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Payment Intelligence Company Pagos Locks in $34 Million in New Funding

Payment Intelligence Company Pagos Locks in $34 Million in New Funding
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Daily news, Funding
  • Payment intelligence company Pagos has raised $34 million in Series A funding.
  • The capital, which takes the company’s total equity funding to $44 million, will be used to expand the company’s engineering team and advance Pagos’ enterprise product suite.
  • Pagos was founded in 2021 by veterans of Braintree, Venmo, PayPal, Stripe, eBanx, Klarna, and Apple.

In a round led by Arbor Ventures, payment intelligence company Pagos has secured $34 million in Series A funding. The oversubscribed round also featured participation from Point 72 Ventures, Infinity Ventures, and Underscore VC. The investment will enable the company to grow its engineering team and advance Pago’s enterprise product suite.

“Our platform helps companies understand and act on the data that already exists within their payments environment, allowing them to better support changing consumer behavior and demands, reduce their operating costs, increase their revenue, and mitigate unnecessary customer friction — all without having to change their current payments infrastructure,” Pagos co-founder and CEO Klas Bäck explained in a statement.

Pagos’ total funding now stands at $44 million, according to Crunchbase. The Wilmington, Delaware-based company raised $10 million in seed funding in October 2021.

Many of the largest online brands in the world – including Adobe, GoFundMe, and Eventbrite – rely on Pagos’ platform. The company’s technology analyzes more than one billion transactions a year, providing real-time payment transaction monitoring to help companies detect potential issues, trends, and opportunities – all without having to change their existing payment stack. Via solutions like Peacock, Pagos provides businesses with a dashboard that provides full visibility into payments data across vendors, channels, and markets. This enables them to build a flywheel of payments optimization which leads to improved customer conversions and identification of optimal payment methods, as well as the ability to conduct A/B testing and more.

“Payment processing is fundamental to customer relationships, revenue, and a business’s bottom line, but most companies don’t have the data, knowledge, or tools to develop and execute on a best-in-class payments performance strategy,” Bäck said. “Even the small number of companies that do have those resources are leaving money on the table.”

Founded in 2021 by former Braintree, Venmo, PayPal, Stripe, eBanx, Klarna, and Apple veterans, Pagos began 2023 with news that the company had crossed the one billion transaction events threshold for the first time.

Photo by NAUSHIL | SKYHAWK. ASIA

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eToro Teams Up with Sentifi to Launch Social Sentiment Portfolio

eToro Teams Up with Sentifi to Launch Social Sentiment Portfolio
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, eToro, Sentifi
  • eToro launched its SocialSentiment portfolio of stocks with high ESG and social sentiment criteria this week.
  • The new offering was made possible courtesy of a partnership with alternative data provider – and fellow Finovate alum – Sentifi.
  • Sentifi’s technology analyzes more than 500 million tweet – and two million news articles, forums, and blog – in order to create its social sentiment rating (sentScore) for positive social chatter.

eToro has unveiled a new solution for investors looking for exposure to U.S. companies with strong ESG performance. The social investing network has teamed up with alternative data provider Sentifi to launch SocialSentiment, a new portfolio offering that features the top 10 stocks in the S&P 500 that meet ESG and social sentiment criteria. Rebalanced monthly, the initial roster of stocks in the SocialSentiment portfolio are: Verisign, Teradyne, Northern Trust, Mid-America Apartment Communities, Intuitive Surgical, Fifth Third Bancorp, F5 Networks, Equity Residential, Dollar Tree, and Allstate.

‘With this portfolio, we aim to offer retail investors exposure to stocks that are being discussed in a positive light on social and digital channels, adding an extra layer of insights,” eToro Head of Investment Portfolios Dani Brinker said. “We look forward to partnering with the Sentifi team, and working together to harness the power of social networks.”

Sentifi made its Finovate debut at FinovateAsia in Hong Kong in 2016, and returned to the Finovate stage a year later for FinovateEurope in London. The company’s AI-enabled technology analyzes more than 5,000 stocks, currencies, commodities, and indices – as well as passive and active mutual funds. Sentifi combines market metrics with social sentiment (sentScore) and an ESG score to create a roster of stocks that have both high ESG credentials and positive social chatter and awareness. Sentifi builds its sentScores by analyzing more than 500 million tweets, as well as two million news articles, forums, and blogs.

