The Front Page of Global Fintech

The largest fintech community in the world. Subscribe to our newsletter to stay up to date on the latest in news opinions, and all things financial technology.

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The Front Page of Global Fintech

The the largest fintech community in the world. Subscribe to our newsletter to stay up to date on the latest in news opinions, and all things financial technology.

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Why is it so hard to build a PFM? (TWIF 11/19)

Why is it so hard to build a PFM? (TWIF 11/19)

Hello Fintech Friends,

One of the more unique acquisitions in the fintech and crypto worlds announced this week was that of crypto media company The Block, which sold a majority stake to Singaporean venture capital firm Foresight Ventures at a valuation of $70 million. The firm's CEO was previously ousted after it was disclosed that he had taken millions of dollars in loans from Sam Bankman-Fried, ostensibly for positive reporting on FTX.

Separately, the prevailing wisdom for the past ~3 years in fintech has been that neobanks and roboadvisors (or asset managers) are not good tech businesses. That assumption is getting challenged as higher interest rates create windfalls for companies like Monzo and Wealthfront:

Please find another week of fintech exits and deep reads below. (👍👎 Have feedback for us? Let us know!)


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📖 Reads of the Week

The Wall Street Journal covers the pernicious challenges facing companies that try to build stand-alone personal financial management apps, and why, as Mint shuts its doors, nobody has been able to build the 'killer app' for helping people manage their money.

There’s a Reason a Killer Money-Saving App Still Doesn’t Exist
The end of Mint and the search for a better way to budget.

For Chaos Engineering, Francisco Arceo decomposes how Americans make money, why most of them don't make investment income, and what lessons fintechs can take away, in Our Money in Data.

Our Money in Data
An Empirical Look at the Average American’s Finances

In Pakistan, Elphinstone founder Farooq Tirmizi writes about the slow but growing digitization of money and the middle class' acceptance of digital payments. (With a shout-out for Fintech Fund portfolio co. Safepay!)

PYUSD | Pay How You Want
Payments are a story of progressive freedom. Just as PayPal brought payments online, we are now bringing payments on-chain with PYUSD.
A Reckoning in Payments
First Adyen and now Worldline: Is this the end of Fintech?

☯️ Exits
🤝 M&A - Fintech
  • Australian payment facilitator Till Payments, once valued at $500 million, reportedly sold to Canadian payments processor Nuvei for only A$47 million ($30.5 million), less than the Series D it raised seven months ago.
  • Australian payments enablement and software provider Flywire acquired university and student management software builder StudyLink in order to build out its education payments business.
  • Tenity, an early-stage fintech VC, announced the acquisition of Hackquarters, a startup accelerator with a presence in fintech.
  • Capital markets access platform Q4 sold itself to private equity firm Sumeru for $257 million fully-diluted.
  • Private equity investor Advent International agreed to buy UK small business payment service provider myPOS for around €500 million.
  • Fund management and distribution platform Allfunds is reportedly approaching private equity investors to gauge interest in a potential buyout.
  • Italian payments giant Nexi is said to be in talks with infrastructure fund F2i Fund to sell off its Italy clearing and digital corporate businesses for €800 million. (It's separately in talks to sell off its ATM network as well.)


🏦 M&A - Bank and FinServ
  • Australian asset manager Pacific Current Group ended buyout talks with private equity firms GQG and River Capital, saying it did not receive any offers, and sending shares down as much as 11.8% to A$7.95.
  • Kennedy Lewis, an alternative-credit manager with $14 billion under management, is exploring options including a sale.


🌎 Fintech Around the World

Meet the 23 African Startups Selected for Visa's Inaugural Fintech Accelerator

India Has A Digital Infrastructure, America Needs One

Stripe: Mexico joins the global trend of the digital creator economy

Mexico Fintech Battle Escalates With Account Yield Ramp-Up

Hunt Plans UK Pension Revamp to Unlock Billions for Investment

📚 Deeper Reads & Features

How Wall Street Makes Millions Selling Car Loans Customers Can’t Repay

FDIC Chair, Known for Temper, Ignored Bad Behavior in Workplace

The OCC’s Michael Hsu on the Big Risks Facing Banking Businesses Right Now

Businesses Love Rewards Credit Cards. This Startup Is Making Them Easy To Launch.

DeFi Is Becoming Less Competitive a Year After FTX’s Collapse Battered Crypto

Fintechs weigh in on the White House's executive order on AI

IBM on how banks are starting to embrace generative AI

National Zoo pandas leave DC in emotional goodbye


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