Financial Innovation Roundup e51
Here are 19 news stories you don’t want to miss from financial services last week (Mar 3 – Mar 9, 2024)
?
#industryinsights
CyberTech companies accounted for the lion’s share of FinTech deals this week, accounting for 11 of the total 34 deals.
Not only did the CyberTech sector do well in terms of the total number of deals, it also accounted for more than half of the total capital that was raised this week. The sector amassed a combined total of $850.6m, including six of the ten biggest deals. The combined total funding across all sectors this week reached $1.3bn.
#artificialintelligence #ai #dataanalytics
A former Amazon Alexa scientist has raised $6.5 million for a startup vowing to bring foundational AI to the global investment community.
Unusual Ventures led the round, with participation from Fidelity International Strategic Ventures, and Clocktower Ventures.
UK-based Theia Insights is using AI, machine learning, LLMs and Natural Language Processing to build models based on advanced financial mathematics to "rebuild the infrastructural technologies that underpin the $100 trillion investment industry".
The company is developing three core technologies: dynamic industry classification, thematic risk model and portfolio analysis.
Fluent, a data analytics platform transforming the way decision-makers access and use business data, has announced the close of a $7.5 million seed investment round.
An AI-powered data analyst, Fluent enables non-technical team members to ask questions directly of their data in plain English, getting insights in seconds, and saving data teams from the pain of manually answering ad hoc data requests.
?#blockchain #crypto #cbdc
London-based fintech firm Revolut has announced a new integration that will enable direct cryptocurrency purchases’ on MetaMask for customers in the United Kingdom and the European Economic Area (EEA).
According to a March 6 announcement, Revolut’s clients will be able to use their balance in fiat currency as well as debit and credit cards to purchase new tokens directly into their MetaMask wallets. Over 40 million users reportedly use the fintech ser, which supports 18 fiat currencies.
?The move may also be a response to recent regulatory challenges, as Revolut recently had to review some of its crypto-based services. In August 2023, the neobank suspended all crypto services for United States users. A few months later, in January, it suspended crypto purchases for users in the United Kingdom following new rules from the Financial Conduct Authority.
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has kicked off a new wholesale central bank digital currency (wCBDC) project to render support to the development of the tokenisation market in the territory.
The project, dubbed 'Ensemble', will initially focus on tokenised deposits issued by commercial banks and made available to the general public.
It follows the completion of pilots with 16 firms last year that took a deep dive into potential use cases for an eHK in six categories, including full-fledged payments, programmable payments, offline payments, tokenised deposits, settlement of Web3 transactions and settlement of tokenised assets.
At the core of Project Ensemble is a wCBDC Sandbox that the HKMA will launch this year to further research and test tokenisation use cases that include, among others, settlement of tokenised real world assets such as green bonds, carbon credits, aircraft, electric vehicle charging stations, electronic bills of lading and treasury management.?
#digitalbanking ?#neobank #challengerbanks
Being a Chime member just got even more rewarding. As a part of our commitment to offering helpful, transparent and fair financial services to everyday people, we are excited to announce a new fee-free cash back feature, Chime Deals? through a new partnership with Upside.
Chime Deals redefines the way members approach their everyday spending. Members can enjoy cashback opportunities, including up to $0.22/gal back on gas, up to 11% back on grocery purchases, up to 24% back on dining, and much more.1 Cash back offers are available at more than 30,000 locations nationwide and can be accessed with both Chime Visa? Debit Cards and Chime Credit Builder Secured Visa? Credit Cards.
London-based fintech company Monzo raised a late-stage funding round of $430 million (￡340 million), confirming a report from the Financial Times from a few weeks ago. Following this round, the company has reached a post-money valuation of $5 billion (￡4 billion). Founded in 2015, Monzo provides U.K. current accounts, debit cards and several financial products with a digital-first approach.
Today’s investment is an important tidbit of information as massive funding rounds have become a rarity over the past year or so — unless you’re working on an AI foundation model.
As a reminder, according to Atomico’s latest report on the state of European tech, startup funding has fallen to $45 billion in 2023 compared to $82 billion in 2022 and $100 billion in 2021. American VC firms have pulled back on European investments, and crossover investors like Tiger Global or Coatue have drastically slowed down their investment pace in tech startups.
Founded by former Silicon Valley engineers, UK-based Griffin Bank, an API-driven banking-as-a-service (BaaS) platform, just obtained a banking license, roughly one year after starting the application process. This means it has been given the green light from the UK’s financial services regulators, the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), to exit ‘mobilization’ and launch as a fully operational bank.
