LatAm fintech start-up Kiwi secures $80m in funding
With the funding, Kiwi plans to introduce new products and reach more customers across US and Latin America.
FinTech
Swedish fintech Qred lands full banking licence
Qred operates an AI-led financing platform to offer loans, credit cards and factoring for small businesses.
Anne Boden to step down as CEO of Starling Bank
Boden will remain on the board as a non-execu director, with COO John Mountain taking over as interim CEO.
Embedded payments platform Rize Money acquired by Fifth Third
Fifth Third says embedded payments are “a core component” of its treasury management business.
A radical logical conclusion
If you want to be rescued by the government, then you need to be operating as a public service utility.
US fintech Episode Six secures $48m in Series C funding
The round was led by Avenir, with participation from existing investor Anthos Capital.
OpenFin lands $35m in Series D funding
The funding will be used to accelerate the adoption of OpenFin’s software across the financial services industry.
US LGBTQ+ neobank Daylight to close down
The final day of Daylight’s banking operations will be 30 June.
FinovateSpring 2023: The top trends shaping the future of financial services
This year’s FinovateSpring conference has put digital transformation and innovation at the top of the agenda.
Aviva migrates equity release service from legacy to Phoebus
Aviva will migrate its entire portfolio of 300,000 accounts, equating to £13bn of assets, onto Phoebus’ system.
Payment orchestration platform Paydock raises £25m Series A
Paydock claims its platform “substantially” reduces costs, risks and efforts in a merchant’s payment experience.
Ex-NatWest exec Julie Ashmore joins lendtech Muse Finance as COO
Julie Ashmore moves to Muse Finance from NatWest Rapid Cash where she was CEO.
Digital banking group Tyme lands $77.8m in pre-Series C funding
Existing investor Tencent also increased its stake to become Tyme’s third-largest stakeholder.
Australian government set to regulate BNPL industry
Australia aims to introduce the final BNPL bill in the parliament by the end of 2023.
Monese to offer “coreless” banking platform through new entity, XYB
XYB is available in the UK and Europe, with plans to also launch in North America and Asia Pacific.
US proptech Setpoint acquires Resolute to “revolutionise fintech lending”
Resolute is a due diligence provider focused on single family rental (SFR) and residential transition loans (RTL).
Restaurant365 lands $135m funding at unicorn valuation
The round takes the Restaurant365 valuation to over $1 billion.
India’s PhonePe secures another $100m from General Atlantic
With the latest funding, PhonePe has raised a total of $850 million in the current round.
Wise CFO Matt Briers to leave money transfer firm next year
Wise will start the search for its next CFO immediately.
Sonata Bank taps Plinqit to help restaurant workers meet savings goals
Through the partnership, Sonata will provide customers with ways to save and plan for future financial needs.
Airbnb taps Stripe to enable bank payments for US customers
The feature will be available for customers with a US bank account.
Sonata Bank aims to boost quick service restaurant employees’ financial health
The challenger has raised more than $20 million in its initial round of funding.
Hong Kong Monetary Authority kickstarts e-HKD retail CBDC pilot
A total of 16 firms have been chosen from across the financial, payments and technology sectors to take part.
American Bank & Trust taps Marstone for digital wealth management offering
With the partnership, the bank aims to retain existing client deposits and attract new retail bank customers.
FinTech Futures: Top five stories of the week – 19 May 2023
Here’s our pick of five of the top news stories from the world of finance and tech this week.
Singapore’s Whampoa Group selects Bahrain as HQ for new digital bank
Launching end of 2023, the new digital bank aims to support the adoption of digital assets worldwide.
Bank of England reportedly planning to reject Revolut banking licence
The PRA reportedly intended to issue a warning notice to Revolut over its balance sheet.
San Francisco fintech Cardless secures $75m credit facility from i80 Group
The debt facility will provide Cardless “flexibility” to meet growing demand for co-branded credit card products.
Meridian Bank taps Corserv to launch business credit card programme
With Corserv, Meridian Bank will be able to offer credit cards with a variety of APRs, rewards and features.
ICYMI fintech funding round-up: Bitpanda, Jenfi and more
This week’s handy funding round-up includes six fintech firms from across the world.
Low-code AI integration platform AI Squared names Michelle Bonat as new CTO
Bonat will be responsible for software engineering, data science, AI research, IT and product management.
Banking on data
As a coder, I always thought that software was key, but I soon realised the value was really in the data.
Bank of America launches new accelerator programme for fintech start-ups
The programme aims to help entrepreneurs from underrepresented communities scale-up their businesses.
Financial health app VeraScore names Scott Waldron as new president
In his new role, Waldron will lead VeraScore’s business development and customer acquisition strategies.
Westpac New Zealand taps Finastra to accelerate ISO 20022 compliance
Finastra says its tech will enable the bank to leverage the benefits of ISO 20022’s data-rich MX messaging format.
Private credit marketplace platform Percent lands $29.7m Series B funding
Percent will use the funding to further develop its platform and propel its next phase of growth.
Credit union North Carolina SECU selects NCR for digital banking upgrade
Using NCR Digital Banking, SECU will be able to upgrade its mobile and online banking capabilities.
Standard Chartered partners Worldpay from FIS to expand payment collections offering
With the partnership, the bank aims to expand the footprint of its solution across Asia and other markets.
Tilta taps Mambu to launch embedded purchase lending solution
Tilta’s infrastructure for e-commerce marketplaces allows them to earn a percentage of every transaction.
BKN301 Group taps Finastra for digital payments solution Essence
BKN301 Group’s long term strategy is to bring a BaaS payments solution to corporates in the MENA region.
