THIS WEEK’S FUNDING NEWS OVERVIEW
REPORT
This report is the first of what will be an annual overview of trends in the crypto industry, shared through the a16z crypto vantage point of both tracking data and across the countless entrepreneurs and builders they meet.
👉 Download the full “2022 State of Crypto Report” report, by Daren Matsuoka, Eddy Lazzarin, Chris Dixon, and Robert Hackett here.
👀 NEWS HIGHLIGHT
Stripe has launched a new apps marketplace, designed to bring third-party accounting, analytics, CRM, marketing, and esignature features directly into Stripe.
At launch, the new Stripe Apps Marketplace will include more than 50 apps from companies such as Xero, Dropbox, Mailchimp, Ramp, DocuSign, and Intercom, unifying many of the key tools that companies need to use as part of their payments and finance workflows.
👉Read the full article here.
📰 ARTICLE
Billionaire brothers John Collison and Patrick Collison built Stripe into one of the world’s most-hyped, highest valued — and profitable! — startups, worth some $95 billion. Now they must stave off going from disruptor to disrupted.
The company, dual-headquartered in San Francisco and Dublin, processed $640 billion in payments last year across 50 countries.
👉Read more about this amazing story in this long read Forbes article by Alex Konrad here.
👨💻 BLOG
Understanding MTN Nigeria's Payment Service Bank License.
A deep dive into how MTN’s PSB license could change the face of financial services in Nigeria, and what this might mean for customers, FinTechs, and financial inclusion in Nigeria.
👉Read the full article here.
💬 INTERVIEW
Klarna CEO says fintech will focus less on growth and more on ‘short-term profitability’.
“We decided that we’re going to change the weight of our investments and focus more on short-term profitability over long-term new, potential investments,” said Sebastian Siemiatkowski, Klarna’s chief executive and co-founder, two days after cutting 10 percent of Klarna’s more than 7,000-strong workforce.
👉Read the full article here.
NOW, ON TO THE SUMMARY OF LAST WEEK'S NEWS
🌎 FINTECH HIGHLIGHTS
⭐️ Coingrig has integrated Nordigen’s open banking platform to increase the ease of bank connectivity to their digital wallet. Link here.
⭐️ Clearpay, known as Afterpay outside the UK and Europe, has made its in-store payment functionality available to small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) across the UK’s high streets. Link here.
⭐️ As Klarna plans to lay off 10% of its workforce, rival fintech firms Revolut and Wise say they're hiring for hundreds of open roles. Link here.
⭐️ London's FinTechs offer in-house pubs 🍻 and quiet floors to lure talent back to the office. Also, London has long established itself as one of the world's most-important FinTech hubs. Link here.
PAYMENTS
Stripe resumes Bitcoin support after 4-year hiatus. Merchants using can now convert fiat currencies into Bitcoin through the newly-launched app offering. Link here.
BNPL
Scalapay has formed a partnership with circular economy fintech Twig to enable customers to resell products they have purchased via the buy now, pay later provider, and get paid upfront by Twig. Link here.
CRYPTO
Zumo has announced the launch of Zumo Enterprise, its new B2B ‘Crypto-as-a-Service’ solution that enables companies to offer crypto products and services to their customers. Link here.
BLOCKCHAIN / DEFI
XREX, a Taiwanese blockchain Fintech company, has chosen Lithuania as its entry point to the EU market. Link here.
INVESTMENT
Despite women adding approximately $5 trillion to the wealth pool annually, there is still a £15bn gender investment gap. Alpher, a female-first investment platform, is now partnering with digital investments service provider WealthKernel to further its mission to close this gap. Link here.
Mintos has finally launched its long-anticipated regulated notes that intend to bring transparency and protection to loan investing. Link here.
Wombat has partnered with Currencycloud, the experts in simplifying business in a multi-currency world, to launch its new, free, Instant Investing account to give investors the ability to invest instantly in the UK, and in US stocks during opening hours. Link here.
FRAUD PREVENTION
Alpha has launched a fully branded mobile app powered by Nivo developed technology that enables customers to complete biometric ID verification via their mobile device in just a few minutes. Link here.
MOVERS & SHAKERS
Global Processing Services announced the appointment of Jill Docherty as Director, Global Partnerships. Jill is responsible for identifying, leading, and managing all GPS ecosystem partners, and facilitating collaboration to drive innovation and growth for GPS and its customers. Link here.
Koen Köppen has joined Mollie as our new chief technology officer (CTO) to support our expansion into world-class financial services. Link here.
FINTECH MAPS
If you are a fintech startup and have over 100 questions send me an email, maybe I can answer a few.