Scalable Capital Secures €155 Million in its Largest Funding Round to Date

Scalable Capital Secures €155 Million in its Largest Funding Round to Date

Digital wealth management and investing platform Scalable Capital has raised €155 million ($175 million). The largest funding round in the company’s history, the investment was led by Sofina and Noteus Partners, and featured participation from existing investors Balderton Capital, Tencent, and HV Capital. The funding brings Scalable Capital’s total raised to more than €470 million (more than $535 million).

Among Europe’s leading digital investment platforms, Scalable Capital enables traders and investors to buy and sell stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), bonds, cryptocurrencies, derivatives, private equity, and other products. More than €30 billion is held on the Scalable Capital platform by more than one million customers. The company also offers Scalable Wealth, a digital wealth management service that provides clients with professional ETF portfolio investment. The service is also available as a white-label solution via Scalable Capital’s B2B partners.

“Noteus Partners and Sofina perfectly complement our global investor base. The recent funding round is a clear endorsement, and an important step on our path to becoming the leading retail investment platform in Europe,” Scalable Capital Founder and Co-CEO Erik Podzuweit said. “Through our investment platform and additional new products, we’ll be able to offer even more people in Europe the best options for their investments. We have a firm focus on wealth creation and saving for retirement for the whole family.”

Scalable Capital began the year with the launch of its private equity offering courtesy of a partnership with BlackRock. Available to Scalable Capital’s qualified investors in Germany via Scalable Broker, investors will be able to access the BlackRock Private Equity Fund, and invest with one-off investments of as little as €10,000. Scalable Capital is the first digital investment platform to offer the private equity solution from BlackRock, which is also available as a savings plan once the initial investment is made.

More recently, Scalable Capital announced that its clients can invest in Swiss stocks as of May 2, 2025. Tradable via the European Investor Exchange, gettex, and Xetra, access to Swiss stocks comes after more than five years of suspension from EU stock exchanges. Previously, EU investors were only able to invest in Swiss shares indirectly through products such as American Depository Receipts (ADRs) or by way of over-the-counter trading options. Revocation of this regulation went into effect at the beginning of the month.

“The Swiss stock exchange has much more to offer than the three big dividend aristocrats,” Scalable Capital Chief Economist Christian Röhl said, referring to Nestlé, Roche, and Novartis, three of the largest stocks in the Swiss stock market. “In addition to many financial stocks and special stocks such as mountain railways, there are numerous highly specialized market and technology leaders—such as the hearing aid manufacturer Sonova, the dental technician Straumann or the sanitary product manufacturer Geberit.”

Scalable Capital made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2016 in London. Headquartered in Munich, Germany, and London, UK, the company was founded in 2014.


Photo by Pixabay

Finovate 2025 Half-Year Review

Finovate 2025 Half-Year Review

We’re halfway through 2025, and with two Finovate events in the books, there are clear themes emerging around the future of financial services and fintech.

In this edition of the Finovate eMagazine, we bring you insights from both sides of the Atlantic, featuring key learnings from FinovateEurope and FinovateSpring.

Fill in the form and discover the trends shaping the future of financial services and fintech. Explore:

The latest approaches to innovation

Hear from David Barton-Grimley and Bhoomika Ghosh on how to make innovation meaningful and impactful. Plus, David Penn brings us insight into how credit unions want to digitise and partner.

How to navigate global growth in today’s economy

Julie Muhn brings us the key regulatory shifts on both sides of the Atlantic and David Grace from SHAZAM explores the importance of partnerships to face the upcoming challenges

The Finovate Library on Streamly

This eMagazine brings you insights to inspire your business strategy and your future endeavours.

Access the eMagazine now!

KeyBank Taps Personetics to Give Customers Insights into Spending

KeyBank Taps Personetics to Give Customers Insights into Spending
  • KeyBank has partnered with Personetics to integrate AI-driven financial wellness tools that offer real-time, personalized advice based on customers’ spending.
  • The bank will use Personetics’ Engage platform to deliver insights that help users make smarter financial decisions.
  • The move will help boost engagement and foster long-term customer loyalty.

