Author: Fintech News America

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…

Canadian travel tech company Hopper announced that it has completed a US$175 million Series G financing round led by New York’s GPI Capital. The fundraise also saw participation from Glade Brook Capital, WestCap, Goldman Sachs Growth and Accomplice. Hopper said in a statement that the funds will be used to accelerate the company’s growth across several fronts including customer support. The firm will also be hiring an additional 500 employees, 300 of which will be focused on customer service. Additionally, Hopper added that it is actively looking to “acqui-hire” other teams in travel, data science, or engineering-heavy startups to introduce…

Colombia’s fintech sector is growing at a fast pace with now more than 320 companies operating in various segments ranging from online lending and digital payments, to business finance and wealthtech. This makes Colombia the third largest fintech hub in Latin America (LatAm) after Brazil and Mexico, according to a recent report by industry trade group Colombia Fintech. The figure represents a 37% increase in the number of fintech companies since 2017. Though growth slowed down between 2019 and 2020, recording just a shy 2% rise, Erikc Rincon Cardenas, the president of Colombia Fintech, believes that the 2020-2021 period should…

London-based payments platform Paysafe signed a deal to acquire Latin American digital payments firm SafetyPay for US$ 441 million in an all-cash transaction that is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2021. Paysafe said in a statement that the two acquisitions sets it up to be the leading open banking and digital payments solutions provider in Latin America, one of the world’s fastest-growing online markets”. It currently offers over 70 payment types in over 40 currencies around the world. Furthermore, with SafetyPay having established relationships with more banks in Latin America, Paysafe will be uniquely positioned to capture…

San Francisco-based challenger bank Chime Financial announced that it has secured a funding of US$750 million, pushing its valuation to US$25 billion ahead of a planned initial public offering (IPO) early next year. The funding round was led by new investor Sequoia Capital Global Equities with participation from SoftBank Group Corp.’s Vision Fund 2, General Atlantic, Tiger Global Management LLC and Dragoneer Investment Group LLC. The funds will be used to push ahead with its IPO plans for early 2022. Founded in 2012, Chime provides checking and savings accounts and introductory credit cards to consumers through its app. Prior to…

Upgrade, a US-based fintech company that offers affordable and responsible credit to mainstream consumers, announced that it closed a US$105 million Series E round at a US$3.325 billion pre-money valuation. The round was led by Koch Disruptive Technologies (KDT) with participation from new and existing investors including BRV and Ventura Capital advised by Julius Baer. Upgrade offers products that are designed to give consumers more value and a better experience than those offered by traditional banks. Upgrade Card, the company’s flagship product, promotes responsible credit by turning every balance into a fixed-rate installment plan, and by paying rewards to cardholders…

EPAM Systems, a US-based provider of digital platform engineering and development services, has acquired S4N, a Columbian software development services firm specialising in the design and development of modern software products and enterprise platforms. The move is a part of EPAM’s global footprint expansion within the Latin American region. With offices in Colombia, S4N has built software for some of the world’s largest retailers, insurance companies, and airlines specialising in architecting and delivering software distributed systems, data-intensive solutions, as well as CloudOps. With an existing presence in Mexico, EPAM’s move into Colombia will strengthen its position by combining both engineering…

BBVA has signed an agreement to integrate its cross-border payment and financing services on Trusple, a blockchain-based trading platform powered by Alibaba’s affiliate Ant Group, for greater transparency and security. Trusple aims to accelerate the digital transformation and facilitate the financing of international trade operations, with a special focus on small and mid-sized businesses. These services will be offered by BBVA Mexico and BBVA Spain so that Mexican and Spanish importers that currently import from China can pay for the operations within Trusple, without having to use external services. The system uses smart contracts which automatically execute the transactions when…

Brazilian challenger bank Nubank announced that it led a US$44 million investment round in Jupiter, an Indian digital bank which launched its beta app about a month ago. This marks the first investment that Nubank has made into another company. The funding round was joined by venture capital firms Sequoia Capital and Matrix Partners. With this investment, Nubank intends be a part of Jupiter and also “take advantage of the similarities with the Indian market to promote more and more changes in Latin America”. Nubank had recently announced that it had raised a total of US$ 750 million during two…

Paysafe a leading specialized payments platform, today announces that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire PagoEfectivo, a market-leading, Peruvian alternative payments (APM) platform. For Paysafe, this latest investment is a strategic foothold in Latin America, one of the world’s fastest-growing online markets where merchants and consumers alike are demonstrating an increased appetite for alternative payment methods and online banking solutions. Paysafe’s core purpose is to enable businesses and consumers to connect and transact seamlessly through industry-leading capabilities in payment processing, digital wallet, and online cash solutions; it offers over 70 payment types in over 40 currencies around the…

