THIS WEEK’S FUNDING NEWS OVERVIEW
For the past week’s funding news overview, we recommend reading our weekly #DoneDeal newsletter 👇
👀 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.
REPORT
Harlem Capital released the 2022 Diverse Founder Report in partnership with Crunchbase for the second year in a row.
This year the report expanded from 870 companies to 1,128 companies that have raised $1M+.
👀 NEWS HIGHLIGHT
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charged Charlie Javice, the founder of student financial aid startup Frank, with fraud in connection with the $175 million sale of the company to JPMorgan Chase Bank in 2021.
📰 ARTICLE
A senior Chinese central bank official called for stronger regulation of digital finance, citing recent banking failures linked to US lenders involved in cryptocurrency transactions.
“Risks and fraud associated with cryptocurrency, including the two American banks who ran into troubles after providing many services for cryptocurrency from taking deposits to settlement, showed that regulators should respect rules when innovating regulation,” Xuan Changneng, a deputy governor at the People’s Bank of China, said.
📰 ARTICLE
The market opportunity for the financial services sector—which includes banking, lending, payments, insurance, and investing—is larger than any other major industry.
Gross profit outweighs software, e-commerce, and even healthcare. And this industry is only growing, with the global market expected to top $30T in the next few years.
💡INSIGHTS
Mercury is Ready for the Moment.
The unicorn banking platform built on a network of partner institutions is profitable, growing rapidly – and ready to become SV’s new standard.
💡INSIGHTS
As the landscape of market leaders shifts, the forecast is that the US point-of-sale terminal installed base will grow from 17.3 million this year to 20.2 million in 2026, largely due to providers upgrading technology.
🧐 ANALYSIS
The history of the e-wallet market is one of growth and change.
In 2019, e-wallets reportedly became the number one payment method in the world According to Boku’s Mobile Wallets Report 2021, after a two-decade history that has seen them build from a fringe financial product.
NOW, ON TO THE SUMMARY OF LAST WEEK'S NEWS
🇺🇸 NATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS
⭐️ Acorns acquired London-based GoHenry, for an undisclosed sum.
⭐️bunq officially applied for a US banking license.
⭐️ FinFit is merging with Salary Finance US.
⭐️ The founder of Cash App and former Chief Technology Officer of Square, Bob Lee, was killed.
😇 Do you want to have access to the best deal flow in FinTech? And/or do you want to invest alongside me and 1000+ other FinTech Angel investors?
Join my Angel Investors Syndicate!
DIGITAL BANKING
Liberty Bank launched Alkami’s cloud-based digital banking platform, which will enable Liberty Bank to leverage data and provide enhanced personalized communication channels.
The Meltdown of a Gay Bank- What went wrong when an LGBTQ+ start-up set out to disrupt finance.
PAYMENTS
Proactis and Finexio announced a strategic partnership that expands Proactis' end-to-end software platform offerings.
Virtualitics announced a partnership with North American Bancard to enable NAB to explore and understand payments intelligence.
Marqeta partnered with WorkWhile to power accelerated wage access to its workers.
Zurp announced the public availability of the Zurp Card, available for individuals 18 years and older and is specifically built with Gen Z in mind.
AKUVO, a technology organization specializing in collections and credit risk, closes $10 million investment round.
CardX launched Mastercard Click to Pay on Lightbox, CardX’s online payment form, to expand the product’s reach.
Mastercard is stepping up its sustainability efforts, vowing to ditch all first-use PVC plastics from its newly produced cards by the beginning of 2028.
Stripe´s growth in payments volume slowed last year after a pandemic surge, even as it helped more large business clients handle payments over the internet.
BNPL
ChargeAfter has increased its network of lenders through a partnership with Canada-based B2B BNPL provider Tabit.
Affirm shares sink on Apple Pay Later News, Affirm Responds: “We are well positioned to win.”
CRYPTO
BitPay is excited to announce Ralph Lauren accepts cryptocurrency payments at its new store in the Miami Design District.
INVESTMENT
SoFi Technologies scooped up fintech mortgage lender Wyndham Capital Mortgage in an all-cash deal for an undisclosed sum.
MOVERS & SHAKERS
Varo Bank announced the appointment of Sachin Shetty as Chief Technology Officer and Lisa Violet as Senior Vice President, Strategic Partnerships.
Checkout.com appointed Céline Dufétel as its new president.
Paysafe appointed Nicole Carroll as its first-ever Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer.
If you are a fintech startup and have over 100 questions send me an email, maybe I can answer a few.