Author: Fintech News America

Middle East and Asia-based API infrastructure company M2P Solutions announced a strategic partnership with Canadian payment solutions provider Buckzy Payments to provide cross-border payments in the MENA region. The company’s MENA-based partners will be able to use M2P’s platform to make cross-border payments to North America, Latin America and Europe through Buckzy’s ecosystem. The service is open to GCC countries, including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman. Banks, exchange houses and money transfer operators in these countries will now be able to extend their services to underserved payment corridors, a statement from M2P said. GCC cross-border payments hold…

PayPal has rolled out its “super app” which is touted to be an all-in-one, personalised app that offers customers the best place to manage their financial lives. The new PayPal app will introduce new features including PayPal Savings, a new high yield savings account provided by Synchrony Bank, alongside new in-app shopping tools that will enable customers to earn rewards redeemable for cash back or PayPal shopping credit and uncover deals with hundreds of merchants. Additionally, the new app offers PayPal customers a single place to manage their bill payments, Users can also get paid up to two days earlier…

Zurich Insurance Group announced a global collaboration with Toronto-based insurtech BOXX Insurance (BOXX), which provides fully-integrated cybersecurity and insurance solutions for small-to-medium-sized businesses (SMEs), consumers and families. Technology has brought significant benefits to businesses and individuals – improving lifestyles and connecting people wherever they are in the world. However, the increased adoption of digital business models has also led to growing cyber risks resulting in cyber-attacks, business disruption, loss of revenue and regulatory action on data protection. Additionally, Zurich will also participate in BOXX’s Series A funding round to build a presence in the cyber SMEs and consumer space. “We…

Feedzai, an American cloud-based financial risk management platform, and Berlin-based Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) platform Solarisbank announced a multi-year partnership at Money20/20 Europe. With this new partnership, Solarisbank is leveraging Feedzai’s proprietary technology which enables them to apply an effective risk management which is in line with respective law requirements. The companies have joined forces to combine BaaS with the risk management and security that is expected from financial institutions, while preserving the customer experience. The flexibility of Feedzai’s risk management solution means they can scale as Solarisbank grows, helping the company to keep up with a regulatory and geo-political landscape that is…

Entrust, an American digital security and credential issuance solutions provider, announced that it has signed a deal to acquire Antelop Solutions, a Paris-based fintech that enables financial institutions to issue secure digital credit and debit cards to their customers. This move looks to combine Antelop’s solutions with Entrust’s card issuance portfolio. Antelop Solutions has about 30 employees who will join Entrust with the acquisition, including founder and CEO Nicolas Bruley. He will continue to lead this team to advance digital financial credential solutions at Entrust. The acquisition is expected to close in the next several weeks. Entrust’s solutions help banks…

Blockchain infrastructure platform Blockdaemon announced that it has closed a Series B funding round of US$155 million with a valuation of US$1.255 billion. The round was led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2, with participation from Matrix Capital Management, Sapphire Ventures, and Morgan Creek Digital. Existing investors Boldstart Ventures, Goldman Sachs, Greenspring Associates, CoinFund, Kenetic, Kraken Ventures, Borderless Capital, and Lerer Hippeau increased their investments as part of the B round. This news follows the company’s Series A Round in June 2021 of US$28 million, as well as previous strategic investments, bringing the total to just under US$190 million. The latest…

American cryptocurrency exchange platform Coinbase announced that it has committed to invest US$500 million of its cash and cash equivalents into a diverse portfolio of crypto assets. Coinbase added that going forward, it will also allocate 10% of quarterly net income into this same portfolio. According to a statement by the firm, this move will make it the first publicly traded company to hold Ethereum, Proof of Stake assets, DeFi tokens, and many other crypto assets supported for trading on its platform, in addition to Bitcoin, on its balance sheet. Coinbase’s crypto asset investment allocation will be driven by its…

SpotOn, provider of mobile payment technology and management system for restaurants and small businesses, announced US$300 million in Series E funding, raising its valuation to US$3.15 billion. The funding, which comes four months after SpotOn’s US$125 million Series D, will be used to acquire Appetize, a digital and mobile commerce platform for enterprise businesses, such as sports and entertainment venues, theme parks, zoos, college campuses, and more. The round was led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), one of the world’s leading technology and software investors, with continued participation from current investors, including DST Global, 01 Advisors, Dragoneer Investment Group, Franklin Templeton,…

New York-based Israeli B2B payments platform Melio has tripled its valuation to US$4 billion with its latest fundraise of US$250 million in a Series D, according to a statement. The round was co-led by Thrive Capital and existing backers of the company General Catalyst. Participating investors included Tiger Global Management, alongside existing investors Accel, Bessemer Venture Partners, Coatue, Corner Ventures, and Latitude. The funding will be used to boost expansion efforts, including partnerships with financial institutions, software as a service (SaaS) providers, and marketplaces interested in B2B payments. General Catalyst Chairperson and Managing Director Ken Chenault will be joining Melio’s…

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…

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…