Fintech funding round-up: SeedFi, Libeo, Ember and Finch Capital
A round-up of some of the recent investments in fintech, paytech and tax tech firms.
Financial Services/Finserv
Indian challenger Open buys Optobizz, banks another 800,000 SMEs
By the end of this year, Open wants to turn 1.8m into 5m customers.
Oraan CEO: Women in finance weren’t welcomed in Pakistan
Oraan’s research found that savings – particularly for women – just wasn’t tapped into.
Vanquis signs credit building partnership with Loqbox
Loqbox to help Vanquis customers unable to get credit cards.
Capital Group hires Marta Zarraga as new CIO
Zarraga has 25 years of industry experience at firms like Aviva, Vodafone and BT.
NBA star Russel Westbrook leads $63m investment in Varo Bank
Westbrook also joins the bank as an advisor on communities of colour.
UK Black-owned challenger Atmen to launch in March
The start-up is now looking to raise £5 million from institutional investors.
Banking Tech Awards 2020 Winner: UBS – Best Use of Cloud
How UBS’s innovative hub helped 60,000 work remotely with virtually no downtime during the pandemic.
B2B financial software marketplaces: the bridge to market transformation
B2B financial software marketplaces connect players across the breadth of an industry.
Video: Top fintech stories this week – 19 February 2021
FinTech Futures’ weekly news round-up.
ICYMI funding round-up: FlexxPay, Raqamyah, and JustUs
A trio of funding rounds that may have passed you by last week.
Newly licensed UK bank Cashplus is raising £50m
It intends to raise the funds from growth investment firms.
Stripe valuation rises to $115bn according to investors
The $115 billion figure is more than threefold its $36 billion valuation.
Banesco Panamá plans digital revamp with Backbase
Panamanian lender to integrate new products and solutions online.
ANZ New Zealand inks open banking deal with Bud
The bank is adopting Bud’s aggregation and categorisation tech.
Manchester Credit Union signs payments deal with ClearBank
ClearBank and incuto give credit union access to Faster Payments.
Saudi Arabia plans new SME bank to underpin local funding
The new bank brings “all financing solutions under one umbrella”.
Low-code fintech OutSystems bags $9.5bn valuation in $150m raise
It claims to tackle the shortage of developers across 22 industries.
GameStop trader Deep F—ing Value, a licensed broker, sued for “fake persona”
The lawsuit accuses Gill of “deceitful and manipulative conduct”.
Learning to safeguard vulnerable customers in a digital world
What’s needed is an industry-wide effort to stamp out poor practice and make services inclusive.
Sopra Steria invests in Parisian fintech Particeep
Banking software firm picks up minority stake in SaaS fintech.
Norwegian web browser Opera launches fintech “Dify” in beta
Opera made two fintech-focused acquisitions last year.
Marqeta files for IPO with SEC targeting $10bn valuation
The fintech’s current valuation sits at $4.3 billion.
Jamaica Co-operative Credit Union League picks ERI for core banking
25-member group to replace legacy tech with ERI’s Olympic.
Baptist Health Federal Credit Union picks Finastra system
Healthcare-supporting FCU revamps digital channels.
FinTech Futures presents Dock – a virtual roundtable experience
Take part in Dock on 18-19 May to discuss the industry’s pertinent problems and find the solutions.
Dutch unicorn Mollie expands to UK for post-Brexit opportunities
Molllie says it wants to help merchants with European growth post-Brexit.
FDIC appoints Neocova’s Sultan Meghji as first chief innovation officer
The US agency is aiming to boost innovation among banks and credit unions.
One size fits all
Whatever your reasons for tolerating bad behaviour, that defines you. More than anything else.
Banking Tech Awards 2020 Winners Supplement out now
Showcasing the most impactful and innovative projects, products, services and people in fintech in 2020.
Personetics raises $75m from Warburg Pincus
Data analytics and customer engagement firm plans expansion with new funding.
Neobank hopeful 11Onze to offer Catalans a non-Spanish alternative
The start-up intends to be a true representation of the country’s 7.6m population.
Aussie challenger Cape bags ex-Funding Circle CRO Rahul Pakrashi
Pakrashi says his wants “to get back” to his roots at Cape.
Jeremy Balkin calls time on HSBC US innovation role
Balkin leaves his post after six years with the bank.
Lombard Odier picks NetGuardians for AI-based risk tech
Swiss private bank wants “cutting edge” fraud prevention.
Three things banks must do to thrive in 2021
It is the banks who invest now and execute effectively, that will come out on top.
The US market: are EU-based challengers coming to rustle up some feathers?
A deep dive and step-by-step comparison of US banks’ and EU challengers’ capabilities.
US federal agencies probe Amex’s SME and consumer cards sales practices
Several US federal agencies are probing American Express, according to a regulatory filing.
UK challenger OakNorth faces £97m in defaults from ten borrowers
All but two are down to property development loans gone bad.
Robinhood backer Tiger Global leads $200m investment in rival Public.com
Public.com – as on 1 February – decided to stop making profits from payment for order flows.
