Hello Fintech Friends,

We’re hosting a curated small-group dinner in New York on October 20th, followed by a cocktail mixer (it will be a smaller event). Want to join? Let us know here.

We are also hosting our first Nigerian event in Lagos on October 28. Tickets sold out, sadly, but we added a waitlist here.

More excitingly - we are partnering with the Operator’s Hub, a new insights platform by the Fintech Angel Operators, a founder and operator-led community. Do you have a piece to contribute which could benefit other operators or founders? Submit your pieces to Rachael De Foe at comms@rachaeldefoe.com.

Please find another week of fintech financings and exits below.

Editor’s Note: If you’re an early-stage startup founder raising equity or debt, I may be able to help - reach out to nik@thisweekinfintech.com.

Sponsored Content

Want to meet startups like Alviere, Billtrust, Finn AI, Synctera and TassatPay? How about Banks like Goldman Sachs and HSBC? Or Community Banks, Credit Unions, CUSOs, Investors, Networks and Processors? Fintech Meetup takes the legwork out of creating opportunities at the organizations you’re targeting. Qualifying Startups get special startup rate tickets. Get ticket.

💸 Venture Financing

• Varo Bank, a chartered US neobank, raised a $510 million Series E at a $2.5 billion valuation.
• Wave, a Senegalese mobile money provider, raised a $200 million Series A at a $1.7 billion valuation.
• Scalapay, an Italian buy-now-pay-later startup, raised a $155 million Series A.
• MNT-Halan, an Egyptian provider of digital wallets, bill payment services, e-commerce with buy now, pay later (BNPL) and micro and consumer loans, raised $120 million.
• Tricolor, a machine learning-powered responsible lending platform, raised $90 million.
• Addi, a Latin American buy-now-pay-later provider, raised a $75 million follow-on to its Series B.
• Koyo, a lender to thin-file consumers, raised a $50 million Series A.
• Wisetack, a buy-now-pay-later startup for in-person services, raised a $45 million Series B.
• Jetty, a rental payment flexibility startup, raised $23 million.
• Parallel Finance, a Polkadot-based defi lending service, raised a $22 million Series A.
• Mooncard, a French corporate card builder, raised a €20 million Series B.
• Nuula, a Canadian financial ‘superapp’ for small businesses, raised $20 million.
• Irwin, an investor relations capital markets software, raised a $20 million Series A.
• SurePay, a European checking service to confirm payees, raised €12.2 million.
• Zebedee, a bitcoin-based payment rails system for games, raised $11.5 million.
• Ryd, a German in-car digital payments provider, raised €10 million.
• Ledgy, a European equity and cap table management platform (like Carta), raised a $10 million Series A.
• Rocket Dollar, a retirement investment management platform, raised an $8 million Series A.
• EstateGuru, a European marketplace for short-term real estate lending, raised a €5.8 million Series A.
• HoneyBee, an employee financial support platform, raised $5.7 million.
• Lean, a financial products marketplace for independent workers, raised a $4.5 million seed.
• Prospa, a Nigerian small business banking provider, raised a $3.8 million pre-seed.
• Biller Genie, an accounts receivable automation startup, raised a $3.5 million seed round.
• Aurelia, a financial automation platform for small businesses, raised a $3 million seed.
• Jeff App, a Southeast Asian financial products comparison app, raised a $1.5 million seed extension.
• Fluency, a service provider for scaling central bank digital currencies, raised a $1.3 million seed.
• Pezesha, a Kenyan scalable lending infrastructure, raised a 7-figure seed extension.
• Lacaisse, a Moroccan point-of-sale solution, raised funding.
• Blackstone invested in Dynamo Software, an alternative investment software developer, valuing it around $900 million

💵 Debt Financing

• Employee financial support and guidance platform Honeybee raised $100 million in debt from Community Investment Management.
• Canadian financial ‘superapp’ Nuula complemented its equity raise with $100 million in debt.

☯️ Exits

💻 IPOs

• Allvue, an alternative investment tech solutions provider, filed for IPO.

