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Finovate Blog
Tracking fintech, banking & financial services innovations since 1994
Cardstream is launching PayFac-as-a-Service, a new white label service for companies seeking to become payment facilitators.
PayFac-as-a-Service clients will benefit from Cardstream’s regulatory position, enabling customers without a license to operate compliantly.
Cardstream has built a network of 400+ acquirers, alternative payment methods, shopping cart platforms, and fraud providers.
European payment service provider Cardstream announced the launch of new white label PayFac-as-a-Service.
The cloud-based service will offer acquirers access to Cardstream’s third party payment facilitator program and provides a pathway for those looking to become a payment facilitator. PayFac-as-a-Service users will also benefit from Cardstream’s regulatory position, as customers without a license will be able to operate compliantly.
“Our complete PayFac-as-a-Service is the quickest and most versatile way for companies to enter the rapidly growing billion dollar global marketplace,” said Cardstream CEO and Chairman Adam Sharpe. “Any company keen to capitalize on the rapidly growing PayFac space should put us on its shortlist, be it an Acquirer; a company applying for its own PayFac regulatory approval; or one opting to benefit by operating under our FCA regulated OBN.”
PayFac-as-a-Service offers merchants a holistic approach to the payment facilitator market. Cardstream is including workflow onboarding, underwriting, compliance due-diligence, real-time fraud screening and monitoring, dispute and chargeback management, funds management, automated fee collection, invoicing, referral commissioning, and more.
Founded in 1999, Cardstream has built a network of 400+ acquirers, alternative payment methods, shopping cart platforms, and fraud providers. The company supports all global currencies and major card schemes in more than 120 countries. Cardstream’s client portfolio includes 100+ reseller partners and their 18,000+ merchants.
In today’s announcement, Sharpe hinted at ambitions to grow Cardstream, sharing plans to round out its platform with additional services later this year. “As we move through the rest of 2023, we expect to have a series of further announcements of many new, additional Cardstream Group services,” he added.
The payment facilitator market in Europe is heavily regulated, with the introduction of the second Payment Services Directive (PSD2) in 2018, which aims to increase security, competition, and innovation in the payments industry. The market, which is expected to reach a value of $1.72 trillion (€1.57 trillion) by 2024, includes a sizable number of players ranging from traditional financial institutions to fintech companies and digital payment providers. Among the top payment facilitators in Europe are PayPal, Adyen, Stripe, Worldpay, and Klarna.
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 companies are calling “Canada’s largest regulated crypto asset trading platform.”
The road to the three-way union had its complications. At one point, Coinsquare had been poised to acquire CoinSmart. At another point, a merger with WonderFi was allegedly on the table. CoinSmart had been both cold and hot to an acquisition by Coinsquare and reportedly was prepared to seek monetary damages in court when the acquisition deal did not work out. But those days are gone, and the three companies have decided they are better off serving cryptocurrency customers together than they are on their own.
UAE and ANZ Get Busy with CBDCs: There have been a few CBDC-oriented stories in fintech and crypto headlines in recent days. First up is news that the UAE has selected technology and legal partners ahead of the launch of its CBDC strategy. The country’s central bank has picked Clifford Chance to provide legal oversight. R3 and G42 Cloud will serve as technology and infrastructure providers. This will enable the central bank to begin Phase 1 of its CBDC project. This initial phase has three components: initiating real-value cross-border CBDC transactions for international trade settlement, proof-of-concept work for bilateral CBDC bridges with India, and proof-of-concept work for domestic CBDC issuance covering wholesale and retail use. Phase 1 is expected to take place over the next 12 to 15 months.
Meanwhile in Australia, ANZ bank reported that it had concluded one of its projects in the country’s CBDC trials. The project involved using the ANZ stablecoin to settle tokenized carbon credit transactions. ANZ Bank is involved in four of the 15 use cases and projects in the country’s CBDC pilot. With regard to this specific use case – applying tokenization to the carbon markets – ANZ Banking Services Lead Nigel Dobson expressed optimism. He highlighted the potential to improve both efficiency and transparency, as well as “preserve the unique characteristics of underlying projects to incentivize investment in climate solutions.”
