THIS WEEK’S FUNDING NEWS OVERVIEW
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👀 NEWS HIGHLIGHT
eToro has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Gatsby — a fintech startup that also aimed to go head to head against Robinhood — for $50 million in a cash and common stock deal.
👉 Read the full article here.
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📊 INFOGRAPHIC
Digital wallets will dominate global e-commerce payments by 2025.
One in three e-commerce payments will be via wallet in the U.S. as Americans and others catch up to Asia-Pacific users.
👉 Read the full The Financial Brand article by Steve Cocheo here.
💡INSIGHTS
Consumer fintech returns to the trend line.
When the U.S. government first pursued its massive Covid stimulus package in the spring of 2020, they likely had little idea their actions would have such a big impact on the trajectory of consumer fintech.
👉 Read the full Andreessen Horowitz article/newsletter by Alex Immerman, Justin Kahl, Jamie Sullivan, Seema Amble, Anish Acharya, Marc Andrusko, and Corey Waller here
🧐 ANALYSIS
Can the Visa-Mastercard duopoly be broken?
America is home to the heftiest interchange fees of any major economy—costs are greater than in Europe and China. That primarily benefits two firms: Visa and Mastercard, which facilitate more than three-quarters of the country’s credit card transactions.
👉 Read the full article here.
NOW, ON TO THE SUMMARY OF LAST WEEK'S NEWS
🇺🇸 NATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS
⭐️Green Dot is in dispute with Uber Technologies, one of its contract customers, which it disclosed in a regulatory filing. Link here.
⭐️Arc raised $20 million in a Series A round of funding. Link here.
⭐️Truework raised $50m in a Series C funding round. Link here.
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DIGITAL BANKING
Highbeam raised $7 million in seed funding to continue developing banking tools that cater to these entrepreneurs’ needs. Link here.
PAYMENTS
Central Payments raised $30 million in growth equity led by Castle Creek Capital with participation from Launchpad Capital. Link here.
Seltz will be launching in the US to provide “rewards like credit”. Link here.
Astra pairs up with Visa to empower faster A2A payments. Link here.
BNPL
Max Levchin says the market is wrong about Affirm Holdings Inc., the company he co-founded a decade ago. With company shares down 77% from November, Max Levchin says the firm's lending models will set it apart. Link here.
OPEN BANKING
BankiFi secures £4 million for expansion into the US. Link here.
CRYPTO
Federal Reserve issues guidance for banks considering crypto activities. Link here.
BLOCKCHAIN / DEFI
Figure Technologies, Inc collaborates with Visa to provide issuing processor services through Figure’s blockchain-based Banking in a Box platform. Link here.
Injective raises $40M from Jump Crypto and BH Digital to accelerate growth. Link here.
INVESTMENT
Stackwell raises $3.5m to tackle the racial wealth gap. Link here.
Farther, a wealth tech firm, banks $15M Series A as valuation hits $50M
MOVERS & SHAKERS
Marqeta's Jason Gardner is preparing to step down as CEO and has launched a search for his successor. Link here.
If you are a fintech startup and have over 100 questions send me an email, maybe I can answer a few.