Welcome to your daily FinTech news!
- Mexico City-based digital bank Klar has raised $70 million in equity funding at a valuation of $500 million. The raise follows a period of hyper-growth for the company. Klar experienced a “7x” year-over-year increase in revenue and 4x bump in transaction volume over the same time period, according to Klar co-founder and CEO Stefan Moller. TechCrunch article by Mary Ann Azevedo. Link here.
- Juni is announcing $206 million in funding — a $100 million Series B and a further $106 million in debt — to build out e-commerce-focused neobank, designed specifically to cater to that growing group of retailers with tools to help them run their business. TechCrunch article by Ingrid Lunden. Link here.
- The co-founder of $95 billion fintech giant Stripe defended the company’s business practices after complaints from rivals that it engages in unfair competition. Link here.
- London-based Codat, a fintech company that offers a universal API for small business data, announced on Wednesday that it has raised $100M (approximately €93.27M) in a series C round of funding. Link here.
- Bringing trust and security to the Mercado Libre digital wallet in one of the fastest-growing crypto markets in Latin America Mastercard has partnered with Mercado Libre to strengthen the security and transparency of its recently launched crypto program in Brazil. Link here.
- Digital currencies cannot harm banks' credit capacity, according to Brazil's Central Bank President, and to make monetization possible by banks with this new format, institutions will be able to issue stable coins. At an event about cryptocurrencies by Valor Capital Group, Campos Neto said that digital currency cannot erode banks’ deposit base. Link here.
- Nigerian fintech startup Indicina, which is building API-driven credit infrastructure for Africa, has announced a US$3 million funding round to accelerate its expansion into other African markets. Link here.
- The London-based and industry-leading embedded business platform Liberis is announcing that it has entered into a partnership with Barclaycard to offer its small business customers access to personalized revenue-based finance. Link here.
- Pan-African digital payments company MFS Africa is acquiring U.S.-based Global Technology Partners (GTP) in a cash-and-shares deal worth $34 million. There are very few deals of such manner; that is, an African tech company buying up a U.S.-based one. While it can be seen as bragging rights for some, MFS Africa made the deal out of a necessity for its next growth phase. Link here.
- MSME-focused fintech lending firm FlexiLoans.com has raised around $90 million in series B funding from marquee investors like Denmark-based PE MAJ Invest, UK-based fintech investor Fasanara Capital and family offices of Dr Harry Banga and Yogesh Mahansaria along with existing shareholders like Sanjay Nayar. Link here.
- Firstbase announced a partnership with Wise to integrate the Wise Platform API into Firstbase Loop. Now any business can experience seamless account creation and verification with Wise directly through the Firstbase platform. Link here.
- TrueLayer, Europe’s leading open banking platform, announced its collaboration with Curve, the fast-growing financial super app, that will give Curve customers more control and flexibility over their finances. Link here.
- Comma, a London based fintech business has announced an integration with Silicon Valley Bank UK Branch to help businesses within the innovation economy access the best of Open Banking by making payroll and invoice payments more efficient. Link here.
- SoftBank-backed lender Clearco has arrived in Germany with an ambitious pledge to lend €500m to support local businesses. Link here.
- Online payments company Checkout.com says it will settle payments for its merchants round-the-clock using stablecoins, making it the last major financial services firm taking the plunge into crypto. Link here.
- Indonesian cryptocurrency exchange Pintu has raised $113 million in a Series B funding round with investments from venture capital firms Intudo Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and Pantera Capital and investment advisory firm Northstar Group, according to a press release provided to CoinDesk. Lightspeed led Pintu’s $35 million Series A extension in August. Link here.
- Fruitful is emerging from stealth, announcing a total of $33 million in equity funding raised across a seed and Series A round over the past 18 months. Emigrant Bank led the company’s $8 million seed round while 8VC led its $25 million Series A. Link here.
- Knock, the fast-growing fintech company that makes all homebuyers Power Buyers, announced the closing of its previously announced $220 million funding round. Link here.
- Backbase, creator of the category-leading Engagement Banking Platform, raised €120 million in growth equity funding from Motive Partners. Having grown organically to over €200 million in revenue, Backbase is now partnering with a Fintech specialist private equity firm, to further strengthen its claim on the Engagement Banking category. This growth investment values Backbase at €2.5 billion. Link here.
- QED Investors, a leading global venture capital firm focused on investing in disruptive financial services companies, announced the hire of Camila Vieira Fernandes. Camila joins QED as the company’s first employee based in Sao Paulo, Brazil, where she will have a focus on early-stage investments. Link here.
- Commercial banks have a critical role in financing the transition to a low carbon, sustainable and equitable future. Through their lending, investment, and other financial services, commercial banks play an indispensable role in mobilising and allocating financial resources for the private sector. Link here.
- Marqeta announced that Western Union will support their next generation real-time, multi-currency digital wallet and digital banking platform in Europe. The modern card issuing platform will allow Western Union’s entire remittance service to be offered online, with funds disbursed to a physical or virtual Visa card. Link here.
This ends Your Daily Fintech News. Let me know if there are any questions or comments. Until the next!
