Nigeria’s Xend Finance increases size of funding round to $2m
It initially launched its platform publicly late last year after raising $1.5 million in funding.
Financial Services/Finserv
Italian neobank illimity turns €16m loss into €31m profit in a year
The neobank’s best-performing arm, by a long way, was its NPL unit.
Raiffeisen Bank to buy Czech Republic’s consumer lender Equa bank
In 2020, Equa bank’s consolidated net profit fell by 55% to $8.5 million.
Goldman Sachs re-opens Marcus in UK with 0.5% rate
0.5% is the highest paying easy-access rate in the UK.
Huawei to acquire Xunlian Zhipay for its payments licence
The deal is yet to be officially announced.
ICYMI funding round-up: Trade Ledger, Mesh, Safepay, Globacap & more
We round up some of the funding rounds that may have slipped you by.
How brands are becoming the banks of tomorrow
To understand what the bank of tomorrow looks like, we must first understand how they developed.
Dublin’s ION Group snaps up New York trading tech firm Dash
ION Group has bought a handful of other firms to date.
Equifax acquires AccountScore to boost open banking capabilities
Equifax wants higher rates of automation and verification.
Klarna’s valuation set to triple to $30bln, says report
A report says Klarna is currently working on a half a billion new share issue.
San Fran fintech Zeta lands $1.5m for couples banking
Currently, the start-up makes money on partial interchange fees.
TransferGo picks Thought Machine for core operations
Money transfer firm switches things up in the back office.
BankPlus replacing 30-year-old core system with Jack Henry’s SilverLake
Southwestern US bank picked SilverLake after feedback from its peers.
More than 90% of UK’s financial firms still rely on legacy tech, says FCA
Some 33% admit “most” of their technology is legacy.
Nordic API Gateway lands nine new bank partners in Bankdata deal
The deal prequels Nordic API Gateway’s European expansion plans for 2021.
Banking Technology February 2021 issue out now
The roaring 20s.
Findr launches first crowdfunding campaign
Findr was launched at the end of October 2020 by resident FinTech Futures expert, Greg Watts.
Singapore’s central bank reviews BNPL regulation over debt fears
The MAS wants to ensure regulations are “risk-proportionate”.
HPS acquires Mauritius payments processor ICPS
HPS nabs the full stake in ICPS from former partner MCB.
USAA Federal Savings Bank nabs new risk head from Citigroup
Neeraj Singh replaces retiring Torben Ostergaard.
United Fintech announces acquisition of German regtech TTMzero
UK scale-up has taken 25% stake with a view to nabbing 80% soon.
BBVA sells Holvi business lender, invests $150m in VC fund
Spanish banking giant ditches Finnish business bank, sells back to founder
Challenger Climate First Bank to launch in Florida’s Tampa Bay Area in Spring
The start-up wants to become a full-service community bank.
NCR acquires digital onboarding start-up Terafina
Terafina marks NCR’s third acquisition this year.
Tech CU picks Backbase to revamp digital processes
Silicon Valley-based institution looks to the future with digital vendor.
Webinar: How to stop massive mobile banking fraud with app security and risk-based authentication
Approaches to eliminate the impact of fraud threats and strategies to protect mobile device users.
Monzo confirms £50m raise with help of new US backer
Monzo is on the cusp of five million customers.
Tandem Bank acquires £100m mortgage book from Bank and Clients
Private bank’s customers won’t notice the transition, claims challenger.
UK-Nigeria mobile wallet Sendit.Money goes crowdfunding
It has already exceeded its £100,000 target, having raised £146,006 at time of writing.
Philippines neobank Tonik signs credit assessment deal with FinScore
The challenger wants to extend loan applications to more underbanked Filipinos.
EXCLUSIVE: Wirex users hit by unexplained account restrictions and “disappearing” funds
A growing number of customers are fleeing Wirex.
Bill.com edges closer to profitability, shares up 30%
Between last October and December, revenue was up 38%, to $54 million.
BlackRock-backed Scalable Capital closes UK consumer platform
The robo-adviser will focus on growing the business in Germany.
Fintech funding deals globally 1-7 February 2021
Featuring Stash, Built, LeaseLock, Valon Mortgage, and Metromile.
Ant plans for IPO as it reaches restructure deal with regulators
Ant has until November 2021 to register a new financial holding.
Bottomline Technologies acquires TreasuryXpress
The US firm is expanding its treasury tools for corporates.
Hapi rolls out UK savings and investments app for parents
The start-up is backed by Entrepreneur First.
UK carbon impact challenger Creed set to launch this year
Former Bank of America, UBS and Barclays exec Roshan George heads up Creed.
Anglo-Gulf Trade Bank signs for Fenergo client lifecycle tech
UAE-based bank picks vendor to aid its onboarding processes.
US investor Stash lands $125m Series G ten months after last round
Stash’s last valuation sits at around $812 million.