Speaking of the relationship between crypto and the climate, SEB and Crédit Agricole announced this week that they are jointly launching so|bond, a sustainable and open platform for digital bonds built on blockchain technology. The platform enables issuers in capital markets to issue digital bonds onto a blockchain network in an effort to enhance efficiency and support real-time data synchronization between participants. Additionally, the network is using a validation protocol, Proof of Climate awaReness, that encourages participants to minimize their carbon footprint.
“Crédit Agricole CIB is proud to contribute to the emerging market of digital assets,” Crédit Agricole CIB Head of Innovation and Digital Transformation Romaric Rollet said. “The platform’s innovative approach, both to the blockchain infrastructure and to the securities market, is coupled with the strong commitment to green and sustainable finance that is at the center of our Societal Project.”
And while on the topic of the blockchain use cases, we report that Acre, a blockchain-based mortgage platform, has raised $8.1 million (£6.5 million). The fundraising is the second major capital infusion for the London-based company and brings the firm’s total equity funding to $14.3 million (£14.3 million). The round was led by McPike, an investor in Starling Bank, as well as Aviva and Founders Factory.
Acre helps traditional brokers compete with their digital counterparts by using blockchain technology to enhance the mortgage and insurance application process for advisers. The company’s technology brings together all aspects of the process into a single “record of the transaction.” This, according to Acre founder and CEO Justus Brown, helps brokers deliver “speedy, efficient advice that meets the individual requirements of each case in a dynamic market.”
Acre was founded in 2017. Brown reports that the company grew by 10x in 2022, and processes £10 billion in annual mortgage volume. In the wake of the latest investment, Acre will focus on forging new partnerships with lenders and insurers to enable brokers to recommend the most competitive financial products and services for their clients.
Coinbase Announces Derivatives Exchange Upgrade: Last up for this edition of 5 Tales from the Crypto is news from one of the industry’s banner companies, Coinbase. The firm announced this week that it had partnered with Transaction Network Services (TNS). The partnership is designed to enable faster, more efficient transactions on its derivatives exchange (CDE).
“Crypto has witnessed both volatile and liquid markets, and with institutional adoption remaining strong, we believe the time is right for the offering that TNS brings to the table,” Coinbase Derivatives Exchange CEO Boris Ilyevsky said. “Dedicated cloud infrastructure connectivity coupled with our derivatives exchange represents a mission-critical step toward supporting and maintaining a vibrant and reliable crypto derivatives market.”
Coinbase launched its Derivatives Exchange in June of last year with the goal of attracting more retail traders to its platform. This week’s news shows that the company recognizes the potential attraction its exchange could have for institutional investors, as well. Regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the CDE will leverage its new TNS-provided financial trading infrastructure to enable institutional investors to grow their storage capabilities and process large data sets with less delay.
Digital banking solutions company Payfare is expanding to offer clients earned wage access.
Payfare will target workers in Canada and in the U.S., which it estimates to have a total addressable market of over 131 million people.
Payfare’s solutions target gig workers and its client base include Uber, Lyft, and DoorDash.
Digital banking solutions company Payfare is expanding into the earned wage access (EWA) market. The move will enable the company’s one million active users to receive access to wages they’ve already earned.
The Canada-based company believes the move will benefit its one million active users across the U.S. and Canada by smoothing out their cashflow. By jumping into EWA, Payfare joins a handful of fintechs already operating in the space, including Payactiv, Wagestream, DailyPay, and more.
Founded in 2015, Payfare serves both end consumers and businesses with digital banking, instant payment, and loyalty rewards solutions. The company offers gig workers and contract laborers faster access to their earnings with a payout debit card featuring cashback rewards and tandem mobile app with financial wellness tools. Businesses can use Payfare’s technology to send payouts to their workforce with lower processing fees than traditional paycheck services.
