Uber Launches Uber Money & Goes Deeper Into Finance, Greensill Lands $655M & Acquires FreeUp, Starbucks to Test Digital Asset App from Bakkt

This week (28 October - 1 November) was super interesting and really exciting one in the world of FinTech. Uber has introduced Uber Money and their deeper strategy into financial services, cryptocurrency trading platform Bakkt is preparing to test a consumer app for digital assets with Starbucks early next year, Starling Bank has issued a dual currency debit card which enables users to pay for purchases in either pounds or euros, and much much more.

Without further ado, let us dive into what has happened in the financial technology sector this week.

Nordea Goes Live with Digital Receipts in Finland

Nordea is to add digital receipts to its wallet app in a collaboration with Finnish FinTech ReciptHero.

ReceiptHero sends real-time receipts to the Nordea Wallet app when a customer pays with their Nordea bank card at any of ReceiptHero’s retail partners, which so far includes hundreds of merchants, restaurants and café’s across Finland.

Launching later this year, Nordea corporate customers will first receive access to this feature, with retail customers following soon after.

Tomi Hakari, Senior Business Developer at Nordea Bank, commented:

We think the ability to digitise your receipts, as provided by ReceiptHero, will give our customers greater insight into their spending, and a less cluttered financial life. Having ReceiptHero join us to build out this proposition is an exciting step into the future of finance. Our goal is to scale eReceipt use to same levels that cashless payments are today in Finland.

Greensill Lands $655M Investment & Acquires UK FinTech FreeUp

Greensill, a UK-based supplier of alternative supply chain finance, has secured a $655 million follow-on investment from SoftBank Vision Fund.

The new tranche of capital comes just five months after the SoftBank fund ploughed $800 million into the firm, doubling its valuation to $3.5bn. In the past 14 months, Greensill has raised more than $1.7 billion.

Founded in 2011 by US investment banker Lex Greensill, the firm says it will use the funds to accelerate its international expansion plans and to fund strategic acquisitions.

The first of the acquisitions is FreeUp, a London-based company that is developing technology to enable workers to receive early payment for earned, but unpaid, wages at zero cost to the employee.

CEO Lex Greensill says that while supply chain finance programmes already allow a company’s suppliers to obtain early payment, FreeUp’s technology would allow Greensill to extend the service to a company’s workers.

A pilot of the new product will begin immediately, he adds, with a full launch to come in the next few months.

Koyo Raises ￡3.8M for Open Banking Loan Platform

UK open banking-powered online lender, Koyo, is set to launch later in the year following a ￡3.8M ($4.9M) raise in debt and equity funding.

The platform provides an avenue for those without credit history or are new to the UK to access low interest loans and credit cards. Koyo will be the only lender that requires all customers to complete an open banking application in order to provide competitive prices for credit without the need for guarantors. 

A lack of historical credit data is the leading cause of low credit scores across the UK, where there are between six and eight million people currently lacking the necessary credit history information to be considered for traditional borrowing options.

Data sourced through open banking will allow Koyo to access current information about a potential borrower’s payment history, meaning that attractive borrowing opportunities are extended to a market which has been severely underserved or targeted by payday lenders. 

Thomas Olszewski, Koyo Founder, said:

Koyo was built to give people who have historically been taken advantage of, an opportunity to access credit at a competitive rate and build credit history…When I moved to the UK from the USA my credit history did not come with me. 

This made getting a credit card or loan difficult, if not impossible. I realized this is a problem that affected millions of people who are new to the country, but also people who have not built a credit history in the UK more generally.

The funding round was led by Forward Partners, with Seedcamp, Christian Faes (LendInvest) and Charlie Delingpole (ComplyAdvantage) also involved.

Starbucks to Test Digital Asset App from Bakkt

Cryptocurrency trading platform Bakkt is preparing to test a consumer app for digital assets with Starbucks early next year.

A subsidiary company of IntercontinentalExchange, Bakkt intends to leverage Microsoft cloud to create an open and regulated, global ecosystem for digital assets.