KeyBank announced this morning that it has partnered with Personetics to bring financial wellness to its customers. The Ohio-based bank will leverage Personetics’ Cognitive Banking platform, which analyzes consumer transactions and delivers advice.

Specifically, KeyBank will use Personetics’ Engage, a client experience that offers customers spending insights and recommendations based on their spending and savings habits.

KeyBank will implement Personetics’ Engage solution, which uses AI to deliver real-time, personalized insights based on customers’ spending and saving patterns. By identifying trends and anticipating future needs, Engage offers timely, actionable advice to help users make smarter financial decisions and reach their goals in order to transform the banking experience from transactional to advisory.

By embedding Personetics’ cognitive banking tools into its digital offering, KeyBank will help improve customer engagement, reduce attrition, and create new revenue opportunities through better financial outcomes.

“KeyBank’s mission is to help clients and communities thrive. A large part of that mission centers in helping clients move forward on their financial journeys and reach their financial goals,” said KeyBank Head of Consumer Digital Emily Gessner. “By leveraging Personetics’ platform and experience, we will address the financial burden and stress consumers face by empowering our clients with real-time insights and guidance to help them effectively manage their financial futures.”

KeyBank was founded in 1825 and has 1,000 branches across the US. The bank has acquired AQN Strategies, HelloWallet, First Niagara Financial Group, EverTrust Financial Group, Leasetec, and most recently BaaS provider XUP. Among the company’s strategic partners are AvidXchange, BillTrust, and Bill.com.

Headquartered in New York, and with offices in London, Tel Aviv, and Singapore, Personetics counts more than 150 million bank customers across the globe. The fintech was founded in 2010 and strives to help banks create “self-driving finance” experiences for its customers. Under this concept, banks leverage AI to proactively act on behalf of their clients to help them achieve their financial goals.

“This partnership isn’t just about innovation—it’s about using intelligent technology to forge deeper human relationships between banks and the people they serve,” said Personetics CEO Udi Ziv. “Cognitive Banking redefines how banks understand and support their customers and, as a result, fosters customer loyalty.”


Photo by Magda Ehlers

Fintech Rundown: A Rapid Review of Weekly News

Fintech Rundown: A Rapid Review of Weekly News

The calendar turned over to June yesterday, which means that there’s just one month left until the summer news slowdown. Here’s your jumpstart on June’s fintech news. We’ll continue adding news to this post throughout the week, so stay tuned!


Payments

European paytech provider Tribe Payments announces partnership with Singapore-based Treasury Operating System (TOS) Finmo.

Payments platform PXP partners with payment acceptance solutions company Castles Technology.

Splitit and Citcon team up to bring card-linked installment payments to international merchants.

Mortgagetech

Vontive receives $150 million revolving securitization from Citi.

Nova Credit integrates cash flow underwriting into Yardi’s resident screening solution.

GoodLeap unveils new comprehensive payment platform for contractors.

Challenger banking

Monzo reported revenue above 1 billion pounds ($1.35 billion) for the first time.

Accounting

Infosys BPM unveils AI agents to revolutionize finance and accounting services.

Data aggregation

Plaid collaborates with Visa to power smarter pay-by-bank experiences, launching first in the UK and expanding across Europe. 

DeFi

RedotPay joins Circle payment network to power crypto-to-fiat cross-border payments.

Financial inclusion

Financial Plus Credit Union announces partnership with Credit Mountain.

Lending and credit

Stratyfy and Parlay Finance forge strategic partnership to help community banks offer AI-powered lending solutions to their small business customers.

Marqeta announces collaboration with Perpay to power the firm’s credit card.

Fraud prevention

AU10TIX launches continuous AML risk monitoring.

Insurtech

Bamboo Insurance inks partnership with digital insurance platform ManageMy.


