FinTech
Digital payments alone could become a $100 trillion industry, according to PwC. And that’s just one component of the global Fintech industry. This channel tackles the lenders and buyers, the obstacles and achievements, and the trends and trend makers leading the ongoing technological evolution in global finance.
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Indian entrepreneur Nikhil Kamath, who achieved fame and fortune by bootstrapping Zerodha, India’s first discount broker, to unicorn status, is setting up a fund for investing in fintechs. Rainmatter, Kamath’s VC arm, is considering the launch of an Alternate Investment Fund that would be open to Gulf investors, and as well invest in startups in that region.
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More Stories on FinTech
FinTech: MoneyGram Offers Money Transfers In Real-Time In Europe
Moneygram’s (NASDAQ: MGI) highly successful cross-border transfer service from the United States using Visa (NYSE: V) Direct, which launched in 2019, is now rolling out in Europe. Customers in 25 European countries can now use Moneygram’s website or mobile app to transfer funds instantly to Visa debit cards.
FinTech: China Tightens Antitrust Regulatory Screws On Fintechs
The People’s Bank of China published a draft set of rules on Wednesday for anti-trust regulation of the non-bank payment providers in the fintech sector. The draft is in the public opinion domain until February 19.
FinTech: TransferWise Appoints Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley For IPO
According to an exclusive report by Sky News, Wall Street investment banks Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) and Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) will lead the floatation of Transferwise’s IPO in London.
FinTech: Jack Ma is Back! Alibaba Stock Soars 8.52% In Hong Kong
Fears that Jack Ma, the billionaire co-founder of Alibaba Group Holding (NYSE: BABA) was missing were laid to rest after he participated in the online ceremony of the annual Rural Teacher Initiative event today, January 20.
FinTech: On Rebound From Failed Gojek Merger, Grab Mulls $2B U.S. IPO
Reuters said in an exclusive report on Monday that Southeast Asian ride-hailing, food delivery, and fintech giant Grab was considering a US IPO this year. The news agency quoted three sources familiar with the matter, saying the IPO could be worth as much as $ 2 billion.
FinTech: “Absolutely, We Should Be Scared S—less” – Jamie Dimon On Fintech Threat
On a conference call on Friday, JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) CEO Jamie Dimon made no secret of his apprehensions about the threat from fast-growing fintechs and tech giants across the globe. He was responding to analysts who said that fintechs’ leap-frogging valuations showed their rising ascendancy over traditional banks.
FinTech: Goldman Sachs’ Twin Moves To Advance Consumer Banking Ambitions
Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) is continuing moves to boost its presence in consumer banking. The Wall Street giant is already the issuer for Apple Cards. Today it announced a multi-year partnership with General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) along with Mastercard (NYSE: MA) for co-branded reward-based credit cards.
FinTech: Warburg Pincus Invests $125M Preferred Equity In LendingPoint
Fintech and loan originating platform LendingPoint today announced an investment by Warburg Pincus of $125 million in preferred equity. With this financing, the fintech has raised over $325 million equity to date.
FinTech: Capitol Riot – Fintechs (And Techs) Hit Back At Trump
Fintechs took the lead in castigating President Trump for egging on a crowd of his supporters to attack and ransack the U.S. Capitol building last week. The horrific incident left five dead. Voices, and actions, from big tech followed with even Republican politicians welcoming the impeachment of Trump.
Venture Capital: Checkout.com Triples Its Valuation…Again
Fintech and online payments firm Checkout.com announced a Series C fundraising of $450 million led by Tiger Global Management. The valuation tag of $15 billion makes Checkout.com Europe’s most valuable fintech startup and the fourth most valuable globally.
FinTech: Walmart Will Partner With Ribbit Capital To Create New Fintech
Walmart (NYSE: WMT) announced Monday its launch of a new fintech startup to be created jointly with Ribbit Capital, the investment firm whose mantra is innovation in financial services. Ribbit is a backer of renowned fintechs such as Robinhood, Credit Karma, and Affirm. The new venture will deliver tech-driven financial experiences tailored to Walmart’s customers and associates.
