WEEKLY FUNDRAISING ACTIVITY
👀 NEWS HIGHLIGHT
Just five months following its strategic launch in the Netherlands, Swan, a leading European FinTech specialized in embedded banking, announces its first customers in the Benelux.
This milestone underscores the rapid market adoption of Swan's platform within the region’s already well-developed FinTech ecosystem.
📰 ARTICLE
NOW, ON TO THE SUMMARY OF LAST WEEK'S NEWS
🌎 FINTECH HIGHLIGHTS
⭐️ Israeli FinTech Kima, Mastercard lab look to develop ‘DeFi credit card’.
⭐️ TRIVER and Experian join forces to boost lending to small and medium sized businesses.
⭐️ Revolut employees prepare to become rich.
⭐️ Crypto Broker Bitpanda Says Profit May Rebound to Record in 2024.
FINTECH
Tide goes live in Germany. The deposits that customers hold in their account are protected by the statutory European deposit protection scheme, up to an amount of 100,000 euros.
Klarna arrives in Slovakia🇸🇰 with its shopping app and flexible payment services. This launch marks Klarna's expansion into our fifth market in Central and Eastern Europe, following Poland, Czech Republic, Romania, and Hungary.
Wirex Chooses Openpayd To Launch Embedded Accounts Across Uk And Eea. The partnership will see OpenPayd issue virtual IBANs to Wirex customers in 30+ countries across the UK and EEA.
Salt gets FCA approval to provide consumer lending services. This is a significant milestone in the company’s journey towards revolutionising boat ownership through its new app.
Insurance unicorn Wefox has warned investors that it may soon face insolvency due to financial losses and regulatory charges. CEO Mark Hartigan sent a memo to shareholders in early May, stating that the business could become insolvent in August this year or earlier, according to Sky News.
Revolut opens job recruitment tool to companies on LinkedIn. Revolut People is the super-app's all-in-one people management platform, including a suite of HR, performance, and recruitment tools.
PAYMENTS
Nets to offer Klarna payments to Nordic merchant customers. This will further solidify Nets’ position as a leading payments gateway provider, enabling its merchant partners to seamlessly offer consumers access to Klarna’s popular payment methods, without the need for multiple technical integrations.
Over the coming years, all bank cards in The Netherlands will be replaced by the new Debit Mastercard and Visa Debit cards. The goal is to enable payments in more places with the new cards, making them an upgrade from Mastercard and Visa.
Banco Santander and Iberpay have processed the first international instant transfers based on the European Payments Council’s One-Leg Out Instant Credit Transfer (OCT Inst) scheme.
BNP Paribas has entered a strategic pan-European collaboration with B2B payments provider Billie. The partnership with BNP Paribas is set to assist Billie’s commitment to expanding its services and solidifying its position as a B2B payment provider.
OPEN BANKING
London-based payments FinTech GoCardless is weighing up further acquisitions in the open banking space as it looks to rebound from a challenging 2023 and achieve profitability next year.
DIGITAL BANKING
BKN301 Group unveils Baas Orchestrator platform. The cutting-edge platform seeks to empower businesses of all sizes, particularly FinTech companies and traditional banks.
CRYPTO
Robinhood Crypto launches Staking in Europe. These updates aim to increase accessibility, improve the user experience, and reinforce the company’s commitment to Europe-based crypto traders.
DONEDEAL
Grasp, one of the world’s first AI assistants for investment banks and management consultants, is issuing new shares worth USD 1.9 million (SEK 20 million) to Yanno Capital and Philian Invest.
Check, a Tenerife-based startup specializing in QR-based Order&Pay technology, has secured €624,000 in a new funding round. This investment underscores the project’s considerable potential and supports Check’s strategic growth.
Klarna, the buy now pay later (BNPL) finance giant, has cleared a crucial hurdle on its journey towards a stock market flotation expected to value it at as much as $20bn (£15.9bn).
Alpian secures CHF 76M Series C Funding to drive expansion and innovation in digital banking. This expansion is driven by its advisory mandate, bridging managed and self-directed solutions, which has been rapidly adopted by clients.
Credit repayment FinTech Incredible raises $1m. Incredible has raised $1m in a pre-seed round, with investors including former Plaid executive Keith Grose and active angel investor Mark Ransford.
London-based climate FinTech, ekko, has successfully closed a $2.5 million funding round led by Fuel Ventures and supported by Sorven Partners, Mishcon de Reya and existing investors.
Agora secures $34 million Series B. The investment will enable Agora to accelerate its expansion efforts and further enhance its innovative product offerings.
Embedded accounting startup Ember raises £5m and lands HSBC deal. HSBC’s SME customers will be able to integrate invoicing, categorise transactions and track cashflow through the embedded offering, which Ember hopes to sell to other banks.
MOVERS & SHAKERS
Freetrade, Britain’s answer to Robinhood, says its CEO is stepping down. The boss of U.K. stock trading service Freetrade Adam Dodd is stepping down and leaving the company with immediate effect, the company told CNBC exclusively.
Mangopay appoints Ariel Shoham as Vice President of Risk Product. Ariel joins to lead the product vision, strategy and roadmap for Identity and Fraud Protection at Mangopay, including its award-winning cybersecurity solution.
BUX appoints Marcel Jongmans as chairman. With extensive experience in leadership and strategic vision, Jongmans will guide BUX Holding into the next phase.