“The events over the past several years relating to the meme stock rallies are evidence of how the herd can change direction, and where these changes happen, which is largely in social networks and forums,” Sentifi CEO Marina Goche said. “Social networks, news, blogs, and forums are also a valuable source of changing risk for asset classes and offer dynamic views on ESG performance appreciation and degradation for companies globally — essential for constructing portfolios that outperform a benchmark.”

Investors can buy into the SocialSentiment portfolio with as little as $500. Investors can access tools and charts to track the portfolio’s performance, as well as monitor eToro’s social feed to stay up-to-date on developments in the sector. At this time, the portfolio is not available to investors in the U.S.

eToro’s SocialSentiment portfolio is the latest addition to the company’s suite of Smart Portfolios that give investors exposure to a variety of market themes. The portfolios are for long-term investments, feature unique investment strategies, are curated by eToro analysts, and give investors a way to gain exposure to a diverse range of major market trends without having to pay portfolio management fees.

Founded in 2007, eToro has more than 30 million registered users on its social investing network. Among Finovate’s earliest alums, the company won Best of Show in its debut at FinovateEurope in 2011.

Photo by Leeloo Thefirst

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Western Union Taps Beforepay for Send Now, Pay Later

Western Union Taps Beforepay for Send Now, Pay Later
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Daily news, Western Union
Western Union tapped Beforepay to enable clients in Australia to pay for money transfers in installments after the transfer has been sent.
  • Western Union and Beforepay announced a partnership that will enable Australians to pay for money transfers in installments after the money has been sent.
  • Called Send Now, Pay Later, the tool enables users to borrow around $1,400 (AUD $2,000) and repay in installments over a short period of time.
  • 44% of Australia’s consumers said they would like an option to Send Now, Pay Later.

Global money transfer company Western Union is teaming up with payment innovator Beforepay to offer its Australia-based customers a short-term loan option. Dubbed Send Now, Pay Later, the tool leverages Beforepay’s wage-advance product to enable users to borrow up to around $1,400 (AUD $2,000) via Western Union’s digital channels.

Registration for the new service takes “minutes” and users can repay the amount in multiple installments. Western Union is hoping the new capability will enable Australia users to increase the amount of their money transfers. The company reports that 44% of Australia’s consumers said they would like an option to Send Now, Pay Later.

“We are committed to supporting our customers and their communities by offering financial services that are accessible, ethical, and reliable,” said Western Union Regional Vice President of Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands Gregory Laurent. “Western Union’s mission is to make financial services accessible to people everywhere. Our collaboration with Beforepay is another step towards achieving this mission – giving customers the opportunity to access additional funds as they send money to families and communities. We are excited about the positive impact it can have for consumers, as they proactively look for convenient options to meet their financial needs.”

Western Union was founded in 1851 and is one of the oldest cross-border money transfer pioneers.  The company enables users to send international money transfers in more than 130 currencies to over 200 countries and territories. Last August, Western Union expanded its partnership with Visa to bring Visa Direct to its U.S. clients.

With 750,000 registered users, Beforepay offers a wage advance product that extends small dollar loans over a short period of time. The company charges a 5% fee for its flagship product, but does not charge interest, late fees, or penalty fees. The average Beforepay advance totals $275 (AUD $400), and is repaid in an average of three to four weeks.

“We’re excited to collaborate with Western Union to support their customers with access to safe, affordable short-term lending,” said Beforepay CEO Jamie Twiss. “Beforepay and Western Union share a vision of providing inclusive financial services to aspiring consumers around the world.”

Photo credit: Western Union

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finway Raises $10 Million for its Business Financial Management Tool

finway Raises $10 Million for its Business Financial Management Tool
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Daily news, Funding, Fundings
  • Business financial management (BFM) company finway received $10 million in Series A funding.
  • The investment, which was led by Capital 49, brings the Germany-based company’s total funds to $12.6 million.
  • finway’s BFM tools target the 80% of SMBs in the European Union that have not fully digitized their financial processes.

