Revolut Launches in Brazil, its First Latin American Country

Global financial services innovator Revolut is becoming a bit more global today. The London-based company announced today it has expanded into Brazil. Today’s move of launching multi-currency account and crypto investments in Brazil, marks Revolut’s first expansion into a Latin American country. Revolut’s expansion efforts into Brazil began last March. The company not only brought Read more…

Finovate Global: CFDs, Licenses, and the Latest on Crypto in Central and Eastern Europe

One of my biggest takeaways from my conversations about digital assets with delegates at FinovateEurope last month was the idea that new use cases will be among the first signs that the industry has emerged from so-called “crypto winter.” That bar is likely years away from being cleared. In the meanwhile, crypto exchanges continue to Read more…

ESG Regulations May Bring Investing’s Green Future

Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) investing has been gaining traction across the globe. PwC reports that ESG is “soaring”, and anticipates that ESG institutional investment will climb 84% to $33.9 trillion in 2026. The firm states that by 2026, ESG assets under management (AUM) in the U.S. will more than double to total $10.5 trillion. Read more…

Celebrating Earth Day with Finovate’s Environmental/Sustainability Demo Scholarship Winners

The Finovate Sustainability and Inclusion Scholarship Program is an opportunity to showcase innovative startups that are embracing strong ESG principles as a key part of their offering. To commemorate Earth Day this weekend – and the importance of the “E” in ESG – we’re highlighting three companies that have earned scholarships in the Environmental/Sustainability category. Read more…

Google Moves to Stop Predatory Lending Practices

Google updated the Personal Loans policy for its Google Play store this week, adding a restriction to protect end users from predatory loan practices. The update restricts lending apps from accessing sensitive user data– including photos, videos, call logs, precise location, and external data. The move comes as a response to recent unethical, predatory practices. Read more…

5 Tales from the Crypto: M&A, CBDCs, Banks, Bonds, and the Blockchain

Canadian Crypto Combo: A trio of Canada-based cryptocurrency exchanges announced plans to merge into a single entity. Vancouver-based WonderFi, along with Toronto-based Coinsquare and Coin Smart Financial, are the firms involved. Together, they represent more than $600 million CAD in assets under custody and more than 1.65 million users. The merger will create what the Read more…

Finovate Global France: Ledger Scores, Burger King Goes Crypto, and French Fintechs Get Funded

This week’s edition of Finovate Global takes a look at the wave of funding that fintechs in France have received in recent weeks. The $108 million secured by hardware crypto wallet maker Ledger appropriately leads the pack. But there have been a handful of investments in a variety of French fintechs that are also noteworthy. Read more…

Finovate Global Indonesia: Kredivo Raises $270 Million; Broom Scores $10 Million in Pre-Series A Funding

Kredivo Holdings has raised $270 million in Series D funding. The round was led by Japan’s Mizuho Bank. Square Peg Capital, Jungle Ventures, Naver Financial Corporation, GMO Venture Partners, and Openspace Ventures also participated. Kredivo will use the funding to enhance its status as a digital financial service provider, particularly via online lending, credit cards, Read more…

APEXX Global Raises $25 Million to Expand into North America

Global payment solutions company APEXX Global has raised $25 million in Series B funding. The investment, which comes from Forward Partners, Alliance, and MMC Ventures, brings APEXX’s total amount raised to $37.1 million. “I’m delighted to announce that we have successfully closed our Series B funding round,” said APEXX Global Co-founder and CEO Peter Keenan. Read more…

Finovate Global Israel: From Innovations in Payroll to the Impact of Politics

Israel-based payroll and payments technology company Papaya Global unveiled its latest solution this week. The new offering, Papaya Global Payroll Payments, is a fully automated, embedded payments platform that facilitates global payroll processing and mass payments. The solution is designed to assist payroll vendors who typically outsource these payments to third party vendors who often Read more…

Finovate Global Ireland: Hiring Tech Talent, Banning ChatGPT, and Shining a Spotlight on Fintech in Northern Ireland

Ireland’s Central Bank to Staff: No ChatGPT for You! While organizations, institutions, and businesses of all kinds are scrambling to figure out how to best make use of generative AI technologies like ChatGPT, the Central Bank of Ireland already has staked out a position – at least for its employees. Ireland’s The Business Post reported Read more…

FinovateEurope 2023 Sneak Peek: Partner HUB

A look at the companies demoing at FinovateEurope in London on March 14. Register today and save your spot. Partner HUB will demo how banks can use request-to-pay and provide a next-generation EBPP service for their customers. Partner HUB will also showcase its integration with AnswerPay’s RTP solution. Features Build a value added service upon Read more…