Welcome to?your?daily?FinTech?news!
- The 10 leading neobanks in the US grew by a little more than 10 million accounts in 2021, from 23.3 million to 33.5 million, according to Cornerstone Advisors. Cornerstone’s research found that only about half of the top 10 neobanks’ customers—17.6 million consumers—call their account with those fintechs their primary checking (or spending) account. Forbes article by Ron Shevlin. Link here.
- Klarna announced the launch of its new Loyalty Card feature in the Klarna App. This allows app users to store and access their physical loyalty cards as digital versions. They can then collect all points and benefits at any merchant without the need to carry plastic equivalents while out shopping in-store. Link here.
- As Apple Pay is accepted by over 90% of US retailers, Apple Pay Later has an instant network unparalleled by most other major BNPL players in the US market. Apple will therefore be in direct competition with other BNPL companies, including Klarna, PayPal, Affirm and others. FXC Intelligence report by Adeyanju Pinheiro-Aina. Link here.
- YieldX, a FinTech company reimagining fixed income investing, announced a partnership with Jefferies. Jefferies’ Wealth Management advisors will now be able to access and leverage the full YieldX solution set to broaden the firm’s current offering of fixed income-generating portfolios for clients. Link here.
- With any new technology or industry, it takes time to develop. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and the same can be said for what is happening crypto. “Many people point towards the hype cycle methodology for the adoption of a new technology through phases, but I prefer to focus on talent - what are the best and brightest people working on, because that tends to be the next big thing. On a personal level, I’ve witnessed a flood of talented engineers, designers, investors and more, moving from web2 to web3 over the past few years.” Joseph Pizolato. Link here.
- The June 20th RBI notification on PPI-MD (Prepaid Payment Instruments-Master Directions) not permitting loading of non-bank PPIs from credit lines has made the fintech ecosystem lose its sleep. At the same time, a Twitter debate is on within the consumers to understand the impact of the notification. However, there is no official release available on the RBI website so far. Link here.
- Fintech startup Aveni, a firm that is helping advisers plug the gaps exposed by the incoming consumer duty, has landed ￡2.75mn. Link here.
- After extending credit to thousands of customers over mobile phones since 2015, Ghana-based fintech Fido is now in search of additional growth avenues for its expansion across Africa. Link here.
- Singapore-based Stashfin has raised $270 million in new funding round as the neobanking platform, which currently only serves customers in India, looks to expand to Southeast Asia and other South Asian markets, it said Tuesday. Link here.
- valU, the Egypt-based buy-now, pay-later (BNPL) fintech platform, has struck a $12.4 million funding deal with the Saudi-based Alhokair Family, which runs the popular Alhokair Fashion Retail Armenia. Link here.
- Bengaluru-based B2B fintech SaaS startup FinBox has raised $15 Mn (INR 115 Cr) in a funding round led by A91 Partners. Link here.
- Sardine announced Simon Taylor as its new Head of Content & Strategy. The news comes after Sardine achieved its latest milestone of acquiring over 100 customers. Link here.
- Atish Shelar has been named chief operating officer of fintech startup IppoPay. IppoPay, which was founded in November 2020, has helped 50,000 offline merchants and daily wage earners in India’s Tier 2, Tier 3, and rural markets increase their revenue by accepting online payments. Link here.
- We’re in a bear market due to rising inflation and interest rates. These factors limit the availability of companies to borrow money, and thus investment in private and public markets is reduced. This environment makes the companies’ achievement of getting massive funding rounds even more impressive. Thanks to data from Sling Hub, a platform that tracks Latin American venture capital deals, Latinometrics put together a list of the largest 10 funding rounds so far this year. Link here.
- Continuing on its mission to democratize access to finance ZELF expands to the United States as a bank of the Metaverse, bringing game loot, NFTs and fiat under one banking roof. The launch is announced at NFT.NYC, the 4th annual NFT industry event hailed as the Superbowl of NFTs. Link here.
- QNB Finansbank, the largest financial institution in the Middle East and Africa, has announced its launch of Open Banking platform for a wider audience including the Bank’s customers, partners and emerging fintechs in Qatar. Link here.
- The National Bank of Kazakhstan is announcing the launch of operation of an upgraded Instant Payment System’s platform (hereinafter, the IPS) designed for instant interbank transfers and payments in 24/7 mode. Link here.
- Parpera, the all-in-one business money app for sole traders, freelancers, and entrepreneurs, has seen a surge in the growth of its member base, 80% MoM to 500 businesses, within 3 months of its business debit card launch. Link here.
- A long-drawn-out workers’ strike at the Brazilian central bank in protest of wage increases is having an unexpected effect on the financial technology industry, as the process of new agenda releases is slowed down, and startups could face longer approval times. Link here.
- A few days after launching its wholesale bank, Brazil’s investment platform XP Investimentos expanded its financial services offer by launching a digital account with banking services such as payments, Pix (the Brazilian real-time payments system), transfers, withdrawals, and debit card. Link here.
- The volatile month in the financial markets, as investors once again fear a possible recession in large economies around the world, coupled with high levels of inflation, have reawakened investor appetite for safe-haven assets such as the US dollar, but are cryptocurrencies an attractive option too? Cryptocurrencies have not been immune to global uncertainty and some digital assets have had dark weeks with significant declines. Link here.
- Mambu, the leading SaaS cloud banking platform, has welcomed four new senior hires as it embarks on the next stage of its ambitious growth. The fintech has appointed Werner Knoblich as Chief Revenue Officer (CRO), Fernando Zandona as Chief Technology Officer (CTO), Tripp Faix as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Sabrina Dar as Chief of Staff to the CEO. Link here.
- Griffin, the UK-based Banking as a Service firm, has appointed Adam Moulson as interim CEO while current CEO and co-founder David Jarvis is on parental leave. Link here.
This ends?Your?Daily?Fintech?News. Let me know if there are any questions or comments. Until the next!
Thanks Marcel, always great to be included!
Thanks for including us Marcel! ??