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”.
Savings
Mexican fintech Flink lands $57m in Series B round
New investment follows the company’s $12 million Series A round in February.
US fintech One lands $40m in Series B funding
Start-up aims to bring “all-in-one banking” to middle-class Americans.
Abrdn acquires wealth management platform Exo Investing from Nucoro
Edinburgh-based investment firm plans to offer a 24/7 digital wealth management app.
Social finance app Frich launches in the US
NYC-based Frich offers a savings wallet and no-fee overdraft for Gen Z users.
Fintech funding deals globally 2 August – 8 August 2021
Featuring Rapyd, Human Interest, Unico, Matrixport and Kuda.
ICYMI funding round-up: Snoop, Easy, Wildfire Systems, Ritmo & more
Another batch of funding rounds that might have flown under your radar.
Video: fintech news pick of the week – Square, Lloyds and VNLIFE
Our top pick of news from the world of finance and tech in bitesize video format, twice a week.
Lloyds to acquire savings firm Embark Group in £390m deal
UK bank aims for “top three” position in the retirement and savings market.
Landis secures $165m raise to help Americans become homeowners
The round was led by Sequoia Capital with participation from Will Smith’s Dreamers VC.
Vestwell lands $70m Series C round co-led by Wells Fargo
Series C takes Vestwell’s total funding to around $112m over four rounds.
Tesco Bank set to close all personal current accounts by November
Bank to close all 213,000 existing accounts as many show “limited activity”.
Cambridge Savings Bank launches new digital banking solution
Ivy Bank will act as a digital-only division of CSB.
M1 Finance secures $150m in SoftBank-led funding round
The firm claims the investment now takes its total valuation to $1.45 billion.
Digital wealth manager Syfe lands $30m Series B funding
The financing comes nine months after its $18.6 million Series A round.
Lune launches UAE’s first personal finance management app
The company is aiming to improve financial literacy in the region.
Singapore start-up Bambu acquires investment and trading wealthtech Tradesocio
Bambu plans to tap into Tradesocio’s presence across EMEA and India.
ChangeFi CEO: “We have to be on the ground with our communities”
ChangeFi is looking to give “equal access to the American dream”.
Retirement platform Smart raises $165m in Series D funding
Chrysalis Investments led the round with a £75 million equity investment.
Millennial home buying platform Lower lands $100m Series A led by Accel
The Ohio-based firm plans to use the funds to expand its product line and accelerate growth.
ICYMI funding round-up: Upflow, TRM Labs, Booste, Crediverso & more
A heaping helpful of funding rounds from this week to get your teeth into.
Indian fintech start-up FamPay lands $38m in Series A round
The Bengaluru-based firm is aiming to build India’s first neobank for teenagers.
Fintech start-up Nude launches new finance app to help first-time buyers
The app features a number of tools to help aspiring homeowners save up for a deposit.
MyLife MyFinance goes live on cloud hosted Temenos technology
Australian bank deploys Transact in the cloud with SaaS package.
FTC shutters San Fran fintech Beam for not delivering on 7% interest rate
“Don’t lie about your customers’ ability to get their money when they need it.”
Does the key to financial inclusion sit in a digital money savings pot?
Fintechs should be looking to develop products that promote healthy and sustainable financial habits.
HSBC challenges fintechs with launch of SME banking app Kinetic
“We’re taking the toolkit approach of the challengers,” HSBC lead tells FinTech Futures.
US credit builder Petal closes $125m debt facility
Petal has closed $440 million in debt and raised $100 million in equity.
Pension builder Vantik signs card partnership with Mastercard
German fintech to issue new debit card for users in 2021.
Aviva breaks into cash savings market with help of German fintech Raisin
Savings accounts via partner banks offer interest rates of up to 0.64% AER.
UK Black-owned challenger Atmen to launch in March
The start-up is now looking to raise £5 million from institutional investors.
Savings: the new battleground between challenger and incumbent banks
Reputation is taking a backseat when it comes to choosing where savers keep their money.
UK challenger Monument partners with Mambu, AWS & Accenture
“Monument concluded that no appropriate single solution existed”.
Rebooting savings during the COVID-19 crisis
How then should we think about structuring our savings plan for success?
