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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Indeed, according to a CNN article, travellers should get prepared for the most expensive holiday travel season ever. Average air fare is up about 40% from 2021, and rates for hotel rooms and rental cars have jumped 12% and 46% respectively from where they were in 2019. But travel demand, which was pent up during the pandemic, is still on the up and up and inching towards pre-pandemic levels. Fortunately, travellers reeling from the holiday sticker shock now have a BNPL option from Expedia and Afterpay.
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FinTech: Cannabis Cloud Commerce Platform Treez Acquires Payments Processor Swifter
Treez, an enterprise cloud commerce platform that streamlines retail and supply chain operations within the cannabis market, has acquired Swifter, a YC startup from India that builds ACH APIs for cannabis merchants in the US. Swifter calls itself the “Stripe for Cannabis.” Treez said in a statement that Swifter was an attractive investment given its multi-location operating retail cannabis clients and Y Combinator background.
FinTech: Revolut Integrates Encrypted Chat Feature In Its Global Financial Superapp
Customers in the UK and EEA can now chat as well as share gifs and stickers whilst sending and requesting funds to and from other customers. Revolut has incorporated a messaging facility into its superapp, following a recent UK and European survey of 8,000 people that said two thirds of people (67.5%) find it difficult…
FinTech: Stripe Lays Off 14% Of Employees As It Faces “A Different Economic Climate,” And “Leaner Times”
“Today we’re announcing the hardest change we have had to make at Stripe to date. We’re reducing the size of our team by around 14% and saying goodbye to many talented Stripes in the process. If you are among those impacted, you will receive a notification email within the next 15 minutes. For those of you leaving: we’re very sorry to be taking this step and John and I are fully responsible for the decisions leading up to it.
FinTech: New Zealand Mulls Protection Against BNPL Debt Traps
Better checks are to be put in place to safeguard vulnerable BNPL consumers. New Zealand Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Dr David Clark announced that the Government intends to put in checks and balances in the Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) financial innovation that allowed consumers to pay for their purchases in instalments. The primary…
FinTech: MoneyGram Launches Crypto Transactions Via Its App
MoneyGram International (NASDAQ: MGI) has launched crypto trading via its app, allowing customers the facility to buy, sell, and hold the bitcoin, ethereum, and litecoin cryptocurrencies. This feature is made possible through MoneyGram’s existing partnership with Coinme, a licensed crypto exchange and API-driven crypto-as-a-service provider. MoneyGram and Coinme have partnered since 2021 to expand access to crypto by creating thousands of new locations in the U.S. for consumers to buy and sell bitcoin with cash.
FinTech: India’s Money View In Talks To Raise $150M At $1B Valuation
Sources have told The Economic Times that Money View, an Indian fintech, is in talks to raise up to $150 million at a valuation of $900 million to $925 million pre-money and over $1 billion post-money. The sources also revealed that global private equity giant Apis Partners is expected to join as a new investor and also lead the round.
FinTech: Stripe Makes Its Debut In Thailand
Global payments network Stripe has launched operations in Thailand, competing head-to-head with other payments players including PayPal (NASDAQ: PYPL) and local players including Omise and 2C2P. Stripe has emerged from a beta phase held in Thailand over the past year during which it says thousands of companies have signed up for its services. Thailand marks Stripe’s expansion into its third Southeast Asia market, after Singapore and Malaysia.
FinTech: Bilt Rewards, The Credit Card For Renters, Lands $150M Funding
Bilt Rewards, a credit card and loyalty program offered to renters to help build their credit and earn rewards on rent payments, has landed a $150 million round led by Left Lane Capital with participation from banking giant Wells Fargo, Smash Capital, Greystar, Invitation Homes, Camber Creek, Fifth Wall and Prosus Ventures. Bilt earned a valuation of $1.5 billion in the funding.
FinTech: Nirvana Money Offers A Hybrid Credit-Cum-Debit Card
Bill Harris has launched Nirvana Money, a credit card that also works like a debit card, allowing for the best of both worlds. It allows the user to use credit when they need it, and cash when they have it. The product also includes an inbuilt gamified rewards program. Intending users need to put their names onto a waiting list, however.
Digital Assets: Tel-Aviv Stock Exchange Outlines Plans For Crypto
The Tel-Aviv Stock Exchange (TLV: TASE) has outlined four goals in its strategic plan for the years 2023-2027 one of which is “creating a platform for digital assets using blockchain (digital ledger technology) and venturing into crypto.”
Venture Capital: BASF’s VC Arm Leads $10M Round In Brazilian Fintech Traive™
BASF Venture Capital GmbH (BVC), the corporate venture company of BASF SE (ETR: BAS), has announced its first investment in South America. BVC will lead a $10 million investment round in Traive™, a Brazilian financial services provider that is developing a technology infrastructure for financial services and AI for credit risk analysis and portfolio management.
FinTech: India’s PhonePe On Decacorn Path, Mulls Fundraise At Over $12B Valuation
PhonePe is negotiating a fundraise at a valuation of over $12 billion, with General Atlantic likely to lead the round with an investment in the range of $450 – $500 million. If the funding goes through, it would catapult PhonePe to the position of the most highly-valued fintech in India.