German fintech finway closed a $10 million (€9.2 million) Series A round this week. The funds bring the company’s total funding to $12.6 million since it was founded in 2019.

Leading today’s investment is early-stage investor Capital 49. New investor Force Over Mass also contributed, as well as existing investors btov Partners and 10x Group.

finway will use today’s funds to advance the development of its business financial management (BFM) platform. The company offers the 23 million SMBs in the European Union a BFM tool that replaces manual tasks with digital workflows. Eighty percent of these SMBs have not digitized their financial processes. finway’s platform– which offers invoicing, accounting, spend, and travel expense management tools all in a single place– seeks to change that.

“We are thrilled by the support of ambitious, successful investors who see the potential of fintech in B2B,” said finway Co-founder and Co-CEO Jennifer Dussileck. “The need for efficient and automated spend management has never been greater, as cost control becomes more of a priority due to ongoing economic challenges. This is the time for finway to continue growing and proceed with our vision of productive, smooth, and hassle-free finance processes in every SMB.”

Over the past five years, the number of SaaS-based BFM tools on the market has grown, and the tools themselves have developed rapidly. The advent of technologies such as cloud computing and machine learning offer businesses access to a wide range of tools to help them manage their finances more effectively. In addition to providing businesses with greater visibility into their finances, these tools also offer real-time insights, allowing organizations to make data-driven decisions quickly. Many, including Brex and Ramp, go a step further by offering businesses corporate credit cards and business bank accounts.

“It’s no secret that technology is reshaping the future of money and banking, and finway is rising to the challenge by building a solution that automates financial processes and increases efficiency for SMBs,” said Airwallex and Capital 49 Co-founder Jack Zhang. “We are so excited to be leading the investment round, and strengthen the ecosystem that is aligned with our vision to reshape the future of financial services for modern businesses.”

Photo by Ketut Subiyanto

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BMO Teams Up with Agent IQ to Enhance Digital Customer Engagement

BMO Teams Up with Agent IQ to Enhance Digital Customer Engagement
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Agent IQ, Alumni News, Daily news
  • BMO has partnered with digital customer engagement solutions company Agent IQ.
  • The bank will deploy Agent IQ’s Lynq secure chat platform to enable customers to easily access both AI chatbots and human bankers.
  • Agent IQ most recently demoed its technology on the Finovate stage at FinovateFall in New York last September.

BMO announced a partnership with digital customer engagement solutions provider Agent IQ this week. Courtesy of the collaboration, BMO will deploy Agent IQ’s secure chat platform Lynq, which enables customers to engage bankers in real-time, blending human-centered customer service with the efficiency of computer intelligence. The technology gives customers the ability to query a chatbot to answer basic account and banking-related questions, while maintaining the option to readily access a banker for a one-on-one conversation.

“With Agent IQ’s Lynq, BMO customers can engage a banker for all their financial needs across any digital channel, making digital banking easier and quicker than ever before,” Agent IQ co-founder and CEO Slaven Bilac said.

Lynq offers 24/7 chatbot support as well as direct video communication with a banker, including screen sharing. Answers to frequently asked questions are available instantly, and customers can connect to human bankers both during and outside of office hours. BMO Head of U.S. Digital Channels Brianna Elsass said that the partnership was an “example of BMO’s Digital First strategy” to provide future-ready solutions that deliver “loyalty, growth, and efficiency” for customers.

Left to right: Agent IQ COO Soren Bested and CMO Matt Phipps demoing Lynq at FinovateFall 2022.

With total assets of $1.14 trillion as of October 2022, BMO is the eighth largest bank by assets in North America. Operating via three primary groups: Personal and Commercial Banking, BMO Wealth Management, and BMO Capital markets, the financial services provider offers a range of personal and commercial banking, wealth management, and investment products and solutions to its 12 million customers.

Agent IQ made its Finovate debut in 2019 at FinovateSpring and most recently demoed its technology live at FinovateFall in New York last fall. At the conference, the San Francisco, California-based company demoed its Lynq platform, which leverages augmented intelligence to help bankers better connect with, engage, and support banking customers. “Put simply, Aqent IQ makes personal digital engagement simple,” company CMO Matt Phipps explained from the Finovate stage back in September. “We make it easy for you, and easy for your customers.”