“We don’t believe payday loans should exist in the modern world with real time integration to payroll records as well as the capability to repay at source,” said Payfare CEO and Founding Partner Marco Margiotta. “We have built an award-winning digital banking product that has helped our gig platform partners reduce their worker acquisition costs and boost productivity. We look forward to sharing progress on our expansion into EWA over the course of 2023.”
Payfare reports the market for an EWA tool is sizable in both the U.S. and Canada. In the U.S., for example, more than 78 million workers earn a wage hourly, more than 131 million people earn an annual salary of less than $75,000, and 12 million people rely on a payday loan at least once a year. In Canada, over 22 million people earn under $75,000 annually.
Since inception, Payfare has raised $49 million (C$65.4 million). The company’s clients include gig worker platforms such as Uber, Lyft, and DoorDash.
The U.S. Federal Reserve has selected AutoRek to feature its technology in its FedNow Service Provider Showcase.
The showcase will give the Scotland-based company the ability to offer its payments technology, including automated reconciliation software, to financial services providers in the U.S.
AutoRek made its Finovate debut earlier this year at FinovateEurope 2023.
AutoRek, an end-to-end financial data control platform, has been selected by the U.S. Federal Reserve to feature in its FedNow Service Provider Showcase. The Showcase connects financial institutions with providers that offer real-time payment solutions. As a featured provider, AutoRek will have the opportunity to “offer a number of its instant payment services to U.S. financial services organizations preparing for the new real-time payments system.”
The FedNow Service is an instant payments infrastructure developed by the Federal Reserve. Going live in July, the technology will enable consumers and businesses alike to send and receive payments in real-time. The Federal Reserve launched its FedNow Service Provider Showcase just over a year ago in March. The Showcase is an online resource that facilitates connections between financial institutions and businesses looking to adopt the FedNow service with service providers in the instant payments space. AutoRek offers banks and payments companies the ability to implement and improve on instant payments with solutions for data management, automated real-time reconciliation and machine learning, reporting, and automating workflows.
“As part of the FedNow community, we know we’ll be able to add huge value to all organizations embarking on the journey of instant payments,” AutoRek Global Payments Sales Manager Nick Botha said. “With our solutions, banks and payments companies will be able to save time, increase efficiency and scale at speed while ensuring complete financial control across their business.”
AutoRek made its Finovate debut earlier this year at FinovateEurope in London. At the conference, the company demoed its global automated reconciliation software. The technology leverages machine learning and other technologies to help financial institutions better manage high-volume reconciliation challenges, improve auditability, and reduce operating costs.
Founded in 1994 and headquartered in Glasgow, Scotland, AutoRek rebranded in February of this year to better position itself to enter new growth sectors, such as payments. The company, which has tripled in size since 2020, has more than 100+ leading financial services clients and has processed more than 2.4 billion transactions since inception.
“At a time when technological developments are happening at a faster rate than ever before, anticipating where the market is going next is the only way to stay at the cutting edge,” AutoRek founder and CEO Gordon McHarg said when the rebrand was announced earlier this year. “And this rebrand represents AutoRek’s commitment to and belief in the need for continuous innovation.”
SoFi is saying, “Welcome home!” to Wyndham Capital Mortgage this week. The California-based fintech acquired the mortgage lender yesterday in an all-cash transaction for an undisclosed amount.
Headquartered in North Carolina and founded in 2001, Wyndham Capital has worked with more than 100,000 borrowers.
SoFi, which is acquiring Wyndham Capital’s technology and its employees, expects the purchase will broaden its mortgage-related offerings and minimize its reliance on third-party partners and processes.
“At SoFi, we’re on a mission to help people get their money right and purchasing a home is often one of, if not the, biggest financial decision individuals make in their lives,” said SoFi CEO Anthony Noto. “Today’s acquisition of Wyndham Capital will not only allow us to scale and keep pace with accelerated growth, but also allow us to foster that growth in a way that brings value to our members through sales and operational efficiencies and helps members get their money right when it comes to one of life’s most significant financial milestones.”
