For this fintech update, we look at the latest transactions, M&A, partnerships and collaborations, class-action lawsuits, remittances, RegTech, IPOs and more. Dive into the market insights and discover the key highlights for this week.
Happy reading!
After GameStop, what’s next for Robinhood?
Robinhood raises $3.4 bn amid GameStop frenzy
Robinhood, an online trading platform, which has seen demand surge amid a social media campaign targeting GameStop and other companies, raised $3.4 billion, led by Ribbit Capital and existing investors like ICONIQ Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia, Index Ventures, and NEA. “This funding is a strong sign of confidence from investors and will help us build for the future and continue to serve people through the exponential growth we’ve seen this year,” Robinhood said. Read more
Barclays forms partnership with Smart Pension
Barclays, a British multinational investment bank and financial services company, and Smart Pension, a pensions and retirement technology business, signed an agreement that will see Barclays promoting the online pension provider to its business banking clients. Firms that sign up through Barclays will be able to offer their employees access to the bank’s proprietary Global Market Funds, which are managed by the same team of investment experts that look after Wealth clients. Read more
Rabobank’s Brazil Subsidiary forming new partnership with Oracle
Oracle Financial Services Software (Oracle FSS) has entered an agreement with the Rabobank’s Brazil subsidiary. Banco Rabobank International Brasil specialises in corporate banking for the food sector and financial products and services for the country’s farmers. News also reports that Rabobank has recently signed for Oracle’s payments hub, by choosing to implement Oracle Banking Payments. Read more
New challenges for Ripple…
Ripple faces a new class-action lawsuit
A new class-action lawsuit has been filed against Ripple, its CEO Brad Garlinghouse and its subsidiary XRP II, LLC, by Tyler Toomey, a resident of Florida. Toomey claims that he owned 135 XRP in November 2020 (worth about $100 at the time) and sold it in two transactions in December 2020 at a loss of about 50%. Although the sum is a negligible amount, since the lawsuit is class-action, other similarly situated XRP investors in Florida could join Toomey in the case. Read more
On remittances…
Revolut plans new market solutions in India with remittance service
Revolut, a UK-based digital bank, plans to introduce instant worldwide money transfer to and from India at no cost. Revolut is in talks with RBI, local banks and fintech startups for the launch, as part of which it plans to offer borderless accounts to Indian users which can be used across the US, Europe and Australia. Read more
On ING’s new service launch in Germany…
ING launches shopping platform DealWise in Germany
ING announced its introduction of the shopping platform DealWise on the German market. The platform helps customers make smarter shopping decisions by bringing all the best deals to customers and giving them cashback on their shopping. By gathering cashback deals and great discounts in one place, DealWise helps consumers choose the most relevant deal for them while at the same time helping merchants to find and retain clients. Read more
On VCs…
United Fintech enters the market data and RegTech sector
United Fintech, a recently launched venture focussed on buying up a slate of capital markets fintechs, acquired TTMzero, a technology and software company, formally entering the market data & RegTech space. The acquisition is in line with United Fintech’s strategy of acquiring and scaling innovative fintechs in capital markets and creating a fintech one-stop-shop which banks and financial institutions can benefit from to accelerate their transition to a digital world. Read more
On IPOs…
Payoneer announces to go public via SPAC
Payoneer, a New York City-based fintech start-up that specializes in facilitating cross-border payments, says it will merge with a special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, backed by Bancorp founder Betsy Cohen. The merger with Cohen’s SPAC, FTAC Olympus Acquisition Corp., values Payoneer at $3.3 billion. Read more
On Regulations & Compliance…
Asia Pacific faces regulatory hurdles
New findings show that financial institutions in Asia Pacific have a history with not complying to regulations designed to protect them and their customers. According to Fenergo, in 2020, financial institutions in Asia Pacific and globally racked up more than $10.6 billion in penalties related to non-compliance of Anti-Money Laundering (AML), Know Your Customer (KYC), MiFID (Markets in Financial Instruments Directive) and data privacy regulations. Read more
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