Financial Innovation Roundup e58
Here are 16 news stories you don’t want to miss from the past week in financial services innovation (May 5 – May 11, 2024)
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#industryinsights
A staggering $1bn tranche secured by Wiz headlined this week’s FinTech funding rounds, which topped out at a mammoth $1.448.8bn.
Wiz cemented itself as a major player in the cyber sector with the deal, which saw the company’s valuation soar to $12bn.
But there were other big deals throughout the space, with Monzo landing $190m from notable investors such as Hedosophia and Qonto.
In terms of the national spread, USA asserted its authority once more, securing 13 of the total 21 deals. Behind them, the UK cemented its position as the perennial bridesmaid of the FinTech funding world with four deals. Notably, firm’s from Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, Luxembourg, and Israel all bagged a solitary deal as FinTech strengthened its global presence.
As for sectors, CyberTech dominated the week’s proceedings, with 8 deals headlined by the aforementioned Wiz capital injection. Behind it, FinTech (7) followed closely, ahead of WealthTech (3), InsurTech (2), and PayTech (1).
#ai #artificialintelligence
2.???? Emerge9 : release AI diligence assistant
Emerge9, a leading technology-enabled wealth management platform, today announced the launch of its AI Diligence Assistant, a state-of-the-art tool designed to transform the investment process by streamlining interactions with deal data.
This innovative AI feature aims to simplify various aspects of investing, from due diligence to communications, utilizing advanced technology to deliver efficient, smart, and secure investment solutions.
The AI Diligence Assistant integrates seamlessly with Emerge9’s platform, providing users with real-time data analysis, risk assessment, and personalized communication capabilities. This launch underscores Emerge9’s commitment to enhancing the accessibility and efficiency of private market investments for non-institutional investors.
#blockchain #crypto #cbdc
The largest European crypto platform and infrastructure provider Bitpanda has announced plans to expand to the Middle East, with the launch of Bitpanda MENA.
Bitpanda will match the region’s ambitions and provide the infrastructure necessary to power future trading growth and unlock digital assets for millions of investors.?
Banks, fintechs, (neo-)brokers and crypto-native companies in the region will be able to partner with Bitpanda Technology Solutions (BTS) to launch their own trading solutions powered by Bitpanda’s infrastructure in as little as 3 months once Bitpanda MENA has finalised obtaining its local licence later this year. BTS already partners with several of Europe’s largest banks, and currently provides the trading infrastructure for over 20 million customers across Europe.
Global fintech company Revolut rolled out Revolut X on Tuesday — a standalone crypto trading platform available to its UK retail customers.
The firm launched in the UK offering money transfers in 2015 and began allowing users to buy, hold and exchange cryptocurrencies in 2017. Since then, it has become the UK’s largest fintech company and has reached more than 40 million customers worldwide.
Revolut said the new platform was aimed at competing with leading crypto exchanges by offering easy on/off-ramping and low fees, according to a statement shared with The Block. Though the firm stated that the platform was designed for professional traders, it is available on desktop for all UK users with a Revolut retail account from today.
Kraken announced a double down on our European expansion strategy by announcing a new strategic partnership that enables us to actively enhance our product offering in Germany, a key market for European crypto adoption.
Starting around July 10, 2024, we expect to offer German clients access to a range of innovative crypto products via a dedicated offering powered by DLT Finance.
DLT Finance is a brand of leading BaFin-licensed crypto service providers DLT Securities GmbH and DLT Custody GmbH, which offer digital asset prime brokerage and crypto custody services. Once the partnership is live, DLT Finance will provide localized expertise and infrastructure to serve millions of Germans with secure and compliant crypto services.
Securitize, a US-based firm that tokenises assets and traditional securities, has successfully completed a $47 million funding round spearheaded by global asset manager BlackRock.
The round also saw participation from ParaFi Capital, Tradeweb Markets and Hamilton Lane, alongside backers including Aptos Labs, Circle and Paxos.
The fintech says the cash injection – which adds to the $48 million raised through its Series B funding round in 2021 – will be used to fund product development, extend its global footprint and strengthen its “partnerships across the financial services ecosystem”.
In addition, as a component of the investment, BlackRock’s global head of strategic ecosystem partnerships, Joseph Chalom, has been placed on Securitize’s board of directors.
#digitalbanking ?#neobank #challengerbanks
7.???? Mercury : Startup neobank is taking on Brex and Ramp with new bill pay, spend management software
Digital banking startup Mercury is layering software onto its bank accounts, giving its business customers the ability to pay bills, invoice customers and reimburse employees, the company has told TechCrunch exclusively. The additional features puts the company in even more direct competition with the likes of Brex and Ramp, two rival fintechs that have for years been fighting for market share in an increasingly crowded space.
The fintech, which has been offering banking services to startups and other businesses since 2019, is first expanding by offering accounting automation and more sophisticated bill pay features with new software that will be integrated with its bank accounts, executives have told TechCrunch exclusively. This summer, it will also begin offering invoicing and employee reimbursement.
8.???? Nubank : surpasses 100 million customers?
Nubank announced today that it has surpassed 100 million customers in Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia, making it the first digital banking platform to reach this milestone outside of Asia. The achievement comes on the heels of record 2023 financial results, with over US$1 billion in net profit and over US$8 billion in revenues, which attest to the solidity, efficiency, and scalability of Nubank’s business model.
Currently, Nubank serves more than 92 million customers in Brazil, over 7 million in Mexico, and close to 1 million in Colombia, with record levels of satisfaction. According to internal analyses, the company’s NPS (Net Promoter Score) is nearly three times higher than incumbents and other major local fintechs.