Digital Assets: Brazilian Digital Bank NuBank To Float Own Crypto For Rewards Program
Buffett-backed, Brazilian digital bank Nubank (NYSE: NU) announced Wednesday its plans to launch Nucoin, a digital token as “a new way to recognize customer loyalty and encourage engagement with Nubank products.” The move would also mark the neo bank’s move into crypto assets.
FinTech: NatWest Group And Warburg Pincus-Owned Vodeno Tie-Up For Providing BaaS
NatWest Group (LON: NWG) and European BaaS provider Vodeno Group have entered a strategic partnership to float a new entity that will offer Banking-as-a-Service to clients in the UK. The Vodeno Group, which owns the Poland-based Vodeno Sp Z.o.o, a software company providing its API-based technology platform and the Belgium-based Aion Bank, is majority owned by Warburg Pincus (NYSE: WPCA).
FinTech: VISA Ties With Nuvei, Tender Retail, To Offer BNPL To Canadians
Canadian shoppers at at some of Canada’s largest retailers including Simons, Canada Computers, Soft Moc, and Trévi, will soon be offered an option to pay for their qualifying purchases through smaller, predictable “Installments” payments made over a defined period using an eligible Visa (NYSE: V) credit card.
FinTech: Apple Card Users Can Now Earn Interest On Their Daily Cash Rewards In A Goldman Sachs Savings Account
Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) announced that users of its Apple Card could open a new high-yield Savings account at Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) in the coming months. Apple Card users can automatically deposit, save, and grow their Daily Cash and rewards in this account. The iPhone giant also clarified that the Savings account will have no fees, no minimum deposits, and no minimum balance requirements.
FinTech: Mastercard Invests In Egypt’s Nclude, A Fintech Focused VC Investment Platform
Mastercard (NYSE: MA) has made a strategic investment of an undisclosed amount in Nclude, a fintech-focused VC investment platform launched in Egypt. The investment will go toward supporting early-and-growth-stage fintechs tackling financial inclusion in the country, and the Central Bank of Egypt’s vision to establish Egypt as the Innovation Hub for fintechs across the Middle East and Africa region.
FinTech: BNP Paribas Acquires Kantox, A Currency Risk Management Fintech
BNP Paribas (EPA: BNP) announced Tuesday its agreement to acquire Kantox, a leading fintech for automation of currency risk management. Kantox software offers a e-stop-shop, API driven, plug-and-play solution which has emerged as an innovative technology within the B2B cross-border payments sector. Corporates can set up advanced level, automated hedging strategies.
Venture Capital: Step, The Teen And Young Adult-Focused Digital Bank, Raises $300M Debt Round
BNP Paribas (EPA: BNP) announced Tuesday its agreement to acquire Kantox, a leading fintech for automation of currency risk management. Kantox software offers a e-stop-shop, API driven, plug-and-play solution which has emerged as an innovative technology within the B2B cross-border payments sector. Corporates can set up advanced level, automated hedging strategies.
FinTech: Visa And Global Crypto Exchange FTX Tie Up For FTX-Branded Debit Cards
Sam Bankman-Fried owned FTX has struck a long term global partnership with Visa (NYSE: V) that will kick off with the issue of FTX-branded Visa debit cards to FTX customers internationally—with a focus on countries in Latin America, Europe and Asia in the initial phases of the rollout.
FinTech/AI: Walmart Acquires Alert Innovation, A Retail-Focused Robotics Automation Company
Walmart (NYSE: WMT) announced its acquisition of Alert Innovation, a robotics automation company that develops material-handling technology for automating order fulfillment in retail supply chains. Walmart’s particular focus is on market fulfillment centers, or MFCs – it wants to reach customers quicker by deploying MFCs with greater speed, providing both an unmatched shopping experience and a competitive advantage in omni-channel fulfillment. Walmart has been working with Alert to customize technology for its MFCs since 2016, and in 2019, began piloting its first MFC in Salem, New Hampshire, using bot technology from Alert specifically built for the retail giant.
Digital Assets: SWIFT Experiments Show CBDCs, Digital Assets Can Move Cross-Border On Existing Financial Infrastructure
SWIFT conducted two separate experiments to assess interoperability in cross-border transactions between traditional payment systems, Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs), and tokenised assets. SWIFT found that fiat money, CBDCs and digital assets could seamlessly be moved across the existing global financial infrastructure.
FinTech: U.S. Bank Launches Cash Flow Projection Tool For SMBs
A new online banking tool from U.S. Bank (NYSE: USB) will enable small businesses to forecast their cash flows for the next 90 days, as well as get a 90-day historical view. Businesses can even use both internal and external data sources to gain more comprehensive cash flow insights, said a statement from U.S. Bank.
FinTech: Mastercard Brings New Benefits To Small Business Cardholders
Mastercard (NYSE: MA) has announced a slew of new and expanded benefits for its small business cardholders through partnerships and tieups including Adobe, McAfee, Priority Pass, ShopRunner, Stride and Uber. The card giant intends to provide efficiency and creativity to daily operations as well as fortify businesses’ online and security infrastructure.