FinTech Futures: Top five stories of the week – 20 October 2023
Here’s our pick of five of the top news stories from the world of finance and tech this week.
Start-up
Kasssh launches in the UK to enable consumers to pay for online purchases in cash
The service seeks to bridge the gap between cash and the e-commerce market.
UK lendtech Uncapped lands £200m debt facility as it eyes international expansion
With the new facility, Uncapped aims to expand its reach and provide more digital businesses with access to financing.
FinTech Founders Video: hiring process and attracting the right talent
Exploring various aspects on how to attract, hire and retain talent – a crucial contributor to a company’s success.
Nova Credit raises $45m in Series C round to expand product suite
The round was led by Canapi Ventures and builds upon the company’s $50m Series B from 2020.
Block acquires musician-focused fintech start-up Hifi
The deal is thought to complement Block’s 2021 acquisition of Jay Z’s music streaming service Tidal.
US payments start-up Braid winds down operations
The start-up offered a multi-user financial account where consumers could pool their money and make payments.
FinTech Founders Video: rewind and fast forward
Fintech founders reflect on the past year and ponder how to move forwards.
Puerto Rico’s Arival Bank names Nishi Gupta as chief compliance officer and general counsel
Gupta joins Arival Bank from US-based consumer fintech company Eco, where he served as head of compliance.
ICYMI fintech funding round-up: Untangled Finance, Kennek and more
A handy round-up of the recent funding endeavours of fintech companies across the globe.
FinTech Founders Video: acquiring funding – bootstrapping vs external
In this brief video, fintech founders share their learnings on how to attract funding.
Form3 announces leadership changes as CEO steps down
CPO Mike Walters will take over as CEO, with COO Eimear O’Connor stepping in as CPO.
FinTech Founders Video: tips and surprises
Fintech founders provide useful tips on funding and share the surprises they encountered.
FinTech Founders Video: ideal investors
Fintech founders share their advice on how to acquire funding and what makes an ideal investor.
FinTech Founders Video: funding strategy
Useful insights from fintech entrepreneurs and founders on funding and the best strategies.
Financial safety start-up Carefull secures $16.5m in Series A funding
Carefull’s tech helps banks and wealth advisors protect senior customers from financial fraud.
Scottish challenger Alba Bank to migrate to Mambu’s core banking platform
Alba Bank says the migration will enable it to build products at speed to meet evolving market demands.
Francesca Carlesi steps down as CEO of digital mortgage lender Molo
Carlesi is to depart Molo, which she has led since its inception in 2018, on 25 November 2023.
BaaS fintech Synapse lays off 40% of staff in fresh round of job cuts
In a statement, Synapse says it has “a strong group in place” to manage its operations and customers.
PSP NomadRem taps regtech iDenfy for ID verification and AML screening
The payment service provider is to deploy the regtech’s solutions to enhance its customer onboarding processes.
Rauva appoints Tomas Oliveira da Silva as chief risk officer
He joins from DF Capital, a UK-based savings and lending bank, where he served as CRO for nearly three years.
Fintech unicorn Slice to merge with India’s North East Small Finance Bank
Its merger with NESFB will see Slice transition into a small finance bank.
Investree to launch Qatar lendtech hub following $231m Series D
The round also saw participation from existing investor SBI Holdings, and succeeds the platform’s $23.5m Series C.
UK fintech Wagestream snaps up credit card challenger Keebo
Keebo applies open banking data in its credit decisioning process to lend to those with thin or limited credit histories.
US fintech PayZen launches new product to boost healthcare affordability
With the Care Card, patients can access PayZen’s post-service payment plans through a physical and virtual debit card.
Brite Payments secures $60m funding, eyes international expansion
It plans to develop its proprietary Brite Instant Payments Network that facilitates 24/7 “instant” processing.
Stitch raises $25m in Ribbit Capital-led Series A extension
PayPal Ventures, CRE Venture Capital and The Raba Partnership also participated.
Visa to invest $100m in GenAI firms focused on commerce and payments
The initiative will be led by Visa Ventures, the global payment giant’s corporate investment arm.
Mexican neobank Albo raises $40m in Series C funding round
The round also saw participation from existing investors Valar Ventures and Nazca Ventures.
ICYMI fintech funding round-up: Mundi, Revio, Pontoro and more
Our weekly fintech round-up for you to get the latest funding news from around the world.
UK fintech funding round-up: Apron, Vega and Mintago
A handy round-up of the recent funding endeavours of fintech companies in the UK.
DigitalAPICraft signs as Google Cloud vendor and appoints Marco Tedone as CTO
Marco Tedone, the firm’s new CTO, spent almost 12 years leading API strategy for HSBC.
UK mortgage lender Perenna raises $52m on the back of its unrestricted banking licence
The equity investment comes from IAG Silverstripe and the lender’s existing backers.
B2B payments platform Slope secures $30m funding to build out AI tools
Slope plans to leverage new investor Sam Altman’s “extensive” AI experience to scale its platform.
GoTyme Bank taps Nice Actimize to fight financial crime
The bank aims to leverage Nice Actimize’s AI and analytics solutions in order to prevent financial crime and fraud.
PayTech Awards USA 2023 winners announced
Celebrating exceptional achievements and talent in the US payments industry.
XYB resolves bank-building barriers with GenAI through Google Cloud partnership
XYB was launched by London-based banking services provider Monese back in May.
Bright Money lands $62m debt and equity funding
The round consists of $50 million in debt funding and $12 million in equity.
Switch2Zero appoints Galileo CEO Derek White as chairman
White is currently serving as CEO at Galileo Financial Technologies, a US-based payments and banking platform.
CardsPal founder and CEO Saim Yeong Harng steps down three months after Utu acquisition
Utu acquired the Singapore-based lifestyle app in June following its $33 million Series B.
