Fintech funding deals globally 4 October – 10 October 2021
Featuring Devoted Health, CoinSwitch, Ajaib, Sky Mavis and Masterworks.
Consumer/Personal Finance
Sibos 2021: “I’ve never seen the industry refreshing itself more,” says SmartStream CEO
SmartStream CEO Haytham Kaddoura discusses the growing importance of AI and ML and the future of fintech.
Daily News at Sibos 2021
Download your free copy of the Sibos supplement today!
Australian lender MoneyMe lands $36m funding partnership
The money will be used to expand its product suite.
NatWest acquires child banking start-up RoosterMoney
Acquisition underlines strategy to help young people learn to manage money.
Video: fintech news pick of the week – Google, Monzo, NatWest & more
Our top pick of news from the world of finance and tech in bitesize video format, every week.
Finding out about finfluencers
People are turning to influencers on social media for guidance on everything, including finance.
If I had a penny…
If we’re going to talk about inclusion, don’t talk to me about current accounts. Talk to me about money.
Google pulls Plex after less than a year in development
Aborted banking project reflects change of financial services strategy at Google.
New fintech Z-Walet plans Egyptian launch targeting Gen Z
Founded in 2020, the firm is still at the waiting list stage.
Robo-advisor Betterment achieves unicorn status with $160m capital injection
The funding was drawn from a Series F round and $100m credit facility.
What the Fintech? | S.2 Episode 19 | Can’t see the wood for the VCs
Level Ventures’ Ian Foley joins us for this latest episode of our What the Fintech? podcast.
Debt platform CredAvenue raises $90m in Series A funding round
Significant investments in data science, machine learning, and AI are in the pipeline.
Amazon-backed Indian BNPL firm Capital Float raises $50m
The investment brings Capital Float’s total money raised to date to over $600m.
FNBM selects new core banking solution in Finastra’s Fusion Phoenix
Fusion Phoenix is key to the bank’s strategy to attract younger customers.
UOB to spend $500m on boosting digital banking capabilities
The investment comes after the pandemic accelerated digital-first banking across Southeast Asia.
Coventry Building Society seeks first chief data officer
The savings and mortgage lender has more than 2,700 employees and 1.8 million members.
Ascend Money becomes Thailand’s first fintech unicorn with $150m fundraise
Thai fintech plans to boost financial inclusion efforts in Southeast Asia.
Challenger bank Mox appoints former ING exec Barbaros Uygun as CEO
Current CEO Deniz Güven will step down with effect from 27 September.
Aussie BNPL firm Zip targets Indian expansion with ZestMoney investment
The investment underlines Zip’s strategy to capitalise on the high-growth Indian BNPL market.
Bhutan central bank partners with Ripple to pilot CBDC
The CBDC pilot with the South Asian country is designed to boost financial inclusion.
Barclays hires payments veteran Antony Stephen to boost BNPL solution
Stephen joins from Amazon and will work on scaling Barclays’ BNPL platform.
JP Morgan Chase acquires Frank to firm up student offering
US firm hopes the deal for the college-focused financial wellness platform will boost student engagement.
Zolve launches immigrant-focused banking products
The neobank’s new suite of products will help new arrivals to the US build credit.
Monese moves into digital banking with Investec
The new partnership will see the international bank begin to offer digital banking services to UK customers.
Fintech funding deals globally 13 September – 19 September 2021
Featuring BitSight, Melio, SellersFunding, Form3 and Xendit.
Canadian fintech start-up Neo Financial lands $50m Series B funding
New funds will be used for further product development and to grow its team.
Sberbank deputy chair: “We’re the number one target for hackers around the globe”
Fintech Futures speaks with Sberbank’s Stanislav Kuznetsov about the importance of cybersecurity.
ICYMI funding round-up: TomoCredit, Lightyear, X-Margin, Coinfirm & more
More funding deals you may have missed during a busy week of news.
Dutch digital bank Bunq partners with Paysafe to offer cash deposits
The two companies say the partnership will facilitate “quick and secure cash deposits”.
Payroll platform Papaya Global hits $3.7bn valuation with $250m Series D round
Papaya has now raised $440 million in total capital since its seed round in 2016.
Fintech start-up Koyo raises $50m in Series A round
The lender will use the cash to target the UK’s “near-prime” consumer credit market.
Irwin secures $20m in Series A funding round led by K1
The investment will help further the fintech’s mission to upgrade the capital markets software offering.
African fintech Wave hits unicorn status with $200m Series A round
The fintech start-up says it wants to “bring digital finance to everyone in Africa”.
Digital challenger Varo Bank lands $510m in Series E funding round
Funds will be used to boost product and tech development and fuel customer growth.
Fintech ecosystem MNT-Halan lands $120m funding
The Egyptian digital platform connects merchants and users who are typically excluded from financial institutions.
Visa partners Indian paytech to push offline payments
Innoviti says it is committed to building a cashless India, driving financial inclusion across the country.
Mastercard grows open banking offering with Aiia buy
The acquisition of the European open banking provider marks the latest move by Mastercard in the space.
Investcorp tech fund snaps up e-wallet firm MIR
The acquisition marks the eighth investment from the private equity firm’s Investcorp Technology Fund IV.
Fintech software firm Veritran hits $225m valuation with Trivest investment
Veritran’s enterprise low-code platform facilitates billions of transactions annually.
