FlapKap Secures $34 million Pre-Series A In A Mix Of Debt And Equity

?? NEWS HIGHLIGHT

• FlapKap secures $34 million pre-Series A in a mix of debt and equity.

FlapKap, an Egypt-born and Abu Dhabi-based FinTech platform, has raised $34 million in a pre-Series A funding round nearly two years after securing $3.6 million in seed funding, bringing the company’s total funding to $37.6 million.

The round, which includes debt and equity financing, was led by BECO Capital and saw significant new investment from Pact VC, with follow-on contributions from A15, Nclude, QED Investors, and debt financing from Channel Capital.

The FinTech company will use the new investment to expand its small and medium enterprise (SME) financing services across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region.

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??INSIGHTS

Indian credit cardholders can now select their preferred network Mastercard, RuPay, or Visa when applying or renewing cards. This change aims to boost competition and offer greater flexibility in the digital payments landscape. The new flexibility comes as part of the RBI initiative to enhance customer choice and foster competition in the digital payments space.

NOW, ON TO THE SUMMARY OF LAST WEEK'S?NEWS

?? REGIONAL HIGHLIGHTS

?? XTB MENA appoints Salma Tabbech as new Sales Director to spearhead strategic expansion.

?? Indonesia’s Krom Bank Taps AWS Cloud to Expand Its Digital Banking Services.

?? Judo Bank upgrades its lending business banking platform with Thought Machine technology.

?? Michel Barnier named French PM; Trump taps Musk to help on economics.

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AUSTRALIA ????

Square unveiled Square Kiosk, a fully integrated software, hardware, and payments solution that enables self-serve ordering for hospitality businesses. This is the latest technology from Square as it continues to invest in its hardware and software offerings for Australian hospo businesses.

Australian FinTech Upworth releases its free AI-powered budgeting and cash flow management tool leveraging Open Banking. Upworth's new budgeting tool stands out by consolidating transactions from multiple banks into one view, automatically excluding internal transfers, and using AI for better categorization across 18 categories, among other benefits.

SINGAPORE ????

Singapore to empower police to stop voluntary bank transfers to scammers. Singapore's Ministry of Home Affairs is opening consultations on new rules that would empower the police to order banks to restrict the banking transactions of people who refuse to believe that they are being scammed.

The Singapore branch of crypto exchange OKX has received a major payment institution (MPI) license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). The local entity received in-principle approval for an MPI license from MAS in February, the company said.

Digital asset-focused platform JST Digital gets in-principle approval from MAS. The approval follows a steady increase in trading activity that JST Digital experienced during the 2023 calendar year. Keep reading

LTP selects Avelacom for low latency cross-venue crypto trading. This collaboration will benefit LTP’s clients -- hedge funds, quantitative funds like HFT companies, FoFs, and family offices -- by improving trading speeds and reliability across crypto markets.

MALAYSIA ????

Sumsub establishes local data processing infrastructure in APAC region. Sumsub, a global full-cycle verification platform, has announced that Local Data Processing (LDP) capabilities are now available in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, specifically in Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia, and the Philippines.

Fingular launches buy now, pay later business in Malaysia under the Ahapay brand. AhaPay is set to revolutionize the way Malaysians shop. It enables consumers to purchase a wide range of products from home appliances to fashion items while easing their monthly cash flow.

CHINA ????

Silicon Valley Bank exits China joint venture, local partner takes full control. Silicon Valley Bank's Chinese joint venture will become a wholly owned unit of Shanghai Pudong Development Bank, following approval to change its name to Shanghai Innovation Bank.

Ant Group sees 300% rise in international users adopting mobile payment in China in 2024. This surge has created significant business opportunities for local merchants. The number of Chinese merchants regularly servicing overseas travelers through the company’s mobile payment solutions have tripled during the same period.

Ant Group launches AI-powered ‘life assistant’ app Zhixiaobao. As an AI-native application powered by Ant Group’s BaiLing foundation model, Zhixiaobao is designed to make everyday tasks easier through user-friendly interactions. Read more

Alibaba's Taobao and Tmall to accept WeChat Pay. The introduction of WeChat Pay on these platforms is expected to roll out later in September 2024. The decision reflects Alibaba’s efforts to revitalise growth in its domestic ecommerce business.

THAILAND ????

Thailand’s digital wallet stimulus plan has suddenly become less digital. As Reuters reported Tuesday (Sept. 3), Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said the government’s planned 450 billion baht ($13.1 billion) “digital wallet” handout will be distributed in cash, a change from the government’s flagship policy.

INDIA ????

Visa has unveiled an array of innovative payment products and solutions during the Global FinTech Fest 2024. These advancements, developed in collaboration with a range of partners, are set to drive digital payment adoption across India by streamlining payment processes and enhancing transaction security and customer experience.