Goldman Sachs Group has signed a deal to acquire GreenSky, a fintech platform for home improvement consumer loan originations, in an all-stock transaction valued at approximately US$2.24 billion. GreenSky’s differentiated lending capabilities and market-leading merchant and consumer ecosystem will help accelerate the efforts of Goldman Sachs to create the consumer banking platform of the future. Since its founding, GreenSky has provided simple and transparent home improvement financing solutions for approximately four million customers. GreenSky has a growing network of over 10,000 merchants and helps them accelerate their business by incorporating a seamless financing experience into their commerce flow. “We have…
Author: Fintech News America
American consumer credit reporting agency TransUnion has signed a US3.1 billion deal to acquire Neustar, an identity resolution company, from a private investment group led by Golden Gate Capital and with minority participation by GIC. Neustar’s security business, which is excluded from the transaction, will become a Golden Gate Capital and GIC portfolio company following the close of the transaction. The acquisition expands TransUnion’s digital identity capabilities through the addition of Neustar’s distinctive data and analytics, enabling consumers and businesses to transact online with greater confidence. Headquartered in Virginia, Neustar is expected to generate approximately US$575 million of revenue and…
Papaya Global, a New York-based workforce management platform transforming global employment, announced that it has raised US$250 million in Series D funding, bringing the company’s valuation to US$3.7 billion. Papaya’s valuation has increased tenfold since September 2020 with a total funding of US$440 million to date. The new funding round was led by New York-based global private equity and venture capital firm Insight Partners and joined by Tiger Global, with participation from existing investors Greenoaks Capital, IVP, Scale Venture Partners, Bessemer Venture Partners, Alkeon Capital, Workday Ventures, Access Industries and Group 11. The firm said that the funding will be…
Nuula, a Canadian mobile application that gives small business owners instant access to critical business metrics, announced that it has raised US$120 million. The total funds secured are US$20 million in equity funding led by Edison Partners that will accelerate the brand’s launch and drive adoption of the Nuula mobile app. Meanwhile, the remaining US$100 million credit facility was provided by funds managed by the Credit Group of Ares Management Corporation that will provide scale to the app’s integrated credit product. Nuula will soon be adding the capability for small business owners to monitor other critical metrics including financial, payments…
Fireblocks, a US-based platform that allows financial institutions to store, move and issue cryptocurrencies, announced that it will be opening of a new office headquartered in Switzerland. The firm said that it will be dedicating significant resources toward expanding its presence and growth in the DACH market. Over the last six months, Fireblocks has doubled the size of its European team to support the increasing number of institutional customers in the region with close to 200 customers in the DACH market. To support Fireblocks’ customer-base in the region, the company has appointed Richard Astle and Ana Santillan as co-Heads of…
Chilean fintech Modyo announced that it has signed a partnership agreement with SaaS cloud banking platform Mambu. With this partnership, Modyo will connect its core DXP to Mambu’s composable banking cloud platform. Modyo has spent the past years building a next-gen digital experience platform designed to help financial institutions and large organisations transform their customer experiences. To this end, Modyo has been working on building a world class ecosystem of partners. With the Mambu partnership, Modyo said that its ecosystem will benefit from accelerated creation of cloud based digital banking experiences. Mambu and Modyo shared several common clients, and as…
US-based neobank MoneyLion announced the launch of its new cryptocurrency capabilities, enabling customers to buy and sell digital currencies within its app. MoneyLion said that eligible customers will initially be able to buy and sell Bitcoin and Ethereum, as well as round-up their debit card purchases in Bitcoin. In the coming months, the neobank plans to add more cryptocurrencies and related features to the offering. The rollout is underway and will continue over the coming weeks, with the new capabilities available to all eligible MoneyLion customers on October 5. MoneyLion had recently announced that its merger with a special purpose…
Global Payments, a worldwide provider of payment technology and software solutions, announced an agreement to purchase MineralTree, a provider of accounts payable automation and business-to-business (B2B) payments solutions, for US$500 million in cash. The company will make the acquisition from an investor group led by Great Hill Partners, .406 Ventures and Eight Roads Ventures. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2021. MineralTree’s software-as-a-service (SAAS) offerings automate key procurement processes, including invoice capture, coding and approval, and enable virtual cards and integrated payments options across a variety of key vertical markets to digitize payables for thousands…
Although Panama is lagging behind nations such as Brazil, Mexico and Colombia, in the development of fintech, the lack of access to financial services and high financial exclusion levels provide opportunities for the space to grow. A study released in February by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), looks at the state of the Panamanian banking and financial industry, and gives an overview of the domestic fintech ecosystem. According to the study, the traditional banking and financial industry is failing to serve all segments of the population. This factor, coupled with Panama’s established financial center, is giving the country’s fintech’s sector…
US-based Neobank Varo Bank announced that it closed a US$510 million oversubscribed Series E funding round, valuing it at US$2.5 billion. The round was led by new investor Lone Pine Capital, who was joined by dozens of additional new investors including Declaration Partners, Eldridge, Marshall Wace, Berkshire Partners / Stockbridge, and funds and accounts managed by BlackRock. New investors who also participated in the round includ Warburg Pincus, The Rise Fund, Gallatin Point Capital, and HarbourVest Partners. Varo said that the investment will be used to further accelerate Varo’s rapid customer growth and support additional investment in product and technology…