Photo by Boris Pavlikovsky


Block to Launch Bitcoin Payments on Square

Block to Launch Bitcoin Payments on Square
  • Block is launching Bitcoin for Businesses, a new feature that enables Square merchants to accept bitcoin payments via the Lightning Network, starting in late 2025.
  • The feature builds on Block’s existing Bitcoin Conversions tool, which allows merchants to automatically convert a portion of sales into bitcoin and offer seamless QR code payments.
  • This move reinforces Block’s commitment to bitcoin adoption and helps integrate crypto into everyday commerce.

Block is bringing bitcoin to the point of sale. The company behind Square announced this week that it will launch Bitcoin For Businesses, enabling merchants to accept bitcoin payments directly on Square hardware using the Lightning Network, a decentralized network using blockchain smart contracts for instant, low-cost payments.

The new offering on Square’s Point of Sale app leverages the Lightning Network to facilitate near-instant, low-cost transactions. Square’s integration calculates the real-time exchange rate and sends confirmation notifications.

This new functionality builds on Bitcoin Conversions, a feature Block launched in 2024 that allows merchants to automatically convert a portion of daily sales into bitcoin, accept bitcoin payments via QR code, and benefit from real-time exchange rates and instant confirmation. Combined, Bitcoin For Business and Bitcoin Conversions will create a more seamless experience for merchants, letting customers pay with bitcoin by scanning a QR code at checkout.

“Block has long been a champion of bitcoin, focused on making it more accessible and usable in our everyday lives,” said Block Bitcoin Product Lead Miles Suter. “Rolling out a native bitcoin experience to millions of sellers brings us one step closer to that goal. When a coffee shop or retail store can accept bitcoin through Square, small businesses get paid faster, and get to keep more of their revenue. This is about economic empowerment for merchants who like to have options when it comes to accepting payments.”

Bitcoin For Business will roll out in the second half of 2025 and is expected to reach all eligible Square sellers in 2026, subject to applicable regulatory approvals.

With Bitcoin For Businesses, Block is turning Square into a crypto-native payment network that offers merchants more payment flexibility while embedding bitcoin into everyday financial activity. The launch is another step toward Block’s long-term vision of turning Cash App, Square, and its open-source tools into the default platform for both traditional and decentralized finance.

Block, which rebranded from Square in 2021, offers a host of other bitcoin-based tools, including Cash App’s bitcoin buy, sell, and transfer capabilities; Bitkey, a bitcoin wallet; Proto’s bitcoin mining products and services; and Spiral, which builds and supports open-source bitcoin projects that promote economic empowerment.

Block is also well known for its purchase of Afterpay in 2022. The company rebranded Afterpay to Cash App Afterpay earlier this year. Block anticipated the name change to fully integrate Afterpay into Cash App, helping Block to turn Cash App into a one-stop financial platform.

Finovate Global North Africa: Financial Inclusion Mobile Money, and Investing in Payments

Finovate Global North Africa: Financial Inclusion Mobile Money, and Investing in Payments

This week’s edition of Finovate Global looks at fintech headlines from companies headquartered in North Africa.


Fayda wallet goes live in Ethiopia

Designed to revolutionize the way Ethiopians access digital services, Ethiopia’s National ID Program (NIDP) has launched its FaydaPass wallet. The solution, developed in partnership with TECH5 and Visa, will help promote financial inclusion and address the need for verified electronic Know Your Customer (eKYC) services throughout society.

The wallet makes it easier for Ethiopians to secure a digital copy of the Fayda credential by enabling them to download the official app and request their digital ID credentials via the wallet. The Fayda ID system uses its data to generate the secure credential, which is delivered directly to the user’s mobile device as a verifiable credential (VC). The verifiable credential supports secure on- and offline verification for a wide range of use cases including payments and digital access to government services.

“A credential wallet would be a container for government and private sector issued standardized verifiable credentials,” NIDP Executive Director Yodahe Zemichael said. “It’s an exciting new way of delivering value to citizens and extending the functionality of Fayda Digital ID.”

Ethiopian digital-first Coopbank announced that it would leverage the Fayda app and its advanced biometric eKYC verification to enable customers to open new bank accounts. The institution’s CEO Deribie Asfaw said that the new offering will help it “reach financially marginalized communities who have long been excluded from the formal financial system due to the absence of such robust infrastructures.” Asfaw added, “This brings us one step closer to the community and reinforces our commitment to leaving a meaningful mark on the country’s digital transformation journey.”

