Author: Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz)

Zopa Caps Off 2024 with $87 Million in Funding

Zopa Caps Off 2024 with $87 Million in Funding
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, Funding, Zopa
  • U.K.-based digital bank Zopa raised $87 million in an equity round led by A.P. Moller Holding and existing investors.
  • The round boosts Zopa’s total funding to $1.067 billion.
  • Despite declaring plans for a 2022 IPO during its 2021 funding round, Zopa has decided to wait for better market conditions.

Digital bank Zopa seems to be impervious to the downturn in the fintech funding environment. The U.K.-based fintech has just raised $87 million (€80 million), boosting its total raised to $1.067 billion. The equity round was led by A.P. Moller Holding and existing investors. 

While the investment comes at a time during which many fintechs are experiencing a funding dry spell, this is not the first time Zopa has beaten the odds. In February 2023, Zopa raised an impressive $92 million (£75 million) from existing investors as well as an undisclosed lead investor. At the time, the company said the round “cements and enhances” its unicorn status. 

Zopa, which originally launched as a peer-to-peer lending platform in 2005, pivoted to become a digital bank in 2020, when it received its full banking license from the Financial Conduct Authority. Today, the company holds more than £5 billion in deposits for its 1.3 million customers. Zopa’s platform aims to help users improve their financial health via savings tools, lending products, credit card offerings, and various vehicle financing tools. To date, Zopa has lent more than $16.6 billion (£13 billion) to consumers in the U.K. and currently has £3 billion in loans on its balance sheet. 

“Today’s fundraise validates our financial performance and growth potential,” said Zopa CEO Jaidev Janardana. “Since launching our bank in 2020, we’ve consistently offered financial products that offer great value and ease to our customers, supporting our vision to build Britain’s best bank. We are thrilled to have investors who share our excitement at the opportunity to serve more customers across more product categories as we aim to become the go-to bank for millions of consumers.”

Notably, while Zopa billed its 2021 funding round as a “pre-IPO round,” declaring plans to go public by the end of 2022, it appears that plans have changed. The company told TechCrunch that it is not currently pursuing an IPO. “We will wait for the markets to revive and be more positive,” said Janardana in an interview. Interestingly, Klarna, another fintech that delayed its IPO plans, recently filed to go public in 2025. The results of Klarna’s public offering at that time will either convince Zopa that it’s time to IPO or help to cement its decision to continue operating as a private company.

Photo by Matheus Bertelli

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Mambu Acquires Numeral to Expand Payment Capabilities

Mambu Acquires Numeral to Expand Payment Capabilities
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, Mambu, Mergers & Acquisitions
  • Cloud banking platform Mambu has made its first acquisition, acquiring French fintech Numeral to enhance its payment capabilities and expand its market reach.
  • Numeral’s cloud-native platform will enable Mambu to offer end-to-end payment workflows, support multiple payment methods, and deliver real-time transaction capabilities to its clients.
  • With growing demand for embedded payments and real-time payment experiences, this acquisition will help Mambu better serve its clients.

Cloud banking platform Mambu has acquired French fintech Numeral this week in a deal that is expected to advance Mambu’s payment capabilities, helping it capture a wider audience. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

“This acquisition marks a considered move to deliver a more modern, comprehensive payment offering which is now an integrated part of Mambu’s product portfolio,” said Mambu CEO Fernando Zandona. “Numeral’s advanced payments platform will enable us to address changing customer demands, strengthen existing product lines, and expand our market reach, while offering businesses advanced capabilities to meet an extensive range of needs.”

France-based Numeral offers a cloud-native, universal payment gateway to help fintechs and banks automate payment processing. The company’s API allows organizations to access payment schemes and connect to partner banks, including BNP Paribas, Barclays, HSBC, and ABN AMRO. Founded in 2021, Numeral has raised $13.8 million (€13 million). The company currently processes more than $10.6 billion (€10 billion) in payments annually.

“Numeral’s values, proven agility, and robust onboarding processes match perfectly with our growth mindset as a business,” Zandona added.

Mambu was founded in 2011 and emerged as one of the pioneering players to move banking software to the cloud. The company’s composable banking approach offers a plug-and-play approach to help organizations shift away from legacy core banking platforms and future proof their operations. Among Mambu’s recent partnerships are payments processor Kuady, Latvia-based INDEXO Bank, and travel payments company Outpayce. Today’s deal marks the Amsterdam-based company’s first acquisition.

