Swiss start-up Valour recruits former HSBC exec Diana Biggs as CEO
Biggs began working in blockchain back in May 2015.
Business-to-Business/B2B
BNY Mellon to finance crytpo and signs Google Cloud deal
The bank cites “growing client demand for digital assets”.
US core banking vendor Nymbus lands $53m top-up led by existing backer
Nymbus is gearing up to launch “Nymbus Labs”.
Italian neobank illimity turns €16m loss into €31m profit in a year
The neobank’s best-performing arm, by a long way, was its NPL unit.
Raiffeisen Bank to buy Czech Republic’s consumer lender Equa bank
In 2020, Equa bank’s consolidated net profit fell by 55% to $8.5 million.
Huawei to acquire Xunlian Zhipay for its payments licence
The deal is yet to be officially announced.
Dublin’s ION Group snaps up New York trading tech firm Dash
ION Group has bought a handful of other firms to date.
Nordic API Gateway lands nine new bank partners in Bankdata deal
The deal prequels Nordic API Gateway’s European expansion plans for 2021.
Singapore’s central bank reviews BNPL regulation over debt fears
The MAS wants to ensure regulations are “risk-proportionate”.
NCR acquires digital onboarding start-up Terafina
Terafina marks NCR’s third acquisition this year.
Monzo confirms £50m raise with help of new US backer
Monzo is on the cusp of five million customers.
Bill.com edges closer to profitability, shares up 30%
Between last October and December, revenue was up 38%, to $54 million.
Nigeria’s central bank issues crypto shutdown throwing fintechs into disarray
Nigeria is one of the world’s largest users of virtual currencies.
Ant plans for IPO as it reaches restructure deal with regulators
Ant has until November 2021 to register a new financial holding.
Texan digital challenger Fair set to launch in Spring
This month, the start-up opened its waiting list.
Cross-border payments fintech Payoneer to IPO with $3.3bn Spac merger
Payoneer is reportedly profitable and expects to pull in $432 million in revenues this year.
Cashplus lands full banking licence after 15 years as an EMI
The ability to lend on its deposits pits Cashplus directly against Starling.
PayPal posts 22% revenue rise on back of e-commerce growth
2020 set unprecedented records for PayPal, but its 2021 outlook is more conservative.
PayKey integrates investment and loan services on mobile keyboards
Clients include Standard Chartered, UniCredit, HSBC and ING.
A look inside MENA investor Global Ventures’ fintech portfolio
Global Ventures’ portfolio covers payment acceptance, digital wallets, credit and trading.
HMRC awards Ecospend “largest” open banking contract valued at £3m
“Today marks a big step forward for adoption,” says OBIE.
Checkout hires ex-Twilio and WeWork execs for “public market” experience
The fintech has been the subject of much IPO talk.
Robinhood raises $3.4bn, co-CEO set to face US politicians this month
Allegations allege Robinhood succumbed to pressure from big-paying hedge fund clients.
Austin fintech Routefusion bags $3.6m with help of Plaid co-founder
Partners already include AFEX and MoneyCorp.
Fintech trends watch 2021: checkouts, wealthtech and SCA
Our resident Gen Z’er, Ruby Hinchliffe, shares her three predictions for 2021.
HSBC, Microsoft, and Santander back Included VC’s diversity fellowship
The fellowship’s latest 48-person-strong cohort is 18 more than last year.
Online brokers halt GameStop trades as SEC investigates
The SEC is “actively monitoring” the “ongoing market volatility”.
VTB deputy chairman discloses exasperation over Yandex, Sber and Tinkoff competition
In 2020, VTB launched a total of 1,280 software development teams.
JOFF Fintech Acquisition Spac files for $300m IPO
The Spac is eyeing up fintech, wealth management and gaming sectors.
Berlin fintech Raisin patents Savings-as-a-Service tech in US
The fintech calls it “an interactive graphical user interface (GUI)”.
UK’s Crown Agents Bank bags Finablr’s Bhairav Trivedi as next CEO
Crown Agents Bank is a small, profitable, UK-regulated bank.
UK fintech TrueLayer launches its payments API to rival cards
PayDirect claims just a 3.5% payment failure rate.
Plaid raising at $15bn as employees pitched $1,200 per share
US fintechs have enjoyed a wealth of VC interest since the Plaid-Visa deal hit headlines.
US-based paytech Modern Treasury raises $38m in Series B
In 2020, Modern Treasury customers reconciled $1 billion using its platform.
Rapyd raises $300m in Series D, plans more acquisitions
It will double the engineering and product teams and expand the “self-service” element of the platform.
Wealthtech Elinvar raises €25 million funding
Founded in 2016 in Berlin, Elinvar has “the vision to connect the entire wealth management ecosystem”.
Singapore’s iSTOX lands $50m from heavyweight Japanese backers
n the past decade, global private equity returned 13.2% on average.
Plaid launches incubator FinRise for fintech founders of colour
The incubator is looking to accept just three-to-five start-ups.
Female-led tax reporting fintech KAWC takes tech into own hands
“We approached male investors, but they were so condescending,” says CEO.
RBI invests in Romanian open banking start-up Finqware
Finqware initiated account aggregation for seven Croatian banks last year.
