Stay up to date with the latest news from fintech! This week, we bring you updates and developments on partnerships, startups, open banking, payments, crypto and more. Enjoy reading!
With $3B expected in 2021, Singapore is becoming a fintech capital (Tech Crunch)
Investment in fintech is surging back following a brief but notable drop during the COVID pandemic. As a result, countries worldwide are seeing a large influx of capital for fintech ventures, and both investment totals and deal counts in the fintech space are increasing rapidly. Although a large part of fintech funding focuses on countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom, smaller countries, particularly in Asia, are making their presence known. This is hardly surprising given that Asia leads the world in fintech adoption rates. Read more.
Cred to acquire Happay to expand its suite of fintech offerings (Economic Times)
Cred has agreed to acquire Happay, a corporate expense management platform, in a cash-and-stock deal to add to its suite of fintech offerings. While financial details of the proposed Cred-Happay deal weren’t disclosed, the transaction pegs Happay’s valuation at nearly $180 million, according to a statement released Wednesday. Read more.
Judo Bank pairs with UK fintech in APAC first (Australian Brokers)
SME lender Judo Bank has become the first company in Australia to link up with UK fintech Codat, a specialist provider of integrated bank statements for small businesses. Codat has made waves in the UK by creating a product that can bring together the multiple accounting software programs that SMEs use, allowing lenders to action decisions more quickly with more data in front of them. Read more.
SA Payment Group Adumo Acquires Fintech Startup SwitchPay (IT News Africa)
Adumo, one of South Africa’s largest independent payment processors, announced it has acquired SwitchPay, a South African startup providing alternative payment services to merchants and retailers, for an undisclosed amount. SwitchPay is a fintech company that provides retailers with a digital platform to offer their customers alternative payment methods both in-store and online, including purpose-based lending, customised subscription models, and lay-by. The company’s platform supports third-party payment products through API integration, and its credit-related products aggregate multiple credit providers, including banks and other fintech. Read more.
CoinShares Intl to Buy French Fintech Company Napoleon (US News)
Cryptocurrency company CoinShares International has agreed to buy French fintech Napoleon Crypto SAS for around 13.9 million euros ($15.8 million), as the booming cryptocurrency sector continues to attract investors’ money. CoinShares said on that its takeover of Napoleon Crypto SAS formed part of its strategy of expanding its technology and platforms. Read more.
Four Companies Join Forces to Redevelop Sihanoukvill City into a Fintech Hub and Elite Club (Newswire)
Continent Assets Management Co., Ltd, PLMP Venture Capital Co., Ltd, PropNex Cambodia Co., Ltd and Ly Ly Kampong Seila Special Economic Zone Co., Ltd signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on November 17th 2021, to join strategic cooperation in designing new investment projects in Sihanoukville Fintech Hub City under the honorable presences of Governor Kuoch Chamroeun and Master Plan Project Director, Chea Kok Hong following the government multipurpose SEZ master plan announcement last month. Read more.
Fintech startups rejoice at new UK open-banking rule change (Verdict)
UK open banking startups are in a celebratory mood after the nation’s financial markets regulator changed the 90-day rule, which required users to re-authenticate their permission for sharing financial data every three months. Users previously had to re-authenticate their permission with every app and provider they shared their financial data with. This had been viewed as particularly cumbersome. Now users will just need to give their permission to share their data once, albeit still every 90 days. Read more.
Brazilian users of fintech Mercado Pago can now buy, sell and hold crypto through Paxos partnership (The Block Crypto)
Latin America fintech Mercado Pago has partnered with Paxos to allow its Brazil-based users to buy, hold and sell cryptocurrencies directly in the app they use to make payments and send money. The app will initially support bitcoin, ethereum and Paxos’ dollar-pegged stablecoin, Pax Dollar (USDP). Paxos will be the custodian for the cryptocurrencies. Read more.
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