Author: Fintech News America

Blockchain firm ConsenSys announced the close of a US$200 million financing round, bringing its valuation to US$3.2 billion. New investors Marshall Wace, Third Point, ParaFi Capital, and Think Investments contributed to the round alongside new partners that include Dragonfly Capital, Electric Capital, Spartan Group, DeFiance Capital, Animoca Brands, Coinbase Ventures, and HSBC. ConsenSys said that the funding will support the rapid expansion of its products MetaMask, a crypto wallet and gateway to blockchain apps, as well as Infura which anchors the company’s developer tools and infrastructure. MetaMask currently has approximately 21 million monthly active users which is a 38x increase…

Upgrade, Inc., a fintech company that offers affordable and responsible credit and mobile banking to mainstream consumers, announced that it raised a US$280 million Series F round at a US$6 billion pre-money valuation. Upgrade said that it has raised US$600 million in equity capital since inception. The round was led by Coatue Management and DST Global. Dragoneer Investment Group and existing investors including Gopher Asset Management, G-Squared, Koch Disruptive Technologies, Old Well Partners, Ribbit Capital, Sands Capital, Ventura Capital and Vy Capital also participated in the round. The Upgrade Card is touted to promote responsible credit by turning every balance…

US-based neobank MoneyLion announced that it has acquired MALKA Media Group, a rapidly growing creator network and content platform. The acquisition builds on a four-year partnership between both entities. MALKA’s content engine as well as MoneyLion’s personalization technology and financial products will be paired to power consumer advice and decision making at scale inside the app and accross all digital media. Additionally, MALKA’s network will also be tapped to drive new audiences to MoneyLion to acquire customers more efficiently. MoneyLion’s customers will also be able to activate financial solutions and purchase products while consuming hyper-personalized content that engages and educates…

Paradigm, a crypto-focused investment firm based in San Francisco, announced a new US$2.5 billion venture fund to continue funding next generation crypto companies and protocols. The firm said that the size of the fund is reflective of crypto being the most exciting frontier in technology. Coinbase’s Co-founder Fred Ehrsam and Sequoia Capital’s former partner Matt Huang said in a joint statement that the new fund will invest alongside its existing flagship fund across all stages and geographies. Paradigm added that it will continue supporting companies at all stages from even “when there’s just a glimmer of an idea”. Fred Ehrsam and…

Float, a Canadian all-in-one corporate card and spend management solution, announced that it has closed US$30 million in Series A financing led by Tiger Global. Other investors include Golden Ventures, Susa Ventures, Global Founders Capital, Michael Hyatt, and A-Star. The round was also joined by angel investors Michael Katchen (Wealthsimple), Andrew Macdonald (Uber), Kirk Simpson (Wave HQ), Les Whiting (H&R Block), Brent Belzberg (TorQuest Partners), Russ Jones (Olo), Jamie McDonald (A2X), Anshul Ruparell and Rhianna Brancato from Properly, Richard Seibel as well as Dan Park (Clutch). Since Float’s public launch earlier this year in March 2021, the firm reported that…

Breach and attack simulation startup SafeBreach announced that it has raised US$53.5 million in Series D funding, bringing the company’s total funding to over US$106 million. Led by Sonae IM and Israel Growth Partners (IGP), the round was also joined by Sands Capital, Leumi Partners, ServiceNow, Sequoia Capital, DTCP, DNX Ventures, OCV Partners, and PayPal. The new capital will fuel the company’s plans to expand its market footprint to new geographies and evolve its offerings in response to client needs. Carlos Alberto Silva, Managing Partner at Sonae IM and Assaf Harel, General Partner at IGP will be joining the SafeBreach…

Mexican credit card issuer Stori announced that it has closed US$125 million during an over-subscribed Series C funding round co-led by global venture capital firm GGV Capital and growth-stage investor GIC. Other investors include General Catalyst, Goodwater Capital, and Mexico-based Tresalia Capital which made its first fintech investment. Previous Series A- and B-round investors Lightspeed Venture Partners, Vision Plus Capital, BAI Capital and Source Code Capital also continued to support the company with follow-on investments. Alongside this equity raise, Stori has also raised US$75 million in debt financing from impact-focused, debt capital provider Community Investment Management (CIM). Over the next…

BitMEX, a peer-to-peer crypto trading platform, announced that it has added Vancouver, British Columbia to its global footprint. The platform said that Vancouver is an ideal destination because of its innovative culture, crypto-savvy workforce, and welcoming business environment. The Vancouver expansion comes as BitMEX is looking to open up more trading opportunities in new product lines for clients across a number of jurisdictions globally. BitMEX added that its Vancouver presence will allow it to more quickly grow and establish more robust 24/7 support functions for its business. This includes technical, security, customer support, and devops capabilities. The firm plans to…

Google has made a US$1 billion equity investment in CME Group, a diverse derivatives marketplace, and signed a 10-year strategic partnership to accelerate latter’s move to the cloud. Under the agreement, CME Group will migrate its technology infrastructure to Google Cloud beginning next year with data and clearing services, and eventually moving all of its markets to the cloud. Using Google Cloud’s fast, secure, global network, CME Group will be able to scale its infrastructure, while increasing access for more market participants, optimising costs, and helping onboard new users more easily and quickly. With Google Cloud’s technology, CME Group will…

Socure, a provider of digital identity verification and fraud solutions, announced its significantly oversubscribed US$450 million Series E funding round at a US$4.5 billion valuation. The company achieved a US$4.5 billion valuation just seven months after its US$1.3 billion Series D. The round was led by Accel alongside funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc. It also includes two new investors, Bain Capital Ventures and Tiger Global, as well as participation from existing investors Commerce Ventures, Scale Venture Partners, and Sorenson Ventures. Socure said that this will allow it to accelerate its investments in product innovation to…