Founded in 2005, Coopbank (Cooperative Bank of Oromia) was established by farmers and still counts farmers as more than half of its shareholders. With a focus on the country’s micro, small, and medium-sized farming and agricultural sector businesses, the institution has assets of ETB 139.56 billion ($1.04 billion), operates 745 branches, and has more than 14.5 million accountholders.


TerraPay, Wave Mobile Money partner on remittances to Mali

A partnership between international money movement company TerraPay and African mobile money provider Wave Mobile Money will enhance cross-border remittances services in Mali. The collaboration will enable Malians to receive funds from family and friends living and working abroad directly into their Wave mobile wallets. This will provide for a faster, more accessible, and cost-effective international remittance experience.

Mobile phone penetration in Mali is high, with more than 80% of the population using the technology. Many Malians rely on mobile phones for mobile money and digital wallet services, making the devices a key component of financial inclusion in the country for millions—especially the un- and underbanked. The partnership between TerraPay and Wave Mobile Money will facilitate remittance flows from Money Transfer Operators (MTOs) through the US, Canada, and Europe to Mali via a single integration.

“Our partnership with Wave Mobile Money marks a significant milestone in our mission to power borderless money movement,” TerraPay Vice President—Sub Sahara Africa, Willie Kanyeki said. “By enabling instant, cost-effective, and fully compliant remittances from key markets like the US, Canada, and Europe, we are simplifying financial access and driving financial inclusion in Mali.”

TerraPay enables payments to 150+ receiving countries and 210+ sending countries. The company’s platform facilitates payments to more than 3.7 billion mobile wallets, 7.5 billion bank accounts, and more than 12 billion cards. Founded in 2014, TerraPay is headquartered in London. Co-founder Ambar Sur is CEO.

Founded in 2018 and operating in Mali since 2021, Wave Mobile Money offers domestic and cross-border transfers, bill payments, and business services to customers in Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire, Uganda, Gambia, Sierra Leone, Mali, and Burkina Faso. Headquartered in Dakar, Senegal, Wave Mobile Money is on a self-described mission to make Africa “the first cashless continent.” Drew Durbin and Lincoln Quirk are Co-Founders.


Tunisia’s Konnect Networks secures investment

Tunisia’s Konnect Networks has raised an undisclosed amount from Attijariwafa Ventures. The investment was part of a wider fundraising effort that featured Utopia Capital Management, 54 Collective, Visa, Plug and Play Tech Center, Renew Capital, Digital Africa Ventures, and Sunny Side Venture Partners as investors. The company said it would use the capital to help fuel both its continued expansion and further innovation in payments technology.

Founded in 2021 by Amin Ben Abderrahman, Konnect Networks provides payment links, e-commerce plugins, and APIs. Serving both retail and business customers, the firm’s payment orchestration platform covers online and point-of-sale payments, payment aggregation, and real-time transaction capabilities. The company’s funding news comes in the wake of it being approved as a Payment Facilitator (PayFac) by Tunisia’s central bank. Konnect Networks currently has 2,000 users of its technology in Tunisia.

Konnect Networks is just one of a number of innovative new fintechs headquartered in Tunisia making fintech headlines of late. Other notable startups in the news include financial super app Flouci, named one of 2025’s 50 most influential fintechs in MENA by Forbes Middle East, and EasyBank, a fintech offering digital banking solutions that raised $370,000 at the beginning of the year.


Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.

Sub-Saharan Africa

  • South African fintech Sava secured $2 million in pre-seed funding.
  • International money movement company Terrapay teamed up with Wave Mobile Money to enable cross-border remittances for users in Mali.
  • Disrupt Africa discussed the relationship between traditional savings systems and fintech innovation.

Central and Eastern Europe

Middle East and Northern Africa

  • MENA-based digital private wealth platform Vault went live this week.
  • Israel-based fintech Sequence raised $7.5 million at a valuation of $14.5 million to support its financial management platform.
  • Emirates NBD selected global Know Your Payee (KYP) validation provider iPiD.

