Daily Fintech Crunch: 21/03/2022

Dear All

Welcome back after the weekend and I hope you are ready for a heavy duty version of the fintech crunch today. We are a bit light on Crypto today because we have a special edition exclusively on Crypto.

? FinTech:

• Green Dot has teamed up with Plaid to allow GO2bank users link their bank accounts to the apps that pay the data aggregator for banking data. Customers will not be required to enter their bank usernames and passwords into Plaid's partners' apps.

• Wagely, Asia's fastest-growing financial wellness platform, has raised $8.3 million in a pre-series A fundraising round. The organization assists workers in Indonesia and Bangladesh in accessing their income on demand.

• JPMorgan Chase & Co. intends to buy the Irish fintech firm Global Shares, which manages nearly $200 billion in assets and has 600+ clients on its cloud-based platform. The transaction is scheduled to be completed in the second half of this year.

• Lucky, an Egyptian credit goods, offers, and cashback rewards app, has raised $25 million in a seed round. The fund will be used to expand Lucky's credit capabilities and gain market leadership.

• Payrails is stepping into the spotlight as it emerges stealth mode. The Berlin-based company is launching Payrails OS, a financial operations platform, building on their experience creating? Delivery Hero's finance services division. The company raised $6.4 million in a seed round led by Andreessen Horowitz.

• This year, India is expecting to produce 100+ unicorns as a result of investment activity. The fintech and e-commerce sectors account for half of all startup funding. In terms of the total number of unicorns, the country is rated third globally.

• Three of Egypt’s largest banks – Banque Misr, National Bank of Egypt, and Banque du Caire – announced the launch of Nclude by Global Ventures , a fintech fund partnership with $85 million in the fund. Nclude by Global Ventures will focus on driving fintech innovation and financial inclusion.

• Data from BNPL later loans will be included in consumer credit reports . Consumers who use BNPL services may be able to improve their credit score as a result of this.

• 4G Capital, a Kenyan fintech firm, has raised $18.5 million in Series C funding. The company plans to offer a number of new goods and services as part of its strategy to broaden client base and increase earnings.?

• CreditRich announced a new collaboration with Qolo , a fintech omnichannel payments platform. Users can keep track of their banking, credit reports, and payments all at one place. CreditRich's self-reinforcing model will be strengthened as a result of the agreement, which will boost the number of qualifying consumers. This deal brings the company’s valuation up to $1.5 Billion

• According to recent data, the venture capital market is slowing down from its strong pace in 2021. In the United States, round sizes from Series A to C are shrinking.?

?? Crypto & DeFi:

• If you’ve wondered whether ApeCoin has anything to do with Bored Ape, the answer is yes. Members of the Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT collection are getting their very own cryptocurrency on the Ethereum blockchain. But you don't need to own a Bored Ape NFT to join the ApeCoin DAO.?

?? Metaverse & NFTs:

• Mark Zuckerberg announced that Meta is working on a new version of Instagram for NFTs. "I'm not ready to kind of declare exactly what that will be today," he said.

• Megan DeMatteo shares her experience creating her first NFT in this step-by-step guide using the OpenSea platform. She also touches on what she learned from her many conversations with creators in the blockchain space.?

• TIME is publishing the world's first fully decentralized magazine issue as a blockchain NFT. The issue was developed in collaboration with the LITDAO. LIT is a web3 cultural currency and NFT initiative that earlier this year conceptualized and built the world's first fully decentralized book.

• Spotify is developing plans to integrate blockchain technology and NFTs into its streaming service , sparking interest in the crypto and music industries about NFTs' potential to increase artist earnings.

?? Other News:

• Amazon Web Services (AWS) has just announced the AWS Space Accelerator – a four-week mentorship programme for space businesses from all over the world. Proposals must be submitted by April 15, 2022, and the application period begins today. In June, AWS and AlchemistX will choose ten entrepreneurs to participate in the programme.

• Starbucks has partnered with Volvo and Chargepoint to install charging stations for electric cars in its parking lots along a 1,350-mile stretch of highway between Denver and Seattle.

• Amazon’s $8.5 billion deal with MGM was completed on Thursday. Amazon has acquired the nearly century-old studio which has over 4,000 film titles, 17,000 episodes, 180 Academy Awards, and 100 Emmy Awards under its belt

?? Report of the Day:

• An Ultimate Guide to Fintech in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia 2021: In this report by Entrepreneur Middle East, you’ll find a comprehensive overview of Saudi Arabia’s fintech journey. Saudi Arabia has quickly adopted fintech and marks the fastest market growth in the MENA region. Read more about it here .

??? Have any questions? Liked what you read? Let me know in the comments.

??? Don’t forget to like and share this post, and keep your eyes peeled for tomorrow’s post.

Until tomorrow, goodbye and good night.

–Arjun Vir Singh.