Mike Blandina, Chief Product Officer at Bakkt, said:

Bakkt’s approach to secure technology, privacy and innovation means that we are an advocate for consumers who have yet to enter the digital asset space, and for merchants who want to accept new, efficient forms of payments without increasing risks.

The linkup with Starbucks has been in the works for over a year. 

Speaking at the launch of Bakkt in August 2018, Maria Smith, VP of Partnerships and Payments for Stabucks, said:

As the flagship retailer, Starbucks will play a pivotal role in developing practical, trusted and regulated applications for consumers to convert their digital assets into US dollars for use at Starbucks.

It's important to note that Starbucks will not be accepting bitcoin in exchange for a frothy cappuccino, but rather will use the app to convert bitcoin to US dollars at the point of sale.

The first tests of the system are expected to take place in the first half of next year.

??Starbucks - Leader in Mobile Payments??

Uber Launches Uber Money

Ride hailing giant Uber is moving deeper into financial services with the launch of a new division, Uber Money.

The Uber Money team has been charged with delivering new financial products and technologies, including a mobile bank account, digital wallet and upgraded credit and debit cards.

The first product out of the hatch will provide Uber drivers and couriers with real-time access to their earnings after every trip through the Uber Debit account, which will be run in association with Green Dot. The refreshed Uber Debit Card will launch with cash back on gas starting at 3% and up to 6% for the highest tier of Uber Pro drivers.

Initially being introduced to drivers in the US, the company plans to export the system globally over the coming months.

In tandem with the new account, Uber will also push out a digital wallet, through which users track their earning and spending history, manage and move their money, and discover new Uber financial products. 

The firm is also relaunching the Uber Credit Card, in partnership with Barclays, offering five percent back in Uber Cash from spending across the Uber platform.

The loss-making firm is taking a leaf out of the playbook from competing ride hailing apps in Asia, such as Grab and Gojek, which have successfully developed new revenue streams by branching out into financial services.

In July, Uber joined forces with BBVA in Mexico to bring banking services to customers, using the Spanish bank's Open APIs to allow drivers to access things like real time payments and debit card spending within their app.

The firm says lessons learned from the collaboration with BBVA have been incorporated into its plans. 

Uber Money boss Peter Hazlehurst says the launch of the new division is a response to issues faced by drivers and others in the gig economy around access to financial services.

For example, Hazlehurst said what they had found with BBVA in Mexico was that 35 percent of their drivers coming on board had never accessed banking services before.

However, once they started using the app as a banking platform, they then started bringing in money from other places too.

Confluence Buys StatPro for ￡161.1M

US investment data management outfit Confluence has sealed a deal to buy UK portfolio analytics company StatPro for ￡161.1 million.

Founded in 1994, StatPro has 10 global offices servicing over 450 clients in 37 countries.

Confluence says the acquisition will expand its market presence in the United Kingdom, continental Europe, Asia and South Africa.

Mark Evans, Confluence Founder and CEO commented:

StatPro’s performance and attribution, portfolio analysis and other data and risk support services are deeply complementary to Confluence’s offerings and will allow us to better help our clients achieve their goals. By acquiring StatPro, we will accelerate our plans to migrate Confluence’s performance solutions into the cloud.

The agreement was clinched with support from Confluence's private equity backer TA Associates.

Starling Issues Dual Currency Debit Card

Starling Bank has issued a dual currency debit card which enables users to pay for purchases in either pounds or euros.

The app-controlled card feature goes live on the same day as Starling launches its Business Euro Account. 

With the new account, clients can transfer money from their business account to their euro account with a single tap in the app. Account holders will be charged a flat fee of ￡2 per month. Transfers into the account will be made at the prevailing exchange rate, plus a 0.4% fee on the transaction value.

Business and personal customers need to open a Euro account to begin using the dual currency card. Their existing debit card can be switched on (in-app) to operate in either pounds or euros, depending on the currency of the transaction. 