By integrating Numeral’s payment platform with its own, Mambu will help its clients manage end-to-end payment workflows, support multiple payment methods, and provide real-time transaction capabilities. The company notes that its existing clients will be able to upgrade to a more sophisticated set of payments capabilities.

For Mambu, enhancing its payments capabilities is a strategic move that aligns with the growing demand for embedded payments. As businesses increasingly seek to integrate embedded payments into their offerings, the ability to manage seamless, real-time payment workflows is becoming a key competitive advantage.

At the same time, consumers are demanding faster, more transparent payment experiences, pushing financial institutions and fintechs to adopt more sophisticated technologies. By integrating Numeral’s advanced platform, Mambu not only strengthens its value proposition but also positions itself as a leader in the modern, scalable payments space.

Photo by Black ice

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Justt Launches Upgrades to Streamline Chargeback Management

Justt Launches Upgrades to Streamline Chargeback Management
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Daily news
  • Israel-based Justt has introduced platform upgrades, including multilingual dispute management and centralized chargeback approval, aimed at simplifying cross-border disputes and improving efficiency for global merchants.
  • The new features allow merchants to set custom rules for recurring disputes and manage chargebacks centrally through Justt’s interface.
  • As chargeback volumes are projected to rise 42% by 2026, Justt’s AI-driven tools offer merchants an automated way to handle cases such as friendly fraud.

Justt, an Israel-based company leveraging AI to automate the chargeback process, unveiled some major platform upgrades this week. Among the changes are multilingual dispute management and centralized chargeback approval.

Justt’s newly launched multilingual dispute management offers automatic translation for dispute evidence. The company anticipates that this feature will simplify cross-border disputes by removing language barriers and ultimately allow Justt to better serve global merchants.

The centralized dispute resolution allows merchants to approve chargebacks through Justt’s interface instead of managing chargebacks in a fragmented way using multiple Payment Service Providers. As part of this, the company also allows merchants to set their own custom rules for recurring disputes, enabling them to automate cases that are predictable and better allocate resources to complex disputes.

Justt anticipates that this change will not only simplify the chargeback approval process, but will also reduce administrative load and speed up dispute decisions to give merchants real-time control over approvals.

“We are fundamentally changing how merchants manage chargebacks,” said Ofir Tahor, CEO of Justt. “This is a significant step in our mission to equip merchants with AI-driven tools, allowing them to simplify complex challenges and focus on growing their businesses.”

Justt was founded in 2020 to help merchants resolve illegitimate chargebacks by using AI to boost recovery rates. The company’s platform integrates with over 40 payment service providers, including Stripe, PayPal, and American Express. Merchants can use Justt’s platform to view and manage all chargeback-related data in one place, and quickly resolve the dispute process. Justt has raised a total of $11 million from investors including Former PayPal President David Marcus and Citi Ventures.

Since the increase in ecommerce activity has taken off in the past five years, there has been a substantial increase in chargeback volumes. According to Mastercard, chargeback volumes will reach 337 million by 2026, which represents a 42% increase from 2023 levels. This rise can be attributed to the growing complexity of the dispute resolution process as well as friendly fraud, where consumers dispute legitimate transactions. Friendly fraud rates, according to Chargebacks911, have been growing “at somewhere around the 40% rate” every year.

For merchants, chargebacks result in direct financial losses as well as reputation damages, while banks — who have to protect consumers while being fair to merchants — face operational burdens. Looking ahead, the chargebacks puzzle will become more complicated. That’s because, as third party providers like Justt advance their practices using AI, the rise in real-time payments will create headaches by providing more opportunities for both legitimate and illegitimate chargebacks to take place.

Photo by Nataliya Vaitkevich

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Insuritas Acquired by HUB International Division

Insuritas Acquired by HUB International Division
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, Insuritas
  • Insurance-as-a-Service company Insuritas has been acquired by VIU by HUB, a division of HUB International, one of the world’s largest insurance brokers.
  • The acquisition will expand Insuritas’ insurance product portfolio and leverage VIU by HUB’s advanced analytics platform to provide more personalized customer experiences.
  • Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Insurance-as-a-Service company Insuritas has been acquired by VIU by HUB, a division of HUB International, which is the fifth largest insurance broker in the world. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

VIU is a digital insurance company that offers a range of policies, including auto insurance, homeowners insurance, second home insurance, renters’ insurance, toy insurance, life insurance, umbrella insurance, financial security, and family plans and policies. The Chicago-based company provides users quotes quickly and offers a platform where clients can sync all their personal policies from across carriers in one place.

