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Global FinTech News - 18th June 2021

Global FinTech News - 18th June 2021
By Holland FinTech  • Issue #103 • View online
Dear fintech reader,
Earlier this week, we saw the European Union sell 20 billion euros of bonds to kickstart the fundraising effort to finance the bloc’s 750 billion euro NextGenerationEU pandemic recovery program. Furthermore, the European Union also decided to add the United States to its safe travel list, meaning that it will be easier for American citizens to take a vacation in one of the 27 EU member states.
We are keeping our focus on the fintech world. See what this week’s highlights were about and the most prominent and discussed topics - cryptocurrencies, cybersecurity, fintech partnerships and more!
This morning, our Founder & CEO, Don Ginsel, explored the latest developments in exchanges, investing and company financing with our new edition of Flash Friday, co-hosted by Marleen Evertsz, Founder & CEO at Nxchange and Goldrepublic. Check out the video recording here.
From Holland Fintech team, we wish you a happy weekend!

Highlights from last weeks news related to fintech
Find out the latest news flashes from cryptocurrencies, payments, banking, ID verification, digital trade, fintech partnerships.
  • Bunq, Netherlands-based challenger bank, has agreed on the terms of $194m (€163M) in investment by a British private equity firm, valuing the business at $2 billion (€1.7Bn)
  • The Banque de France, Swiss National Bank and the BIS Innovation Hub have announced they will trial a wholesale central bank digital currency (CBDC)
  • Visa has launched its first Tap-to-Phone pilot in the United States, allowing minority-owned small businesses to accept payments on an Android handset
  • PayPal executives have launched a decentralised global payments network to connect banks, merchants and payment providers to transact in digital currencies
  • Stripe, a software as a service company, continues to expand beyond payments, launching ID verification tool
  • Dutch payments firm Adyen has been granted branch license to operate in California
  • The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has facilitated two trial transactions between National Bank of Greece and Citi on the digital trade finance network Contour
  • Timex, a watchmaker, has launched a new collection, called “Timex Pay”, allowing US consumers to make payments anywhere with Visa
  • Mastercard has partnered with UK-based FinGo, a biometric identity authentication and payments platform
  • Visa partners Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) to introduce the UAE’s first biometric authentication solution for e-commerce transactions
Read more about this week’s news HERE.
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The largest funding rounds we found from across the world
Take a further leap into the latest transactions in online payment, cybersecurity, cryptocurrency, retail banks, AI, digital insurance, blockchain and more. Read the materials selected from 19 June to 16 June:
  • Klarna (Stockholm, Sweden), a global payments provider, retail bank, and shopping service, raised USD$639m (€527M) in equity funding
  • MicroStrategy (Tysons Corner, VA, USA), a business analytic firm which owns more bitcoin than any other corporation in the world, has raised $500 million (€412M)
  • Advent International (Boston, Massachusetts, USA), a global private equity investor, is investing $430 million (€354M) in the Brazilian payments company Ebanx
  • Ledger (Paris, France), a producer of crypto hardware wallets, has closed a $380 million (€313M) Series C fundraise
  • Eightfold AI (Mountain View, CA, USA), an AI and deep learning platform for HR activities, has raised $220 million (€181M)
  • 10x Future Technologies (London, UK), a company that supports banking operating system, has raised $187 million (€154M)
  • Embroker (San Francisco, CA, USA), a digital insurance company, has raised $100m (€82M) from a Series C funding round
  • Nesto (Monstreal, Canada), a mortgage management platform, has raised $76 million CAD (€51M) in Series B financing
  • Other fundings we found interesting include: Immersive Labs (€62M), Bitwise Asset Management (€58M), Recorded Future (€16.5M)
Read more about this week’s funding HERE.