Griffin says that it now offers a full-stack platform for fintech companies to offer banking, payments and wealth solutions via automated compliance and an integrated ledger. Griffin is less likely to offer banking accounts directly to consumers, but rather to other businesses that want to offer embedded financial solutions such as savings and safeguarding accounts as well as accounts for holding client money.
Investors are betting on the company achieving its aims. After raising $28.1 million, Griffin just raised another $24 million (￡19 million) in an extended Series A round that was led by MassMutual Ventures, NordicNinja and Breega, with participation from existing investors Notion Capital and EQT Ventures. Last June, Griffin raised $13.5 million in a Series A round led by MassMutual Ventures. The outfit has now raised around $52 million since its founding in 2017.
9.???? Nationwide Building Society to acquire Virgin Money for $2.7 Billion
The U.K. bank Nationwide Building Society is set to acquire Virgin Money for $2.7 billion.
The boards of the two companies reached a preliminary agreement to the deal on Thursday (March 7), saying their merger would make them Great Britain’s second-largest provider of mortgages and savings.
Among the other benefits of the deal, Nationwide said, is the ability for Nationwide to increase its scale in the lending and deposit space. Virgin Money is England’s sixth largest retail bank in terms of assets, with roughly 6.6 million customers and total lending of $93.1 billion.
#digitalwealth ?#wealthtech #investing
Described as a “transformative step” for the firm by company CEO Romi Savova, PensionBee hopes its US operations will match or exceed the scale of its UK business within the next decade, adding that the US defined contribution pension market is the largest in the world.
PensionBee says its technology will enable US customers to consolidate and transfer their employer-sponsored defined contribution retirement plans into a new Individual Retirement Account (IRA).
The deal, which is subject to regulatory approvals, is expected to be completed in late 2024 and will see the UK organisation deliver its US service through PensionBee Inc, to be established in Delaware with headquarters in New York.
The UK fintech says that it will manage the operations of its US arm, including the recruitment of a local team, while its US partner will provide its knowledge of the market and “substantial marketing funding”.
CGS International has selected Broadridge to drive automation and streamline workflows throughout its securities finance offering.
The Singapore-based financial services provider will leverage Broadridge’s Securities Finance and Collateral Management (SFCM) platform, which functions as a front-to-back Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solution applicable to buy and sell-side securities lending, repo and collateral trading markets.
Broadridge says the platform will enable its latest client to “minimise costs via automation as well as simplify workflows and exception-based processes”.
The New York-headquartered financial solutions provider previously extended the same platform to Maybank Investment Bank in Malaysia in August.
#esg #sustainability #climatetech
Danske Bank has entered into a partnership with software firm, EIVEE, who specialise in calculating a business’s carbon footprint.
With the partnership, Danske Bank aims to help its customers with their green transition and to support CO2-reducing initiatives with financing.
Many companies are currently working intensively to comply with the EU’s forthcoming sustainability requirements. The upcoming legislation namely affects not only large, listed companies but also their subcontractors, who will face increased sustainability data requirements from their customers.?
Danske Bank has therefore entered a partnership with Danish software firm, EIVEE, who will help the bank’s business customers by making climate reporting easier.
#openbanking
13.? Socure and Trustly : Partner to Offer Industry-First Streamlined Onboarding and Open Banking Payments Process for Merchants and Fintechs
Socure, the leading provider of artificial intelligence for digital identity verification, sanction screening and fraud prevention, and Trustly, a leading global Open Banking payments provider, today announced an industry-first partnership to offer merchants and fintechs a streamlined onboarding and guaranteed Pay by Bank solution. This integration allows merchants, especially in industries that require robust KYC such as investing, gaming, trading and financial services, to simplify their customer onboarding process while guaranteeing fast payments.
By combining Socure’s accurate and inclusive identity verification and fraud prevention ID+ platform with Trustly’s guaranteed Pay by Bank offering, merchants can onboard users and process payments in one integrated flow. Socure’s AI-powered platform uses predictive analytics and a database of over two billion identities to provide industry-leading accuracy for KYC/CIP compliance, fraud detection and ID verification through its fully integrated suite. Trustly, with direct banking integrations, provides instant Open Banking payments with transaction guarantees.
