European Fintech investment surpassed Asia
Fintech is Europe’s largest venture capital (VC) investment category, receiving 20% of all VC investment in the region between 2017 and 2019 year-to-date (YTD), surpassing enterprise software (17%), health (13%) and transportation (8%), according to the State of European Fintech 2019 report by Dealroom, in partnership with Finch Capital. In Europe, fintech investment is gaining momentum, outperforming Asia for the first time since 2015 with US$5.1 billion raised by European fintechs in H1 2019, against US$2.2 billion for Asian fintechs. European challenger banks and payments companies have raised the largest chunk, with both categories raising EUR 2.4 billion in 2019 so far. Lending and mortgage and wealthtech are two other […]
Fintech leads the way as Irish VC deals hit $185m in Q3
A global survey of venture capital financing has found that the Irish fintech (financial technology) sector led the way, as Irish companies secured more than $185 million (€166 million) in VC funding in the third quarter of the year. KPMG’s Venture Pulse survey tracked more than 4,100 VC funding deals globally between July and September, totalling more than $55.7 billion. So far this year, at least $28.7 billion worth of VC deals were in Europe, which set a quarterly record in Q3 with almost $10 billion of deals. Globally, quarterly VC funding dropped by 14 per cent from almost $65 billion. In Ireland, the funding raised was spread over 22 […]
Big VC deals will delay Mexico’s first Fintech IPO
No need for startups to hurry into the public market when giants like SoftBank and General Atlantic are pumping in private capital. Investments in Mexican fintechs by large firms such as SoftBank and General Atlantic have added liquidity to the market and will likely delay the sector’s first initial public offering, two industry executives and a sector lawyer tell Mergermarket. SoftBank, the Japanese conglomerate, in March launched a $5 billion fund to invest in technology startups across Latin America. A month later, it invested $1 billion in Colombian on-demand delivery startup Rappi, and in May it poured $20 million into PayClip, Mexico’s leading online payment processor by number of clients, […]
P2P lender KoinWorks bags $1.4m from Japan’s Saison Capital
Indonesian peer-to-peer lending platform KoinWorks has received around US$1.4 million in additional funding from Saison Capital, the venture arm of Japanese financial services firm Credit Saison, as part of its series B round. The new funds bring KoinWorks’ total series B and B2 raise to about US$13.6 million. It raised US$12.2 million in June in a round led by fintech-focused venture capital firm Quona Capital and Singapore’s EV Growth. Founded in 2016, the company connects investors with borrowers through its platform, providing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with an alternative to traditional financial institutions. KoinWorks plans to use the fresh funds to develop new financial products to support digital SMEs, […]
Japanese fintech firm Paidy raises $143m from PayPal, others
Japanese fintech firm Paidy has raised a total of US$143 million in series C funding and debt financing from new and existing investors. PayPal Ventures, Soros Capital Management, JS Capital Management, Tybourne Capital Management, and an undisclosed company invested in Paidy as part of the firm’s US$83 million series C round, according to the statement. The debt financing, on the other hand, included US$52 million from Goldman Sachs Japan and US$8 million from Mizuho Bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp., and Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank. Paidy plans to increase its customer base to reach 11 million accounts by the end of 2020 by acquiring large-scale merchants and offering additional financial services. […]
Santander takes big stake in UK FinTech
Spanish bank Banco Santander is acquiring just over 50 percent of the U.K. payments platform Ebury for £350 million ($453 million), Ebury announced in a press release on Monday (Nov. 4). The Ebury payments platform gives small and medium-size companies the ability to trade internationally. The acquisition is scheduled to close in the first quarter of next year and is intended to help boost Santander’s global payments business. “Small and medium-sized businesses are a major engine of growth around the world, creating new jobs and contributing up to 60 percent of total employment and up to 40 percent of national GDP in emerging economies,” said Santander’s Executive Chairman Ana Botín. […]
Amica Financial Technologies raises $24 million in funding
Amica Financial Technologies, an upcoming digital retail bank founded by Citrus Pay cofounder Jitendra Gupta, has received $24 million in its maiden funding round. The funding is backed by a long list of institutional investors including Greyhound Capital, 3One4 Capital, Germany’s Rocket Internet, venture capital funds Matrix Partners and Sequoia Capital. Gupta, a former PayU India managing director, is among a growing tribe of second-time entrepreneurs who have attracted big bucks from marquee investors even before officially launching their companies. The Mumbai-based startup, which Gupta cofounded along with Vishnu Jerome of law firm Jerome Merchant and Partners, has also brought on board a host of angel investors. To read more, […]
Modulr invest £20m to supercharge Scottish FinTech
EDINBURGH-based FinTech Modulr has today announced it will invest the majority of £20m in the Scottish FinTech industry, to drive disruptive innovation and further boost Scotland’s growing prominence as a tech hub. The move is the latest step in Modulr’s ambition to radically transform SME banking, and its belief in Scottish tech talent to help achieve this vision. Having established its main development hub in Edinburgh, Modulr will use the funding to create an additional minimum of 53 highly skilled technology jobs in the capital. The FinTech will also nurture new technology talent in Scotland by committing to hire graduates from Scottish universities every year for the next five years. […]