📈 SPACs

• Home Plate Acquisition, a fintech and embedded finance SPAC, filed for a $200 million IPO.
• McLaren Technology Acquisition, a banking, financial services and insurance SPAC, filed for a $200 million IPO.
• AEI CapForce II, an Asian fintech SPAC based in Malaysia, filed for a $100 million IPO.

🤝 M&A - Fintech

• PayPal announced that it will acquire Japanese buy-now-pay-later provider Paidy in a cash deal valued at around $2.7 billion. This land grab for international expansion should lead to more consolidation in the space, following Square’s acquisition of Afterpay (US-AUS), Zip’s acquisition of Payflex (AUS-SA), and Zilch’s acquisition of Neptune (UK-US).
• Mastercard acquired CipherTrace, a crypto security and compliance software.
• Mastercard acquired Danish open banking tech provider Aiia.
• Payments platform Paysafe will acquire German mobile ATM provider viafintech in an all-cash transaction.
• Private equity firm H.I.G. Capital sold personal finance software Quicken to investor Aquiline Capital Partners.
• UK private equity firm Pollen Street Capital bought a majority stake in Irish mobile payment service Ding for an equity value around $300 million.
• Inter, a Brazilian neobank with 13 million customers, acquired US fintech USEND.
• Card and payments company Apto Payments acquired Vertical Finance, a developer of vertical-specific card rewards programs.
• Tax software provider Sovos bought 1099 Pro.
• Clearstream is selling its position in Regis-TR, a European trade messaging service, to marketplace operator SIX.
• TransUnion is looking for a buyer for its healthcare subsidiary at a valuation around $1.6 billion.
• Mortgage services provider Altisource is looking to sell its origination business.

🏦 M&A - Bank

• Citizens Financial Group will acquire investment bank JMP Group for $149 million.
• SBI Holdings, Japan’s largest bank holding company, made a $1 billion bid for Shinsei Bank.
• JP Morgan will acquire a majority stake in Volkswagen’s payments business.
• JP Morgan acquiredThe Infatuation, a restaurant recommendation service that itself had previously raised $30 million and acquired Zagat. (In an echo of AmEx’s purchase of Resy two years ago.)
• Goldman Sachs plans to list its alternative investments vehicle, Petershill Partners, in the UK for £3.6 billion.
• First Abu Dhabi bank is selling its $1 billion payments arm.

💲 M&A - Investment Management

• Brazilian private equity firm Patria Investments will acquire Chilean credit specialist Moneda Asset Management for $315 million.
• State Street will buy investment bank Brown Brothers Harriman & Co for $3.5 billion.
• Cinven will acquire a majority stake in UK wealth manager True Potential.

Sponsored Content

Fintech Meetup is the World’s Largest Fintech Meetings Event--your one stop shop to meet decision-makers, create opportunities and get business done! We make it easy for you to meet the right people and organizations. Join 30,000+ meetings with 4,000 participants from across fintech, banking and financial services. Get ticket.

🌎 Fintech Around the World

Fintech in LatAm: Banking the Unbanked

Afghani Banks Remain Closed After Takeover; Consumers Struggle To Get Cash

Can Fintech Solutions Further Partner With Banks in the Middle East & Africa?

Modernising African Payment Systems

Can Africa leapfrog towards open banking?

Are Indian banks winning at fintech?

“The focus is fintech, not grocery delivery anymore”

📚 Deeper Reads

‘Buy now, pay later’ retail loan services test patience of investors

As 'Buy Now, Pay Later' Surges, a Third of U.S. Users Fall Behind on Payments

FT Partners’ September Update

Crypto in the infrastructure bill. Surprising? Not at all

Which are the best European fintechs to work for in 2021?

Lamb Acts Just Like Pet Dog, Snuggles up on Couch

Want to be a This Week in Fintech Sponsor? Reach out to us at sponsor@thisweekinfintech.com.

Have a news item for us? Reach out to news@thisweekinfintech.com.

Come meet us in-person at www.fintechhappyhour.com