SoFi, which presented at Finovate’s developers conference in 2017, launched in 2011 to disrupt the student lending market. Since then, the company has added a variety of banking products– including personal loans, auto refinancing, credit cards, investing, checking, savings, insurance, and others– to become a more holistic banking option for consumers. SoFi sealed its status as a bank last January, when it received approval from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Federal Reserve to become a bank holding company.
It’s a reasonable time for SoFi to double-down on mortgages to diversify from its flagship offerings, student loans. The company may be starting to feel heat from the loss of revenue from its student loan refinancing tools. In fact, SoFi went to such an extreme last month as to sue the Biden administration for its continued pause on federal student loan repayments. The fintech argues that the moratorium, which has been extended eight times over three years, has no legal basis.
SoFi estimates it has lost $6 million in profits from the latest extension and, expects losses to total $30 million if the moratorium continues through August. “In essence, SoFi is being forced to compete with loans with 0% interest rates and for which any ongoing repayment of the principal is entirely optional,” SoFi argues in the lawsuit.
The lawsuit is currently being challenged in the Supreme Court and is expected to be resolved by June.
Amsterdam-based digital bank bunq announced plans to expand to the U.S.
The bank will be targeting the population of five million European expatriates living in the U.S.
Since launching in 2012, bunq has expanded to more than 30 markets in Europe and now facilitates payments in 16 different currencies.
Amsterdam-based digital bank bunqannounced this week it is “bringing the bank of The Free to the land of The Free,” meaning it has officially applied for a U.S. banking license.
Founded in 2012, bunq set out to make a bank that customers love to use that is designed to make life easy. When the company received its European banking license in 2014, it was the first organization in 35 years to do so. Since then, bunq has expanded to more than 30 markets in Europe and now facilitates payments in 16 different currencies, provides both personal and business banking accounts, and offers a mortgage product.
When bunq launches in the U.S., the company will target the population of five million digital nomads– European expatriates and businesses operating in the U.S. that struggle to obtain a traditional bank account as non-U.S. citizens.
“We’re going stateside with a simple proposition, offering a banking product that enables U.S. consumers and businesses to bypass banking bureaucracy by opening a fully fledged international bank account in just five minutes,” said bunq Founder and CEO Ali Niknam. “Using bunq, they can effortlessly manage their finances from anywhere in the world.”
bunq has received $260 million in funding and was valued at $1.9 billion in 2021. The company recently became profitable, having secured $2.5 million in profit in the last quarter of 2022. If successful in its mission to obtain a U.S. banking license, bunq may be able to build on that profitability into the rough waters of 2023.
Other European fintechs have proven that the route to success in the U.S. may not be easy, however. Germany’s N26 pulled out of the U.S. market in late 2021 after initially launching in the region in 2019. When U.K.-based Monzo faced difficulties securing its U.S. banking license in 2021, the fintech ultimately decided to partner with a traditional bank to launch its services stateside. Similarly, Revolut is also working with a partner bank in the U.S., though it is currently awaiting the approval of its U.S. banking license.
“In our opinion, applying for a U.S. license is the only way we can maintain independence and provide The Free with the easy and safe banking experience they deserve,” said Niknam. Will bunq’s U.S. expansion look like that of other European digital banks that have gone before it? If it does, the company may need to sacrifice a bit of that independence and find a partner bank that shares its vision to create “the bank of The Free.”
“Kroll’s exceptional reputation for thought leadership in the risk and advisory space is well-known over the world,” EverC CEO Ariel Tiger said. “Working so closely together offers a significant competitive advantage.” Tiger added that having Kroll as both an investor and as a partner would help EverC build its “global brand with innovative technology to help make ecommerce more safe, secure, and profitable for payment providers, platforms, and marketplaces.”
The amount of the investment was not disclosed, but ahead of the funding EverC has raised more than $61 million in equity capital, according to Crunchbase. Kroll is an independent provider of risk and financial advisory solutions, founded in 1972 and headquartered in New York. Kroll was acquired by Duff and Phelps in 2018. Duff & Phelps rebranded as Kroll in 2021.
