FinTech Futures: Top five news stories of the week – 26 April 2024
Our pick of the top fintech news stories this week includes Monese, Temenos, Synapse and more.
FinTech
Enigmatic Smile buys Fidel API’s loyalty business
The sale, for an undisclosed sum, includes all assets associated with Fidel’s loyalty business.
Plastic and dollars: confronting the environmental impact of consumerism and banking technology
We must ensure that banking technology follows a more planet-friendly path than plastic.
Canadian SaaS fintech Zafin announces strategic leadership transition
Zafin CEO Al Karim Somji will hand the reins over to former IBM Canada exec Charbel Safadi.
Former Tesla exec Tim Newell to spin off Aspiration’s consumer financial services division
The new standalone company will act as an independent neobank offering environmentally sustainable products.
Indian fintech Aurionpro bolsters AI portfolio with $16.5m takeover of Arya.ai
Arya.ai offers a cloud-based PaaS that enables enterprises to develop their own AI solutions.
Miracles on minimum wage
I don’t know what it would take for people at the top to take their own empowerment spiel seriously.
UK regtech ComplyAdvantage snaps up Golden to strengthen financial crime intelligence offering
The deal will also see VC firm Andreessen Horowitz become a shareholder in ComplyAdvantage.
Luxembourg’s NowCM names Markus Sauerland as new COO and co-CEO
Industry veteran Sauerland will lead the company alongside its founder Robert Koller.
Jordan Kuwait Bank digitises transaction banking functions with iGTB platform
The bank’s new digital capabilities are being powered by the open finance platform eMACH.ai.
UK property lender Together taps nCino for cloud banking solution
Together claims to have a loan book exceeding £6.8 billion, originating over £200 million in loans monthly.
Payflows emerges from stealth with €25m Series A funding
The Paris-based start-up has been in stealth mode since 2022.
US fintech start-up Pomelo bags $35m Series A funding
The start-up secured a $75m warehouse facility expansion alongside the round.
Thunes to boost US footprint with acquisition of Tilia
Tilia is to rebrand as Thunes and maintain operations from San Francisco.
Bird taps Airwallex to power international payments operations
Airwallex’s tech will power Bird’s in-house foreign exchange engine and issuing solution.
Monese to split business in two amid mounting financial woes
The UK-based fintech has enlisted Interpath Advisory to assist in the internal restructuring.
Nium names Alexandra Johnson as first chief payments officer
The former Bank of America exec is to lead Nium’s strategy in the newly-created role.
The essential buyer’s guide for risk orchestration software
Crucial insights for fintechs seeking risk orchestration platform vendors to streamline their customer lifecycle and regulatory screening.
TabaPay to acquire assets of struggling BaaS fintech Synapse
Synapse previously filed for Chapter 11 voluntary bankruptcy and laid off over 50% of its workforce last year.
Karma Wallet acquires sustainability marketplace DoneGood ahead of card and membership programme launch
The sustainability spending fintech is to integrate the DoneGood marketplace into its company ratings platform.
Fortis Digital Solutions lands $20m Series A for push into MENA
The investment will be used to fuel Fortis’ planned expansion into the MENA region.
Cartoon: Spring fever
The market appears to be investing in anything that moves with the letters “AI” in it.
Ready to bloom: the rise of CBDCs in Asia
We delve into how and why Asia has surged ahead in the global race for CBDC development.
ICYMI fintech funding round-up: Toku, Tabs, Kamina, Lemon and more
A handy round-up of the recent funding endeavours of fintech companies across the globe.
FinTech Futures: Top five news stories of the week – 19 April 2024
Our pick of the top fintech news stories this week includes Klarna, Ramp, Zopa and more.
Credit card fintech Pliant lands €18m Series A extension led by PayPal Ventures
The Berlin-based fintech now seeks to expand its cards-as-a-service product to markets beyond the EU.
The real cost of cloud banking
Simply moving old software to the cloud will not necessarily save you much money.
UK fintech Wagestream bags £17.5m funding to expand its financial benefits offering
The fintech plans to launch a credit-builder card, loans and an AI-powered financial advice coach this year.
Klarna to launch credit card offering in the US “over the next few months”
The US is set to be Klarna Card’s fourth market of entry, following earlier launches in Sweden, Germany and the UK.
Ramp secures $150m in Series D-2 funding round at $7.65bn valuation
The round adds to the $300m Ramp raised in its Series D round in August 2023 at a valuation of $5.8bn.
Digital asset neobank Keytom launches in the UAE
Keytom says it aims to help customers better manage their digital assets “in one convenient location”.
Gigs appoints former Stripe exec Rishi Sachdeva as new head of fintech
Sachdeva succeeds Rafael Plantier, who has been promoted to head of go-to-market.
What do you want to be famous for?
At the end of the day, when it’s all said and done… what do you want to be remembered for?
BNPL firm Laybuy reportedly on the lookout for new buyer to potentially go private
The New Zealand-based firm is currently listed on the Catalist stock exchange with a value of around $5.4 million.
FinTech Founders Video: how to forge successful fintech partnerships
Three fintech founders discuss the best ways to assess a potential partner in financial services.
Wintrust Financial Corporation acquires Macatawa Bank for $510m
Founded in 1997, Macatawa Bank manages a network of 26 full-service branches across Michigan, USA.
UK Finance engages Quant and R3 to support Regulated Liability Network experimentation phase
UK Finance says the experimentation phase of its Regulated Liability Network will run until summer 2024.
Project Nemo launches in the UK to boost disability inclusion in fintech
The initiative aims to arm the fintech sector with the resources and expertise to help build a more inclusive industry.
BharatPe names Nalin Negi as permanent CEO
Negi has acted as BharatPe’s interim CEO since Suhail Sameer’s departure last year.
German fintech start-up Finmid emerges from stealth with €35m in funding
The fintech claims it provides “a much-needed alternative to banks for European SMBs looking for financing support”.