Agent IQ has raised $18.5 million in funding from investors including Acronym Venture Capital and Mendon Venture Partners. The company was founded in 2015.

Photo by Anete Lusina

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Globalization Partners Taps Wise to Lower the Cost of Global Contractor Payments

Globalization Partners Taps Wise to Lower the Cost of Global Contractor Payments
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, TransferWise, Wise
  • International hiring and employment platform Global Partners (G-P) has tapped cross-border money transfer company Wise for its payment tools.
  • Under the agreement, G-P will embed Wise’s international payment tool in its Contractor platform with an aim to simplify worker disbursements.
  • With Wise, businesses will be able to use their payment method of choice to pay contract workers, while the contractors will be able to select their preferred payout method.

International hiring and employment platform Global Partners (G-P) has turned to cross-border money transfer company Wise to help its business clients to pay some of their workforce.

G-P was founded in 2012 to help businesses quickly hire contract and freelance workers across borders in a compliant manner while solving for legal, tax, and HR issues. Under the partnership, Wise will enable G-P’s business customers to access Wise’s payment solution directly from the G-P Contractor platform. As a result of the integration, G-P will offer their customers more flexible payment options, as well as more transparency into the payments process.

“Together with Wise we are creating a world that is unhindered by traditional financial systems, providing customers and contractors an ethical and transparent employment and payment process for all talent through our Global Employment Platform,” said G-P Chief Product and Strategy Officer Nat Rajesh Natarajan. “At G-P, our mission is to create a borderless and equitable world of work. Delivering flexible payment options is critical to delivering on that mission and meeting the needs of today’s professionals.”

Wise was founded in 2011 under the name TransferWise and has since helped 13 million people and businesses send money across international borders. The company offers a multi-currency account that enables users to hold up to 50 currencies and get account details to receive money in 10 currencies. TransferWise prides itself on its transparency by showing fees up front and charging the mid-market rate for money transfers.

With Wise, G-P Contractor clients will be able to use their payment method of choice. They’ll also benefit from batch payments for invoices in the same or different currencies, and will be able to see payment summaries that show a breakdown of costs. Additionally, contract and freelance workers receiving payment via G-P’s platform will have their choice of payout method, including bank transfer, virtual card, digital wallet, ACH, wire and international wire.

Photo by Markus Spiske

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DirectID Secures $9.5 Million in New Funding

DirectID Secures $9.5 Million in New Funding
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, Direct ID, Funding
  • DirectID, a credit risk assessment and decisioning platform based in Scotland, has raised $9.5 million (€9 million) in funding.
  • The funding was led by Ingka Investment, the investment arm of Ingka Group – which is the world’s largest IKEA retailer.
  • DirectID will use the new capital to accelerate the launch of its predictive credit and risk models built using open banking data.

Credit risk assessment and decisioning platform DirectID has raised $9.5 million (€9 million) in funding from Ingka Investments, the investment arm of Ingka Group. The company will use the additional funding to help fuel the launch of its predictive credit and risk models built using open banking data. DirectID also plans to bring its credit risk solutions to new markets, as well as accelerate its development of models for each stage of the credit lifecycle – from originations to portfolio management to collections.

“We are excited to be shaping a new global standard in credit scoring that enhances people’s lives by enabling access to products they need in an affordable way,” DirectID founder and CEO James Varga said. “Our coverage, advanced insights, and predictive models provide a unique opportunity to achieve this by creating the world’s first real-time, inclusive, credit score based on open finance data.”

The funding takes DirectID’s total equity capital to more than $23 million. No valuation information was provided in the company’s funding announcement.

Headquartered in Scotland, DirectID is the current incarnation of a project that began in 2016, when Varga rebranded his company miiCard to The ID Co. The move was intended to reflect the growth of the company’s B2B embedded, integrated verification solution, DirectID. Four years later, the company took the Direct ID name in a move Varga said was necessitated by the fact that “data has become such an important part of our offering.”