The partnership between Kroll and EverC comes as demand grows for fraud detection and prevention tools that can keep up with the increased pace of cyberattacks and illicit ecommerce activity in the payments industry. Calling “transaction laundering” the modern-day equivalent of money laundering, EverC provides innovative solutions such as its MerchantView technology. MerchantView helps companies reduce and avoid fines, protect their brands, and remain compliant by helping them identify illicit transaction behavior. EverC also offers MarketView, a solution for marketplaces that automatically detects and removes false, illegal, and/or dangerous products.
Earlier this year, EverC announced that it had forged a strategic partnership with KPMG. The partnership will combine the financial advisory expertise of KPMG with EverC’s innovations in the ecommerce risk space to help companies grow while successfully managing risk. “As payments providers and marketplaces face an increasingly challenging threat landscape, they will seek ecosystem partners to provide innovative solutions and expert guidance to support their growth,” Tiger said.
Stratyfy raised $10 million in funding last week in a round co-led by Truist Ventures and Zeal Capital Partners.
The capital takes the company’s total equity funding to $11.8 million, according to Crunchbase. Stratyfy will use the investment to fuel innovation on its technology that leverages AI and ML to help financial institutions make better, data-driven decisions.
Stratyfy won Best of Show at FinovateFall 2022 with a demo of its UnBias solution.
Stratyfy, which leverages AI to enable financial institutions to make better decisions at scale and drive greater financial inclusion, has raised $10 million in funding. The round was co-led by Truist Ventures and Zeal Capital Partners. Also participating were Mendon Venture Partners, The 98, FIS, and serial entrepreneur Barry J. Glick.
The New York-based company will use the funding to continue innovating its technology that helps financial institutions use AI-driven decision-making to enhance credit risk decisioning, fraud detection, bias mitigation, and more. The investment takes Stratyfy’s total equity funding to $11.8 million, according to Crunchbase.
“Stratyfy is growing fast as financial institutions recognize the urgent need to improve transparency and reduce bias in their decision processes,” Stratyfy co-founder and CEO Laura Kornhauser said. “With the increased adoption of AI and machine learning, transparency and controls around these solutions are essential so that the biases of our past do not encode into our future.”
Stratyfy made its Finovate debut at FinovateSpring in 2018. The company returned to the Finovate stage four years later and took home a Best of Show award for a live demo of its UnBias solution. Delivered via API, UnBias enables users to continuously identify and address sources of bias in complex financial decisions. UnBias is part of Stratyfy’s suite of transparent machine learning tools developed to help financial institutions minimize bias, promote financial inclusion, and drive risk-adjusted returns.
Founded in 2017, Stratyfy has helped customers like Aflac boost their fraud flagging ability by 2.6x, and detect fraud 28 weeks faster on average, while simultaneously reducing the effort and resources needed to identify fraud by 66%.
“Our investment in Stratyfy is an opportunity to learn about innovative technologies, commercialize impactful solutions, and positively support our communities,” Truist Ventures Head of Corporate Development Tarun Mehta said. “Our platform of senior executives and technical experts look forward to being a part of the development and growth of this mission-driven, disruptive company.”
Acorns is acquiring U.K.-based kids financial wellness tool GoHenry.
Financial terms of the deal were undisclosed.
The deal is expected to facilitate Acorns’ international expansion and will build its presence in the youth market.
Automated savings and investing app Acornsannounced today it acquired kids money management app GoHenry. Financial terms of the deal, which also includes GoHenry’s European arm Pixpay, were not disclosed.
The benefits of today’s acquisition are multi-faceted. GoHenry; which operates across the U.K., Italy, France, and Spain; will help California-based Acorns initiate its international expansion. The deal will also broaden Acorns’ offerings to include financial wellness and education and will boost the two companies’ combined subscriber number to almost six million.
What’s more, GoHenry’s customer base– which consists of six-to-eighteen-year-olds– brings a younger set of users to the Acorn brand. This is expected to bring more users to Acorns Early, a product that Acorns launched in 2020 to offer friends and families a way to invest in a child’s future.
