FinTech Futures: Top five news stories of the week – 19 April 2024
Here’s our pick of five of the top news stories from the world of finance and tech this week, featuring Klarna, Macatawa Bank, Zopa, Ramp and more.
UK government launches open finance taskforce chaired by CFIT
CFIT to chair open finance taskforce
The UK government is launching an industry-led open finance taskforce chaired by the Centre for Finance, Innovation and Technology (CFIT) with the aim to “unlock the full potential of open finance”.
Announced by the Economic Secretary to the UK Treasury, Bim Afolami, at this year’s Innovate Finance Global Summit (IFGS) in London, the taskforce will expand upon the groundwork laid and recommendations made by the CFIT in its Blueprint Report, released in February 2024. This includes exploring methods to securely unlock financial data to improve access to credit for small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
The taskforce will work to “identify and prioritise” which data sets should be unlocked and the APIs best placed to facilitate improved availability of SME finance, as well as discover and promote additional use cases for open finance.
Ramp secures $150m in Series D-2 funding round at $7.65bn valuation
US spend management fintech Ramp has raised $150 million in a Series D-2 funding round at an increased valuation of $7.65 billion.
The fintech says the new investment, which adds to the $300 million it raised in its Series D round in August 2023 at a valuation of $5.8 billion, will be used to “triple down” on further product development.
Founded in 2019 and headquartered in New York, Ramp provides a finance automation platform for businesses that combines corporate cards, bill payments, accounting automation, expense and vendor management, and more.
Zopa scores £15.8m pre-tax profit for 2023 as potential IPO nears
Zopa bags profit over 2023
UK challenger bank Zopa appears to be inching ever closer to a potential stock market debut with a recorded £15.8 million pre-tax profit for FY 2023.
According to its latest financial statement, the UK-based challenger logged a total revenue of £226 million last year, attributing its latest performance to a 14.9% increase in deposits to £3.4 billion against a promising 27.3% rise in loans on balance, currently standing at £2.7 billion.
On the surface, these results, alongside wider developments in its offering, present all the hallmarks of a bank preparing for an IPO. Yet Zopa is in no rush to instigate a stock market floatation, despite toying with the notion for the previous two years.
CEO Jaidev Janardana told the FT this week that he’d “be surprised” if any UK fintechs make their stock market debut in London this year.
Wintrust Financial Corporation acquires Macatawa Bank for $510m
Wintrust Financial Corporation, a financial holding company based in Illinois, USA, has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Michigan state-chartered bank Macatawa Bank Corporation in an all-stock transaction.
The acquisition is currently valued at around $510.3 million, translating to $14.85 per share, and is intended to be finalised during the second half of 2024, subject to potential adjustments and the approval of banking regulators and Macatawa’s shareholders.
Timothy Crane, president and CEO of Wintrust, states the company is purchasing a “very solid bank” in Macatawa, adding the firm has a strong core deposit base and a “committed leadership team”.
Klarna to launch credit card offering in the US
Klarna Card to launch in the US
Following successful debuts in Europe, Swedish buy now, pay later (BNPL) firm Klarna is now preparing to extend its credit card offering to consumers in the US.
Issued by Utah-based WebBank, the US Klarna Card offering will enable users to buy goods with flexible payment options across both physical and e-commerce stores that accept Visa.
The cost of transactions is then paid back in either three or six month instalments. New users will need to complete a credit assessment prior to accessing the card, and must also have previously repaid a Klarna instalment at least once.
The provider has now launched its waitlist for US customers, and states that the card will launch in the market “over the next few months”.
