Klarna lands $800m funding as valuation cut to $6.7bn from $45.6bn last year
The firm says it “has not been immune to the significant downdrafts of fintech stock in public markets”.
Lending
Linkbancorp taps Jack Henry for digital banking and lending upgrade
Linkbancorp will look to utilise Jack Henry’s Banno Digital Platform and LoanVantage offerings.
New digital payment platform Kasheesh launches in US
Kasheesh reduces the cost burden on individual cards and helps users build their credit scores.
DND Finance launches UK’s first Shariah-certified credit card
The Score Mastercard enables new-to-UK users to transact and build up their credit history.
Nigerian fintech Moove lands $20m from British International Investment
BII is the new name of CDC Group, the UK government’s development finance institution.
Banking Tech Awards USA 2022 Winner: Freddie Mac – Best UX/CX in Finance Initiative
Get Clarity into mortgage credit risk investing through Freddie Mac.
Oxbury Bank lands £20m in additional funding
The new cash injection takes the firm’s total capital raised to £68 million.
Aussie BNPL firm Openpay puts a pause on US operations
The company’s available capital and funding will be redirected to its Australian business.
Indian revenue-based financing firm GetVantage bags $36m funding
The new investment brings GetVantage’s total funding to date to $41 million.
FinTech Futures: Top five stories of the week – 1 July 2022
Here’s our pick of five of the top news stories from the world of finance and tech this week.
London BNPL firm Zilch raises additional $50m in Series C extension
The extension follows an initial raise of $110m in November, which valued the company at more than $2bn.
Tenet launches financing platform to drive EV adoption
The firm has also raised $18 million in seed funding.
India’s Lentra snaps up AI firm TheDataTeam
Lentra says it plans to integrate TDT’s behaviour intelligence platform Cadenz.
Sustainable neobank Ashman lands UK banking licence
Birmingham-based firm plans on achieving full regulatory approval before starting operations.
Loan Financing Company turns to ICSFS for core banking tech
LFC has also received a preliminary approval from Saudi Arabia’s regulator, SAMA.
Lithuania’s SME Bank partners kevin. for A2A e-commerce platform
The new offering is a unified payment infrastructure enabling account-to-account (A2A) payments across the Baltics.
Indian B2B e-commerce platform Solv raises $40m Series A
Solv says the funding will support its expansion throughout more than 300 cities across Africa and Southeast Asia.
B2B BNPL fintech Hokodo raises $40m in Series B funding round
Hokodo says it will use the funding to expand into new European markets and develop new products.
B2B BNPL fintech Playter lands $55m funding round
The round was led by Adit Venture Capital and Fasanara Capital.
Stashfin lands $270m in Series C funding to expand in Asia
Stashfin says it will use the new money to expand its footprint across South and Southeast Asia.
Ghana’s Fido raises $30m Series A to broaden financial inclusion in Africa
Fido has now raised $38m to date and intends to use the fresh capital to launch new financial products in Ghana.
UK challenger bank Recognise appoints Sahil Thapa as CTO
Recognise says Thapa “has the vision and ability to lead the Bank’s technology strategy”.
UK start-up StrideUp in £280m funding deal for new mortgage plan
It has also entered a strategic partnership with ARA Venn, a real-estate debt investment manager.
State of play: Money 20/20 Europe
Fintech analyst Philip Benton recaps key themes and trends at Money 20/20 Europe.
BNPL regulation by UK gov set to “protect millions”
Lenders offering BNPL services will need to be approved by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
UK neolender Proportunity set to launch zero deposit mortgage product
The announcement was made as part of its crowdfunding campaign with Seedrs.
US proptech HomeLight acquires Accept, raises $115m at $1.7bn valuation
The acquisition of Accept will make HomeLight the largest agent-focused cash offer programme in the country.
Canadian wealthtech Wealthsimple sheds 12.6% of workforce due to market volatility
As well as the layoffs the wealthtech will be “laser-focused” on core businesses investing, banking and crypto.
Banking start-up Fiinu to launch plug-in overdraft, list on LSE
Fiinu is set to be acquired by media company Immedia for approximately £37.5 million.
CBA’s new digital mortgage brand, Unloan, underpinned by Mambu’s tech
CBA positions Unloan as “a revolutionary force in the Australian mortgage industry”.
Crypto firm Celsius halts withdrawals, cites “extreme market conditions”
Celsius says the pause is designed to put the firm in a “better position” to honour its withdrawal obligations in the future.
Nuula launches operations in Canada for small business owners
Nuula provides financial products and services to small business owners.
Virgin Money in three-year deal with Trade Ledger to digitise business lending
“At the heart of the partnership is the delivery of a digital decisioning platform,” Trade Ledger says.
Money 20/20 Europe: A new era for a digital Sterling
Project New Era, set to launch in September, is a pilot evaluating the future digital currency ecosystem in the UK.
Mortgage tech firm Twenty7Tec takes over Bluecoat Software
The acquisition is “set to revolutionise both the wealth and mortgage technology markets”, the firms say.
ICICI Bank partners ZestMoney to expand “cardless EMI” facility
The facility is live on select e-commerce websites and the firms say will be made available at retail stores soon.
Money 20/20 Europe: Mastercard’s open banking guru on payments and data
Jim Wadsworth discusses working with fintechs, open banking, becoming a paytech and safeguarding data.
Challenger banks Allica and Plazo turn to Mambu for tech
Allica Bank is live with Mambu’s core, while Plazo will use the vendor’s tech to support its lending business.
How Stilt is helping immigrants build a financially stable life in the US
FinTech Futures chats with Stilt co-founder Rohit Mittal about the firm’s aims to help immigrants in the US.
Indian fintech start-up Slice raises $50m in ongoing Series C round
The round has been led by Tiger Global with participation from new investor GMO Venture Partners.