Anne Boden, CEO and Founder of Starling Bank, said:

A single card that can buy things in both euros and pounds is long overdue and something that we know our customers will value both in their personal and business lives. 

Businesses of all sizes have customers and suppliers spread across different countries. Our new Business Euro Account will make a huge difference to these kinds of business customers, who are regularly carrying out international transactions whilst operating on a tight budget.

Walmart and Green Dot Establish Shopping and FinTech Accelerator

Walmart and Green Dot are to create an accelerator for startups sitting at the intersection of retail shopping and consumer financial services.

The Walmart majority-owned FinTech accelerator, dubbed Tailfin Labs, intends to expand upon the retailer's current suite of omnichannel retail shopping tools by tapping fintech innovations built atop of Green Dot’s Banking-as-a-Service platform.

The news comes as the US retail giant extends it deal with Green Dot as the issuing bank and programme manager for the Walmart MoneyCard by a further seven years. 

The Walmart MoneyCard was created by Walmart and Green Dot in 2006, and in many ways can be viewed as a precursor to the ongoing neo bank trend. It offers cash-back rewards on Walmart purchases, as well as early direct deposit, online bill pay, prize savings, and almost all of the features that one would expect from a traditional checking account.

Daniel Eckert, SVP, Walmart Services and Digital Acceleration, said:

With this expanded relationship, and by leveraging Walmart’s footprint and existing offerings with Green Dot’s cutting-edge capabilities, we’ll be uniquely positioned to offer an unmatched set of customer experiences that sit at the nexus of omni-channel retail and tech-enabled financial services.

Modulr Invests ￡20M in Scottish FinTech

SME payments outfit Modulr is to invest the best part of ￡20M in the Scottish FinTech industry, in the process creating 53 new jobs and nurturing new technology talent.

The money comes from a match-funded ￡10 million grant from the RBS bail-out fund, which is intended to boost competition in the SME banking sector.

ALongside the 53 new hires, Modulr has also committed to hiring graduates from Scottish universities for the next five years. 

Myles Stephenson, CEO of Modulr, commented:

Scotland is packed with fantastic technology talent, world-renowned universities and businesses…our base here will be absolutely critical as we work to drive innovation and competition in our sector, and to make money flow more efficiently through the economy.

Recently ranked as second in scale only to London, Edinburgh’s tech sector contributed almost ￡4bn to the economy in 2018 and employs almost 60,000 people.

The Payment as a Service API platform powers the likes of Sage, Revolut, and Paxport, and has raised a total of ￡35 million in funding since its establishment in 2016.

Marketplace Lender Become Raises $12.5M

Israel FinTech Become has raised $12.5 million in Series A funding to help propel its mission to become the 'Expedia for business loans'.

Become’s marketplace allows multiple lenders to extend tailored funding offers to businesses.

"Think of it as the Expedia for business loans," states the firm. "But instead of comparing hotel prices, cleanliness and facilities, you’re comparing business funding products, rates, terms and lenders."

Businesses using the platform are provided with a 'LendingScore' to help them understand how lenders view their application and highlights the areas they need to improve to qualify and/or get better funding options and terms.

"The long and tedious bank solutions just aren’t cutting it anymore, and with so many lenders in the lending space, businesses don’t know where to turn first," the firm opines. "No one wants to sift through and apply to hundreds of lenders to find their best option."

The firm says it has 200,000 businesses registered on its platform, accessing a panel of more than 50 lenders, including PayPal, OnDeck and Kabbage. It has facilitated more than $165 million in business loans to date.

The funding round, which incorporates a $2.5 million debt element from Viola Credit, was led by Benson Oak and Magenta Venture Partners.

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About: I am a business developer, sales professional, FinTech strategist, as well as Cryptocurrency and Blockchain enthusiast. I'm highly passionate about Financial Technology and Digital Innovation, and strongly believe that it will change the world for the better. Apart from my daily job at a global payments startup where I'm leading company's expansion into Europe , I'm an active member of FinTech community and a TechFin evangelist.

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