Central and Southern Asia

  • Indian fintech CRED secured $75 million in funding to further develop its credit card business.
  • TBC Bank Uzbekistan integrated customer experience solution provider Genesys’ Engage platform into its customer care operations.
  • Times of India looked at the current state of the country’s fintech sector, including its potential for growth via product expansion.

Latin America and the Caribbean

  • The Japan International Cooperation Agency inked a deal to invest in Brazilian agri-fintech Agrolend.
  • Mercado Pago announced plans to apply for a banking license from the Central Bank of Argentina.
  • Méliuz became Brazil’s first publicly traded Bitcoin treasury company this week.

Asia-Pacific

  • Paytech Tribe Payments entered into a strategic collaboration with Singapore-based fintech Finmo.
  • Visa went live with Click to Pay in Hong Kong in partnership with digital bank ZA Bank.
  • Cryptocurrency exchange ByBit secured a Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCAR) license in Australia.

Photo by MELIANI Driss

Rewatch the Top Demos from FinovateSpring 2025

Rewatch the Top Demos from FinovateSpring 2025

Earlier this month, 42 companies took the stage at FinovateSpring in San Diego, showcasing their latest and greatest fintech solutions. Now, it’s your turn to experience the action. The demo videos from the event are live! So, whether you joined us in person or missed the event, you can now watch every presentation on demand, for free.

The best way to dive into the 42 videos, which total nearly five hours of content, is to watch the six Best of Show videos from the conference.


Bits of Stock

Finalytics

Herd Security

Illuma

Penny Finance

Solda.ai

Thanks to all of the demo companies for making this a fantastic event! You won’t want to miss our next event, FinovateFall, which is taking place September 8 through 10 in New York. The earlier you register, the more you save.

Griffin Launches MCP Server for Agentic AI Banking

Griffin Launches MCP Server for Agentic AI Banking
  • Griffin has opened access to its MCP (Model Context Protocol) server, enabling developers to build AI-powered agentic applications that can simulate tasks like account opening, payments, and financial analysis.
  • The MCP server is currently available in a sandbox environment, allowing users to prototype autonomous finance workflows.
  • Griffin acknowledges that the launch is still in its early stages, but says that it shows what’s possible when it comes to agentic AI.

UK-based BaaS fintech Griffin announced today that it is opening up access to its MCP server. The new server, which is currently in beta, offers a new way for users to build agentic applications directly on the banking system.

Griffin customers can use the MCP server to have an agent open accounts, make payments, and analyze historic events. They can also use it to build prototypes of their fintech applications on top of the Griffin API. Griffin acknowledges that it’s still early days for development in the agentic applications space, but adds that its new MCP server shows what’s possible.

“There have been a few test cases floating around of people getting AI agents to engage in financial transactions, but these are generally limited to proofs-of-concept like getting an agent to buy a cup of coffee,” the company said.

While agent access is limited to the company’s sandbox environment, some of the potential future use cases will allow AI to serve as an end-to-end wealth manager, enabling AI to handle administrative tasks, and allowing customers to build their own personalized agent to handle their money in a tailored and relevant way.

Griffin’s MCP server launch will offer developers tools to simulate autonomous financial workflows and marks a step toward turning agentic finance from theory into action. While many AI tools for financial services are currently limited to narrow use cases like chatbots, Griffin is building infrastructure that could allow agents to directly open accounts, initiate payments, and manage money autonomously. If agentic applications mature, the MCP server could evolve firms’ AI use from chatbots to fully autonomous wealth managers.

Griffin was founded in 2017 and offers BaaS tools that include client onboarding, regulatory compliance safeguards, client money accounts, and payments. The company’s direct banking tools include operational accounts, credit, and lending. It also offers embedded bank accounts, client accounts, API-enabled payment options, and client onboarding tools.

Last year, after receiving a $24 million (£19 million) Series A extension round, Griffin revealed that the UK Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) granted it approval to launch as a fully operational bank.