Ingka Group is the world’s largest IKEA retailer, representing approximately 90% of IKEA’s retail sales. Ingka Investments, the company’s investment arm, has $21.2 billion (€20 billion) in assets under management. The firm’s investment activity is oriented around three “key strategic movements”: financial resilience, business development, and sustainability. Peter van der Poel, who is the managing director for Ingka Investments, credited DirectID for its ability to “complement and disrupt the traditional credit and risk market”. He noted that the company’s efforts promote greater financial inclusion for consumers and will “add value to Ingka’s financial services proposition” going forward.

DirectID closed out 2022 by forging a partnership with U.K.-based SME capital provider Got Capital. The alliance will facilitate the digitalization of the application process for small businesses seeking financing. Since inception, Got Capital has provided more than $362 million (£300 million) to more than 12,000 small businesses in the U.K. Also late last year, DirectID’s Varga was one of 13 business leaders named as the first “Scottish Export Champions” by the Department for International Trade (DIT). The organization also named DirectID as the new “FinTech Champion for Scotland.”

“Whether it’s working with other industry figures to promote the U.K. as a place to do business, or sharing knowledge of our experience exporting to multi-national organizations, I’m proud to be supporting the growth of the £11 billion U.K. fintech economy,” Varga said.

Photo by Isaque Pereira

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Mizuho International Taps SymphonyAI to Bolster AML

Mizuho International Taps SymphonyAI to Bolster AML
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Daily news
  • Mizuho International selected SymphonyAI’s Sensa to enhance AML detection within its European Capital Markets Division.
  • Sensa’s machine learning models– including changes in behavior, risk similarities, anomaly detection, and hotspot identification– help organizations detect money laundering activity.
  • Sensa operates under SymphonyAI, which acquired the company in 2019.

Mizuho International selected SymphonyAI’s Sensa to bolster its fight against Anti-Money Laundering (AML). Specifically, the London-based securities and investment banking arm of Mizuho Financial Group will use Sensa to enhance AML detection within its European Capital Markets Division.

Sensa leverages advanced machine learning models that include changes in behavior, risk similarities, anomaly detection, and hotspot identification. The company combines these models with its set of scenario rules to help firms detect money laundering risk. With 46 patents and $100 million in research and development, Sensa’s technology won Aite-Novarica Group’s 2021 Fraud & AML Impact Innovation Award and is a top 10 DARPA innovation. The company was founded in 2008 and has since garnered $106 million in funding from the likes of Kleiner Perkins, Khosla Ventures, and others.

“We are thrilled to be deploying industry-leading AML transaction monitoring (TM) capabilities. Our next-gen AML TM strategy sought a more refined rule detection and advanced AI solution to find real AML risk and reduce false positives and analyst review times by holistic scoring. We needed a solution that helps analysts, through user interfaces, to deliver all the information needed to expedite investigations,” said Mizuho EMEA’s Chief Compliance Officer Dinesh Joshi. “SensaAML will make a significant difference in our long-held fight against money laundering. Our financial crime team will be empowered and more effective.”

SymphonyAI, the company behind Sensa, offers AI SaaS solutions for enterprises across a range of verticals, including retail, consumer packaged goods, finance, manufacturing, media, and IT/enterprise service management. Founded in 2017, the California-based company acquired Sensa in 2019 for an undisclosed amount.

The topic of AI– specifically generative AI– has received a lot of attention since Open AI launched its consumer-facing ChatGPT tool late last year. The fraud and financial crime space is prime for AI enhancement, especially generative AI enhancement. As Bain Capital Ventures Partner Sarah Hinkfuss explained in a recent blog post, “Generative AI can produce new training data to train and re-train fraud models. One of the challenges with piracy and fraud has been the cat and mouse game of security providers building to address the latest exploited weakness, only for fraudsters to find the next weakness. Training models on yet-unseen examples of fraud generated by generative AI provides the opportunity to stay one step ahead.”

Photo by Karim MANJRA on Unsplash

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Payoneer Earns E-Money License from the U.K.’s FCA

Payoneer Earns E-Money License from the U.K.’s FCA
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, Payoneer
  • Payoneer received its e-money license from the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority.
  • The license will enable the digital commerce company to continue serving its U.K.-based customers.
  • Having earned the license, Payoneer now plans to grow its footprint in the U.K. region.

