Welcome to?your?daily?FinTech?news!
- War in Ukraine: Impact on Payments. The payments sector became a tool used to punish Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. Russia’s exclusion from SWIFT and the suspension of operations by international card schemes have become a cautionary tale for the rest of the world. This event inevitably impacted the payment provider industry, yet not necessarily in obvious ways. Flagship Advisory Partners
briefing, by Yuriy Kostenko
. Link here
.
- Ten years ago, there was only one unicorn in Latin America. We now have 45 and counting. ??. The first LatAm company to get their horn was Mercado Libre
, and they paved the way for the startups to come. Link here
.
- South African API fintech Stitch
has launched Stitch Payouts, a service it claims will enable businesses to send payments to customers, vendors, suppliers and employees easier and faster. Link here
.
- Meta
is officially closing all accounts on its digital wallet, Novi. Both the Novi app and Novi on WhatsApp will no longer be available, and all accounts will be closed on the 1st of September 2022, with the firm advising all users to withdraw their funds “as soon as possible”. From the 21st of July 2022, customers will not be able to add money to their accounts. Link here
.
- While it is difficult to find a consistent legal approach at the state level, the US continues to progress in developing federal cryptocurrency legislation. The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) does not consider cryptocurrencies to be legal tender but considers cryptocurrency exchanges to be money transmitters on the basis that cryptocurrency tokens are “other value that substitutes for currency.” ComplyAdvantage
article. Link here
.
- Wirex
, the leading payments platform, has launched Wirex Credit, offering highly competitive interest rates and no origination fee for crypto-backed loans. Link here
.
- Fintech: The Foundation of Emerging Markets. People need access to financial services –– wherever they are based –– to develop their businesses and plan for the general ups and downs of life. Link here
.
- Listed fintech fund Augmentum Fintech
said that its belief in the “potential of the sector remains as strong as ever”, despite slashing its fintech investment in the second half of the year. Link here
.
- Raylo
, the subscription payment platform, announces that it has raised ￡6.5m in additional funding, including a strategic investment from Wayra UK, part of the global telecoms group, Telefónica, with participation from existing investors Octopus Ventures and Macquarie. Link here
.
- Payment processor Worldline
has completed a €256 million deal to acquire an 80% stake in Eurobank
’s Merchant Acquiring business in Greece, as a joint venture. Link here
.
- The rise of embedded finance??. Embedded finance is a growing trend across payments, banking, lending, wealth, insurance, and payroll verticals. Report by Finch Capital
. Link here
.
- At its core, embedded finance—the integration of financial services into non-financial websites, mobile applications, and business processes—is a distribution strategy. Instead of offering financial services directly to consumers and small businesses, a bank offers services through a company that already has relationships with them. Article by Ron Shevlin
. Link here
.
- Stripe
, a financial infrastructure platform for businesses, today announced that Revolut
will use Stripe to support payments in the UK and Europe and accelerate its expansion into new markets. Link here
.
- At a time when firms across industries are reeling under the adverse effects of inflation and geopolitical tension, one of the first neobanks, Revolut
, has remained committed to its mission of unlocking the power of a borderless economy for everyone. WhiteSight
article by Sanjeev Kumar
and Risav Chakraborty
. Link here
.
- Fintech Magalu
has high expectations for open finance. The digital arm of Brazilian commerce giant Magazine Luiza
plans to utilize technology and talent to take advantage of new business models that open finance will generate, and also make the solutions available to third parties, according to an executive at the company. Link here
.
- Nu
announced a partnership with Shopee
that offers cashback of up to BRL 50 per purchase. To have access to the cash return, customers need to access and activate the benefit from the Nubank Mall. Link here
.
- A lawsuit that was filed against one-click checkout startup Bolt
by one of its biggest customers will be dismissed as the two parties have agreed on a settlement, the companies announced jointly. And interestingly, that same customer — Authentic Brands Group
(ABG) — is now a shareholder of the company. Link here
.
- Sole trader accounting app Coconut
has launched new Construction Industry Scheme subcontractor features designed to help capture gross income and withholding tax. Link here
.
- Mambu
, a leading cloud banking platform, announced a global partnership with Visa
in order to utilise Visa DPS – one of the largest processors of Visa debit transactions globally. Link here
.
- After a few weeks of beta testing, Yonder
is launching travel insurance for all its members, to support its customers “at a time when they need it most”. The insurance covers covid, both before departure and at their destination, missed flights and cancelled or delayed departures. Link here
.
- The Commonwealth Bank
is facing a $2 billion hit on its investment in buy now pay later operator Klarna
, with the Swedish group’s valuation set to be slashed by up to 85 per cent in its latest capital raising. Link here
.
- Zand
, the first digital bank to provide both retail and corporate services, announced that it had been granted a banking licence from the Central Bank of The UAE
to become Zand Bank, a fully licenced bank. Link here
.
- Tide
, the UK’s leading SME-focused business financial platform that began setting up operations in India in 2020, announced that it has partnered with Transcorp International Ltd.
, a 27-year-old Reserve Bank of India (RBI) regulated Authorised Dealer Category II and perpetual Prepaid Payment Instrument (PPI) license holder, to launch co-branded prepaid cards (Tide Expense Card) as an entry product. Link here
.
- Agricultural challenger bank Oxbury Bank Plc
has raised ￡20 million to continue the development of its proprietary AgTech core platform. Frontier Agriculture
and Hutchinsons Group as well as Hambro Perks
and Grosvenor Food & AgTech
joined the round for Oxbury, which has now raised ￡68 million. Link here
.
- BKN301
, a digital payments and Banking-as-a-Service startup, has raised EUR15 million in a Series A funding round led by ABALONE Group
. The round, which values BKN301 at EUR63 million, was joined by PayU, Azimut Digitech Fund, CRIF, and GNB Swiss Investments. Link here
.?
This ends?Your?Daily?Fintech?News. Let me know if there are any questions or comments. Until the next!
