IKEA buys 49% stake in financial services partner Ikano Bank
Lending to IKEA shoppers accounted for about a quarter of the bank’s total business.
FinTech
DirectID hires David Freeman as new COO
Key to his new responsibilities at DirectID will be the emergence of a new data science team.
Introducing “it’s a matter of comms”
Welcome to #itsamatterofcomms! A new bi-weekly vlog!
Reimagining the financial system with tokenised barter
Modern blockchain powered barter systems will change the way we view accessing, growing, and owning wealth.
Fintech funding deals globally 8-14 February 2021
Featuring Fraction, BharatPe, Agibank, Monzo, and Coinsquare.
Swiss start-up Valour recruits former HSBC exec Diana Biggs as CEO
Biggs began working in blockchain back in May 2015.
Monzo appoints Carol Kobuke Nelson as new US president and CEO
Nelson spent 23 years at Bank of America.
US core banking vendor Nymbus lands $53m top-up led by existing backer
Nymbus is gearing up to launch “Nymbus Labs”.
Danish edtech Female Invest targets UK expansion with $1.6m fresh capital
“It makes a big difference when you see someone like you on a platform.”
Video: Top fintech stories this week – 12 February 2021
FinTech Futures’ weekly news round-up.
BLOC Smart Africa fund secures capital from Ivory Coast & Luxembourg
The fund will invest in high-growth potential start-ups to scale up across the continent.
Nigeria’s Xend Finance increases size of funding round to $2m
It initially launched its platform publicly late last year after raising $1.5 million in funding.
Italian neobank illimity turns €16m loss into €31m profit in a year
The neobank’s best-performing arm, by a long way, was its NPL unit.
Goldman Sachs re-opens Marcus in UK with 0.5% rate
0.5% is the highest paying easy-access rate in the UK.
ICYMI funding round-up: Trade Ledger, Mesh, Safepay, Globacap & more
We round up some of the funding rounds that may have slipped you by.
Dublin’s ION Group snaps up New York trading tech firm Dash
ION Group has bought a handful of other firms to date.
Equifax acquires AccountScore to boost open banking capabilities
Equifax wants higher rates of automation and verification.
Klarna’s valuation set to triple to $30bln, says report
A report says Klarna is currently working on a half a billion new share issue.
San Fran fintech Zeta lands $1.5m for couples banking
Currently, the start-up makes money on partial interchange fees.
Nordic API Gateway lands nine new bank partners in Bankdata deal
The deal prequels Nordic API Gateway’s European expansion plans for 2021.
Not noise
Before obsessively pressing the send button: pause, rewind.
Banking Technology February 2021 issue out now
The roaring 20s.
Findr launches first crowdfunding campaign
Findr was launched at the end of October 2020 by resident FinTech Futures expert, Greg Watts.
BBVA sells Holvi business lender, invests $150m in VC fund
Spanish banking giant ditches Finnish business bank, sells back to founder
Challenger Climate First Bank to launch in Florida’s Tampa Bay Area in Spring
The start-up wants to become a full-service community bank.
Webinar: How to stop massive mobile banking fraud with app security and risk-based authentication
Approaches to eliminate the impact of fraud threats and strategies to protect mobile device users.
Monzo confirms £50m raise with help of new US backer
Monzo is on the cusp of five million customers.
UK-Nigeria mobile wallet Sendit.Money goes crowdfunding
It has already exceeded its £100,000 target, having raised £146,006 at time of writing.
EXCLUSIVE: Wirex users hit by unexplained account restrictions and “disappearing” funds
A growing number of customers are fleeing Wirex.
Bill.com edges closer to profitability, shares up 30%
Between last October and December, revenue was up 38%, to $54 million.
Nigeria’s central bank issues crypto shutdown throwing fintechs into disarray
Nigeria is one of the world’s largest users of virtual currencies.
Social impact app Tickr raises £2.5m
Tickr focuses on climate change, social impact and disruptive tech.
BlackRock-backed Scalable Capital closes UK consumer platform
The robo-adviser will focus on growing the business in Germany.
Fintech funding deals globally 1-7 February 2021
Featuring Stash, Built, LeaseLock, Valon Mortgage, and Metromile.
Hapi rolls out UK savings and investments app for parents
The start-up is backed by Entrepreneur First.
UK carbon impact challenger Creed set to launch this year
Former Bank of America, UBS and Barclays exec Roshan George heads up Creed.
Texan digital challenger Fair set to launch in Spring
This month, the start-up opened its waiting list.
Cross-border payments fintech Payoneer to IPO with $3.3bn Spac merger
Payoneer is reportedly profitable and expects to pull in $432 million in revenues this year.
Video: Top fintech stories this week – 05 February 2021
FinTech Futures’ weekly news round-up.
Fintech funding round-up: UiPath, Narmi, Balance, GajiGesa, and more
The start of February has seen a whole host of funding rounds around the world.