Bottomline, a provider of financial technology that makes complex business payments simple, smart and secure, announced that it has completed the acquisition of Bora Payments Systems for US$15 million in cash. Bora Payment Systems is a B2B card payment platform specializing in Buyer-Initiated Payment processing for commercial cards. This move enables Paymode-X vendors to utilise straight through processing (STP) as a method of accepting virtual card payments. The combination adds new bank channel relationships to Paymode-X and capabilities that improve the network’s virtual card program. “For more and more customers and channel partners, the ultimate digital transformation of payables requires…

Latin America (LatAm)’s fintech revolution continues its course this year. Investors’ confidence remains high as they continue pouring billions into the space, betting on the prospect of fintech to help improve financial inclusion and bring innovation in the outdated banking and financial sector. Several trends are emerging this year on the back of changing market dynamics, evolving customer habit and government initiatives. Here we look at five key fintech trends to look out for in LatAm. Neobanking continues to lead LatAm’s fintech boom LatAm’s fintech boom is showing no signs of slowing down as unicorns continue to grow and investors…

Drip Capital, a digital cross-border trade finance platform for small and medium businesses (SMBs), announced that it has raised US$175 million to power its next phase of growth. Funds raised include a US$40 million Series C investment and US$135 million in warehouse debt facilities. To date, with this fundraise, Drip Capital has raised about US$525 million in equity and debt funding. San Francisco-based TI Platform led the Series C investment round alongside participation from new and existing investors, including Accel, Sequoia, Wing VC, Irongrey, and GC1 Holdings. The new capital also includes a US$100 million warehouse credit facility with Barclays…

Digital Currency Group (DCG) announced that it has closed a secondary investment round by selling more than US$700 million of its shares and is now valued at US$10 billion. SoftBank’s Vision Fund II and Latin American Fund led a syndicate of equity investors that included Google’s Capital G, Ribbit Capital, GIC, Tribe Capital, and Emory University in purchasing the stock from existing investors. According to the group, its founder and CEO Barry Silbert did not sell any shares as part of the secondary transaction. The crypto conglomerate is the parent company of digital currency asset manager Grayscale, institutional lending and brokerage…

PayPal announced the launch of the Zettle Terminal, its new, all-in-one point of sale solution that offers increased mobility in-store for small businesses. The Zettle Terminal will now be available in the UK beginning and will continue to roll-out across additional markets in Europe, and in the U.S. next year. The terminal will also feature an integrated barcode scanner in 2022. The Zettle Terminal comes with a pre-loaded SIM card, and its combined WiFi and cellular connectivity means that small businesses are no longer dependent on fixed check-out points. The terminal makes the checkout completely mobile; the seller is free…

American Express has introduced its new Business Checking account designed for small and mid-sized (SME) businesses in the United States. This fully digital Business Checking account offers a secure, high-yield, and low fee digital banking experience with a competitive APY of 1.1% on balances up to US$500,000. The checking account connects with existing American Express Credit Cards and comes with a business debit card. In early 2022, Business Checking customers will be able to earn membership rewards points and redeem them for deposits into their business checking account. The announcement further expands American Express’ small business offerings, building on its…

TIFIN, a fintech platform using AI for wealth and asset management, announced the successful closing of US$47 million in Series C funding. The firm closes its Series C round at a valuation of US$447 million, which is nearly five times higher than its Series A that was completed towards the end of 2020. Hamilton Lane, a private markets investment manager, entered the capital round as a new strategic investor. Other investors include J.P. Morgan Asset Management, Morningstar, and Broadridge after their initial investment in TIFIN’s Series B round. TIFIN said that it will work closely with its strategic investors to…

Brazilian challenger bank Nubank has filed for its initial public offering (IPO) and is expected to go public in the U.S. by early 2022, according to Forbes. Nubank had filed both with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in the U.S. and the Formulario de Referencia with the Comissão de Valores Mobiliários (CVM) in Brazil. The IPO is expected to commence after the SEC and the CVM complete their respective review processes. Nubank has secured a total of US$ 750 million during two extensions of its Series G funding round, raising the round to US$1.15 billion. During the first extension,…

Mastercard and Bakkt announced a multifaceted partnership at Money20/20 to enable merchants, banks and fintechs in the U.S. to offer cryptocurrency solutions and services. Bakkt is a digital currency company that specialises in concurrency, rewards, and loyalty points. It will now extend Mastercard’s ecosystem of cryptocurrency partners enabling Crypto-as-a-Service, providing quick access to cryptocurrency capabilities. Through Mastercard’s network and Bakkt’s digital asset platform, the payment giant’s partners will be able to offer cryptocurrency solutions. These include the ability for consumers to buy, sell and hold digital assets through custodial wallets powered by the Bakkt platform and streamlined issuance of branded crypto…

Singapore’s payment unicorn Nium,  today launched its Crypto-as-a-Service (CaaS) solution. Initial API-based elements from the new Crypto-as-a-Service offering will allow financial institutions to add in-demand capabilities for cryptocurrency investment. The cryptocurrency investment services will support five cryptocurrencies in the U.S. in 2021 and selected Asia Pacific countries such as Singapore, Australia and Hong Kong in 2022, with the list of supported currencies to reach 20 across 35 countries in 2022. Nium’s Crypto-as-a-Service platform launches at a time when crypto has emerged as one of the most popular investment asset classes. According to the 2021 Independent Reserve Cryptocurrency Index, 46% of…