Tradu Turns to Salt Edge for PSD2 Compliance and Payment Initiation

Tradu Turns to Salt Edge for PSD2 Compliance and Payment Initiation
  • Canada-based open banking platform Salt Edge has teamed up with UK-based trading platform Tradu.
  • The partnership will help Tradu enhance its security infrastructure and meet PSD2 compliance regulations.
  • Founded in 2013, Salt Edge made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2017. Garri Galanter is CEO.

Open banking platform Salt Edge will help multi-asset trading platform Tradu enhance its security infrastructure and meet PSD2 compliance regulations courtesy of a newly announced partnership. The collaboration will help Tradu better defend itself and its customers from fraud while providing a frictionless experience for the platform’s traders and investors.

“Secure and compliant access to financial data is no longer optional; it’s essential,” Salt Edge Senior Open Banking Solutions Expert Dan Martalog said. “Collaborations like the one between Salt Edge and Tradu are crucial for enabling innovative platforms to scale confidently while meeting strict PSD2 requirements. By providing seamless SCA and compliance tools, we’re helping Tradu focus on what matters most: delivering a trustworthy and efficient trading experience to its users.”

Salt Edge’s full-stack open banking compliance solution will ensure that Tradu is fully aligned with PSD2 regulations and provide the platform with a streamlined user authentication process that leverages secure, Strong Customer Authentication (SCA)-ready flows. The partnership will also enable Tradu to offer additional services such as the MCI exemption, as well as a custom, third-party provider (TPP) portal.

Additionally, Tradu is completing adoption of Salt Edge’s Open Banking Gateway for Payment Initiation Services (PIS). This will enable Tradu traders and investors to top up their accounts directly from their UK and EU bank accounts, providing a funding experience that is fast, secure, and low friction.

“Security and compliance are at the core of our financial services,” Tradu Product Director and Founding Employee Tomasz Stupnicki said. “Our collaboration with Salt Edge enhances user trust, ensuring a seamless and protected financial experience.”

Founded in 2023 and headquartered in London, Tradu offers active traders and investors access to thousands of tradable assets including equities, commodities, cryptocurrencies, CFDs, foreign exchange, treasuries, and indices. The company’s partnership with Salt Edge comes as the firm prepares to bring its wallet services to additional markets in Europe. Tradu expects its alliance with Salt Edge will support connections to and simplify integration and compliance efforts for more than 500 financial institutions across more than 20 countries. Brendan Callan is Tradu’s CEO.

Salt Edge made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2018 and most recently demoed at FinovateEurope 2019. The Ottawa, Ontario-based fintech was founded in 2013 and today provides access to real-time account data from 5,000 financial institutions across 50+ countries via its open banking gateway. Salt Edge also offers an open banking and PSD2 compliance solution with APIs, third-party provider verification tools, mobile Strong Customer Authentication (SCA), consent management technology, and more to help banks and Electronic Money Institutions (EMIs) become compliant with PSD2 and open banking requirements.

Salt Edge’s partnership news with Tradu comes one month after the Canadian company announced that it had teamed up with full-service product development firm Thinslices. The two companies have agreed to merge capabilities in order to streamline financial data aggregation and power account-to-account (A2A) payments for businesses. In March, Salt Edge announced that it was working with fellow Finovate alum Backbase to help foster broader and faster adoption of open banking.

“Regulatory compliance should not be a bottleneck for banks but rather a catalyst for growth and innovation,” Salt Edge Head of Partner Ecosystem Iulian Mitrea said. “By partnering with Backbase, we are equipping financial institutions with the tools they need to effortlessly thrive in the evolving open banking landscape.”


Photo by Markus Winkler

More Than $232 Million Raised by Nine Alums in Q1 2025

More Than $232 Million Raised by Nine Alums in Q1 2025

Funding for Finovate alums rebounded significantly in the first quarter of 2025, year-over-year. Nine Finovate alums raised more than $232 million in funding, topping 2024’s first quarter tally by more than a million dollars.