“This acquisition marks an exciting new chapter in our journey and will allow us to rapidly expand customized insurance solutions,” said Insuritas CEO Jeff Chesky in an emailed statement. “By joining forces with VIU by HUB, we are amplifying our ability to enhance [clients’] sales and service capabilities and resources with state-of-the-art digital analytics tools.”

Insuritas was founded in 1998 and has since raised $10 million. The Connecticut-based company’s unique model allows banks and credit unions to own and embed a digital insurance agency within their existing operations, without taking on any of the operational risk.

For Insuritas’ current agency clients, the acquisition is good news, as it will make available the widest selection of insurance products offered by the largest collection of insurance carriers of any independent agency complex in the U.S. Additionally, Insuritas will have access to VIU by HUB’s agent resources and will be able to combine VIU by HUB’s analytics platform with its embedded agency technology, providing end customers more personalized experiences.

The insurance subsector remains among the least disrupted in fintech, but that is beginning to change as digital-first insurtech companies like Insuritas and VIU by HUB drive innovation in the space. By leveraging embedded insurance models and advanced analytics, these firms are making strides in modernizing a traditionally slow-moving industry.

Photo by Mike Bird

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Uptiq.AI Acquires Data Integration Company UpSwot 

Uptiq.AI Acquires Data Integration Company UpSwot 
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Alumni profile, Cion Digital, Mergers & Acquisitions, UpSwot, UPTIQ
  • Enterprise AI platform Uptiq.AI has acquired data integration startup UpSwot to enhance its AI Workbench capabilities and expand its applications for banks, fintechs, and wealth management firms.
  • Uptiq.AI will use UpSwot’s Financial Data Gateway, which integrates data from accounting, payroll, and CRM tools, enabling financial institutions to gain actionable insights and offer tailored recommendations to their commercial clients.
  • By combining AI-driven insights with data integration, the partnership empowers financial institutions to optimize operations, improve client engagement, and deliver more personalized services.

Enterprise AI platform for financial services Uptiq.AI made its first acquisition this week. The Texas-based company bought up data integration startup UpSwot.

While the terms of the deal were not disclosed, Uptiq.AI expects the purchase will help it deliver more applications tailored to serve a range of financial services, including wealth management firms, banks, credit unions, fintechs, and non-bank organizations.

UpSwot was founded in 2019 to bring banks actionable insights derived from their commercial clients’ data. The company leverages data from its Financial Data Gateway, which integrates with third-party SaaS software across key categories like Accounting, Banking, Payroll, ERP, and CRM. UpSwot uses the data to offer banks insights into trends and performance across their business customers, monitoring churn and engagement to drive more loyalty. UpSwot can simultaneously use the data to enable banks to offer their commercial clients recommendations on data-informed business decisions. The company demoed at FinovateSpring last year.

Uptiq.AI CEO Snehal Fulzele called the acquisition a “game-changer,” adding, “With UpSwot’s advanced Financial Data Gateway, we can unlock the full potential of our AI Workbench. This allows us to rapidly bring innovative AI applications to financial services organizations, enabling them to harness the power of their data like never before. Together, we’re setting a new standard for what Enterprise AI can achieve in financial services.”

As a result of the agreement, UpSwot’s Financial Data Gateway will power Uptiq.AI’s AI Workbench, which will allow banks to leverage structured and unstructured data for a variety of use cases. Uptiq.AI’s agents will be able to embed data from the wide variety of sources that Financial Data Gateway uses, which will help it differentiate itself from other agent developer platforms.

“Uptiq.AI and UpSwot share a commitment to driving meaningful innovation in financial services,” said UpSwot CEO Dmitry Norenko. “Joining Uptiq.AI will enable us to expand our reach and further amplify the impact of our data integration technology. Together, we are redefining how financial institutions can use AI to deliver exceptional value to their clients.”

Founded in 2022 as Cion Digital, Uptiq.AI helps banks optimize their operations and build valuable customer experiences. The Texas-based company, which has raised $32 million, was founded by Snehal Fulzele. Fulzele co-founded Cloud Lending Solutions in 2012 and led the company as CEO until he sold it to Q2 in 2018. Today, Uptiq.AI serves more than 350 clients across wealth management, banks, fintechs, and brokers. Uptiq.AI demoed at FinovateSpring 2022 under its former name, Cion Digital.

