Staying on the beat – July 26 – August 2 2021
From Startups to Funding
Prime Trust, a one-stop shop for API-based financial infrastructure for fintech and digital asset innovators, has raised $64 million in a Series A funding round led by Mercato Partners.
Cross-border B2B payments operator Nium has joined the unicorn club after raising $200 million in a Series D funding round led by Riverwood Capital
Temasek, Visa, Vertex Ventures, Atinum Group of Funds, Beacon Venture Capital, Rocket Capital Investment, and angels, including DoorDash executive Gokul Rajaram joined the round for Singapore-based Nium.
Yoco raises $83 million to grow SME payments platform.
The South African payments and software platform has secured Series C funding amid a surge in demand for digital payments amongst African small businesses.
Claimed as the largest single investment raised by a payments company in South Africa, the round brings the total funds raised by Yoco to $107 million.
Airtel Africa scoops another $200m for mobile money business
Airtel Africa’s mobile money business has received its third big investment of the year, scooping up $200 million from an affiliate of Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund.
Qatar Holding invests in Airtel Mobile Commerce (AMC), the holding company for several of Airtel Africa’s mobile money operations, at a $2.65 billion valuation.
Chilean fintech Xepelin secures $230M in debt and equity from Kaszek, high-profile angels.
Chilean startup Xepelin, which has created a financial services platform for SMEs in Latin America, has secured $30 million in equity and $200 million in credit facilities.
FinTech Mercury Nets $120M – Including Crowdsourcing
Mercury, which helps install banking for startups, has raised $120 million in a funding round, according to a company blog post, and has set aside $5 million to let users in the round as well.
Customers can join the round on Wefunder, a crowdfunding platform, and then commit to a check size they are comfortable with, which could be as little as $100, the post stated. Once the Wefunder campaign closes, users can confirm their interest and invest with a click.
Big Beats
Amazon has been issued with a fine by the European Union for breaching the bloc’s data protection laws. The fine, disclosed by Amazon on Friday in a securities filing, was issued two weeks ago by Luxembourg’s privacy regulator.
EU Central Bank pursuing Digital Euro:
The European Central Bank (ECB) has decided to pursue ambitious plans to establish a Digital Euro, at a time in which global jurisdictions seek to make the most of the rapid digitalisation of payments. ECB announced that as of October, it would move into the two-year ‘investigation phase’ of its Digital Euro project, predominantly focusing on the currency’s design and distribution methods to merchants and citizens alike.
Do you want to find out more about the digital euro and the European Payments Initiative? Listen to our podcast series on the topic in collaboration with Netcetera and Giesecke + Devrient.
Regulatory
The Central Bank of Ireland Governor Gabriel Makhlouf said that although the eurozone has yet to decide on a central bank digital currency, the development is “very likely” to happen. “In my view, it’s not a question of if but rather how and when”.
Financial institutions to accelerate spending in RegTech
During the pandemic, financial institutions have been accelerating spending on regulatory technology, a survey of almost 40 organisations conducted by ClauseMatch has found.
More from PCN:
Buy Now, Pay Later – What’s the hype?
Fairer and more flexible credit – the underlying premise for Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL), which includes financing options from small consumer purchases to significant business expenses. What opportunity do these solutions offer, and how are companies and people using BNPL services to thrive?
Useful Reports:
Financial Services Unchained – McKinsey
The world of financial services is watching the shift to open data closely, as technological, regulatory, and competitive forces facilitate easier and safer sharing of financial data. Although in many markets “open finance” is still in its infancy, the innovations it enables promise to reshape financial services as we have known them, touching everything from the way large companies do business to retail, small and midsize enterprises, and all aspects of personal finance and households, including mortgages and insurance
PCN:
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