FinTech Futures: Top five stories of the week – 17 March 2023
Here’s our pick of five of the top news stories from the world of finance and tech this week.
News
US corporate card start-up Parker secures $157m in equity and debt funding
Parker will invest in its product offering as it aims to expand across the US in 2023.
US, European agencies seize €44m worth of BTC in crypto mixer raid
The law enforcement agencies seized seven terabytes worth of data, consisting of 1909.4 BTC.
ICYMI fintech funding round-up: Synctera, Natech, Basiq, Payabli
Our weekly fintech round-up for you to get the latest funding news from around the world.
Trade finance industry body ITFA sets up fraud prevention working group
The group will be co-chaired by representatives from the banking sector as well as from fintech firm MonetaGo.
Stripe raises $6.5bn in funding at reduced valuation of $50bn
In March 2021, the fintech landed $600 million in funding, confirming a valuation of $95 billion.
Mexican fintech Clara secures up to $90m in debt financing
The fresh financing follows a $150 million debt facility from Goldman Sachs in August last year.
Global paytech Ingenico names Laurent Blanchard as CEO
Laurent Blanchard replaces Ingenico’s co-CEOs Gerrard Schmid and Rolf Stangl.
Digital economy paytech Tilia lands $22m, makes executive hires
The firm has appointed Brad Oberwager as CEO and Catherine Porter as chief business officer.
Anchorage Digital to cut 20% of staff as part of “strategic realignment”
Despite a “robust and growing” business, Anchorage says the cuts are a necessary part of a “strategic realignment”.
Paymentology partners Fondeadora to expand Mexican payment services
Thanks to Paymentology, the Fondeadora app will enjoy faster transaction processing and advanced security.
Bloomberg to acquire fintech solutions provider Broadway
Bloomberg says Broadway’s solutions “will fill a gap” in its product portfolio.
US regulators shutter New York’s Signature Bank following SVB collapse
Signature Bank is a large lender in the cryptosphere.
Apexx Global bags $25m in Series B funding round
With the new funds, Apexx Global plans to expand further across North America.
HSBC snaps up beleaguered Silicon Valley Bank UK for £1
The Bank of England facilitated the deal over the weekend, in consultation with the Treasury.
What the FinTech? | S.4 Episode 4 | The rise of CBDCs
In this episode of the podcast, we’re joined by Nicholas Soo of HSBC to discuss the future of CBDCs.
Toby Mason joins Bermuda Monetary Authority as COO
Mason is the former COO of SME-focused Allica Bank, a role he held for more than three years.
US Federal Reserve sets up new specialist team to supervise crypto sector
The team will monitor the cryptosphere as regulators look to manage risk and promote innovation.
US fintech Credit Karma launches new Net Worth product
Credit Karma’s users will be given a full picture of their financial status to help them plan their future.
FinTech Futures: Top five stories of the week – 10 March 2023
Here’s our pick of five of the top news stories from the world of finance and tech this week.
LSEG’s Giact to use Mastercard’s open banking tech for account verification
Through the partnership, Giact says it will be able to deploy Nacha-compliant account verification solutions.
Global paytech Worldline opens white-label metaverse shopping mall
Retailers, service providers and banks “can build up a presence in Web3”, using a modular design method.
Orion Innovation snaps up Banktech Software for undisclosed sum
The acquisition will help Orion bring in open banking solutions and expand its digital and core banking capabilities.
ICYMI fintech funding round-up: NX Technologies, Growfin & more
Our weekly fintech round-up for you to get the latest funding news from around the world.
Kennebec Savings Bank taps Alkami for digital banking platform
The Alkami platform will provide a “consistent” user experience for Kennebec business customers.
US neobank HMBradley picks Thought Machine for core banking tech
HMBradley will utilise the vendor’s cloud-native core banking platform Vault Core to power its services.
Silvergate Capital to wind down operations and liquidate bank
The bank plans to repay all deposits it holds and is also hoping to preserve the residual value of its assets.
Socure lands $95m credit facility from JP Morgan, SVB and KeyBanc
CEO Johnny Ayers says the firm plans to invest in “new solutions, verticals, and strategic acquisitions”.
US fintech lender Fynn nabs $36m in seed and debt funding
With the new funding, Fynn plans to expand across the US and offer its services to more students.
Trading Technologies acquires fixed income trading platform AxeTrading
The acquisition, for an undisclosed sum, will broaden TT’s multi-asset capabilities.
Payroll and benefits start-up Catch shutting down
Accounts will be closed on 6 April 2023, with customers instructed to withdraw all funds before that deadline.
US credit union Golden 1 taps AML RightSource to strengthen transaction monitoring
AML RightSource’s tech will automate Golden 1’s transaction monitoring investigations and reporting.
Canada’s Versapay names Carey O’Connor Kolaja as new CEO
O’Connor Kolaja replaces former CEO Craig O’Neill, who is set to move to an advisory role within the firm.
US student debt fintech Candidly raises $20.5m in Series B funding
The funding round was led by Altos Ventures, with existing investor Cercano Management also participating.
Introducing the PayTech Awards USA 2023
Nominations for the awards are open until 2 June 2023.
Nubank appoints former Meta crypto head David Marcus to board
Marcus previously spent seven years at Meta and co-created the firm’s cryptocurrency Diem (formerly Libra).
US regtech Droit lands $23m Series B funding
The round was led by Pivot Investment Partners and UBS via its venture arm UBS Next.
Brazilian central bank gives Meta the go-ahead to launch WhatsApp business payments feature
Customers will soon be able to make payments to small businesses directly from WhatsApp.
PayTech Awards nominations close in two weeks!
The deadline for nominations is Friday 17 March, so don’t leave it too late!
US challenger Varo Bank reportedly raising funds at reduced valuation
Fintech Business Weekly reports the firm is raising $50m at a $1.8bn valuation, a 28% decline in value.