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A selection of recent research reports and papers worth reading
Explore the latest data on open banking, AI, CBDCs, mobile banking, bank identity check, equity investing, digital transformation, modern banking in Europe:
  • “Open Banking: The Dawn of Collaborative Innovation” (Whitesight.net) - This study looks at open banking ecosystem initiatives and takes a predictive shot at the future course of the financial services industry transformation
  • “A Global Perspective: The Possibilities in International Equity Investing” (Visualcapitalist.com) - This article presents charts for international equity investing
  • “Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Fintech Market 2021 global outlook, research, trends and forecast to 2026” (Mccourier.com) - This study examines global artificial intelligence (AI) in the fintech market, defines market sizes of different segments and forecasts the values to the coming eight years
  • “CBDC beyond borders: BIS results from a survey of central banks” (Payments Cards & Mobile) - This paper explores initial thinking on the cross-border use of CBDCs and addresses a wide range of economic and policy issues
  • “CIBC’s mobile app tops Canadian banking customer survey” (Emarketer.com) - Results show that only two out of seven surveyed banks offered a virtual assistant, suggesting that it could become a competitive differentiator if CIBC can persuade customers that it’s worth having
  • “Modernising banks in Europe” (IBS Insights) - This paper takes a deep dive into understanding the challenges, trends, and strategic implications for small and mid-sized banks
  • “Bank identity checks push one in four consumers to a competitor” (Payments Cards & Mobile) - The data from this research reveals the levels of consumer tolerance to new account opening security checks
Read more about the research news HERE.
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Background information and insights from opinion leaders and experts
Topics of interest for this week include: cryptocurrencies, digital signage and ATMs, the role of 5G in financial services, startups, SMBs, CBDCs:
  • “Visa and cryptocurrency: Inside the networks digital currency plans” via Payment Cards & Mobile - Writers at Payment Cards & Mobile dives into the opportunities for established payment companies, particularly for Visa
  • “Are ATMs, digital signage a good fit?” via ATM Marketplace - Bradley Cooper, editor at Digital Signage Today, explores the means of collaboration between ATMS and digital signage
  • “Predicting a 5G Upheaval in Financial Services” via Payments Journal - Tim Sloane, VP of Payments Innovation at Mercator Advisory Group, highlights that 5G will remove bottlenecks for a wide range of financial services
  • “Startups in Indonesia have grown up, but how crucial a role does fintech play?” via Techwire Asia - Jamilah Lim, writer at Techwire Asia, emphasizes the importance of startups in Indonesia, along with micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in shaping the business landscape in Southeast Asia’s (SEA)
  • “How you can use fintech to get more out of your money (the easy way)” via (Metro.co.uk) - Rosie Murray-West, writer at metro.co, expresses the concern of client’s private online spaces accessed by third-party software
  • “Where fintech and ESG meet: How investment apps can drive impact investing” via Altfi - Selin Bucak, writer at AltFi, digs deep in the topic of sustainable investing and the problem of transparency of greenwashing
  • “Banks Need To Embrace SMBs Or Lose Them To A FinTech That Does” via Pymnts - Writers at Pymnts share opinions that as fintech competitors are rushing the field to offer specialty acquiring services to SMBs
  • “Cross-border interoperability will be a key test for CBDCs, BIS and BoE specialists warn” via Bobsguide - Jeremy Chan, writer at Bobsguide, notes the key concern of central bank digital currencies (CBDC) that is being considered by the Bank of England (BoE)
Read more about these analyses and opinions HERE.
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Connect with the fintech ecosystem at some of the upcoming events
LHoFT, Holland FinTech and FinTech Belgium have joined forces to share essential insights on ESG developments in the Benelux. Register today!
Register HERE.
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The Efma Capgemini Financial NewTech Challenge 2021 - 22nd June 2021
Showcase your expertise, gain visibility, grow your business! Our aim is to uncover the best Financial NewTech solutions and the most inspiring collaborative projects between Financial NewTech and financial institutions.
Register HERE.
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The AltFi Festival of Finance 2021 - 22-24 June 2021
The future has never been more exciting or more uncertain, but few can argue that when it comes to finance and banking, the pandemic has accelerated the fintech story by a decade. Join us for the second AltFi Festival of Finance for three action-packed (digital) days.
Register HERE.
www.altfi.com  •  Share
InsurTechNews | The Future of Insurance USA 2021 - 22-24 June 2021
2020 has shown us that the world can change in an instant, and insurance carriers are amongst the first to feel the impact. We are experiencing business interruption like never before, digital transformation efforts accelerating at lightning speed and an irreversible change in the way we work.
Register HERE.
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