Photo by Pixabay

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Deel Acquires Atlantic Money for Undisclosed Sum

Deel Acquires Atlantic Money for Undisclosed Sum
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Daily news
  • Deel has acquired U.K.-based international funds transfer company Atlantic Money. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
  • The acquisition marks Deel’s ninth acquisition.
  • Deel will leverage Atlantic Money’s expertise to enhance its global payroll solutions, enabling businesses to send secure international payouts.

Payroll and compliance company Deel has acquired international funds transfer company Atlantic Money. Terms of the deal, which was announced late last week, were not disclosed.

According to California-based Deel, acquiring Atlantic Money will help strengthen Deel’s payments infrastructure in Europe and offer it more fintech expertise. This is Deel’s ninth acquisition and its fourth one this year. Atlantic Money joins remote work management platform Hofy, payroll and HR platform PaySpace, and employee enablement platform Zavvy — Deel’s three other acquisitions this year.

Founded in 2020, U.K.-based Atlantic Money helps users send money internationally with a transparent fee structure. The company charges a flat, £3 ($3.80) fee for money transfers and claims to be, on average, 10x cheaper than its competitor Wise. Unlike Wise, however, Atlantic Money is much more limited in scope. The company only facilitates funds transfers among 10 countries, while Wise allows users to send funds to nearly 90 countries. Since its inception, Atlantic Money has moved over half a billion pounds for 10,000+ customers, helping them save “millions” in fees.

According to Atlantic Money Co-Founder and CEO Neeraj Baid, Deel will leverage the money transfer firm’s expertise and infrastructure to help businesses send payouts to international workforces. “Deel’s mission is to make running a global business as easy as running a local one, and that includes helping workers make global payments securely and easily,” said Baid. “Our team looks forward to working alongside Deel’s experts to share insights and develop technologies that will benefit companies managing international workforces.”

Deel was founded in 2018 and enables companies to hire employees across the globe and pay them in more than 150 currencies. In addition to facilitating payroll, the company helps companies manage global workforces, hire contractors, relocate workers, and more. Deel was valued at $12 billion in May of 2022 and has raised a total of $680 million in funding.

Photo by Matthias Groeneveld

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Could a U.S. AI Czar Reshape Global Fintech?

Could a U.S. AI Czar Reshape Global Fintech?
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Julie's Column, Thought Leadership

You may not think of the U.S. when it comes to having a czar in a leadership role. However, Axios reported last week that President-elect Trump is considering naming an AI czar that would be responsible for coordinating policy and governmental use of AI. This is notable because, as of now, the U.S. does not have a central agency governing and regulating the use of AI.

If put into power, a U.S. AI czar would potentially be responsible for unifying the country’s AI strategy across government and private sectors. The AI czar would also be charged with creating regulatory clarity and streamlining regulations for AI development in key industries such as fintech, healthcare, and eCommerce. Given the U.S.’s current role in the global economy, an AI czar could play a role in setting global standards for fintech AI regulation.

Benefits

There are some surprising benefits to a potential AI czar taking leadership in the U.S. First, the leader would have the potential to coordinate AI innovation and guide global efforts. This centralized orchestration could accelerate the development of AI-powered fintech solutions like fraud detection, credit scoring, and personalization strategies. Additionally, for both banks and startups, having clear, government-issued guidelines for the use of AI offers many benefits, including increased investor confidence and faster adoption of AI across subsectors. Finally, having an U.S.-led AI strategy could foster cross-border partnerships and may also be able to influence international fintech standards.

Risks

As with many applications of AI, however, there are potential risks and challenges associated with the crowning of an individual as AI czar. First, there is significant potential for favoritism to shape the role. According to Axios, the AI leader will not require Senate consent. Rather, Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, who Trump has selected to lead the new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), will have input into who is selected for the AI czar role. This raises concerns over potential favoritism and bias. Regardless of who is placed in the potential role or how they are appointed, there are also risks that the use of AI will end up over-regulated and that centralizing control of AI usage could stifle fintech innovation across the globe.

