euronext.
Mortgage tech firm Twenty7Tec takes over Bluecoat Software
The acquisition is “set to revolutionise both the wealth and mortgage technology markets”, the firms say.
