Blog - Page 195 of 1286

Checking in on Fintech in Africa

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on February 13, 2023
Categories: Diversity in Fintech, Report series

Fintech in Africa has experienced a growth spurt in recent years. Last month, investment banking firm FT Partners took a deeper look into the state of fintech in Africa in a report titled Fintech In Africa: Momentum is Building and the World is Taking Notice. The report examines underlying drivers of recent growth, offers details of the fintech investment scene, and provides an update on the state of important trends such as challenger banking and open finance. Below are a handful of highlights from the 207-page report, which you can check out in its entirety on FT Partners' website. Underlying drivers of growth The report highlights the multiple factors currently creating the perfect storm for fintech growth in Africa at the moment. The continent's young, underbanked, tech-savvy population has long-favored cash, but is showing increasing favor for mobile-first technologies as mobile adoption rises and governments seek to further financial inclusion.…

Visa Partnership Fuels Wirex Crypto Card Issuance

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on February 13, 2023
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, VISA

Wirex deepened its partnership with Visa.The new agreement enables Wirex to issue its crypto debit and prepaid cards to more than 40 countries.The company is working on finalizing another partnership that will facilitate card issuance in Australia. Cryptocurrency payments company Wirex unveiled a strategic partnership with Visa this week. The agreement makes Wirex a member of Visa in the U.K. and in the Asia Pacific region and will enable the fintech to issue its crypto debit and prepaid cards to more than 40 countries. The two players began their partnership at Wirex's launch in 2015, when the U.K.-based company unveiled its crypto-enabled Visa card. The payment card enables users to buy, hold, exchange, and sell 150 currencies-- from traditional to cryptocurrencies. Additionally, Wirex customers can use their Visa card to spend their currency holdings at live rates at more than 80 million locations where Visa is accepted. In addition to…

Tazapay Raises $16.9 Million for Cross-Border Payments

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on February 10, 2023
Categories: Daily news, Funding

Cross-border payments company Tazapay raised $16.9 million in Series A funding.The investment, which brings the company's total funding to $21.9 million, was led by Sequoia Capital Southeast Asia.Tazapay processes "hundreds of millions" of dollars each year in card and local, real-time payment methods. Singapore-based cross-border payments company Tazapay closed $16.9 million in Series A funding for its cross-border payments technology today. Today's round, when combined with the company's Seed rounds, boosts Tazapay's total funding to $21.9 million. Investors include Sequoia Capital Southeast Asia, which led the round, along with new investors EscapeVelocity (escp.vc), PayPal Alumni Fund, and angel investor Gokul Rajaram; and existing investors Foundamental, January Capital, RTP Global, and Saison Capital. Commenting on the investors, Tazapay CEO and co-founder Rahul Shinghal said, "These partners will help us realize our vision to be the foremost cross border infrastructure for global platforms as we double down on growing our market presence and consolidating every…

Finovate Global Hong Kong: Digital Payments, Cross Border Partnerships, and New Leaders

By David Penn Posted on February 10, 2023
Categories: Finovate Global

Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) launched a new digital payments solution this week. The new offering, called HSBC Merchant Box, is designed to make it easier for SMEs to make international payments across regional and global e-commerce platforms using real-time exchange rates. HSBC Merchant Box will be available to selected HSBC commercial customers initially. The technology is subscription-based and is fully integrated into HSBC Business Internet Banking. A range of fee options helps make the offering more affordable for businesses of different sizes and payment requirements. The company noted that it will extend the service to all customers in Hong Kong "in the coming months." Cross-border ecommerce is a significant factor in China's external trade operations, HSBC Head of Commercial Banking Frank Fang explained. As a major regional trade hub, Hong Kong is seen as especially well-located to take advantage of the opportunity for greater and easier trade…

Finzly’s New API Offers Access to FedNow Payment Rails

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on February 9, 2023
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, Finzly

Finzly has released an API connection to the U.S. FedNow Service.The API enables developers to test out the new set of payment rails in a sandbox environment.FedNow, the U.S. Federal Reserve's real-time payment rails, is set to launch later this year. Banking-as-a-service provider Finzly released its new API that offers connection to the U.S. FedNow Service in a sandbox environment. Through its sandbox, Finzly enables fintech, bank, and third party developers to use its API to build real-time payment experiences via the FedNow's pilot version. "The future of the economy is connected and real-time. Insurance payouts, government benefits, healthcare payments, online commerce, subscriptions, point of sale, investment, lending, treasury, and several other platforms are expected to connect to the new FedNow Service for an integrated, cardless, bank-to-bank, instant payment experience," said Finzly Founder and CEO Booshan Rengachari. "Finzly APIs and its direct connection to the FedNow service will accelerate the…

Fierce Locks in $10 Million to Fund All-In-One Financial App

By David Penn Posted on February 9, 2023
Categories: Daily news, Funding

A new fintech called Fierce has emerged from stealth with $10 million in seed funding.The company's iOS-based app features a cash account with an APY of up to 4.25%; a Rewards Credit Card is planned for later this year.Fierce is backed by investors including Pendrell, AP Capital, Wheelhouse Digital Studios, and Space Whale Capital. Fierce, a fintech based in New York, emerged from stealth this week with an iOS-based app and $10 million in seed funding. The investment came from institutional investors including Pendrell, AP Capital, Wheelhouse Digital Studios, and Space Whale Capital, as well as angel investors. The funding will help Fierce add to its team, build up its customer base, and market its solution. "Fierce is a customer focused, feel-good finance app," Fierce founder and CEO Rob Cornish said. "We are truly mission-driven in our effort to bring the best of fintech to people, so we built an…

