UK regulator fines AmEx over sending four million unsolicited emails
Subscribers “had not provided adequate consent” for a portion of the 50 million messages Amex sent in 2019.
Consumer/Personal Finance
BukuKas raises $50m Series B just four months after Series A
BukuKas’ CEO Krishnan Menon previously worked at Alibaba-owned Lazada Indonesia.
Bitcoin tumbles below $37,000 following Chinese ban on crypto services
Chinese financial firms can’t offer clients products involving cryptocurrency.
FCA demands UK fintechs clarify non-bank status to customers
Companies have six weeks to write to their customers.
Safaricom mulls M-Pesa partnership with Amazon
A wider partnership with Amazon “is important”, says CEO.
Goldman Sachs plans UK app launch, robo-adviser for 2022
the UK makes up just under a third of Marcus’ $100 billion deposit total globally.
Stripe acquires card verification fintech Bouncer
Both Bouncer’s team and its technology will join Stripe.
ETX acquirer Guru Capital snaps up fintech start-up Oval Money
Launched in 2017, Oval’s mobile app claims more than 100,000 “active” users.
Cedar co-founder: Our biggest competition is status quo and inertia
Cedar acquired San Francisco-based OODA Health for $425 million last week.
Pockit customer forced to send bailiffs in battle for locked funds and rent money
Pockit owes the customer a total of £352.
Video: Top fintech stories this week – 14 May 2021
The FinTech Futures weekly round-up of the industry’s top stories and happenings from across the globe.
N26 issued order by German regulator to improve AML measures
To oversee these changes, Bafin has appointed a “special commissioner”.
OpenWrks, Tully, Payplan and PayLink merge under private equity firm
All four firms span the debt advice, credit risk and collections industries.
US challenger for freelancers Lili lands $55m and passes 200,000 users
Lili wants to be a go-to app for freelancers in the US.
NAB lands approval for 86 400 acquisition despite competition concerns
86 400 bagged its own banking licence back in 2019.
HSBC on track to hire 1,000 wealth managers in Asia before year end
In 2020, the bank’s Asian business reported $12.8 billion in profits.
US start-up EarlyBird re-thinks gifts for kids with investment platform
EarlyBird launched four months ago.
What are the opportunities in open finance?
Envestnet | Yodlee hosted a discussion with FinTech Futures to find out.
UK P2P lender The House Crowd’s collapse a result of governance failings
The House Crowd had struggled to raise capital.
Curve goes crowdfunding five months after $95m Series C
Curve plans to grow its workforce by around 60% this year.
UK fintech Fronted raises £1m with backing from Monzo co-founders
The start-up launched back in February.
TSB COO: It’s easy to throw the rock at us and say ‘this guy crashed in 2018’
“Compare this company to the market,” says TSB’s COO.
Canadian fintech Wealthsimple raises record $610m at $4bn valuation
The fintech started off as a robo-advisor back in 2014.
Digital challenger Arrow pledges to save Americans $5,000 in five years
Digital challenger pledges to save Americans $5,000 in five years.
Lanistar secures FCA approval less than six months after regulatory warning
Lanistar also filed its unaudited accounts last month.
UK neobank hopeful Kroo partners with Bugni Labs for credit engine
Kroo underwent a brand revamp from B-Social last year.
French watchdog says banks risk “marginalisation” by Big Tech payment apps
The paper focuses on Big Tech-associated threats to competition.
UK eco-banking challenger Tred lands £1m in Crowdcube raise
Tred partners with Forest Carbon to deliver on its tree planting promise.
São Paulo fintech brokerage Warren lands $55m led by Singapore’s GIC fund
The fintech intends to use the fresh capital to hire more employees.
Virgin Money Australia claims to “break new ground” with loyalty scheme
There is clear disruption already happening in the rewards space.
Greenlight, Step and Current land “kids banking” industry collective $580m
Greenlight, Current, and Step all began with basic card-based offerings.
BNPL firm Affirm acquires Returnly in $300m deal
More than eight million shoppers have used the online return service.
Fi partners with Federal Bank to launch neobank for millennials
Features include a flexible deposit product and rewards for saving money.
Danish neobank Lunar acquires Swedish lender Lendify
The deal, which is pending regulatory approval, is expected to close by mid-May.
Welcome Tech raises $35m in Series B funding round
The money will go towards expanding Welcome Tech’s portfolio of financial services.
Hospitality payment app Sunday raises record €20m seed round for Europe
The start-up claims to cut the costs for operators to 0.5% per transaction.
UK challenger Starling lands £50m investment from Goldman Sachs
Starling now claiming to hold a 6% share of the UK SME banking market.
Robinhood calls Massachusetts regulator “elitist” for trying to revoke its licence
“The complaint reflects the old way of thinking,” says Robinhood.
Video: Top fintech stories this week – 16 April 2021
To stories from across the fintech world, featuring Coinbase, Pine Labs, Ozon and more.
Better.com’s CPO accused of bullying days after $500m SoftBank investment
The CPO joined Better in 2017 from Goldman Sachs.