Global impact

U.S. policies created under an AI czar might intensify competition with other countries in the AI-arms race. Specifically, the role may help the U.S. compete with China, which has heavily invested in AI. Creating an AI czar could help the U.S. catch up with China by fostering rapid advancements in AI applications in fintech and related fields. In addition to clarifying regulation around the use of AI, the appointed person could help by coordinating research, funding, and partnerships at a national level. This streamlined approach might also encourage collaboration among U.S. fintech companies, making them more competitive in global markets.

What’s next?

Regardless of what happens (or doesn’t happen) with the AI role, both banks and fintechs should pay close attention while monitoring any U.S. AI policy changes. This applies to both firms that are creating their own AI-driven solutions in-house, as well as to those that leverage AI-driven solutions from third party providers. Everyone is in the AI game– whether they think they are or not– and the decisions made by policymakers will shape the rules of that game.

Photo by Marek Pavlík on Unsplash

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Alera Group Partners with TIFIN @Work to Personalize Wealth Management

Alera Group Partners with TIFIN @Work to Personalize Wealth Management
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, TIFIN AG
  • Alera Group has partnered with TIFIN @Work to integrate its workplace benefits and wealth management tools into its FinWell Connect program.
  • The integration will provide employees and advisors personalized financial guidance from Alera Group’s insurance, benefits, and wealth management verticals.
  • Founded in 2023 TIFIN @Work was created by parent company TIFIN to deliver actionable, personalized financial recommendations.

Financial services firm Alera Group has partnered with TIFIN to improve financial wellness among its clients. The Illinois-based firm has integrated TIFIN @Work’s workplace benefits and wealth management platform into its FinWell Connect financial wellness program.

Founded in 2017, Alera Group is the result of the merger of 24 U.S. entrepreneurial firms. The company serves as a broker that offers connectivity to employee benefits, property and casualty insurance, retirement plan services, and wealth services. Under today’s partnership, TIFIN @Work’s tools will be available within its retirement plan services arm.

With the implementation, Alera Group seeks to meet the rising demand for workplace-based financial solutions, and offers FinWell Connect to its employees and advisors. The move makes TIFIN @Work’s tools a bridge between retirement benefits and wealth management.

“Other platforms fill gaps; TIFIN @Work drives true engagement and business growth,” said Retirement Plan Services Executive Vice President and National Practice Leader Christian Mango. “We’re excited to offer a modern solution that benefits both employees and advisors. The partnership with TIFIN @ Work further strengthens Alera Group’s commitment to robust, cutting-edge retirement and wealth solutions.”

TIFIN @Work offers Alera Group’s retirement plan participants personalized, tailored guidance regarding their financial futures. The technology provides actionable solutions by connecting them with financial experts. The platform suggests a solution from Alera Group’s insurance, benefits, or wealth management vertical. As a result, users receive a personalized suggestion at the time of need.

TIFIN @Work is a subset of its parent company TIFIN, a Colorado-based firm that creates and operates companies across a range of fintech sub-sectors. TIFIN’s @Work arm, launched in 2023, offers users AI-powered, personalized insights and actionable recommendations.

“Partnering with Alera Group marks a pivotal step in uniting workplace benefits with wealth management. TIFIN @Work is the bridge from retirement to financial confidence, enhancing employees’ financial journeys and expanding advisors’ reach and impact,” said TIFIN @Work CEO Marc McDonough.

Photo by Kampus Production

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NuBank Weighs Moving Legal Domicile Location to the U.K.

NuBank Weighs Moving Legal Domicile Location to the U.K.
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, Nubank
  • Brazil-based digital bank Nubank is considering moving its legal domicile from the Cayman Islands to the U.K.
  • The domicile move is pending approval from HM Revenue & Customs, as part of the U.K.’s efforts to attract tech companies.
  • The potential move involves legal and tax registration changes rather than relocating management or operational offices, offering potential benefits like a favorable tax environment and better access to international markets.

According to a Bloomberg report yesterday, digital bank Nubank is considering moving its legal domicile to the U.K. This would shift the Brazil-based company’s domicile from the Cayman Islands, where its current holding company is based.

If finalized, the move, which is still pending approval from the U.K.’s HM Revenue & Customs authority, would be part of the U.K.’s initiative to bring more tech companies into the country.

“Nubank continuously reviews its corporate legal structure to align with the footprint of its operations,” a Nubank spokesperson said in a statement. “At this time, no decision has been made regarding the redomiciliation of Nu Holdings Ltd. or any other legal entities within our group. As a publicly traded company, we are committed to transparency and will follow standard communication protocols if and when any such decisions are made.”

