FinTech Futures: Top five news stories of the week – 19 January 2024
Our pick of the top fintech news stories this week includes Citi, Sainsbury’s Bank and more.
Lending
India’s DMI Group snaps up BNPL fintech ZestMoney
The fire sale deal follows reports in December last year that ZestMoney was closing down.
DirectID founder James Varga departs after 13 years
Varga says he has made the “pivotal decision to move on” from the Scottish risk and decisioning firm.
UK car finance fintech Carmoola lands £15.5m in equity funding
The start-up previously secured a £95m debt facility from NatWest and an £8.5m Series A round in February 2023.
Tobias Unger joins Sopra Banking Software as new chief operating officer
Unger brings more than two decades of financial services and fintech experience to his new role.
Real estate fintech start-up Downpayments launches in Florida with $32.8m in debt and equity funding
The start-up seeks to provide property investors with interest-free down payments on their next home purchase.
UK fintech funding fell 63% in 2023, new Tracxn report finds
It is the second year fintech funding has fallen in the UK, down 70% on 2021 figures.
UK fintech Chetwood Financial appoints Julian Hynd as new COO
Hynd previously spearheaded the commercial transformation of UK-based Redwood Bank.
Capital on Tap triggers leadership reshuffle
Co-founder David Luck will assume the role of executive chairman, while CPO Damian Brychcy takes on the role of CEO.
Kazakhstani fintech Solva eyes future as SME-focused bank following $20m investment
The investment was backed by the Sawiris family of the Egyptian Orascom Group and ZCP.
New Year’s resolutions
We are uniquely placed to influence the application of tech and maturation of regulation. Go out there and do good.
HSBC reportedly enters race to buy Tesco’s banking business
Sky News first reported Tesco Bank’s interest in exploring a sale in February last year.
Saudi fintech start-up Tameed raises $15m Series A
The firm says it will use the funding to “meet the increasing demand” for its digital lending products.
2023: Top five funding rounds of the year
Capping off 2023, we take a look back at five of the top fundraising rounds of this year.
FinTech Futures: Top five stories of the week – 22 December 2023
Here’s our pick of five of the top news stories from the world of finance and tech this week.
BNPL fintech Tabby lands $700m debt facility from JP Morgan
Tabby has also extended its Series D funding round by $50 million to a total of $250 million.
UK neolender Updraft secures £272m in mix of debt and equity funding
The start-up previously raised £108 million in debt and equity funding last December.
BCFC launches lending app in Bahrain powered by Codebase Technologies and Atyaf eSolutions
The companies first announced their partnership in August 2022.
Instant payments, BaaS and GenAI: A fintech industry review of 2023
FinTech Futures takes a look back at the key industry developments and trends to emerge over 2023.
CSI snaps up partner Hawthorn River for single-platform loan origination system
CSI initially struck a partnership with Hawthorn River in October to utilise its tech.
US fintech start-up SellersFi secures new credit facility of up to $300m
The credit facility has been provided by Citi and long-time financing partner Fasanara Capital.
Video: Five Degrees at the Banking Tech Awards 2023 – digital banking innovation
We chat with Bjorn Holmthorsson, Managing Director at Five Degrees, and Jamie Burink, Business Head at Fyndoo.
Credit Karma co-founder Nichole Mustard reportedly departs firm
Mustard founded the firm in 2007 with Ryan Graciano and Kenneth Lin.
French fintech Unlimitd boosts financing capacity to €100m as ACP takes majority stake
Founded in July 2021 by Julien Zerbib, Unlimitd provides revenue-based financing to digital companies.
Saudi BNPL fintech Tamara lands $340m Series C funding at $1bn valuation
Tamara says the Series C is “among the largest investments in a fintech company in the region”.
The What the FinTech? podcast | Season four’s jailed buzzwords
We run down all the buzzwords our podcast guests wanted gone from the industry this year.
Splitit delists from ASX as Motive Partners snaps up controlling stake
Motive Partners will invest two $25 million tranches as part of its growth commitment to the Aussie firm.
Saudi business lending marketplace Lendo gears up for IPO with $28m Series B
Lendo has announced it plans to pursue an IPO “within the next few years”.
Banking Technology Magazine Dec 2023 / Jan 2024 issue out now
Cover story: THE BEST OF BANKING TECH – Winners and pictures from an amazing night.
Reserve Bank of India outlines plans for new fintech repository and cloud facility for FS firms
The new measures also address “moral hazard issues” in lending and boost certain transaction limits.
AI, BNPL and CBDCs: The industry’s fintech predictions for 2024
We take a look at some of the fintech predictions being made by industry experts for 2024.
Hungary’s OTP Bank taps iGCB for core banking revamp
OTP Bank has selected the vendor’s Intellect Digital Core (IDC) offering and lending platform.
VersiFi hires two senior execs from Hazeltree to boost tech and infrastructure development
Sol Zlotchenko and Daniel Zayfman join VersiFi as CPTO and CISO, respectively.
Building a world for the 99%
We have the technology to create a more supportive ecosystem for millions of SMEs worldwide.
ICYMI fintech funding round-up: January, Spade, Keyless and more
A handy round-up of the recent funding endeavours of fintech companies across the globe.
FinTech Futures: Top five stories of the week – 8 December 2023
Here’s our pick of five of the top news stories from the world of finance and tech this week.
Funding Circle appoints Coconut co-founder Adam Goodall as VP of product
Goodall joins Funding Circle from Coconut, a UK-based bookkeeping start-up he co-founded in 2016.
Germany’s Scalable Capital secures $65m in Series E extension
The raise follows on from the company’s $180 million Series E round in June 2021.
Liberis bags $112m in debt financing to fuel expansion in North America and Europe
Liberis plans to go live in Canada, Germany and Poland in 2024.
German wealthtech Trade Republic lands full EU banking licence from the ECB
The new licence means the firm can now offer essential banking services such as deposits and lending.