We’re delighted to announce that from March onwards, your banking channels will offer you monthly spending insights. A holistic view of your spending habits, from each of your linked bank accounts. This represents a huge step towards making cash conversational,
A Comprehensive Overview at Your Fingertips
Say goodbye to the hassle of juggling between multiple apps to keep track of your financial activities. With this latest update, you now have a comprehensive overview of your finances, including up-to-date information on recent transactions, upcoming regular payments, and insightful trends in your spending behaviours—all conveniently accessible within your primary banking channels.
Welcome to Conversational Banking
This strategic move is our first step towards realising the vision of 'Conversational Banking.' Imagine establishing a direct, bank-agnostic line of communication with all your banks, eliminating the need to toggle between different apps for communication purposes. It's about making your financial life simpler, more connected, and tailored to your preferences.
#payments #spending #borrowing
TrueNorth, which specialises in digital solutions for the finance industry, has joined forces with US-based fintech Brim Financial, to deliver a credit card-as-a-service (CCaaS) platform to North American banks and fintechs.
The partnership aims to provide “robust and innovative” consumer, SMB and commercial credit card solutions to banks, fintechs, and major brands in the US and Canada.
PayPal is introducing a new offering that will enable small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to accept a wider range of payments online.
Described as an “all-in-one” solution, PayPal Complete Payments will enable merchants to offer a range of different alternative payment methods within their online checkouts, including PayPal payments, Apple Pay, Google Pay and buy now, pay later (BNPL) solutions, alongside traditional credit and debit cards.
When transactions are completed, sellers can also sync the order and tracking information with PayPal through a new feature called Package Tracking, which the US-based payments giant says will result in “a streamlined resolution process” if disputes arise, supported by the firm’s pre-existing Dispute Management feature.
Amid rising levels of e-commerce fraud globally, PayPal Complete Payments will also offer fraud, chargeback and seller protections.
?
17.? Uber partners with 萬事達卡 and Payfare Inc. : to launch the new Uber Pro Card in Canada
Drivers and delivery people on Uber to get free, instant access to earnings; up to 4% cashback on gas, up to 8% cashback on EV charging, and other enhanced loyalty features
Uber today announced a new partnership with Mastercard and Payfare to launch the Uber Pro Card, providing free instant payouts after every trip or delivery1 and enhanced loyalty features for drivers and delivery people on the Uber platform in Canada, powered by Payfare’s leading digital banking app and platform.? Built specifically for the needs of drivers and delivery people, the Uber Pro Card offers exclusive cash back rewards helping to save up to 4% on gas2, up to 8% on electric vehicle charging3, and other everyday expenses.
Introducing SyncteraPay, a new feature that allows our customers to work with any payment provider and have all transaction information centralized and seamlessly integrated into the Synctera Ledger.
SyncteraPay gives our customers added flexibility to mix and match their preferred partners (after certification) to the Synctera platform. Even with our first-party APIs in the Synctera platform, we’ve heard from customers “but I’d really like another push to card solution” or “we already send a bunch of traffic to this international remittance provider, why do we have to use yours?” SyncteraPay allows us to serve customers that have existing or preferred third-party payment solutions that complement our out-of-the-box offering.
Bloom Finance Company Ltd. (“Bloom”) is excited to introduce an innovative payment card designed for Canadian homeowners aged 55 and above, enabling them to access their home equity in micro-sized, responsible increments each month. By enabling micro equity access on an as-needed basis, this first-of-its-kind card provides a sustainable solution to homeowners navigating financial challenges in retirement.
The Bloom Home Equity Prepaid Mastercard addresses the pressing need for innovation within the financial landscape for Canadians 55+, particularly in meeting the unique requirements of Canadian retirees who own their homes. A recent report conducted by Bloom among members of the Angus Reid Forum revealed that 67 per cent of Canadian homeowners over the age of 55 are concerned that their savings may not suffice to sustain their quality of life through retirement due to the increasing cost of living across Canada.
Evolving fintech reflects Darwin’s insight- the adaptable thrive ??. The fusion of tech & finance, much like Edison mentioned, turns a great thought into a great result. #innovation Reinventing banking for tomorrow! ????
Helping founders get complex sales right | Growing the best sales community | Sales Advisory
12 个月Great insights on the latest fintech innovations! Exciting times ahead in the world of finance and technology.
The self proclaimed, most influential person in payments. Except for Jack Dorsey or those two bros from that other company & definitely not Satoshi Nakamoto, but after all those guys it's me.
12 个月Exciting updates in the fintech world! Can't wait to dive into these innovative stories.