ICYMI fintech funding round-up: Fiat Republic, Hakbah, Payble and Spare
At FinTech Futures, we know that it can be easy to let funding announcements slip you by in this fast-paced industry. That’s why we put together our weekly In Case You Missed It (ICYMI) funding round-up for you to get the latest funding news.
UK-based Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) platform Fiat Republic, which aims to bridge the gap between web3 and traditional banks, has raised $7 million in a seed extension round.
The funding came from new investors Kraken Ventures, Fabric Ventures, Arca and Inovo Ventures, as well as existing investors Speedinvest, Credo Ventures and Seedcamp.
The fintech says its platform “brings together crypto-friendly banks, allowing crypto platforms to easily create accounts in multiple currencies and access local payment rails and FX via a single API built with a developer-first ethos”.
Fiat Republic says it plans to use the fresh funding to fuel “sustained” growth and expansion, with the company looking to make new key hires, strengthen its banking partnerships and expand into new territories.
In addition to the funding, the company has also been granted an electronic money institution (EMI) licence by De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB), which will now allow it to provide regulated financial services across the European Economic Area. Fiat Republic already holds an EMI licence in the UK.
Saudi Arabia-based fintech start-up Hakbah has secured $5.1 million in a Series A fundraise.
Hakbah was founded by Naif AbuSaida
The round was led by VentureSouq with participation from new investors M-Capital and Bunat Ventures and existing investors Global Ventures and Aditum Investment Management.
Founded in 2018 by Naif AbuSaida and headquartered in Riyadh, Hakbah offers a social savings platform that allows groups of users to save and access funds together.
The freshly raised funds will be used for further product development, Hakbah says, with a “strong focus” on machine learning and further enhancing its savings engine.
Capital will also be deployed to hire new talent as the fintech looks to gain a foothold in the market, with plans for a potential expansion into two regional markets in the near future, “either via partnership or a strategic alliance”.
Australian fintech Payble, which provides payments workflow and customer engagement software, has raised $2.4 million (AUD 3.5 million) in a funding round led by OIF Ventures.
Founded in 2020 and based in New South Wales, Payble claims to modernise local government payments by creating “citizen-centric payment experiences” by providing flexible billing and simplified rate collection.
It claims its software can “save councils time and money by streamlining the manual workload of administration and customer service teams”.
The company says it will utilise the new funding to “continue to capitalise on strong demand for Payble’s citizen–centric payment solution in its beachhead segment of local government payments, as well as explore opportunities for global expansion”.
Spare founders Dalal Alrayes and Saurabh Shah
Saudi Arabia-based open banking services provider Spare has raised $3 million in a new funding round led by Vision Ventures.
The round also saw participation from Wa’ed Ventures, Seedra Ventures, 500 Global and angel investors.
Riyadh-based Spare was established in 2018 by Dalal Alrayes and Saurabh Shah. It operates in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Bahrain and provides open banking solutions for businesses in the region.
With the new funding, Spare plans to hire new talent as well as boost its marketing and operations in KSA.