Previous quarterly comparisons

  • Q1 2024: More than $113 million raised by nine alums
  • Q1 2023: More than $453 million raised by 13 alums
  • Q1 2022: More than $365 million raised by 11 alums
  • Q1 2021: More than $3.3 billion raised by 26 alums

January was the biggest funding month of the quarter, with two of the quarter’s top three equity investments coming in the first month of the year. That said, the fact that two of February’s investment totals were undisclosed means that February—often the lowest funding month of the quarter—might have been a bigger funding month than it appears.

Top equity investments from the quarter

  • Highnote: $90 million
  • Zeta: $50 million
  • Method Financial: $42 million

As noted above, the big investment bucks arrived early for Finovate alums in 2025. The largest fundraising for alums in Q1 was Highnote’s haul in January. The company, which offers modern card issuance and program management, secured $90 million in a Series B round led by Adams Street Partners. Highnote made its Finovate debut at FinovateSpring 2022 in San Francisco.

The Highnote investment was almost as large as the next two biggest funding rounds for Finovate alums in Q1 2025. Method Financial also announced a major fundraising in January, securing an investment of $42 million in a Series B round led by Emergence Capital. Zeta announced raising $50 million from an undisclosed “strategic investor” in February.


Here is our detailed alum funding report for Q1 2025.

January 2025

More than $164 million raised by four alums

February 2025

More than $50 million raised by three alums

March 2025

More than $18 million raised by two alums

If you are a Finovate alum that raised money in the first quarter of 2025 and do not see your company listed, please drop us a note at [email protected]. We would love to share the good news! Funding received prior to becoming an alum not included.


Photo by cottonbro studio

Acrisure to Acquire Heartland Payroll Solutions for $1.1 Billion 

Acrisure to Acquire Heartland Payroll Solutions for $1.1 Billion 
  • Acrisure is acquiring Heartland Payroll from Global Payments for $1.1 billion, expanding its payroll and Human Capital Management (HCM) capabilities.
  • The deal positions Acrisure as a full-stack fintech platform that will bundle services like insurance, compliance, billing, and payroll to drive retention and deepen client relationships.
  • The deal is expected to close in the second half of this year.

Fintech firm Acrisure announced today that it has agreed to acquire Global Payments-owned Heartland Payroll Solutions for $1.1 billion.

The deal is expected to close in the second half of this year, at which point Heartland Payroll will be rebranded. Acrisure anticipates the purchase will significantly expand its current payroll and Human Capital Management (HCM) capabilities and help it become a top fintech solutions provider for millions of small and medium-sized businesses.

“This significant acquisition accelerates our successful transformation into a fully scaled and diversified fintech platform,” said Acrisure CoFounder, Chairman, and CEO Greg Williams. “We prioritize the needs of our clients and increasingly, that’s a tech-oriented solution that streamlines their back-office operations in important verticals like payroll, compliance and billing,” Williams added. “We’re incredibly excited about partnering with the Heartland Payroll team and look forward to growing this business together.”

Heartland Payroll was founded in 1997 and currently provides payroll solutions, HCM software, and other business services to more than 50,000 clients. Global Payments President Vince Lombardo will join Acrisure as part of the transaction, taking on a new role as the CEO of Heartland Payroll.

“Acrisure’s strategic acquisition of Heartland Payroll marks an exciting milestone for our team and will provide our business with sharper focus, accelerated growth, and greater investment,” said Lombardo. “I’m honored to join Acrisure and work alongside Greg and the incredible team he’s built as we continue to build the most comprehensive provider of financial service products for businesses around the world.”

Acrisure recently raised $2.1 billion in a funding round led by Bain Capital, boosting the company’s valuation to $32 billion. The company offers insurance, reinsurance, real estate services, cybersecurity defense tools, payroll, and other services to small and medium-sized businesses. 

Acrisure’s acquisition of Heartland Payroll is more than just a $1.1 billion transaction. It’s a clear signal that fintech consolidation is accelerating, especially in the SMB segment. By integrating payroll and HCM capabilities into its expanding suite of services, Acrisure is positioning itself as a one-stop fintech platform for SMBs. In today’s increasingly crowded market, offering bundled solutions across insurance, compliance, billing, and payroll gives Acrisure a compelling edge and incentivizes businesses to stay in its ecosystem.

