Weekly Fintech Newsletter | 2021 #10
Hi, there!
Every year or so The Financial Brand - Ideas & Insights for Financial Marketers digs into Google Trends to see what’s on the minds of consumers, financial executives, and others in the banking space.
Interest in “fintech” has continued a steady annual climb, with a huge spike in 2020-2021. By comparison, relative interest in “digital banking” is lower but still climbing.
According to their analysis (restricted to the US):
Neobanks are on the rise, while legacy banks are on the decline.
👉 Read more here.
PODCAST
The podcast recommendation for this week belongs to Nethone.
In their latest episode, Patrick Drexler (Head of BD at Nethone) is talking with Corey Murphy (Head of Customer Transactions, CarTrawler) on how to get into the payments world and share their experiences and observations. 👉 Listen here.
REPORT
Check out the v0.1 edition of the Pre-Seed Investor Guide to Germany by Peak Capital.
They segmented different types of investors, including government-funded funds, funds associated with accelerators (as follow-on capital), angel networks or "collectives", as well as later-stage investors that invest at pre-seed as well (opportunistically or regularly).
👉 Read more here.
FINTECH MAPS
NOW, ON TO THE SUMMARY OF LAST WEEK'S FINTECH SPACE
FINTECH SPOTLIGHT
The partnership between 🇺🇸Mastercard and 🇰🇪Airtel Africa demonstrates that traditional payment service providers are making strides in adopting non-traditional payment technologies, says Lisa Kimathi, senior research associate at 🇰🇪Standard Investment Bank in Nairobi.
👉 Read more here.
FINTECH HIGHLIGHTS
Q1 is over and Fintech has had a record-setting quarter. With record funding (by a landslide) and key developments and controversies like Robinhood and the whole GameStop Saga. Link here.
Fintech companies are revolutionizing the way of understanding, creating, and providing financial services in modern times, providing new ideas and renewing the traditional formula of the sector through the use of information technologies, mobile applications, and big data. Link here.
The UK government will utilize a visa scheme that’s targeted at fintech professionals in a bid to fill any emerging gaps in the sector’s workforce as a result of Brexit causing a loss of access to the EU’s significant skills base. Link here.
Burgopak releases its first publication, sharing insights and expertise on the power of packaging in Financial product delivery. Link here.
CRYPTO
🇬🇧NFT Investments, an investment company specializing in non-fungible tokens and established by the co-founders of $1bn market cap Argo Blockchain plc, announced its intention to apply for admission of its Ordinary Shares to trading on the Access segment of Aquis Stock Exchange Growth Market (AQSE) in London, UK. Link here.
🇺🇸Unifimoney adds a full suite of 33 Cryptocurrencies, becoming the most comprehensive trading and banking app on the market with four ways to invest. 🇺🇸Unifimoney, the premium digital money management platform, today announced a first-of-its-kind integration with 🇺🇸Gemini, a New York trust company that is a licensed cryptocurrency exchange and custodian. Link here.
OPEN BANKING
Open banking is proving to be a crucial tool in the fight to reduce carbon footprint and behave more sustainably - for individuals and businesses alike. By plugging open banking tech into digital services, people are able to track and change their behaviour in a meaningful way – from buying more environmentally friendly products to investing in sustainable companies. Link here.
PAYMENTS
Cross-border payments startup 🇺🇾 dLocal has raised $150 million at a $5 billion valuation, less than seven months after securing $200 million at a $1.2 billion valuation. Link here.
BNPL
🇦🇺 Afterpay is stepping up its assault on in-store payments through the introduction of a contactless virtual card offering. To make an in-store purchase, customers hit the card icon in the Afterpay app, which activates the card, which can be used to pay with Apple Pay or Google Pay. As with online Afterpay purchases, customers can pay in four instalments, without any fees or interest. Link here.
INVESTMENTS
🇺🇸Greenlight Financial Technology, Inc., the fintech company on a mission to help parents raise financially-smart kids, released new findings from a national survey that shine a light on the state of financial literacy among teens. Link here.
FUNDING
🇺🇸Ramp, a Brex competitor that provides corporate credit cards and a spend management platform, is close to wrapping up a pair of funding rounds, one of which would value the company at $1.6 billion. Link here.
🇳🇱Finch Capital has acquired the Turkish operations of Wirecard, creating a new entity – NOMU Pay – in its stead. Link here.
🇮🇩Ajaib, an Indonesia-based investment platform, announced that it has raised US$65 million in an extended series A round led by Ribbit Capital. This is in addition to the US$25 million first close of the round in January. Link here.
🇺🇸Butter.co.uk has closed a £15.8m funding round to help it take on the likes of Afterpay and Klarna in its home market. Link here.
🇬🇧Monavate has raised £5 million for its technology-enabled, compliance and card scheme sponsorship platform. Link here.
FOUNDERS & INVESTORS
🇺🇸Beam — the mobile savings app that imploded last year after a 🇺🇸CNBCinvestigation revealed dozens of customers were unable to get their money out — has been shut down for good under a tentative settlement with the 🇺🇸Federal Trade Commission. As part of the settlement, 🇺🇸Beam is banned from operating a mobile banking app or any other product or service that can be used to deposit, store, or withdraw funds. It also is prohibited from misrepresenting the interest rates, restrictions, and other aspects of any financial product or service. Link here.
Fintech startup 🇺🇸ClickSWITCH Holdings Inc. has been acquired by Q2 Holdings Inc.. The financial terms of the deal weren't disclosed. Link here.
Startup founders are after more than just funding from VCs — but the majority of them feel they don’t get it anyway. 92% of VCs interviewed described themselves as value-add investors, but 61% of founders said the VCs they worked with brought less added value than they’d promised. Link here.
The FinTech scene has not just heated up in the last few years, it has set ablaze – with new innovations, technologies, and business models. The proof lies in the numbers. In the last few years, the floodgates to billions of dollars of investor-backed funds have swung open and submerged the FinTech landscape globally. Link here.
Sponsored Content: Just a small piece of information I want to share with you:
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This ends my weekly digital fintech newsletter. Thank you for reading to the end! If you liked it, I invite you to like, share and/or leave a comment below. You may find more information regarding my newsletter here.
If there is anything else you think I’m missing, please don’t hesitate to reach out by email at bonjour@marcelvanoost.nl.
If you are looking for my weekly digital banking newsletter (the one divided by regions), you may find it here.
Let me know if there are any questions or news/insights worth mentioning in next week's newsletter. Until the next!
Regards,
Marcel van Oost