“All kids around the world deserve access to responsible money management tools and financial education,” said Acorns CEO Noah Kerner. “GoHenry’s mission driven approach is perfectly aligned with Acorns, which we expect will help us accelerate our roadmap and deliver financial wellness to the whole family through all of life’s stages.”
GoHenry was founded in 2012 to help kids learn how to save, invest, and spend responsibly. The company offers a parent-controlled debit card and tandem mobile app that helps kids track their allowance, spending, budgets, and savings accounts. The company launched in the U.S. in 2018 and expanded to Italy, France, and Spain after acquiring PixPay last year. Prior to today’s acquisition, GoHenry had raised $121 million from Edison Partners, Revaia, Citi Ventures, Muse Capital, Nexi, and more.
“Since we started on our mission to make every kid smart with money ten years ago, we have helped millions of young people do exactly that and this new relationship with Acorns will enable us to reach many millions more,” said GoHenry Co-Founder Louise Hill.
In the U.S., GoHenry will operate as GoHenry by Acorns. GoHenry and PixPay will operate under their own brand names in the U.K. and Europe. “It’s business as usual for our team and customers in the U.K. and Europe (under Pixpay) with the added opportunities and global reach that this new strategic alignment will bring,” added Hill.
Also founded in 2012, Acorns helps users round up their purchases and automatically invest their spare change. The company has raised $507 million, including its $300 million Series F round received in 2022 after cancelling its previously planned SPAC merger.
Thirteen Finovate alums raised more than $453 million in funding in the first quarter of 2023. Q1 of this year topped last year’s first quarter total but fell short of the massive amount of capital raised by a sizable number of Finovate alums in the first quarter of 2021.
The biggest fundraising of the first three months of the year was the $250 million raised by long-time Finovate alum eToro. Also noteworthy was the $92 million secured by Zopa in February.
Top Equity Investmentsfrom Q1 2023
eToro: $250 million
Zopa: $92 million
SESAMm: $37 million
LeapXpert: $22 million
Hawk AI: $17 million
Stratyfy: $10 million
DirectID: $9.5 million
NYMBUS: $9 million
Connect Earth: $5.6 million
QuantConnect: $1.5 million
Our top equity investments for Q1 2023 reveal a major range in funding from eToro’s $250 million to the $1.5 million raised by QuantConnect. Given the number of alums receiving funding in the first quarter, it is no surprise that the top 10 equity investments in Q1 make up the vast majority of all alum funding for the quarter. Also worth noting was the fact that eToro’s $250 million represents more than 50% of the top 10 equity investment total.
Here is our detailed alum funding report for Q1 2023.
January: More than $18 million raised by three alums
If you are a Finovate alum that raised money in the first quarter of 2023 and do not see your company listed, please drop us a note at research@finovate.com. We would love to share the good news! Funding received prior to becoming an alum not included.
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.
First up, though, it’s Ledger’s massive fundraising. The Paris, France-based crypto wallet designer and manufacturer announced that it raised $108 million in funding this week. The investment is part of the company’s Series C round and, as such, does not change Ledger’s $1.4 billion valuation. The funding does add to the $385 million the company raised in 2021.
Ledger’s latest investors are a lengthy list of new and existing backers. True Global Ventures, Digital Finance Group, and VaynerFund are among the new investors. Existing investors 10T, Cité Gestion Private Bank, Cap Horn, Morgan Creek, Cathay Innovation, Korelya Capital, and Molten Ventures are among Ledger’s existing investors who also participated.
“Today, Ledger announced our funding round. These funds will accelerate our mission to bring a new generation of secure consumer devices to hundreds of millions exploring critical digital assets and blockchain-enabled technology,” Ledger chairman and CEO Pascal Gauthier wrote in a blog post at the Ledger website.
Ledger demonstrated its crypto hardware technology at FinovateEurope back in 2016. The company currently offers three hardware wallets, Ledger Nano X and Ledger Nano S Plus, and Ledger Stax. The latter model, the company’s latest, was only recently announced and is scheduled to begin shipping to customers within the next few months.