FinTech: How The Pandemic Stifled Use Of Cash In Saudi Arabia
The pandemic triggered a significant shift in the way Saudis used money during 2020. They wholeheartedly embraced online shopping, resulting in a 75% jump in digital payments. On the other hand, cash drawn from ATMs, and its use at payment points, fell sharply by 30%.
FinTech: SaaS Banking Platform Mambu Scores €110 Million In New Capital
After reporting 100% year-on-year growth, SaaS banking platform Mambu announced a new funding round of €110 million. This round was led by TCV, while additional investment was received from Tiger Global and Arena Holdings, as well as existing investors Bessemer Venture Partners, Runa Capital, and Acton Capital Partners.
FinTech: Green Dot’s New Mobile Bank To Help Financially Challenged Americans
Green Dot Corporation (NYSE: GDOT) announced Wednesday the launch of GO2bank, a new mobile bank that is FDIC-insured. The new bank will address the problems faced by those Americans that have limited financial means. Typically, these families are forced to eke out their lives from one payday to another.
FinTech: European P2P Lending Platform Robo.cash Reports Surge In Loan Offtake
The year 2020 ended with a flourish for European P2P lender Robo.cash. In November, the platform funded € 9.2 million – a monthly record. In December, it chalked up a cumulative lending of € 200 million, the highest total ever.
FinTech: Spend Management Fintech Divvy Nabs $165M In Series D Round
Big-name, new investors such as Hanaco, PayPal Ventures, Whale Rock, and Schonfeld participated in Divvy’s latest investment round. Previous investors such as NEA, Insight Venture Partners, Acrew, and Pelion also chipped in, catapulting the leader in spend management to unicorn status.
Alternative Investments: Simplify Asset Management Launches Four New Disruptive Technology ETFs
Four new ‘bleeding edge’ ETFs are on the anvil from Simplify Asset Management. Founded by Paul Kim and David M. Berns, Ph.D., the firm’s new thematic ETFs focus on firms that have important technological or cultural edges and provide meaningful concentration to their stock price.
FinTech: Fintech And Ecommerce Billionaire Jack Ma Maybe Missing
Media chatter surrounds Jack Ma’s whereabouts after his controversial anti-establishment remarks at a Shanghai forum in late October.
FinTech: China Mounts Anti-Trust Probe Into Alibaba In Regulatory Crackdown
China’s State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) announced Thursday an investigation into Alibaba’s (NYSE: BABA) allegedly monopolistic practice of barring its merchants from selling on competing e-commerce platforms. Merchants must agree to sell their products only on the behemoth’s online shopping platform.
FinTech: Large Chinese Fintechs Stop Taking Online Deposits For Banks
On Friday, the Jack Ma-controlled Ant Group’s Alipay platform, which offers an impressive array of financial products to its customers, removed online deposits that it was accepting on behalf of several banks. The reason – regulatory restrictions.
FinTechs: Call For Regulating Australian Buy-Now-Pay-Later Fintechs
In an article titled “Fintech Risk in 2021,” Halverson warns of heightened fintech risk in 2020 following free central bank “helicopter” money, overenthusiastic private equity and venture capital firms, and exuberant stock markets. In particular, he points to fintechs offering buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) products that have captured consumers’ fancy and encouraged them to increase their indebtedness.
FinTech: Chinese Regulators Keep Up Rhetoric Against (Very Large) Fintechs
The barrage of regulatory voices against the “fintech-that-shall-not-be-named” continues. In the latest call to hobble giant fintechs such as the Ant Group, former finance minister Lou Jiwei said regulators should restrict the number of banks that they can partner with.
Venture Capital: Brazilian Lender Creditas Raises $255M To Fuel Expansion
Brazilian fintech and lender Creditas announced Friday fundraising of $ 255 million led by impact investor LGT Lightstone. This fifth Series E round valued the start-up at $ 1.75 billion, more than double the valuation of $750 million it secured last year in a D round.
FinTech: Aussie “Buy Now Pay Later” (BNPL) Openpay Launches In The U.S.
Openpay (ASX: OPY), which calls itself a highly differentiated player in global BNPL, announced its US launch on Wednesday. The ASX-listed company already operates in Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom.