Plaid raising at $15bn as employees pitched $1,200 per share
US fintechs have enjoyed a wealth of VC interest since the Plaid-Visa deal hit headlines.
FinTech
Asia-Pacific fintechs Volopay and Microleap land funding
Singapore-based Volopay and Malaysia-based Microleap have raised $2.1 million and $3.3 million, respectively.
Contactless usage surges to 88.6% of in-store card transactions
The over-65s were most likely to embrace the technology for the first time.
Rapyd raises $300m in Series D, plans more acquisitions
It will double the engineering and product teams and expand the “self-service” element of the platform.
FinTech Futures Jobs: five awesome fintech companies founded by women
Featuring Aya Payments, Modularbank, First Boulevard, GoHenry, and Alinea Invest.
Fintech funding deals globally 18-24 January 2021
Featuring PPRO, iSTOX, Indy, Mercado Bitcoin, and Brigit.
Robinhood hires two execs from US regulator Finra
Former Finra execs Anthony Cavallaro and Josh Drobnyk join the fold.
Minna Technologies raises €15.5m in Series B funding round
Minna says the investment will be used for global expansion, “with requests from all continents”.
Singapore’s iSTOX lands $50m from heavyweight Japanese backers
n the past decade, global private equity returned 13.2% on average.
Plaid launches incubator FinRise for fintech founders of colour
The incubator is looking to accept just three-to-five start-ups.
Video: Top fintech stories this week – 22 January 2021
FinTech Futures’ weekly news round-up.
Female-led tax reporting fintech KAWC takes tech into own hands
“We approached male investors, but they were so condescending,” says CEO.
RBI invests in Romanian open banking start-up Finqware
Finqware initiated account aggregation for seven Croatian banks last year.
Tom Blomfield exits Monzo and opens up about mental health
“COVID-19 just exacerbated things,” says Blomfield.
VC investment for UK’s female fintech founders up 6% in 2020
Female-led fintechs entered COVID-19 with the longest funding runway of the sector.
FinTech Futures Jobs: new year, new job – five tech companies that are hiring now
Featuring CGI, Cleo AI, Freetrade, Market Finance, and Monzo.
Under the hood of London payments platform Currencycloud
Currencycloud talks tech, structure, product development and bank relationships.
Pyypl’s regulation-first approach to MENA starts to pay off
“The options today are mobile money or banks,” says CEO.
A thing apart
Teamwork, trust, and support come from a place of pure emotion.
What the Fintech? | S.2 Episode 1 | Innovation in commercial lending
Innovation in commercial lending with special guest, Dean Snyder, EVP at AFS.
Aion Bank signs payments processing deal with Form3
Form3 to provide real-time payment processing, clearing and settlement.
New York cash advance app Brigit reveals $35m Series A
Brigit’s CEO is a former Deutsche Bank and Infosys executive.
Prospective UK challenger Perenna lands $10m ahead of Q3 launch
The fintech lodged its banking licence in the last quarter of 2020.
Technology lies at the heart of the ethical banking revolution
We have a collective opportunity to lift our communities out of this dire situation.
UK fintech Just lands court backing to undercut bailiff industry
Currently, Just’s virtual offering is in beta.
Goldman picks Marqeta to power Marcus current account rollout
Marcus plans to launch its new accounts later this year.
Tide gears up for international expansion to India
The fintech says it will bring the exact same offering it has in the UK, to India.
Fintech funding deals globally 11-17 January 2021
Featuring Checkout.com, MX, Blend, Creditas, and Enfusion.
Goldman Sachs mulls acquisitions to bulk up Marcus
Goldman’s CEO intends to make Marcus a pillar of the US bank’s growth.
Tandem quotes same “material uncertainty” as Monzo in 2019 financials
Tandem’s plan is to be profitable by July or September 2021.
MX ties up $300m in Series C funding
Utah-based firm has raised more than $500m since launch.
Vietnamese “super app” hopeful MoMo lands $100m Series D
The fintech’s registered users doubled to 23 million in 2020.
Video: Top fintech stories this week – 15 January 2021
FinTech Futures’ weekly news round-up.
Grab’s fintech arm lands $300m Series A
Grab Financial Group saw its total revenues jump up by more than 40% in 2020.
Italy’s BNL goes live on Tink open banking service
The implementation is part of an extended deal with BNP Paribas.
Digital lender Blend raises $300m in Series G funding round
Lending firm plans to expand team and grow its products with the substantial raise.
Indonesia’s BukuKas lands $10m led by Sequoia Capital’s Indian arm
BukuKas says it already serves some 3.5 million customers.
Fostering a growth mindset is key to getting through challenging times
Mastering an ability to deal with tough times will strike a path towards growth.
CoinSwitch Kuber’s $15m Series A marks Ribbit Capital’s first Indian crypto deal
CoinSwitch Kuber is gunning for ten million users this year.
Irish banks plan payments rival to take on fintech entrants
AIB, Bank of Ireland, TSB, and KBC pull together to battle fintechs like Revolut.