True to its mission of “fighting complexity to empower people”, Nubank is leveraging tech and innovation to drive competition in the sector, and transform millions of lives through inclusion and improved financial management. The company’s digital model has helped its customers save more than 11 billion dollars in banking fees in 2023 and to spare more than 440 million hours of waiting in service queues over the past seven years.
领英推荐
British neobank Monzo said Wednesday that it’s raised another $190 million, lifting the total it’s raised so far this year to $610 million.
The company told CNBC it raised the cash from new investors including Hedosophia, a backer of top European fintechs including N26 and Qonto. CapitalG, Alphabet’s independent growth fund, also participated in the round.
Singaporean sovereign wealth fund GIC also participated in Monzo’s latest fundraise, a source familiar with the matter told CNBC. The source spoke on the condition of anonymity as details of GIC’s involvement aren’t yet public.
#digitalwealth ?#wealthtech #investing
Invesco and the banking challenger neon are expanding their partnership. They are now offering ETF savings plans that can be traded free of charge and held without custody fees.
The joint initiative aims to further democratize access to ETFs and give investors the opportunity to build their wealth much more easily and efficiently. The offer of a monthly, free ETF savings plan on the Swiss market has not previously been offered in the local investment landscape. Inspired by successful models in EU countries such as Germany and Italy, both companies want to usher in a new era of accessible and cost-effective investment solutions in Switzerland.
In contrast to conventional investment options, some of which are burdened with complex and exorbitant trading or custody fees, the user-friendly investment app neon offers free access to selected Invesco ETF savings plans. As a bank challenger, neon removes the barriers that are typically still associated with traditional investment instruments in Switzerland, such as complicated composition and high fees for smaller investment amounts. The platform enables investors to maximize their returns without being burdened with unnecessary costs.
#ESG #sustainable #sociallyresponsible
The sustainability fintech, that works with banks to help customers lower their carbon footprint, Cogo and Bantotal, the customer centric banking platform, have established a new partnership.
Green finance and sustainable banking solutions are an increasing concern and focus globally so this partnership aims to introduce Cogo’s expertise in carbon management to retail and business banks within North and South America through Bantotal’s extensive banking network. Bantotal currently works with 75 banking clients in the region, while Cogo has extensive experience integrating carbon management solutions into banks, working with 20 banks across Europe and APAC.
According to a climate scenario analysis by the Federal Reserve, American banks are set to experience challenges in predicting the impact of climate change on their loan books due data and modelling difficulties.
The report’s aim was to predict how banks would be able to manage the risks of climate change, such as natural disasters and changing policies, and discovered that many lenders would need to rely on third-party providers to fill in gaps of data.
The analysis exercise was conducted in 2023, with participating banks: Bank of America, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, and Wells Fargo.
Climate-related financial risk could cost trillions of dollars in assets and threaten the stability of banks.
#openbanking
Australian Big Four bank NAB is partnering with Banked to launch Pay by Bank capabilities, leveraging Australian open banking rails PayTo to settle near-instant transactions.
Pay by Bank capability will enable merchants to avoid costly card surcharges by sending PayTo Agreements to their customers to initiate payments and refunds directly from their banking app. The roll out addresses a range of scenarios for merchants such as online payments, scheduled recurring payments with fixed or variable amounts, and split payments.
Shane Conway, NAB executive transaction banking and enterprise solutions, says: "A2A payments are growing and enabling merchants to receive payments directly from their customers’ bank accounts, bringing compelling benefits for certain use cases.
#payments #spending #borrowing
JP Morgan is promising faster domestic payments in the US, through the Visa Direct network.
JP Morgan Payments says Visa Direct will empower merchants, businesses and fintechs to embed faster domestic payments into their offerings.
This will include the Push to Card payment rail, which enables the movement of funds directly to recipients’ bank accounts and digital accounts using the debit card credential.
15.? Plenti : will now facilitate national and international payments, allowing quick recharges and transfers between the US and Colombia
Plenti, a comprehensive platform for digital transactions in Colombian dollars (USDt), has managed to project revenues of USD$1.5 million in 2024, which would represent a growth of 600% compared to 2023. In addition to allowing savings in dollars and protection against devaluation, now Plenti facilitates national and international payments, allowing quick recharges and transfers between the United States and Colombia, ensuring accessibility and the best rates on the market, always with the commitment to security and liquidity characteristics of the company and the USDt.
Plenti is profitable from the first month and its focus is to grow sustainably. In 2023, it closed an investment round for USD$200,000 and achieved important financial and operational milestones for the company, which to date has carried out transactions for more than USD$150 million, with an average ticket per transaction of USD$6,900, and which has a base of clients of more than 15,000 users and 60 companies.
In Canada, upward of 90% of mortgages are tied to a major bank.
In 2022, a Canadian financial technology startup emerged from stealth with a Series A round of funding to buck this trend.
Toronto-based Pine, founded in 2021, offers a digital-first approach to Canadian mortgages.
Founders Justin Herlick and Jonathan Shih believe that by eliminating unnecessary costs and lengthy processes that come with in-person applications, Pine can offer Canadians lower rates and a more efficient process than traditional banks do with their “outdated” methods.
Wealthsimple agrees.
The Toronto fintech, vying to become Canada’s next major banking institution, this week unveiled mortgages as the latest in a long line of product offerings.
Partnering with Pine, Wealthsimple promises “low rates, exclusive rebates, and incentives for having your investments in one place.”
Wealthsimple opted to collaborate with Pine, the company says, because “Pine is the triple threat of mortgage lenders: digital, direct, and regulated.”
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Realtor Associate @ Next Trend Realty LLC | HAR REALTOR, IRS Tax Preparer
10 个月Very informative.