THIS WEEK’S FUNDING NEWS OVERVIEW
👀 Are you interested in funding news from the FinTech space?
💡 Read all about it in my weekly overview article and get the latest funding news from the global FinTech space in your inbox every week.
😎 SPONSORED CONTENT
This piece is sponsored by our friends from Mercuryo – an international company that creates a new generation of financial services for the business sector.
Recently Mercuryo published a Crypto Banking-as-a-Service report, believing that BaaS will revolutionize the crypto and fiat industries.
📰 ARTICLE
Americans Don’t Need Super Apps.
Insider Intelligence claims Americans “grappling with provider and product choice overload are hankering for service rebundling, driving up demand for super apps.”
👉Read the full Forbes article here.
💬 INTERVIEW
Sezzle founder and chief executive Charlie Youakim says the US-based buy now, pay later business is better off without axed merger partner Zip Co, as it aims to turn profitable in its own right by the end of this year.
👉Read the full article here.
💡INSIGHTS
PayPal’s most recent earnings results spotlight the digital shift, as active user counts eclipsed pre-pandemic levels.
At the end of the second quarter, PayPal's active accounts stood at 429 million, up 6% year-over-year, and the tally includes 35 million merchant accounts.
👉Read more stats and figures here.
NOW, ON TO THE SUMMARY OF LAST WEEK'S NEWS
🇺🇸 NATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS
⭐️More than half of the most valuable startups in America were founded by immigrants, according to a new analysis by the National Foundation for American Policy. Link here.
⭐️Treasure Financial and Grasshopper Bank team up to improve financial visibility for businesses. Link here.
⭐️MX hires former PayPal exec Jim Magats as CEO. Link here.
⭐️Upgrade is introducing its latest product — Upgrade OneCard™ — which offers a unique combination between a debit card and a credit card, with a hint of “Buy Now, Pay Later” thrown into the mix. Link here.
⭐️Savana has closed a $45 million Series A round led by Canadian growth-stage investor Georgian. Link here.
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DIGITAL BANKING
Grasshopper Bank has raised $30.4 million. Link here.
Guava announced closing a $2.4 million pre-seed round led by Heron Rock. Link here.
Computer Services, Inc. (CSI) announced that Movement Bank has selected CSI’s NuPoint core platform to provide customers with integrated, reliable core banking services. Link here.
Umba has acquired a majority share of Daraja, a Kenyan deposit-taking microfinance bank. Link here.
Avant teams up with Major League Soccer. Link here.
VC FUNDS
L’Attitude Ventures announced that it has closed on its first institutional fund, raising more than $100 million from several financial services heavyweights, including a “strategic anchor investment” from JPMorgan Chase. Link here.
PAYMENTS
PayPal Holdings said activist investor Elliott Management has an over $2 billion stake in the fintech company, and the firm raised its annual profit guidance. Link here.
Mastercard has welcomed a raft of new global partners to its innovative Mastercard Installments program and is expanding it further to support small businesses in the U.S. Link here.
B9 Inc has announced a $2.6M funding round led by Sky Light Invest. Link here.
MVB Bank has become the first live user of the Real-Time Payments (RTP) Send functionality offered by Victor Technologies, and plans to offer RTP Request for Payment. Link here.
Global Payments is to acquire smaller rival EVO Payments for nearly $4 billion in an all-cash deal that will extend its reach in the B2B sector. Link here.
CabbagePay has officially launched in major US cities with its goal to redefine the way money moves for all businesses as it continues to penetrate brands, stores, websites, and apps. Link here.
ZAYZOON raised $25.5 million to expand its earned wage access business across the US. Link here.
BNPL
Splitit is moving its global headquarters to Atlanta putting the company in the heart of the payments processing center of the world. Link here. Splitit brings its Installments-as-a-Service to the rental market through its partnership with letus. Link here.
CRYPTO
Kraken is under federal investigation, suspected of violating U.S. sanctions by allowing users in Iran and elsewhere to buy and sell digital tokens. Link here.
BLOCKCHAIN / DEFI
City of Miami to launch 5,000 Ethereum NFTs with TIME, Mastercard, Salesforce. Link here.
INVESTMENT
Robinhood’s crypto division was fined $30 million for “significant failures” in areas of anti-money laundering and cybersecurity regulations. Link here. Robinhood cutting about 23% of jobs and releasing second-quarter earnings. Link here.
Nada raises $8.1M in funding to unlock real estate wealth for everyone. Link here.
GloriFi is to list on the stock exchange via a merger with special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) DHC Acquisition Corp. Link here.
iCapital has acquired fintech firm Simon Markets. Link here.
MOVERS & SHAKERS
AppTech Payments Corp announced an expansion of its leadership team to include two dynamic female leaders in the Fintech space: Software Engineer Amanda Glosson and Chief of Staff Kaylei Wright. Link here.
Justt announced the expansion of its senior leadership team with two key hires: Renata Caine as Chief Commercial Officer and Lissa Andrews as VP of Global Marketing. Link here.
If you are a fintech startup with over 100 questions, email me; maybe I can answer a few.