Global digital commerce company Payoneer received its e-money license from the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) this week. The license will enable Payoneer to continue to provide its e-money services to U.K.-based businesses.

“The FCA traditionally sets the tone of financial regulation globally and therefore we are extremely proud to be receiving our e-money license in the U.K., said Payoneer Payment Services CEO and SVP of Payoneer Europe James Allum. “We’re excited to be able to continue serving our customers in the U.K. and with our relationship with the FCA. Our customers in the UK now have confidence in Payoneer’s consistent ability to provide regulated financial services of the highest standard.”

With the new U.K. money license, Payoneer will grow its footprint in the region, offering its digital money services to U.K.-based businesses.

Payoneer was founded in 2005 and offers multi-currency accounts to five million customers ranging from marketplaces, sellers, freelancers, gig workers, manufacturers, banks, suppliers, and buyers. With a mission to “democratize access to financial services and drive growth for digital businesses of all sizes from around the world,” Payoneer helps users pay, get paid, and manage funds on a global scale. The company also offers working capital– providing advances to Amazon and Walmart sellers, as well as to small businesses.

In 2021, Payoneer went public via a SPAC merger with FTAC Olympus Acquisition Corp. The company listed on the NASDAQ in June 2021 under the ticker PAYO. Scott Galit is CEO.

Photo by Pixabay

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Market Data Firm QUODD Acquires Competitor Xignite

Market Data Firm QUODD Acquires Competitor Xignite
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, Mergers & Acquisitions, Xignite
  • QUODD has agreed to acquire fellow market data company Xignite.
  • Combined, the two companies will serve more than 2,200 firms, ranging from large banks and wealth management platforms to smaller digital investment tools.
  • Financial terms of the deal were undisclosed.

Two market data firms are combining this week, as QUODD Financial Information Services acquires Xignite. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

QUODD said the purchase reinforces its commitment to become “the premier cloud-based global financial market data and content provider.” Company CEO Bob Ward added, “Xignite is well known for being an early adopter of delivering high-quality market data solutions via the cloud as well as for its extensive API-driven data catalog. I look forward to working with Stephane Dubois, CEO of Xignite, and his team to help us fuel our next chapter of growth delivering the most accessible and reliable data for our customers.”

Combined, Xignite and QUODD will serve more than 2,200 companies, ranging from large banks and wealth management platforms to smaller digital investment tools. QUODD will leverage Xignite’s technology to enhance its QUODD Fuel, which will integrate Xignite’s content catalog; and Universe+, which will leverage Xignite’s market data.

QUODD’s technology enables clients to stream, embed, look up, and download pricing data for global equities, fixed income, indices, options, futures, and end-of-day pricing for global mutual funds. The company is owned by NewSpring Holdings’ Financeware, a probability-analysis technology and marketing strategies provider, which acquired QUODD in 2019 for an undisclosed amount.

NewSpring Holdings has lofty ambitions for the Xignite buy. “Our goal for the combined organization is to create the industry’s leading provider in centralized market data augmented with superior customer service, anchored in the strength of long-standing relationships and supported by leading technologies, which is why this transaction was a perfect fit,” said NewSpring Holdings General Partner Jim Ashton. “2022 was another year of strong organic growth for QUODD and, combined with Xignite, we are continuing to raise the bar in transforming the digital adoption of financial data for market participants.”

Founded in 2000, Xignite offers market data APIs to its brokerage, wealth management, and fintech clients. The company’s APIs offer a range of market data– including real-time stock prices, historical stock prices, options prices, futures prices, mutual fund prices, ETF prices, foreign exchange rates, bond prices, and more. Combined, the company’s customers use Xignite’s APIs more than half a trillion times each month.

Photo by Pixabay

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PhonePe Raises $100 Million at $12 Billion Valuation

PhonePe Raises $100 Million at $12 Billion Valuation
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Daily news, Funding
  • PhonePe raised $100 million in funding from Ribbit Capital, Tiger Global, and TVS Capital Funds, bringing its total funding to $2.2 billion.
  • The investment values the company at $12 billion.
  • PhonePe will use the funds to scale its existing payments and insurance businesses and to enter new financial services sub-sectors.