The investment in Ledger is a reminder that France remains among the more crypto-friendly countries in Europe, if not the western world. U.S. based Circle, the company behind both USDC and Euro Coin, recently announced that it had chosen France for its European headquarters. This is just one reflection of the country’s openness to the cryptocurrency industry.
News that Burger King fast food restaurants in Paris will begin accepting cryptocurrency for payment may be another. The company has partnered with Instpower, who will deploy its power bank rental machines in Burger King’s Paris locations. The power bank rental machines are connected to a pair of cryptocurrency payment services – Alchemy Pay and Binance Pay. Now Burger King consumers will be able to get their Whoppers, charge their mobile devices, and pay in crypto all in the same place. The move is a boon for Instpower as it seeks to expand the popularity of power banks in Europe. The collaboration is also a clear win for crypto, which benefits from both the publicity and the convenient new use case for crypto holders.
Ledger is not the only French fintech scoring investor dollars this month. N2F, a French startup that offers business financial management software, raised $26 million (€24 million) in a round led by PSG Equity. A French fintech called Elyn that offers try-before-you-buy services raised $2.7 million (€2.5 million) in pre-seed funding in a round led by Headline and Sequoia Arc. On the financing front, B2B lender Aria secured a $53.3 million (€50 million) debt facility courtesy of M&G Investments. The funding added to the $21.7 million (€20 million) debt facility the company announced last year.
Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.
Poland’s Secfensejoined the Cybersecurity program of Google’s Startups Growth Academy. Secfense demoed its passwordless authentication technology at FinovateEurope 2022.
Austria-based Finmatics secured $6.5 million (€6 million) in Series A funding for its technology that brings the power of AI to accounting and tax planning.
Today is the final day of Women’s History Month. At Finovate, we have spent the past 30+ days highlighting the accomplishments of women in our industry. We began our commemoration with a look at the women who would demo their companies’ latest technologies at FinovateEurope. We followed up on International Women’s Day, showcasing the women who would deliver mainstage keynote addresses at the conference. And just this week, we featured the winners of the “Female Founded/Owned” category of our Finovate Demo Scholarship program for fintech startups.
Today we share insights from Maggie O’Toole, Vice President of Strategic Partnerships at TabaPay. Headquartered in Mountain View, California, and founded in 2017, TabaPay is a specialist in real-time money movement. The company facilitates one million transactions every day, has more than 2,000 clients, and is the number seven ranked CNP (card-not-present) acquirer in the U.S.
We caught up with Ms. O’Toole to discuss her work at TabaPay, her experience as a female leader in fintech and financial services, and what needs to be done in order to enable more women to secure leadership roles in our industry.
Tell us about your background and current position at TabaPay.
Maggie O’Toole: When I graduated college and moved to the United States from Poland, I faced some of the biggest challenges of my life. Being an immigrant in a new country without speaking the language was a difficult experience, but it also ignited a fire in me to prove that I could succeed.
Over the past decade, I’ve dedicated myself to the payments industry, focusing on strategic partnerships that help businesses thrive. My time at Onbe was particularly impactful; I had the opportunity to lead the charge on launching new products and forging partnerships that enabled real-time payments. I’m proud to say that I played a pivotal role in helping Onbe grow from a startup to a scaled enterprise, while completing a successful M&A strategy.
Today, at TabaPay, I focus on maximizing value for our clients and positioning the company for long-term growth. Building solid relationships with clients, networks, and banks is at the heart of everything I do. I take pride in the fact that I’ve been able to establish a partner management department from scratch, which is set to quadruple in size by the end of the year.
My journey has been anything but easy, but it has shaped me into the leader I am today. I’m passionate about the payments industry and helping businesses succeed, and I’m excited to see where my journey will take me next.
What challenges have you faced as a woman in fintech, and how have you overcome them?
O’Toole: As a woman in fintech, I have faced various challenges throughout my career. I’m still amazed by the vast underrepresentation of women in leadership positions in the industry. This has made it more difficult to find role models or mentors who share similar experiences and can provide guidance and support.
