Hello all!
I decided not to list any SVB news updates in this weekly newsletter
because this would simply be too much.
If you want to stay up to date with the latest SVB, and other FinTech news, please sign up for my daily newsletter here.
Enjoy this week’s other FinTech news!
Cheers,
Marcel
WEEKLY FUNDRAISING ACTIVITY
Last week we saw 13 FinTech deals in Europe for a total of €42.7m raised with four deals in the UK🇬🇧, three in Germany🇩🇪, one in Sweden🇸🇪, Austria 🇦🇹 and the Netherlands 🇳🇱
👀 Are you interested in funding news from the FinTech space?
💡 Read all about it in my weekly overview article and get the latest funding news from the global FinTech space in your inbox every week.
REPORT
The state of the German ecosystem compared to other European countries is summed up in this report by Insurlab Germany
The german insurtech funding in the last 4 years is 50% of France and only 42% of UK.
REPORT
Open finance is kickstarting an ecosystem of digital innovation. There is an opportunity for open finance to become globally ubiquitous and democratize access to financial services.
Download the full #fintechreport "Global State of Open Finance 2023" by twimbit and F5 here. 👇
👀 NEWS HIGHLIGHT
Stripe raises $6.5bn down-round and partners with OpenAi on GPT4 product.
The company was previously valued at $95bn when in 2021 it last raised funding through a $600m Series H round.
NOW, ON TO THE SUMMARY OF LAST WEEK'S NEWS
🌎 FINTECH HIGHLIGHTS
⭐️ Mastercard is now officially recognized as a digital ID provider in the UK after being certified under the DIATF.
⭐️ Monite raised another $5 million, doubling its seed funding round to $10 million.
⭐️ GoCardless integrated with Zapier to help businesses save time and energy when managing their payments.
⭐️ ClearBank is helping to actively recruit more female coders by partnering with Code First Girls.
PAYMENTS
Sipay is planning to build a 'global licensing team', responsible for securing E-Money, payments, and acquiring licenses in multiple markets.
PXP Financial announced a new collaboration with Mastercard and Payall, to deliver safe, compliant, and efficient cross-border payments and international money transfers.
The Financial Conduct Authority wrote to the CEOs of all 291 regulated payments firms under its watch, warning them that many still to not have “sufficiently robust controls” in place.
Visa says the adoption of Open-Loop Transit payments is at a tipping point worldwide.
Viva Wallet is officially a “local” in Portugal, and launches the prevailing local payment methods.
Archie launched open banking platform with a promise to support the UK’s businesses, including underserved small and medium-sized enterprises.
Mastercard acquired Baffin Bay as part of plans to build a multi-layered protective shield for customers across the world.
Adyen has further advanced its digital authentication solution, with ongoing pilots realizing a conversion uplift of up to 7%.
Synalcom and Qori are merging to form a new company, called Sylq, that promise to offer an all-in-one merchant payments platform.
Ibanera raised $18.5m in a funding round to enable itself to keep supporting its BitLine business line.
BNPL
Hokodo announced a new partnership with BNP Paribas that aims to breathe fresh air into B2B payments and make a joint solution that has the potential to quickly get absorbed into the market.
OPEN BANKING
Iwoca is rolling out instant decisions for loans up to £25,000 with the help of CRIF, to enable SMEs pre-populate their applications and securely share their financial information.
Klarna announced the launch of conscious badges in the Klarna App in collaboration with Clarity AI.
PERX partnered with Neonomics to enable open banking payments on their platform through Neonomics’ open banking Checkout solution, to increase efficiency and security in its payments.
CRYPTO
Binance is halting sterling deposits and withdrawals after Paysafe cut it off.
Xapo Bank integrated with the Faster Payment System to offer 24/7 - 365 zero-fee fund settlement in the United Kingdom and overseas territories.
Grow Bank plans to bring crypto and traditional currencies under one roof, and supports 64 fiat currencies and 20 cryptocurrencies, allowing users to carry out exchange operations with a “minimum” commission.
BLOCKCHAIN / DEFI
Cashlink Technologies announced the closing of its mid-seven-digit Series A fundraising round led by fintech investor TX Ventures.
INVESTMENT
Moneyfarm launches four thematic investing portfolios that will focus on macro trends: technology and innovation, demographic and social shifts, sustainability and a combined “multi-trend” option.
Wombat is launching one of the lowest-cost Junior ISAs in the UK following surging demand for the tax-free wrapper from its fast-growing base of investors.
MOVERS & SHAKERS
Ingenico appointed Laurent Blanchard as the company’s CEO, as well as his appointment as a member of the Supervisory Board.
FINTECH MAPS
If you are a fintech startup and have over 100 questions send me an email, maybe I can answer a few.