Digital money app PhonePe just raised $100 million in funding from Ribbit Capital, Tiger Global, and TVS Capital Funds. The investment follows a $350 million round PhonePe received last month and brings the India-based company’s total funding to $2.2 billion.

Today’s round, which values PhonePe at $12 billion, contributes to the company’s $1 billion capital raise target. Within six weeks of benchmarking the $1 billion goal, PhonePe is almost halfway there. The company has already raised $450 million and “expects further investments from leading global, as well as prominent high net worth Indian investors in due course.”

The mobile payments innovator will use the investment to scale its existing payments and insurance businesses. The funds will also fuel PhonePe’s entry into new businesses like lending, stockbroking, ecommerce, and account aggregators, which it plans to begin pursuing in the next few years.

“Our investment in PhonePe reinforces our conviction on backing best in class Founders while betting on the financial digitization of the next 450 million Indians,” said TCF Chairman and Managing Director Gopal Srinivasan. “We view this more as an opportunity in a population scale business for New India, driven by an outstanding management team with razor sharp focus, as driven by execution.”

PhonePe was founded in 2015 and now facilitates payments for its 440+ million registered users. The company’s end-to-end payments solution offers businesses a no-code payment gateway platform and provides consumers with a payment app where they can pay bills, send money, buy gold, invest, and shop online and in-person.

The company, which was acquired by Walmart-owned Flipkart in 2016, distanced itself from the Flipkart brand in 2020 via a financing round that dropped Flipkart’s ownership of PhonePe from 100% down to 87%. Earlier this month, the company began facilitating international transactions through Unified Payments Interface (UPI), enabling Indian travelers to make UPI transactions to foreign merchants using PhonePe platform.

Photo by Michael Skok on Unsplash

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Digital Asset Platform Bakkt Bets on B2B, Pivots from Consumer Crypto

Digital Asset Platform Bakkt Bets on B2B, Pivots from Consumer Crypto
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Alumni profile, Bakkt, Daily news

The decision by digital asset platform Bakkt to pivot toward B2B technology solutions and away from consumer-based crypto products appears to be part of the greater re-evaluation that many fintechs are doing in the wake of the crypto crash of 2022. The company, which made its Finovate debut at FinovateFall last September, announced this week that it was turning the page on its consumer-facing app, launched in March 2021. Instead, the Alpharetta, Georgia-based fintech will focus on helping businesses provide crypto and loyalty experiences to its customers via SaaS and API solutions.

“As we continue to gain traction with our B2B2C strategy, we are laser focused on providing our partners and clients with seamless solutions that best serve their needs,” Bakkt President and CEP Gavin Michael said. “The discontinuation of the app ensures we are supporting the relationship our partners and clients have with their customers. With this move, we are focusing our investment on our core solutions that have product-market fit and are positioned to scale quickly.”

Bakkt’s decision to shutter its consumer-based crypto app comes in the wake of the company’s agreement to acquire crypto trading platform Apex Crypto from Apex Fintech Solutions back in November 2022. With more than 30 fintech partners and more than five million customers, Apex Crypto is expected to help support Bakkt’s B2B2C strategy of bringing more crypto-based solutions to clients in a range of verticals.

Bakkt’s consumer crypto app is set to sunset just over one month from now, on March 16. Current users of the app will continue to be able to access their crypto and cash on the platform courtesy of a new online, device-agnostic solution. The new experience will enable users to check crypto balances, as well as access transaction reports for tax purposes.

Founded in 2018, Bakkt demoed its Crypto Connect technology at FinovateFall last year. The solution helped consumers use their current financial services institution’s mobile app to buy, sell, and hold cryptocurrencies in a secure, trusted environment. In December, Bakkt laid off 15% of its exempt employee base in a bid to better control costs as the cryptocurrency downturn and FTX scandal soured the much of the public – as well as investors – on the space.

A publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange since the fall of 2021, Bakkt is listed under the ticker “BKKT.” The firm has a market capitalization of $433 million.

Photo by RODNAE Productions

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