Relocating a domicile location is different from shifting headquarters location. The latter would mean moving primary executive offices and central operations to the headquarters location. A headquarters change would impact where the company’s management and administrative functions are based, while a domicile change would primarily come with tax implications.

Moving its domicile to the U.K. would involve Nubank changing its legal registration and tax residency to the U.K. This shift would subject the company to U.K. corporate laws and tax regulations, which could potentially come with benefits, such as a more favorable tax environment or enhanced access to international capital markets.

Since it was founded in 2013, Nubank serves 92 million customers in Brazil, over 7 million in Mexico, and close to 1 million in Colombia. The company surpassed 100 million customers earlier this year and has a strong foothold in Brazil, where its app is found on the phones of around 60% of all Brazilian adults. Nubank, which went public on the New York Stock Exchange in 2021, has a current market capitalization of $65.7 billion.

Photo by David Peterson

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LendingTree Taps Coverdash to Launch Small Business Insurance Offering

LendingTree Taps Coverdash to Launch Small Business Insurance Offering
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Daily news, LendingTree
  • LendingTree has partnered with insurtech Coverdash to integrate small business insurance into its platform.
  • Adding insurance solutions complements LendingTree’s existing SMB loan products by helping insured businesses qualify for more financing due to their lower risk profile.
  • The partnership also strengthens LendingTree’s position as a one-stop shop for SMB financial needs, while helping Coverdash expand its reach through a trusted, established brand.

Online loan marketplace LendingTree has partnered with SMB-focused insurtech broker Coverdash to offer LendingTree’s business clients small business insurance. The ability to add Coverdash’s insurance options will be embedded into LendingTree’s platform.

This partnership strengthens LendingTree’s connection with small business owners by broadening its SMB offerings beyond loans to include insurance solutions. LendingTree anticipates that this product expansion will complement its existing SMB loan products, as insured businesses typically present a lower risk profile, enabling them to qualify for additional financing. For Coverdash, today’s partnership with a trusted, established brand like LendingTree will broaden its reach and cement its role as a small business insurance provider.

“We’ve always played an integral role in helping small businesses get off the ground with our loans and financing programs, so offering business insurance was the natural next step,” said LendingTree General Manager, Small Business & Student Loans, Jenn Ash. “This partnership with Coverdash deepens our commitment to supporting our customers’ growth, reinforcing our position as their trusted, long-term partner for all of their financial services needs.”

North Carolina-based LendingTree maintains a marketplace of over 600 financial partners that offer a wide range of personal loans, mortgages, auto loans, and credit cards, and more. By enabling consumers to compare competitive rates and terms, LendingTree empowers individuals to make informed financial decisions. Since it was founded in 1998, the company has served over 120 million customers.

“LendingTree’s legacy in financial services is unmatched, and we’re incredibly proud to have our embedded experience power their expansion into business insurance,” said Coverdash Co-founder and CEO Ralph Betesh. “Meeting financial requirements while starting a business is complex – our partnership lets business owners easily access trusted resources in one place at every stage of their company’s life cycle.”

Founded in 2022, Coverdash is a newcomer to the insurtech space, which is typically dominated by more established companies. Based in New York, Coverdash is licensed in all 50 U.S. states to provide insurance solutions tailored to small businesses, including freelancers, e-commerce operations, and startups. Its offerings span general liability, workers’ compensation, cyber insurance, and more. Earlier this year, the company secured $13.5 million in Series A funding, bringing its total funding to $16 million, according to Crunchbase.

Photo by Ivan Samkov

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Google Pay Adds AfterPay and Klarna to BNPL Options

Google Pay Adds AfterPay and Klarna to BNPL Options
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Daily news, Google, Klarna
  • Google Pay is adding Afterpay and Klarna to its checkout flow, complementing its existing partnerships with Affirm and Zip.
  • Adding more BNPL options at the point of sale will help increase conversion rates and average order values.
  • By offering four BNPL options, Google Pay solidifies its edge over Amazon, which currently provides Affirm as its sole BNPL provider at checkout.

Google Pay is doubling down on buy now, pay later (BNPL) options at checkout. The company announced today that it is adding Afterpay and Klarna to its checkout flow at select merchants. The move will offer consumers more flexible payment options when they use Google Pay.