Mercury, a San Francisco-based fintech startup which offers banking services for startups, announced that it has raised US$120 million during its Series B funding round and is now valued at US$1.62 billion. The round was led by Coatue, with participation from Andreessen Horowitz, CRV, and Sapphire Ventures. Investors including Dylan Field, CEO at Figma, Mathilde Collins, CEO at Front, Akshay Kothari, COO at Notion, Jack Altman, CEO at Lattice, Hunter Walk and Satya Patel, Partners at Homebrew, and Elizabeth Yin, Partner at Hustle Fund had contributed too. Additionally, Mercury said that it will set aside a US$5 million allotment in…

Across the US and around the world, live events are back in full force and gathering steam. In key fintech hubs like New York and California, major trade shows and events are scheduled to take place in the coming months, promising to gather some of the industry’s most influential experts and thought leaders. We’ve compiled a list of the top upcoming fintech events and gatherings for professionals to keep up with the latest developments and build meaning connections with industry leaders. LendIt Fintech Nexus September 01 – 02, 2021 Loews Miami Beach Hotel, FL LendIt Fintech, one of the leading…

Digital payments company Square announced that it has agreed to acquire Australia’s Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) firm Afterpay in a in an all-stock deal worth approximately US$29 billion. The closing of the transaction is expected in the first quarter of 2022. Square had recently announced that its financial arm has begun its banking operations in the US to offer business loan and deposit products, beginning with underwriting and originating business loans for Square Capital’s existing lending product. The acquisition of Afterpay will allow Square to expand its offerings to include that of consumer lending as well. Square plans to…

Robinhood, the US startup that pioneered commission-free trading, is seeking a market valuation of up to US$35 billion in its upcoming initial public offering (IPO) on July 29. In its submission to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the company said it will be offering 55 million shares and will aim to sell them at a range of US$38 to US$42 apiece to raise as much as US$2.3 billion. Robinhood will be reserving 20% to 35% of its IPO shares for its own clients in what CEO and founder Vlad Tenev expects will be one of the largest retail…

New York-based digital asset custodian Fireblocks announced that it has raised US$310 million in a Series D funding round, boosting the company’s valuation to US$2 billion. The round was co-led by Sequoia Capital, Stripes, Spark Capital, Coatue, DRW VC and SCB 10X, the venture arm of Thailand’s Siam Commercial Bank, whose investment marks the third global bank to invest in Fireblocks alongside BNY Mellon and SVB Capital. While continuing its strategic expansion, Fireblocks intends to scale all business lines, adding more customers and partners to its ecosystem. Since its inception in 2019, Fireblocks has raised a cumulative total of US$489…

When the global pandemic struck last year, millions of people transitioned from working in physical offices to working from home, within the span of a few weeks. Physical meetings turned to video calls and break-time interactions moved to online messaging platforms. While several major economies are lifting movement restrictions, it is clear that remote work is here to stay. Several employees and companies are exploring either fully remote or hybrid working structures owing to the flexibility that comes with working remotely. Therefore, there is a growing demand for remote working tools and software that allow remote teams to function effectively…

With digital payments picking up pace across the globe, social media giant Facebook is extending its payment services to online retailers. Shopify has become the first e-commerce platform to sign up for Facebook Pay. This will allow Shopify merchants to offer Facebook Pay as a payment option during checkout, eliminating the need to re-enter payment information for every transaction. Prior to this, Facebook Pay, which was launched in 2019, was available for its main platform, as well as WhatsApp and Instagram. The feature will be expanded across more platforms in the US starting this August. The development comes not long…

Circle and Mastercard announced an engagement to use the USD Coin (USDC) to facilitate crypto-to-fiat conversions in a pilot programme to expand the ability of issuers and crypto businesses to enable customers to spend their crypto assets. The engagement will test using USDC as a means for card issuers to more easily settle payments to Mastercard, helping accelerate the world towards greater use of internet-native financial infrastructure. “The engagement between Circle and Mastercard reinforces how USDC is growing its role in payments and commerce on the internet, while building a vital bridge between digital currency payment systems and large, established…

M1 Finance, an all-in-one money management platform, announced that it has secured US$150 million during a Series E funding round, the firm is now valued at US$1.45 billion. SoftBank’s Vision Fund 2 led the round, with participation from existing investors. After raising a Series B through D in the past twelve months, M1’s total funding is now over US$300 million, and its total assets under management is reportedly over US$4.5 billion. The new capital will allow M1 to focus on delivering an optimal client experience through new products and features, platform innovation, enhanced customer service, and hiring top talent to…