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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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Fintech back in the fast lane - TWIF UK & Europe (29/01)

The latest fintech news across the UK and Europe

Fintech back in the fast lane - TWIF UK & Europe (29/01)

Hello TWIF UK & Europe friends,

With the exciting news that Visa and Cash App are sponsoring a F1 team next season, combined with Plaid co-founder Zachary Perret himself predicting "fintech ads are back" there is never a better time to get in touch with us about sponsorship at TWIF.

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Please find another week of fintech news, financings and exits below.

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Funding πŸ’Έ

Highlights below of deals since the last post in the fintech space across the UK & Europe. Deal data powered by Dealroom.

πŸ‡ͺπŸ‡Ί Customer insights platform for FI's Safty raised €11.3m led by Upfin.

πŸ‡ͺπŸ‡Ί B2B payments solution Mondu raised €30m in debt from VVR Bank as it looks to expand across Europe.

πŸ‡ͺπŸ‡Ί Digital asset bank Sygnum raised a $40m round from Azimut Group.

πŸ‡¬πŸ‡§ Open banking platform Ozone API raised a Β£8.5m Series A led by Gresham House Ventures.

πŸ‡¬πŸ‡§ Digital wealth infrastructure solution WealthKernel raised a Β£6m Series A extension led by ETFS Capital.

🌍 Thomvest Ventures closed a $250m fund to invest in fintech, cybersecurity and AI.

🌍 Qatar based digital wallet fintech Karty raised $2m in seed funding.

🌍 Hong Kong SME lender FundPark expands its debt facility with Goldman Sachs by $250m.

🌍 Deposit management solution ModernFi raised a $18.7m Series A led by Canapi Ventures.

🌍 Loyalty platform Bilt Rewards raised $200m from investors including General Catalyst.

🌍 AI-powered wealth management app Alinea Invest raised a $3.4m seed round.

Challenger Banking πŸš€

πŸ‡ͺπŸ‡Ί Payroll lender DailyPay is to create nearly 200 jobs in Belfast.

πŸ‡ͺπŸ‡ΊInsurtech Luko was acquired by Allianz for €4.3m

πŸ‡¬πŸ‡§ Mortgage lender Perenna is offering cheaper loans to customers to make energy efficient upgrades to their homes.

πŸ‡¬πŸ‡§ Revolut has launched Mobile Wallets, a cross-border payment solution to other Revolut customers that doesn't require exchanging bank information.

🌍 Spend management solution Brex is cutting 20% of its workforce.

🌍 SME fintech provider Novo has rolled out Payroll, a tool for its customers to run payroll from their checking account.

🌍 SME lender Rapid Finance is working with LoanPro to enable more customisation and flexibility for lenders.

Digital Assets β‚Ώ

πŸ‡ͺπŸ‡Ί Crypto lender Nexo is trying to recoup $3bn from the Bulgarian government due to repercussions in its criminal investigation.

πŸ‡ͺπŸ‡Ί Digital asset platform Taurus is granted approval to offer tokenized securities to retail customers.

πŸ‡ͺπŸ‡Ί Crypto exchange Gemini is coming to France.

πŸ‡¬πŸ‡§ The UK Government has pledged to pass privacy legislation in the event of a digital pound.

🌍 Mt Gox is one step closer to repaying customers as it sent emails to customers asking them to verify their identity and account details.

🌍 The SEC has delayed its decision on Grayscale's Ethereum ETF again.

🌍 Coinbase has asked the US Treasury to reconsider its proposals to require crypto platforms to report crypto mixing activities. Bloomberg gave Coinbase a 70% chance of winning against the SEC in its upcoming court case surrounding the definition of a security.

Traditional Banking 🏦

πŸ‡ͺπŸ‡Ί SEB is taking a minority stake in digital document exchange Kirva.

πŸ‡ͺπŸ‡Ί The ECB is warning banks of the risk of failing to prepare for a low carbon economy

πŸ‡ͺπŸ‡Ί German regulator BaFin has reported that cybersecurity and outsourcing of IT are the greatest risks to the finance sector.

πŸ‡ͺπŸ‡Ί Commerzbank has partnered with Worldline to offer real-time payments across Europe in CHF.

πŸ‡¬πŸ‡§ BNP Paribas has partnered with SuperTech to launch a UK innovation lab.

πŸ‡¬πŸ‡§ Lloyds Bank is cutting 1,600 jobs in its branches whilst creating 800 new jobs as it increases its digital banking presence.

🌍 Citi is working with alternative investment manager LuminArx Capital to offer private credit to Citi's corporate customers. The bank also launched a free browser extension for cardholders to find offers and coupons online.

🌍 National Australia Bank is creating cyber assessment tools for SMBs through a partnership with Microsoft.

🌍 Banks in Hong Kong are joining an SMS sender register so customers can easily identify genuine messages and avoid scams.

Fintech Infrastructure 🚧

πŸ‡ͺπŸ‡Ί Open banking platform Salt Edge has partnered with fintech Plannix.

πŸ‡¬πŸ‡§ Financial software provider Finastra is working with Databricks to provide new solutions, including AI, to financial institutions.

πŸ‡¬πŸ‡§Open banking payment solution Token joined the European Payment Council's new SPAA scheme.

πŸ‡¬πŸ‡§ Open banking platform Moneyhub is the first TPP to connect to Co-Op, Smile Bank and Kroo Bank.

🌍 Mastercard has extended its agreement with TCH to operate the RTP network with its VocaLink unit.

🌍 Jason Mikula reports that partner bank Blue Ridge is in trouble after receiving another OCC Enforcement Action.

🌍 Jack Henry has launched a new solution to help regional banks modernise their SMB banking experiences.

Payments πŸ’°

πŸ‡ͺπŸ‡ΊCredit Agricole has acquired a 7% stake in payment processor Worldline.

πŸ‡ͺπŸ‡Ί Klarna has hinted that a US IPO might be coming soon. It also is stopping its "Klarna Credit Account" and launching Klarna Plus, a $7.99 subscription service in the US.

πŸ‡ͺπŸ‡Ί Tink launched a rule-based risk engine to combat payment fraud using account, balance and transaction data.

πŸ‡ͺπŸ‡Ί Paytech solution Payabl secured an EMI licence in Cyprus.

πŸ‡ͺπŸ‡Ί Digital wallet Vipps MobilePay, formed after the merger of Vipps and MobilePay, has launched in Finland.

πŸ‡ͺπŸ‡Ί The EU is proposing to limit any cash purchases to a maximum of €10,000 to try and combat money laundering.

🌍 American Express is selling its fraud prevention business unit Accertify.

🌍 X created a new handle @XPayments as it gets set to unveil its P2P payment solution.

🌍 57% of Gen X US consumers revolve their credit card balance, the highest among any generation.

🌍 Consumer lender Synchrony is to acquire the POS lending business of Ally Financial.

🌍 The CFPB is seeking to stop banks from collecting an NSF fee for transactions declined in real-time.

🌍 PayPal's new AI features proved to be a damp squib, with the stock down 5% in response.

🌍 The company's behind Venmo, Zelle and Cash App have been urged to increase their securities measures in the face of growing scams and fraud by the Manhattan DA.

🌍 Mastercard is creating a new biometric authentication services for logging into apps and websites and making online payments. It also partnered with Booking.com to use virtual cards when paying travel partners.

🌍 Visa reported FQ1 results with debit volumes +9%, credit volumes +8%, x-border volumes +16%, 77% in-person payments outside the US are contactless and Visa Direct volumes were +20%.


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