“People shop on Google more than a billion times per day, and consumers are increasingly looking for more choice and flexibility when it comes to their payment options,” said Google Pay Senior Director Drew Olson. “By teaming up with pay over time providers like Klarna, we are able to give Google Pay users more payment options when checking out, while providing merchants with another tool to drive growth.”

Adding Afterpay, which has 24 million active users, and Klarna, which has 85 million active users, will not only offer more ways to pay but may also lead to increased conversion rates and higher average order values. Customers are more likely to make larger purchases when offered flexible payment solutions.

“Afterpay’s integration with Google Pay comes at the perfect time as next-gen shoppers are fueling mainstream use of BNPL, mobile commerce, and digital wallet use,” said Afterpay and Cash App Head of Global Partnerships Tanuj Parikh. “We are excited to expand our BNPL to Google’s network, creating the best and most streamlined customer shopping experience that meets all the needs of this younger consumer set.”

While Afterpay is now available on Google Pay, Klarna will launch with select merchants in 2025. The company aims to expand the BNPL options to more merchants in the future.

Today’s news comes about a year after Google unveiled that it partnered with Zip and Affirm, two other major BNPL players, to offer Google Pay users BNPL options. While offering four BNPL options at the online point of sale sounds excessive, not all merchants offer every BNPL option at checkout. The selection of BNPL providers is dictated by the agreements between Google Pay, the BNPL services, and the individual merchants.

By expanding its roster of BNPL options, Google Pay strengthens its competitive edge against Amazon, which currently limits point-of-sale BNPL offerings to Affirm. While the exclusivity agreement between Amazon and Affirm ended last year, Amazon has yet to collaborate with additional BNPL providers. Google Pay’s strategic decision to double its BNPL offerings may prompt Amazon to diversify its own consumer payment options.

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Blackhawk Network Teams with Mastercard to Add Paper Prepaid Products

Blackhawk Network Teams with Mastercard to Add Paper Prepaid Products
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Blackhawk Network, Daily news, MasterCard
  • Blackhawk Network (BHN) is transitioning Mastercard’s open-loop prepaid products from plastic to paper-based materials, aligning with Mastercard’s goal to eliminate PVC plastics from payment cards by 2028.
  • As of 2022, 60% of BHN’s physical cards were already paper-based, with the company aiming for 75% by the end of 2023, supported by collaborations with global partners.
  • Today’s collaboration follows a similar partnership with Visa that was formed in 2023.

Branded payments provider Blackhawk Network (BHN) announced this week it is partnering with Mastercard, transitioning its network-branded open-loop prepaid products from plastic to paper-based materials. 

The move will help support Mastercard’s commitment to remove first-use, PVC plastics from payment cards on its network by 2028. It also supports BHN’s sustainability efforts. The California-based company has offered paper-based and recycled products since 2017, and made a pledge in 2022 to convert most of its own original card products to digital or paper.

“Since making our 2022 pledge, we have moved at lightning speed to deliver—and have successfully done so,” said BHN CEO and President Talbott Roche. “As of the end of last year, 60% of the physical cards in our network had been transitioned to paper-based materials, and we are well on our way to achieving our original goal of converting 75% by the end of this year. Taking those initiatives a step further, we are continuing to seek out collaborations with partners like Mastercard, banks, merchants, other card issuers, and manufacturers that operate on a global scale.”

BHN reports that paper-based cards still offer convenience and reliability while posing minimal disruption to consumers, retailers, and issuers. The company is continuing to invest in research and development that will enable the use of paper materials in other channels, including print-on-demand production formats.

“Mastercard’s reach, combined with our own, puts us in a rare position to not only reduce our footprint, but also to lead by example for other companies. We will continue to encourage more businesses to join our efforts and responsibly reduce the environmental impact of the products we use and consume,” added Roche.

The move toward sustainability isn’t the first effort from BHN or major card companies. Last year, BHN announced a partnership with Visa where BHN was helping the card giant transition its open-loop prepaid cards from plastic to sustainable paper-based materials.

Swapping out plastic in favor of paper cards is a good move for prepaid cards, which are often used once or twice and then disposed of. However, it is unlikely we will ever see paper credit or debit cards. Even if they are made to be durable enough to withstand daily transactions, consumers seem to favor thicker plastic and even metal cards, which offer a sense of status and exclusivity.

Photo by DS stories

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