US start-up EarlyBird re-thinks gifts for kids with investment platform
EarlyBird launched four months ago.
North America
Amartha, Vivid Money, Expensya & a55 feature in May funding rounds
A clutch of early investment rounds from May you could have missed.
Fintech API firm Railz raises $12m in Series A funding round
Toronto-based start-up aims to solve “universal challenge for SMEs”.
InvestCloud acquires cash flow firm Advicent to bridge advisor-client gap
Vista Equity-owned Advicent provides technology for 3,000 firms.
Fiserv wins trio of Canadian credit union deals for DNA
Implementation partner Celero will complete the DNA installations.
Bill.com acquires spend management firm Divvy in $2.5bn deal
Bill.com is paying $625 million in cash and $1.875 billion of common stock.
Thought Machine takes Steele from AWS for US leadership role
After a decade at AWS, Brad Steele has joined Thought Machine as US general manager.
Miami neobank Fortú launches with Galileo Financial Technologies
Fortú plans to focus on Latinx communities and their unique needs.
Liberty Bank signs digital banking deal with Alkami Technology
Connecticut-based bank seeks to revamp its services with Texan vendor.
Canadian fintech Wealthsimple raises record $610m at $4bn valuation
The fintech started off as a robo-advisor back in 2014.
Digital challenger Arrow pledges to save Americans $5,000 in five years
Digital challenger pledges to save Americans $5,000 in five years.
Bank of America CTO: Cyberattacks on banks “surged” during pandemic
Cyberattacks have surged “dramatically”, says BoA exec.
FinHealth Spend Report uncovers market opportunities and need for innovation
In 2020 Americans spent more than $300bn in interest and fees across common financial services.
JP Morgan, DBS Bank and Temasek to form new payments platform
The platform will start by facilitating flows between Singapore-based banks.
State Street hires Aman Thind as new global chief architect
Aman Thind will drive the US bank’s technology transformation.
Nymbus lands $20m from Vystar Credit Union for new CUSO
Core banking vendor’s new project wastes no time in landing funding.
Greenlight, Step and Current land “kids banking” industry collective $580m
Greenlight, Current, and Step all began with basic card-based offerings.
Blockchain compliance firm Securrency raises $30m in Series B round
The new injection will help Securrency’s expansion in the UAE and the US.
Blackstone to acquire additional stake worth $2.8bn in IT firm Mphasis
Blackstone intends to build Mphasis into a $10 billion-valued company.
Brex closes $424m Tiger Global-led round at $7.4bn valuation
“We have all types of businesses now signing up for Brex,” says co-CEO.
BNPL firm Affirm acquires Returnly in $300m deal
More than eight million shoppers have used the online return service.
Clearing start-up Embedded Financial attracts $20m in seed funding
The new firm aims to take a modern approach to clearing.
Mantl closes $40m Series B funding round
The account-opening fintech aims to continue its rapid growth.
Atlanta is increasingly being recognized as a global fintech center
A considerable IT talent pool, business-friendly taxation, an international airport, and lower living costs.
Locality Bank picks Nymbus to power new digital-first community bank
The neobank in Florida is launched in response to the “rallying cries” of small businesses.
BMO Harris Bank teams with Hope Trust to trial services for special needs clients
Hope Trust is a tech-based planning service and trust administration platform.
Deel hits unicorn status with $156m Series C funding round
The global payroll solution is now valued at $1.25 billion.
PayPal to avoid Chinese competition with new cross-border wallet
US giant aims to create a bridge into China with its new service.
Square goes on hiring spree ahead of new banking product launches
Square is “building a suite of new financial products”.
MVB Bank snaps up majority stake in Indianapolis fintech Trabian
The value of the stake remains undisclosed.
Welcome Tech raises $35m in Series B funding round
The money will go towards expanding Welcome Tech’s portfolio of financial services.
Nymbus lands $15m fresh investment from Financial Services Capital
Core banking vendor has now landed $31 million from the investor.
Identity verification firm Veriff raises $69m in Series B funding round
Estonian identity firm plans to use cash to expand in the US.
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.
Signifyd raises $205m in Series E featuring FIS
Antifraud firm calls 2020 a landmark year in its history.
Mastercard acquires digital identity firm Ekata in $850m deal
Payments giant to combine Ekata with its own fraud and identity platforms.
Why banks need to embrace the new normal
The banking industry’s definition of normal hasn’t been normal for a majority of customers for years.
Routable raises $30m in Series B funding to boost B2B payments
Seattle fintech nabs bumper round from a handful of angel investors.
UK challenger Starling lands £50m investment from Goldman Sachs
Starling now claiming to hold a 6% share of the UK SME banking market.
The SEC confirms appointment of Gary Gensler as new chair
Gensler joins as the Democrats gain a majority among the commissioners of the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
