FinTech Futures: Top five news stories of the week – 7 March 2025
Here’s our pick of five of the top news stories from the world of fintech this week, featuring Alkami, Ramp, the CFPB and more.
Alkami acquires Mantl in $400m deal to boost digital account opening capabilities
Alkami acquires Mantl in $400m deal
Alkami Technology, a US-based digital banking solutions provider, has agreed to acquire fintech firm Mantl (also known as Fin Technologies) for an enterprise value of $400 million.
The acquisition, set to close “on or before” 31 March 2025, will be funded with approximately $380 million in cash along with restricted stock units valued at $13 million to be issued to continuing Mantl employees “in replacement for unvested compensatory stock options”, Alkami says.
The company plans to combine Mantl’s account opening tech with its digital banking and data and marketing solutions in a move CEO Alex Shootman says “completes” Alkami’s Digital Sales and Service Platform.
The deal follows Alkami’s purchase of account and transaction data fintech Segmint for $135.5 million in 2022.
US CFPB drops savings account lawsuit against Capital One
The US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has dropped its lawsuit against Capital One just months after accusing the bank of “cheating consumers out of more than $2 billion in interest payments on savings accounts”.
In a statement announcing the lawsuit on 14 January, the CFPB alleged that Capital One “unlawfully misled consumers about its 360 Savings accounts and obscured its higher-interest savings product from them”.
However, the CFPB now states it voluntarily “dismisses with prejudice this action against all defendants” in a court filing dated 27 February.
In response to the news, Capital One told CNN: “We welcome the CFPB’s decision to dismiss this action, which we strongly disputed.”
Ramp’s valuation climbs to $13bn following $150m secondary share sale
Ramp’s valuation has jumped from $7.65bn to $13bn
US-based financial operations platform Ramp has almost doubled its valuation to $13 billion following a $150 million secondary share sale.
The share sale saw new and previous backers, namely Avenir Growth, General Catalyst, Lux Capital, Khosla Ventures and Stripes, purchase secondaries from Ramp employees and early investors.
Ramp’s valuation has been steadily rising in recent years, from $5.8 billion after its $300 million Series D in August 2023, to $7.65 billion following a $150 million Series D-2 round in April 2024, and now jumping to $13 billion.
Co-founder and CEO Eric Glyman attributes this growth to the company’s “focus on customer experience, not financial metrics”.
Deutsche Bank fined €23m by German regulator BaFin
Germany’s Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) has fined the country’s largest bank, Deutsche Bank, a total of €23.05 million in three regulatory offence proceedings.
According to a statement from BaFin, a €14.8 million fine was imposed for the bank’s breach of “organisational requirements” under the German Securities Trading Act in connection with the sale of currency derivatives in Spain.
BaFin also fined Deutsche Bank €4.6 million claiming its Postbank business “disregarded the obligation to record investment advice”.
Moreover, BaFin claims Deutsche Bank’s Postbank business “repeatedly failed to comply with the requirements of the German Payment Accounts Act” regarding the account switching service, for which the regulator imposed a fine of €3.65 million.
In a statement sent to FinTech Futures, Deutsche Bank says: “As communicated by BaFin, Deutsche Bank has accepted a fine of approximately 23 million euros in three regulatory offence proceedings. This fine is completely covered by existing provisions and will not impact 2025 financials. These proceedings are now concluded.”
The bank adds: “Deutsche Bank has fully cooperated with BaFin in all matters. Additionally, processes in the affected areas have been improved and controls have been strengthened.”
CFIT unveils Digital Company ID plan to tackle UK business fraud
CFIT debuts plans for Digital Company ID
The Centre for Finance, Innovation and Technology (CFIT), a UK organisation focused on advancing the country’s fintech sector, has unveiled its Digital Company ID plan to ease the “burden of fraud on businesses”.
Developed in collaboration with over 70 organisations, the initiative aims to create virtual business passports to make “securing finance and conducting day-to-day business quicker and less vulnerable to fraud”.
CFIT claims the service will “significantly reduce regulatory and administrative burdens for businesses, particularly SMEs”, and has proposed seven key recommendations to “unlock the full potential of Digital Company ID”.
These include appointing a lead authority to oversee implementation, forming a multi-stakeholder taskforce, and developing a Digital Company ID prototype, among others.
