Walmart prepares launch of its own fintech start-up
Retailer says customers want more of its financial products.
FinTech
Canadian challenger Koho appoints new CTO
Jonathan Klein joins the neobank from Wayfair.
Polish consumer protection regulator investigates CD Projekt over Cyberpunk 2077
The UOKiK can fine the studio up to 10% of its annual revenue if it finds fault with its refund policy.
My mother was right about everything
What good are the choices, if you don’t act?
Freetrade pauses trading for US stocks following technical issues
Some investors woke up to their US stocks up over 2000%.
Visa and Plaid call off $5.3bn merger after US regulatory pressure
The two had initially intended to close the deal by June 2020.
Philippines’ mobile wallet GCash closes on $1bn valuation with new funding
Mynt-operated firm raises $175m from US investor.
Checkout.com valued at European record $15bn after $450m raise
Profitable since it began, Checkout is an attractive proposition for investors.
2021 predictions: don’t overlook the phone call
Due to the explosion in illegal robocalls, many consumers have simply stopped answering the phone.
FCA warns crypto investors could “lose all their money” after Bitcoin dips again
“Operating without a registration is a criminal offence,” says the FCA.
Curve lands $95m as it reveals losses have quadrupled
The fintech claims to have two million customers.
Revolut applies for UK banking licence to boost primary account numbers
Fintech unicorn seeks to transition to full bank in the UK.
Fintech funding deals globally 4-10 January 2021
Featuring Grab, Mynt, Divvy, Mambu, and SimpleNexus.
PAYMYNT Financial buys crypto e-wallet LettucePay
LettucePay operates on top of Stellar Network, an open source blockchain platform.
BBVA shutters Simple after paying $117m for it in 2014
The bank is cutting out standalone entities which no longer make sense to operate solo.
SoFi set to go public via merger with Palihapitiya’s fourth Spac
The IPO will value SoFi at $8.65 billion.
Video: Top fintech stories this week – 08 January 2021
FinTech Futures’ weekly news round-up.
FCA: Thousands of financial firms risk failing as pandemic persists
Payments and e-money firms experienced an 11% decrease in available liquidity.
Customer service start-up Glia lands $78m to help banks and credit unions
The round was led by Shopify and Checkout.com backer Insight Partners.
Digitisation answers the quest for risk mitigation in global trade
These concerns have been heightened by a series of fraud allegations relating to commodity transactions.
Trump bans transactions through Chinese apps including Alipay
The applications have 45 days to prepare for the ban.
Webinar: Deep dive on ServiceNow’s purpose built product for finserv operations
How to improve customer and employee experiences. Featuring a demo of The Now Platform from ServiceNow.
N26 finally lands licence to operate in Brazil
The country’s central bank has granted it a SCD licence.
Lock up your innovation department
Perfect the art of incremental business improvements in the cheapest and most efficient ways, before the competition.
PayPal investment lands SME fintech Divvy with unicorn status
The start-up announced a $165 million Series D funding round.
UK challenger Cashplus buys icount’s current account portfolio
“I remember acquiring our first cardholder,” says icount founder.
Fintech funding deals globally 28 Dec 2020-3 Jan 2021
Featuring Mission Lane, Narmi, Finja, CarPay, and ZipLoan.
Six trends that will change the crypto world in 2021
Which coins will rise in price and which ones will fall?
Israeli remittance fintech Rewire targets one million customers by end of 2021
Rewire currently boasts more than 200,000 European accounts.
Unihomes snaps up Sheffield-based fintech Split the Bills
Unihomes, also based in Sheffield, bundles up university accomodations with bills.
eToro plans for a $5 billion US IPO
The broker is eyeing a listing in New York and is already in talks with Goldman Sachs.
Oxbury plans 2021 launch after fresh £15m injection
Challenger bank for farmers receives investment from Duke of Westminster’s estate.
Tamam to launch Saudi Arabia’s first digital microfinance service
Tanam give green light after 18 months of sandbox testing.
Invincible TikTok: why video services are exciting and daunting at the same time
The ethical side of using AI video is becoming an increasingly acute problem today.
Crypto platforms drop support for XRP amid SEC’s Ripple lawsuit
Some crypto exchanges have delisted it while others have halted, suspended, or disabled trading for XRP.
Bitcoin soars to record $34,000, but dips $5,000 in 24 hours
Bitcoin hit lows of around $18,700 in early December.
Embedded insurance: a $3tn market opportunity, that could also help close the protection gap
All players should look carefully at this space and define strategies of “where to play” and “how to win”.
What the Fintech? Season one | Fintech Jail
Here’s a list of all the buzzwords in our What the Fintech podcast game, “Fintech Jail”.
2020 review: A year which saw fintechs cut jobs, pay & business arms
A number of fintechs have still been tested during COVID-19, some to the brink of collapse.
SoftBank aims to raise $525m with Spac IPO
Goldman Sachs Group and Citigroup are managing the deal.
