REPORT
The Financial Technology Partners / FT Partners in-depth research report focuses on both women leaders in FinTech – founders, executives and investors – as well as FinTech companies with products focused on improving financial wellness and inclusivity for women.
The report features several exclusive interviews with female leaders across the FinTech landscape and highlights female-led FinTech companies as well as female-focused investment firms.
👉 Read it here
👀 NEWS HIGHLIGHT
US-based payments software company Stax has grown from a kitchen table startup to a billion-dollar business after raising $245 million Greater Sum Ventures (GSV), HarbourVest Partners and Blue Star Innovation Partners.
Founded in 2014 by siblings Suneera Madhani, CEO, and Sal Rehmetullah, president, Stax drives the payments ecosystem for more than 22,000 small businesses, large businesses, and software platforms through an all-in-one payments API.
The new capital comes on the heels of a significant year of growth for Stax, having just acquired automated surcharging platform CardX this past November.
👉 Read the full article here
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📊 INFOGRAPHIC
👉 Download Flagship Advisory’s latest infographic: Klarna Loss Quadruples As Geo Expansion Continues here.
📰 ARTICLE
Paysend announced that its U.S. customers can now send funds directly to eligible Mastercard cards in over 60 countries, including Mexico, Guatemala, Dominican Republic, Honduras, El Salvador, and Colombia, as well as within the U.S.
By leveraging Mastercard Send, a payments platform that enables people and organizations to send and receive money in near-real-time, domestically and cross-border, Paysend is able to continue to make digital money transfers more widely available and accessible. Link here
📰 ARTICLE
Several Russian banks announced they would soon start issuing cards using the Chinese UnionPay card operator's system coupled with Russia's own Mir network, after Visa and MasterCard said they were suspending operations in Russia.
Announcements regarding the switch to UnionPay came on Sunday from Sberbank (SBER.MM), Russia's biggest lender, as well as Alfa-Bank and Tinkoff . Link here
💡INSIGHTS
As inflation heats up, 64% of Americans are now living paycheck to paycheck.
While wage growth is high by historical standards, it isn't keeping up with the increased cost of living, which is growing at the fastest annual pace in about four decades.
When wages rise at a slower pace than inflation, those paychecks won't go as far at the grocery store and at the gas pump — two areas of the budget that is getting particularly squeezed.
👉 Check out the full article here
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NOW, ON TO THE SUMMARY OF LAST WEEK'S NEWS
🇺🇸 NATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS
⭐️President Biden takes step toward regulating cryptocurrencies. Link here.
⭐️Rize Money Inc. and YieldX announced a strategic partnership and the release of the Rize Target Yield Account (TYA), a high yield account backed by fiat currency. Link here.
⭐️ Marqeta announced that Citi Commercial Cards has selected its tokenization-as-a-service capabilities to facilitate the provisioning of cards into mobile wallets. Link here.
⭐️ Savings and investing app Acorns has raised $300 million in a Series F funding round that values the company at nearly $2 billion. Link here.
DIGITAL BANKING
Dollar General (DG) announced a series of new financial services including spendwell banking platform, a buy-now, pay-later test program with Sezzle and new FIS Worldpay card reward points payment option. Link here
PAYMENTS
American Express says it is suspending its operations in Russia and Belarus, becoming the latest credit card giant to respond with measures denouncing Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine. Link here
PayPal announced it was suspending its services in Russia, adding to the number of firms retreating from the country in response to its invasion of Ukraine. Link here
BNPL
Nearly all of Afterpay's customers repaid their installments in 2021, Block CFO Amrita Ahuja told CNBC when questioned about the Cash App parent's acquisition of the buy-now, pay-later service. Link here
INVESTMENT
After seven years since its last financing round, AngelList Venture has raised new capital. The company announced in a blog post yesterday that it has raised a $100 million Series C led by Tiger and Accomplice at a $4 billion valuation. Link here.
MOVERS & SHAKERS
Stash, one of the fastest-growing financial technology companies in the United States, has announced that Lynne Oldham has joined as chief people officer and a member of the executive team. Link here.
If you are a fintech startup and have over 100 questions send me an email, maybe I can answer a few.