Daily Fintech Crunch: 08/03/2022

Here is your 'Daily FinTech Crunch' from your truly; a curated set of news bites about the latest updates on FinTech, Payments, DeFi, Crypto, and the world beyond…...

? FinTech:

• Global fintech investments reached $210 billion in 2021, up 68% from the previous year. Cryptocurrency and blockchain investments have increased by more than fivefold to $30 billion.

• The UAE is taking steps towards bolstering anti-money laundering operations, working closely with the FATF to implement an action plan. “The UAE will continue its ongoing efforts to identify, disrupt and punish criminals and illicit financial networks,” UAE’s Executive Office of Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism said .

• The Russia-Ukraine conflict has had quite the substantial impact on cross-border transfers . Although a number of payment companies have cut their services in Russia, this doesn’t come without its own challenges. Mastercard says it could lose 6% in revenue due to the conflict.

• Egypt's banking system processed 1 billion electronic transactions in 2021 with a total value of over $177.9 billion, according to the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE). The CBE is set to launch a fund to support technology and innovation with a capital surpassing $82.6 million.

• For many Nigerians, getting a phone and opening a bank account are two independent but equally important events. However, if the country's Mobile Network Operators successfully commences banking operations as planned, possessing a phone might imply owning a bank account without the need for traditional banks .

• Tabby, a Dubai-based BNPL platform, has raised $54 million in a Series B round . The company? intends to use this money to grow its consumer product line and expand internationally.

• CAMS, a mutual fund registration and transfer provider, has purchased a majority share in Fintuple Technologies, a fintech platform for AIFs and portfolio managers. The financial terms of the deal, however, were not disclosed by the corporation.

• Cheddar, the bank transfer payments platform, has acquired Upside Saving. Upside is a hyper-targeted, open banking-enabled marketing platform. The technology will be utilized to improve the Cheddar payment platform in the future.

• Africa is a thriving fintech hotspot that’s rapidly expanding. The payments industry is always evolving, and the importance of social media contributes to the production of creative, substantial, and meaningful changes. Take a look at some of the latest African fintech developments here , and where the fintech space might go in the next year or two.

• Arab Financial Services (AFS) and Aafaq Islamic Finance are forming a strategic partnership . The alliance intends to create a platform for new and existing fintechs in the region to launch, expand, and scale their products. This is part of AFS's regional push to become a top payment processor.

?? Crypto & DeFi:

• On Cardano, the world's largest Proof-of-Stake (PoS) network Ravendex announced that the RAVE token is now available for staking. The total amount of RAVE tokens staked has topped 100 million.

• Russia is being hit by a slew of new economic penalties. Sanctions have exposed the immense power that has been lying dormant in the global banking sector. But it's also likely to be the start of the end of that strength, and the birth of something more decentralized .

?? Metaverse & NFTs:

• Following a few weeks of declining volumes, NFT sales declined again this week . Sales have dropped 29.46% across 14 blockchains that handle NFTs compared to the previous week. Despite the reduction in NFT overall sales, the Arbitrum network's NFT sales increased by 97.53% this week.

• This week, Nansen, a blockchain research and analysis platform, released six indices to track Ethereum’s NFTs market. The goal is to provide stakeholders and investors with the information and tools they need to understand and predict trends in the industry.

• Web 3.0 is the next generation of the internet, promising a more decentralized, autonomous, and independent internet. Phenomena like NFTs and the metaverse are gaining traction, yet there are still difficulties .

?? Report of the Day:

• 2021 Qatar Venture Investment Report: Despite the pandemic in 2020, Qatar's venture capital ecosystem has stayed resilient and expanded. With $18.9 million invested in local firms this year, it was a record-breaking year for venture capital. The number of deals in 2021, however, was 23% lower than in 2020. Fintech businesses accounted for the majority of VC transactions in Qatar (33%) in 2021. Read the full report here .

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