FinTech Lanistar moves to full banking solution in the UK
Happy Wednesday fellow FinTech Fanatic,
For several years, FinTech was among the undisputed frontrunners in the worldwide tech-scene, attracting the most capital of any sector more than once.?
Times have changed as the global downturn in tech funding has forced a reshuffle of investor priorities. Recently, FinTech was overtaken by both climate tech and deeptech for funding.?
That being said, we saw 9 European FinTech deals for a total amount of €49.6m raised, last week. It’s nice to see so many different categories and countries being represented in this overview by BlackFin Tech . That’s encouraging anyway.
As London-based FinTech Lanistar caught me by surprise twice before , they did it again…or at least a bit, as they announced preparing for a launch in the UK.
The surprising part is mainly in the fact the UK is their home-turf. Lanistar’s intended focus on the UK and EU had taken a backseat due to unprecedented interest experienced in LATAM, as they describe themselves.
Now Lanistar is finally planning to refocus its expansion on its home-market, stating they will use ‘the valuable and exciting learnings from their proposition in the Latin American market’.?
In most cases you will see this in the reverse order. Anyway, as promised before I will keep a close eye on their journey!
Before I wish you a great day, I would like to point out an interesting webinar to come. Join Vacuumlabs Bootcamp webinar on April 27, 2023, at 4 pm CEST, where Veronika ?atková and Paul Kenny talk you through the process of future-proofing your banking product, by using Thought Machine and Smart Contracts. Don't miss this opportunity to learn from the experts and ask any questions you may have!
Now, please find some interesting news updates from the FinTech industry selected below??
INSIGHTS
Crypto Banking Report 2023. The demise of Silvergate , Signature , and Silicon Valley Bank rapidly followed by the implosion of Credit Suisse sent shockwaves through the financial world. Check the report here
Fintech and insurtech pocketed most funding in Southeast Asia this quarter. Fintech and insurtech were among the tech segments in Southeast Asia that received the highest investments in this quarter, according to a report by global SaaS-based market intelligence platform Tracxn .
This week’s chart by Royal Park Partners is dominated by US deals as they occupy 6 positions within the Capital Markets, Wealth Management and Other FinTech space. Download the full report here
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FINTECH NEWS
China expected to lower fine on Ant Group to about $700 million. The fine would help pave the way for the fintech giant to secure a long-awaited financial holding company license, seek growth, and eventually revive its plans for a market debut.?
Ryan Reynolds invests in Canadian fintech Nuvei . “Nuvei is impressive. The leadership team is exceedingly intelligent and hard-working and it’s about time a Canadian company got the type of attention American tech companies do," said Reynolds.
GoDaddy offers merchants iPhone tap-to-pay. With the free GoDaddy Mobile App and Apple's Tap to Pay on iPhone technology, small U.S.-based businesses can now accept all types of contactless in-person payments with only an iPhone. Link here
YuLife lands in South Africa. The company's expansion into South Africa marks a significant milestone as it seeks to redefine how people around the world derive value from financial products .
Change Financial goes live with first NZ client on its Vertexon PaaS Platform . The Contract contains upfront implementation fees as well as ongoing volume and transaction-based fees. NZCU Auckland has approximately 4,000 active cards in market that will be transitioned across to the Vertexon PaaS Platform.
领英推荐
Two Mexican FinTech companies, Quindalo and Ucombi , have received authorization from Mexico's financial regulator, CNBV , to operate as Financial Technology Institutions (IFCs). These companies will be able to offer digital payments and electronic wallets to Mexican consumers.
DIGITAL BANKING NEWS
Goldman Sachs rolls out transaction banking in Japan. The banking group is offering corporate customers in Japan services such as deposits, cash management, and cross-border payments. Link here
Argentine neobank Ualá has announced that it has reached 200,000 users in Mexico and has also revealed that it is increasing the yield on all its deposits. Ualá's app allows users to make purchases, pay bills, and transfer money. It also offers a pre-paid Mastercard that can be used anywhere that accepts the payment method .?
AI the key to success in the future of banking: Rich Data Co . In a similar way that calculators and PC’s replaced some of the work that bankers were doing manually, artificial intelligence will replace some of the manual work bankers are doing today. Read more
BLOCKCHAIN
Coinbase CEO says the crypto exchange is preparing to go to court with the U.S. SEC. Brian Armstrong also said Coinbase would consider options of investing more abroad, including relocating from the U.S. to elsewhere , if the regulatory situation does not improve.
Curve to allow transfer of virtual currency rewards to external crypto wallets. Curve recognizes “the importance of providing its customers and the crypto-curious with even more flexibility over digital assets.” Read more
SEC sues Bittrex crypto exchange and former CEO. The Securities and Exchange Commission’s lawsuit, filed in Seattle federal court, accuses Bittrex Inc. of operating an illegal securities exchange , broker-dealer and clearinghouse.
PARTNERSHIPS?
The Mexican paytech company Clara has announced a partnership with Afirme . The partnership will allow Clara to offer credit lines of up to MXN 2 million ($100,000 USD) to SMEs, which can be used for working capital, inventory financing, or other business expenses.?
The Tap on Phone technology has arrived in Chile???? thanks to a new partnership between Klap and Mastercard . This innovative technology enables businesses to accept contactless payments using just their smartphones, eliminating the need for additional hardware.? Read more
US Century Bank taps Pidgin for real-time payments. By partnering with Pidgin , U.S. Century Bank will be able to support faster payments across various use cases. For personal accounts, Pidgin is a single solution to send and receive payments directly from a checking account.
Finastra integrates Fusion digital banking platform with Plaid . The partnership provides financial institutions of all sizes within the Finastra ecosystem with account verification tools, making it easier and more secure for consumers to link their account data from their main financial institution with external financial apps and services.
#DONEDEAL
Floodlight raises $6.4m. "By providing a seamless financial management solution , we help SMEs overcome their daily challenges while unlocking opportunities to set themselves up for long-term growth," said Noam Bernstein , Co-Founder and CEO of Floodlight.
Mastercard-backed fintech firm DigiAsia on track for US listing at $500m valuation. Mastercard injected US$25 million in series B funding into the company, with a post money valuation of US$225 million. Read more
Dutch FinTech Factris scores €50m investment. This new funding line, the firm claims, complements other partnerships whose funding helped Factris finish 2022 with strong organic growth that included a 58% increase of cumulative financing volume year over year for their pan-European market and an 83% financing-volume increase in the Netherlands alone.
Rally bags $12M for its next-gen e-commerce checkout platform. The funds will help Rally further strengthen its team, penetrate enterprise and international markets, and expand integrations beyond Swell and BigCommerce with other commerce platforms. Link here
MOVERS & SHAKERS
EML Payments CEO out as firm considers sale. Industry veteran Kevin Murphy has been named interim CEO while a search is carried out for a permanent chief. Link here
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Cheers,
Marcel van Oost