FinTech Futures: Top five news stories of the week – 12 July 2024
Here’s our pick of five of the top news stories from the world of fintech this week, featuring Envestnet, Dosh, Innovate Finance, Canoe Intelligence and more.
Bain Capital to acquire US fintech Envestnet in $4.5bn deal
Envestnet acquired by Bain Capital
Bain Capital is set to acquire US wealth management software provider Envestnet in a deal worth $4.5 billion.
The announcement confirms earlier reports that the investment giant was closing in on a deal for the Pennsylvania-based fintech.
Fellow private investment firm Reverence Capital is also participating in the transaction, alongside a consortium of additional investors featuring BlackRock, Fidelity Investments, Franklin Templeton, and State Street Global Advisors, who will each hold “minority positions” in the company upon completion of the deal, Envestnet says.
The proposed acquisition, which has been unanimously approved by Envestnet’s board of directors, will see the fintech become a privately held company and is expected to close in Q4 2024.
Global fintech investment fell by 19% in H1 2024, according to new Innovate Finance report
Global fintech investment fell by 19% in H1 2024 compared to H2 2023 amid an “economic slowdown”, according to the latest report on investment trends by Innovate Finance, a UK-based independent industry body.
The report states that in the first half of 2024, the total capital invested in fintechs worldwide amounted to $15.9 billion, compared to $19.5 billion in the second half of 2023.
Innovate Finance states that this is evidence that global fintech investments have reached a “cyclical low point from their 2022 peak, in parallel with the general global VC market”.
In addition, the total number of funding rounds completed was also down – with H1 2024 seeing 1,566 deals compared to the 1,661 deals in H2 2023.
Dosh seeks licence to become a bank in New Zealand
Dosh aims to become NZ’s “first locally-owned, digital-only bank”
Dosh, a New Zealand-based fintech which offers a money app built to help users “spend, save, and borrow money”, has unveiled its intentions to become a digital-only bank by applying for a banking licence from the Reserve Bank of New Zealand.
Founded in 2020 by James McEniery and Shane Marsh, Dosh originally set out to design a mobile payments application for quick and contactless peer-to-peer (P2P) payments, becoming the first local mobile wallet in New Zealand in the process.
The company has since introduced several financial products through its platform, such as personal loans, savings accounts, and its own Dosh Visa debit card. By obtaining official bank status, Dosh will be able to hold money directly for its customers.
Announced via a post on LinkedIn, Marsh says: “If successful, this application will make Dosh New Zealand’s first locally-owned, digital-only bank.”
ABA head says Australia’s CDR regime “isn’t delivering for customers or enhancing competition”
The Australian Banking Association (ABA) has unveiled the findings of a strategic review into the progress of the country’s Consumer Data Right (CDR) initiative, four years after its initial implementation.
The CDR regime, launched for Australian major bank customers in July 2020, is an opt-in open banking service that enables consumers to share their data. If they agree, the information is transferred using secure automated data technology.
The review, commissioned by ABA and conducted by Dublin-based business consulting firm Accenture, concludes that the CDR regime, according to ABA CEO Anna Bligh, “has not fulfilled its potential”.
By the end of 2023, only 0.31% of bank customers were using CDR, and more than 50% of data-sharing arrangements were either discontinued or allowed to lapse during the year, according to the report.
Canoe Intelligence bags $36m Series C led by Goldman Sachs
Canoe Intelligence lands $36 million Series C
New York-based fintech Canoe Intelligence has secured $36 million in a Series C funding round led by Growth Equity at Goldman Sachs Alternatives.
The round, which more than tripled the company’s valuation from its $25 million Series B in 2023, received additional support from existing investors Eight Roads and F-Prime Capital.
Founded in 2017, Canoe currently services over 325 institutional investors, capital allocators, wealth managers and asset-servicing firms with its cloud-based alternative investments platform.
With the latest cash injection, the fintech says it plans to maintain its investment in developing proprietary AI and machine learning technology while furthering its market expansion.
