BNPL firm Affirm acquires Returnly in $300m deal
More than eight million shoppers have used the online return service.
Consumer/Personal Finance
Welcome Tech raises $35m in Series B funding round
The money will go towards expanding Welcome Tech’s portfolio of financial services.
Hospitality payment app Sunday raises record €20m seed round for Europe
The start-up claims to cut the costs for operators to 0.5% per transaction.
UK challenger Starling lands £50m investment from Goldman Sachs
Starling now claiming to hold a 6% share of the UK SME banking market.
Robinhood calls Massachusetts regulator “elitist” for trying to revoke its licence
“The complaint reflects the old way of thinking,” says Robinhood.
Video: Top fintech stories this week – 16 April 2021
To stories from across the fintech world, featuring Coinbase, Pine Labs, Ozon and more.
Better.com’s CPO accused of bullying days after $500m SoftBank investment
The CPO joined Better in 2017 from Goldman Sachs.
Coinbase IPO values hits $99.6bn valuation with shares up 52% on debut
Shares closed below $330, up a lesser 32%.
LA fintech Ensemble is helping divorced parents navigate their kids’ finances
App features range from organising one-off expenses, to saving for college tuition.
Cuba’s only telco ETECSA granted payment provider licence
The firm can now convert customers’ balances into electronic money.
Fair CMO Toni Harrison: Oppressors can’t be the underbanked’s saviours
Instead of shrinking, the racial wealth gap has only continued to swell and expand.
Acorns bags second acquisition of 2021 with AI start-up Pillar
Pillar helps students manage loan debt.
Plaid announces $425m Series D with three new investors
“Mobile banking is no longer the realm of start-ups”.
Clubhouse introduces tipping for content creators with Stripe
The one-year-old start-up has raised around $100 million to date.
FTC shutters San Fran fintech Beam for not delivering on 7% interest rate
“Don’t lie about your customers’ ability to get their money when they need it.”
ICYMI funding round-up: Butter, Spiral, SadaPay, OVEX, Ensemble & more
We’ve put together an “In Case You Missed It” (ICYMI) funding list.
Global fintech M&A round-up Q1 2021
Whilst some big deals never closed in Q1, plenty others took their place.
Box: Insurance isn’t just about premium rates, it’s about the entire user experience process
Vaneet Grewal, Box’s financial services managing director, talks to FinTech Futures.
Major US banks invest $40m in Black-owned challenger Greenwood
Backers include JP Morgan Chase, Citi, and Bank of America.
Challenger Oyster Financial launches credit offering for Mexico’s SMEs
Instant credit will range from $500 to $1,500.
Revolut applies for US banking licence days after Canada exit
Revolut’s US operations are led by banking veteran Ron Oliviera.
Dallas fintech Stretch to offer former prison inmates bank accounts
The start-up’s aim is to help America’s formerly incarcerated people transition back into the country’s economy.
US fintech Sincere to target “pet parents” with debit cards
In 2019, Americans spent $95.7 billion on their pets.
Revolut exits Canada after trialling beta for year and a half
Canada is a difficult market for challengers to crack.
London fintech WorldRemit mulls taking $1.5bn Spac listing to US
Refinitiv data shows Spac mergers have surged to a record $170 billion this year.
Amazon expands pay-with-hand tech, pushes on with digital currency
Amazon hopes to contract out the pay-with-hand technology to third parties.
Square finally launches bank after filing first application in 2017
Previously, Jack Dorsey’s fintech partnered with Celtic Bank for banking products.
Goldman’s consumer head Omer Ismail leaves for Walmart’s fintech venture
Ismail architected the firm’s move into consumer digital banking.
Robinhood pushes on with IPO plans despite facing 49 GameStop lawsuits
Robinhood has held talks with underwriters about filing “within weeks”.
A seven-year-old tells us what we (should) already know about banking
Your customers aren’t seven-year-olds, but they probably want a lot of the same things.
UK Black-owned challenger Atmen to launch in March
The start-up is now looking to raise £5 million from institutional investors.
Robinhood backer Tiger Global leads $200m investment in rival Public.com
Public.com – as on 1 February – decided to stop making profits from payment for order flows.
MoneyLion set to go public via $2.9bn Spac deal
The fintech anticipates year-over-year growth of around 88%.
US investor Stash lands $125m Series G ten months after last round
Stash’s last valuation sits at around $812 million.
US fintechs Albert and Crux Informatics in funding rounds
Featuring Albert’s $100 million Series C funding round and Crux Informatics’ $36 million convertible note.
What’s in store for financial services in 2021?
A look at what the rest of this year might have in store for the world of financial services and fintech.
Plaid launches incubator FinRise for fintech founders of colour
The incubator is looking to accept just three-to-five start-ups.
New York cash advance app Brigit reveals $35m Series A
Brigit’s CEO is a former Deutsche Bank and Infosys executive.
Goldman Sachs mulls acquisitions to bulk up Marcus
Goldman’s CEO intends to make Marcus a pillar of the US bank’s growth.
PAYMYNT Financial buys crypto e-wallet LettucePay
LettucePay operates on top of Stellar Network, an open source blockchain platform.