Mastercard has signed a deal to acquire CipherTrace, a US-based cryptocurrency intelligence company, for an undisclosed sum to extend its capabilities deep into the field of digital assets. The deal is anticipated to close before the end of the year. The integrated offering will build on CipherTrace’s suite of digital assets and Mastercard’s cyber security solutions to provide businesses with greater transparency to help identify and understand their risks and to help manage their digital asset regulatory and compliance obligations. The deal enables Mastercard to combine the technology, AI and cyber capabilities of both companies to differentiate its card and…
Mastercard is set to acquire Aiia, a Danish open banking technology provider, for an undisclosed sum and the transaction is anticipated to close by year’s end. Aiia is a licensed Payment Initiation Service Provider (PISP) and Account Information Service Provider (AISP) and operates under the supervision of the Danish Financial Supervisory Authority (FSA). Mastercard has made several moves in recent times to blend its proprietary technology and multi-rail payments expertise with strong partners offering complementary services. In 2019, Mastercard launched its first open banking connectivity offering in the UK and Poland through a partnership with Token. With the acquisition of…
Databricks, a US-based enterprise software company, announced that it has raised US$1.6 billion during a Series H funding round at a US$38 billion valuation. This new round brings Databricks’ total funding to almost US$3.6 billion, and will be used to accelerate the company’s rapidly growing data lakehouse market. The round was led by Counterpoint Global (Morgan Stanley) and joined by other new investors including Baillie Gifford, ClearBridge Investments and UC Investments (Office of the Chief Investment Officer of the Regents of the University of California). Existing investors participating in the round include Andreessen Horowitz, funds and accounts managed by BlackRock,…
US-based neobank MoneyLion’s merger with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Fusion Acquisition Corp. to become a publicly listed company is coming to a close. A special meeting of Fusion Acquisition Corp. shareholders will be held on 21 September 2021 in order to approve the proposed merger. Upon closing of the transaction, the combined company will be named MoneyLion Inc. and will be listed on the NYSE under the new ticker symbol “ML.” Dee Choubey, CEO and Founder of MoneyLion said, “We are excited to reach this important milestone on our path to becoming a publicly-traded company. We look forward…
Ingka Investments, the investment arm of Ingka Group which owns and operates IKEA stores, has invested US$22.5 million in US-based Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) firm Jifiti, for a minority stake in the company. Ingka Group and Jifiti have a long-standing commercial partnership with the latter acting as a facilitator of IKEA Retail’s and consumer financing services. IKEA, with their local banking partners in Spain, France, Portugal and Belgium have already been offering financing in their stores via the Jifiti platform since 2019 and are now rolling out into other countries. The aim is to have the Jifiti platform facilitate…
Affirm, a US-based Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) firm, announced that its flexible payment solution will soon be available to Amazon.com customers at checkout. In a joint statement, Amazon and Affirm said that they are testing with select customers now, and in the coming months, Amazon plans to make Affirm more broadly available to its customers. As a result of Amazon and Affirm’s partnership, select Amazon customers now have the option to split the total cost of purchases of US$50 or more into simple monthly payments by using Affirm. Approved customers are shown the total cost of their purchase upfront…
Monaco-based wealthtech firm Privatam has appointed Jose Carlos Reis as its Sales Director for the Latin American market to consolidate its presence in the South American region. Prior to joining Privatam, Jose Carlos Reis worked at BB Securities Asia (Banco do Brasil group) in Singapore as Executive Director, Head of Institutional Sales and held various positions at Banco BPI, Portugal, leading institutional sales teams, structuring investment solutions, trading derivatives, Latam fixed income and equities. Jose Carlos has an extensive track record in the finance industry, with over eighteen years of experience advising institutional investors in Asia, Europe and Latin America.…
Airwallex, a cross border payment company, announced its official launch in the US as it continues its international growth momentum. The company first established a presence in San Francisco in 2019, and has grown to a team of more than 30 today across product and engineering, legal, risk & compliance, partnerships and sales. Airwallex plans to continue to expand its US team over the coming months, as it looks to further strengthen its foothold in the market. Its market entry into the U.S. is supported by a partnership with domestic bank Evolve Bank & Trust, a technology-focused financial services organisation…
Corporate credit card startup Ramp announced that it has raised US$300 million in a Series C funding round which now values the firm at US$3.9 billion. Ramp has raised over US$620 million to date in a mix of equity and debt financing. Founders Fund led the round, with participation from Redpoint Ventures, Thrive Capital, D1 Capital Partners, Spark Capital, Coatue Management, Iconiq, Altimeter, Stripe, Vista Public Strategies, Lux Capital, A* Partners, Definition Capital, Honeycomb, Kinetic, and other existing investors. Ramp said that it intends to use the new financing to accelerate development of its finance automation platform, designed to help…
DriveWealth, US-based specialist of embedded finance, fractional investing in US equities, and API-driven brokerage infrastructure, announced a US$450 million Series D with a valuation of US$2.85 billion. The round was co-led by New York-based global private equity and venture capital investor Insight Partners and Accel, with significant participation by Greyhound Capital, Softbank Vision Fund 2, and Series C lead Point72 Ventures. The round also included a follow-on investment from Fidelity International, plus several new investors including Base 10, FTX, and FlightDeck. DriveWealth said that it will use the Series D investment to “execute its strategic vision of becoming the category…