Another challenge I have faced is the pervasive gender bias that exists in many aspects of the industry. This bias can manifest in subtle ways, such as being interrupted or talked over in meetings, or in more overt ways, such as being passed over for promotions or opportunities.
To overcome these challenges, I have sought out supportive networks of women in fintech and other industries. These networks have provided me with invaluable mentorship, advice, and opportunities for growth. I have also worked hard to advocate for myself and my accomplishments, and to challenge gender bias whenever I encounter it.
Furthermore, I have always prioritized my personal and professional development. I have sought training and education opportunities to improve my skills and knowledge, allowing me to excel in my role and advance my career despite these challenges.
How have these challenges shaped your leadership style?
O’Toole: My experiences as a woman in fintech have influenced my leadership style. I believe overcoming challenges and facing obstacles head-on has helped me become a stronger and more effective leader. By persevering through difficult times, I have developed a resilient and adaptable leadership style; I’m always ready to take on new challenges.
One way these challenges have shaped my leadership style is by making me a better communicator. I have learned the importance of clearly articulating the company’s vision and plan to my team, so everyone is on the same page and working towards the same goals. Additionally, I have become more empathetic and understanding of my team’s needs, providing them with the support and guidance they need to be successful. I truly believe that sound, repeatable, positive business results are a natural outcome of prioritizing our employees, clients, and partners through building trusted and safe relationships.
Finally, setbacks and failures have taught me to view them as learning opportunities and growth. I encourage my team to adopt a similar mindset and not to be afraid to take risks and make mistakes. I believe that taking pauses periodically and reflecting on where we are and where we’re headed as a team is essential for long-term success.
Overall, my experiences have made me a more effective and compassionate leader, and I am grateful for the lessons they have taught me.
What is your approach to building work environments and teams?
O’Toole: My approach to building work environments and teams is rooted in building strong relationships. As a leader, I believe it’s essential to take the time to understand the backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives of each team member to foster a culture of trust and mutual respect. By investing in these relationships, I aim to create an environment that empowers individuals to be their best selves and feel supported in their growth and development.
I strive to create a work environment that encourages collaboration, creativity, and innovation. This includes providing opportunities for open communication and feedback, as well as recognizing and celebrating individual and team achievements. Ultimately, I aim to build a team united by a common purpose and inspired to work towards a shared vision.
What are the most important qualities for women in leadership positions in fintech, and how can they develop these qualities?
O’Toole: As women in leadership positions in fintech, we have unique perspectives and valuable insights to bring to the table. We must have confidence in our abilities and not let anyone else define us or hold us back. We should proudly tell our stories, embrace our individuality, and be intentional with our time and energy.
To develop the necessary qualities for leadership, we should constantly be growing and learning, personally and professionally. We can bring new skills and lessons from our personal lives into our work and vice versa and remain open to new perspectives and opportunities for growth.
As leaders, we must be intentional about what we say “yes” to, knowing that every decision comes with trade-offs. We should prioritize our strengths and areas of expertise and allocate our time strategically to make the most significant impact on our teams and organizations. By doing so, we can create a more fulfilling and rewarding work environment for ourselves and those around us.
How do you see the role of women in fintech evolving over the next five years, and what are your thoughts on the industry’s progress toward gender parity?
O’Toole: The fintech industry has come a long way regarding gender parity, but much more work remains to be done. As a female leader in fintech, I’m confident that women will continue to play a pivotal role in shaping the industry over the next five years, and beyond.
Companies need to recognize the value of diversity and make a concerted effort to hire and promote female leaders. This is not about meeting quotas, but about creating a genuinely inclusive workforce that reflects the communities we serve. By empowering women to take risks, dream big, and believe in themselves, we can develop a culture of success that benefits everyone.
At TabaPay, I’m proud to be part of a team committed to diversity and inclusion. With 55% of our employees and 65% of our leadership identifying as women or non-binary, we’re setting a powerful example for the rest of the industry. In the years to come, I believe we’ll see even more significant progress as more companies recognize the critical importance of gender parity in fintech and beyond.