FinovateEurope 2023 Sneak Peek: Merlin Investor

By Madeline Clines Posted on February 9, 2023
Categories: FinovateEurope 2023, FinovateEurope 2023 Sneak Peek, Merlin Investor

A look at the companies demoing at FinovateEurope in London on March 14. Register today and save your spot. Merlin is a multi-asset educational, strategic, and tracking tool for personal investment strategies, complementary to any trading platform and designed for any kind of retail investor. Features Access different market data and sentiment all in one placeEasily create, analyze, compare and backtest infinite sets of investment strategiesTrack the performance of portfolios Why it's great Merlin empowers retail investors to easily build and manage their own investment strategies. Presenter Guido Petrelli, Founder & CEOFor more than a decade, Petrelli was the CFO and COO of a multinational company operating in the automotive sector.LinkedIn

FinovateEurope 2023 Sneak Peek: °neo by Five Degrees

By Madeline Clines Posted on February 9, 2023
Categories: FinovateEurope 2023, FinovateEurope 2023 Sneak Peek, Five Degrees

A look at the companies demoing at FinovateEurope in London on March 14. Register today and save your spot. °neo by Five Degrees is a next-gen core banking system offering a wide variety of financial products and standard banking processes and enabling a full 360-view on customers, companies, products and their relations. Why it's great °neo enables financial institutions to create banking-grade experiences for their customers in a faster, flexible and more cost-efficient way. Presenters Maurits van Schooneveld, Head of Business Developmentvan Schooneveld is an experienced FinTech strategist and commercial manager on a mission to guide financial institutions to modern banking technology.LinkedIn Fridrik Reynisson, Chief Architect °neoReynisson is an experienced technical leader and has worked on fintech innovation for over 15 years, enabling banks to build great value for their customers.LinkedIn

FinovateEurope 2023 Sneak Peek: StockRepublic

By Madeline Clines Posted on February 9, 2023
Categories: FinovateEurope 2023, FinovateEurope 2023 Sneak Peek, StockRepublic

A look at the companies demoing at FinovateEurope in London on March 14. Register today and save your spot. StockRepublic offers white label social trading apps for banks and brokers to provide their customers with features like social feeds, performance benchmarks, and access to like-minded people. Features Customizable to fit unique brands and needsReady to launch with weeks with no internal developer requiredFully compliant Why it's great From organic growth to greater customer engagement and loyalty to increased trade volumes, StockRepublic’s social trading platform drives powerful results. Presenter Maximilian Knopp, Managing Director Germany & Head of Business OperationsWith vast working experience in innovation and business development roles, Knopp understands what makes a great product, how to adapt to modern times, and what it takes to succeed in a market.LinkedIn

5 Tales from the Crypto: Revolut, Paxos, and the Impact of the Cryptocurrency Crisis on Communities of Color

By David Penn Posted on February 8, 2023
Categories: Cryptocurrency, Daily news, Diversity in Fintech, Revolut

Bitcoin While Black: The impact of the cryptocurrency crisis on communities of color One of the relatively underreported stories of 2022 - at least in the fintech press - was the impact of the cryptocurrency crisis on communities of color - especially African-American communities. At first glance, this might appear to be an odd take: why - and how - would a community that has historically been more un- and underbanked than the population at large end up being especially affected by a crisis in such a niche area of contemporary finance? As Annie Lowrey wrote in a comprehensive article for The Atlantic back in November, it was years of "neglect" from the traditional financial system that made African Americans especially vulnerable to the appeal of cryptocurrencies as an alternative. Add to this the post-George Floyd "racial reckoning" and renewed emphasis on ethnic identity among many African Americans, and it…

Canoe Intelligence Raises $25 Million

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on February 8, 2023
Categories: Daily news, Funding

Canoe received $25 million for its alternative investment intelligence platform.The Series B round was led by F-Prime Capital with participation from Eight Roads Ventures and others. Canoe will use the funds to hire new employees, enhance its products, and expand into Europe. Alternative investment intelligence company Canoe Intelligence closed out its Series B round today, announcing a $25 million round led by F-Prime Capital with participation from Eight Roads Ventures and others. "Following a year of significant growth and progress for Canoe, we are thrilled to partner with F-Prime and Eight Roads to advance Canoe’s capabilities for the alternative investment ecosystem," said company CEO Jason Eiswerth. "As alternative investments continue to gain popularity amongst institutional and individual investors, the new injection of capital will allow us to further serve our customer base and streamline alternative investment data globally." Today's round follows the company's Series A rounds, which were announced in 2020 and 2021 and led by The Carlyle…

Stash Introduces New CEO Liza Landsman

By David Penn Posted on February 8, 2023
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, Stash, Women in Fintech

Investing and savings platform Stash introduced new CEO Liza Landsman.Landsman will take the helm from co-founder Brandon Krieg, who will transition into the role of Head of Business Development.Stash made its Finovate debut at FinovateFall 2017 in New York. Investing and savings platform Stash is starting the month with a brand new Chief Executive Officer. Effective Monday, technology executive, veteran venture investor, and independent Stash board member Liza Landsman took over the top spot at the New York-based fintech. Landsman succeeds Stash co-founder Brandon Krieg, who will transition into the role of Head of Business Development. Co-founder Ed Robinson will continue to serve as company President. "Liza is the right person to lead Stash as we continue to hit major revenue and customer milestones and evolve the business," Krieg said. "Her experience and knowledge of consumer products, e-commerce, and fintech is ideally suited to the opportunities ahead." With more than…