For Global Payments, selling off Heartland Payroll suggests a strategic shift toward focusing on its core payments business. For Acrisure, it’s a leap forward in becoming a full-stack fintech provider. It is also a signal that payroll and HCM are no longer just HR functions, but new areas of competition for fintechs.


Photo by Designecologist

Daon Announces Strategic Partnership with Giesecke+Devrient

Daon Announces Strategic Partnership with Giesecke+Devrient
  • Digital identity company Daon has forged a strategic partnership with security technology firm Giesecke+Devrient (G+D).
  • The partnership will combine Daon’s identity verification and biometric authentication technology with Giesecke+Devrient’s digital security product suite.
  • Founded in 2000, Daon made its Finovate debut at FinovateFall 2016 in New York.

Digital identity specialist Daon and security technology company Giesecke+Devrient announced a strategic partnership this week. The agreement will combine G+D’s offerings with Daon’s identity verification (IDV) and biometric authentication capabilities, enhancing Giesecke+Devrient’s security product suite and bringing Daon’s IDV and biometric solutions to a broader range of customers.

“G+D has a long history of innovation across a wide range of security solutions ranging from bank cards to Central Bank Digital Currency; they launched the first commercial SIM card and delivered the world’s first commercial eSIM,” Daon CEO Tom Grissen said. “We are proud of Daon’s collaboration with G+D which facilitates the introduction of new scalable, secure identity verification and biometric solutions to millions of users across a wide range of industries and use cases.”

The partnership between Giesecke+Devrient and Daon will provide companies—including those in financial services and in merchant ecosystems—with identity continuity throughout the entire customer journey, from onboarding to recovery. In addition to offering fraud prevention tools like biometric watchlists and technologies such as deepfake detection, the partnership will also enable companies to offer advanced verification and eSIM capabilities to mobile operators. Matching Daon’s TrustX platform with G+D’s eSIM management platform will give mobile network operators (MNOs) a single solution for securing eSIM issuance and portability.

“Security has always been at the core of G+D’s mission. By combining Daon’s leadership in digital identity trust with G+D’s expertise in secure digital transactions, this global partnership delivers more than just protection—it enables seamless identity continuity across all customer touchpoints,” Giesecke+Devrient CDO Gabriel von Mitschke-Collande said. “Our layered approach provides multiple opportunities to detect and prevent fraud, while ensuring full compliance with regulatory and accessibility standards. Together, we’re setting a new benchmark for both security and user experience in digital identity.”

Munich, Germany-based Giesecke+Devrient offers solutions for digital security, financial platforms, and currency technology. An innovator in the card and digital payments industry, G+D orchestrates real world payment and banking experiences with human-centered security technology. With a workforce of more than 14,000, G+D has 123 subsidiaries and joint ventures in 40 countries. The firm counts more than 700 commercial banks around the world and 145 central banks among its partners. Founded in 1852, the company generated a turnover of three billion euros in fiscal year 2023.

Founded in 2000 and headquartered in Fairfax, Virginia, Daon made its Finovate debut at FinovateFall 2016 in New York. In the near-decade since then, the company has secured more than two billion identities. Daon conducts more than 250 million daily authentications and serves hundreds of millions of users on six continents.

Daon’s partnership news with Giesecke+Devrient comes weeks after the company announced that it was working with financial services digital transformation solutions provider Digital.FI. Together, the two companies will provide small- and medium-sized financial institutions with enterprise-level identity continuity, enabling them to provide secure, frictionless member experiences across every channel.

Also this spring, Daon reported that it had entered a strategic partnership with conversational intelligence for customer experience (CX) innovator CallMiner. The collaboration will combine advanced identity verification with AI-powered conversation analytics to help streamline the identification process for call centers while providing active fraud prevention via real-time voice analysis and biometric identifiers.


Photo by Andreas Leindecker