Daily Fintech Newsletter | Mar. 14th
Hi!
In case you missed it, please see below today's most relevant fintech news.
‘From the moment I wake up, I can’t wait to find out what’s happening’: A day in the life of Marcel Van Oost. When you’re an investor, advisor, and fintech commentator, networking becomes a full-time career. From cycling on his bike, to cycling through investing, advising, and a whole lot of posting here’s a day in Marcel Van Oost’s life. Link here.
Wise Ltd. co-founder Taavet Hinrikus and Teleport co-founder Sten Tamkiviare to merge their solo investment funds into a new funding unit focused on the red hot tech scene. As angel investors, Hinrikus and Tamkivi - who worked together in the early days of Skype - have supported hundreds of other entrepreneurs and new companies with seed capital investments. Link here.
Technology platform and ride-hailing giant Grab is reportedly considering a merger with a SPAC, but a U.S. listing via a traditional IPO is not off the table. J.P. Morgan and Morgan Stanley, which are advising Grab on its IPO plans, are in the midst of identifying special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) for the company to merge with to accelerate its listing process, according to a Bloomberg report on Thursday. Link here.
The NAGA Group AG, a German social trading-focused FX and CFDs broker, announced on Tuesday that it has signed an agreement with US Fund Yorkville Advisors for securing capital financing of up to $30 million over the next three years. Link here.
London-based insurtech Zego has bagged a $150m Series C funding round, valuing the fintech at $1.1bn. The fintech has cemented itself as the UK’s newest fintech unicorn, just two days after Starling Bank joined the ranks of the highest valued fintechs in the UK. Link here.
This morning Clara, a corporate spend-management startup focused on the Latin American market, announced its product launch and a $3.5 million pre-seed round led by General Catalyst. The company’s funding caught TechCrunch’s eye as there has been a flurry of funding for related companies serving the United States market. Link here.
Financial services firm Brex has expanded its instant payouts feature to sellers on Shopify, according to an announcement emailed to PYMNTS. The feature lets sellers access sales revenue “within seconds,” the instant payouts website stated, as opposed to the normal payout process, which takes 14 days, according to the announcement. Link here.
Vacuumlabs recently completed the first-ever installation in Asia of Thought Machine’s core banking engine Vault. This significant project has enabled a new virtual bank to launch in Hong Kong - along with Asia’s first numberless payment card. The bank went from initial licensing to market deployment in just 18 months. Link here.
Mercado Pago, the Fintech arm of LATAM E-Commerce giant Mercado Libre will launch its credit card this month with Visa. According to the vice president of Mercado Pago, Tulio Oliveira, the product will be offered to the entire customer base of Mercado Pago, and it will be free if spending is above R$ 50 per month (USD 9). Link here.
MoonPay, the global payments solution for cryptocurrency, has announced the appointment of Zeeshan F. as its new Chief Growth Officer as it continues to expand worldwide. Link here.
Provenir, a global leader in risk decisioning and data analytics software, welcomes Frode Berg as the new General Manager for EMEA. Link here.
This ends my Daily Fintech Newsletter. Let me know if there are any questions or news/insights worth mentioning in the next newsletter. Until the next!
Regards,
Marcel van Oost
marcelvanoost.com
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