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Global FinTech News - 23rd of October

Hello, fintech adventurer! This week has seen groundbreaking news for the fintech world, with payment
Global FinTech News - 23rd of October
By Holland FinTech  • Issue #69 • View online
Hello, fintech adventurer!
This week has seen groundbreaking news for the fintech world, with payments leader PayPal officially entering the crypto market. While we celebrated our 6th Year Anniversary, we also gathered a variety of articles, on topics regarding cryptocurrency, new partnerships and collaboration, cybersecurity risks, AI technology, VC, DeFi and many more!
We invite you to dive into the four categories of materials - news, funding rounds, research, analysis & opinion - and wish you happy reading!
In terms of latest Dutch news, Silverflow announced this week that they have raised an impressive seed fund of €2.6M to launch a ‘cloud-native’ card payments platform. Robert Kraal, Co-founder of Silverflow, joined Don Ginsel earlier this morning to co-host Flash Friday - staying ahead of the fintech news! In case you missed the event, check out our YouTube channel here.
From the Holland FinTech Team, we wish you a nice end of the week!

Highlights from last weeks news related to fintech
Our selection of remarkable news from the industry.
  • Modulr, a fintech specialized in automated payments flows, announced that it has gained an EMI licence from Ireland’s central bank
  • A new partnership between PayPal and cryptocurrency company Paxos is in store, with the aim of allowing US users to to buy, hold and sell cryptocurrencies
  • Visa has made a strategic investment in UK payments issuer processor Global Processing Services
  • A new public-private partnership program initiative was set between the city of Los Angeles, Mastercard and economic-development nonprofit Accelerator for America
  • Mastercard and Monese, an UK company that offers current accounts and money transfer services as an alternative to traditional banks, have announced a strategic partnership
  • Billtrust, an AR solutions provider, announced its IPO through a merger with blank-check firm
  • Google Cloud launched earlier this week Lending DocAI, a tool designed for solutions in the mortgage industry
  • Yolt, an open banking provider, has launched a new account and a contactless card option
  • Scalable Capital, an investment management provider, recently experienced a breach in the company’s data
Read more details about this news and sources HERE.
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The largest funding rounds we found from across the world
We have again looked across all oceans to find all investments that are relevant for the financial industry and listed the largest below. This is just the tip of the iceberg.
  • Bind Benefits (Minneapolis, US), a health insurance startup, raised $105m (€88.61m) in Series B funding
  • Newfront (San Francisco, CA, US), an insurance brokerage company, raised over $100m (€84.29m) of funding
  • Disco (Austin, TX, US), a legal technology company, raised $60m (€50.64m) equity financing from Georgian Partners
  • Fivestars (San Francisco, CA, US), a payment and customer loyalty platform for small local businesses, has raised $52.5 million (€44.31m)
  • FundThrough (Toronto, Canada), a marketplace platform that offers lines of credit to growing businesses, received a $50m (€42.2m) investment
  • Retool (San Francisco, CA, US), a provider of development platform tools, has raised $50 million (€42.2m) in new funding
  • Lunar (Copenhagen, Denmark), a mobile-based banking app, raised €40 million in Series C funding
  • Extend (San Francisco, CA, US), an API company, raised $40 million (€33.76m) in Series B funding
  • 4iQ (Los Angeles, CA, US), a cyber intelligence company, raised $30m (€25.32m) in Series C funding
  • Matic (Columbus, Ohio, US), a digital insurance agency, secured $24 million (€20.25m)
  • Finexio (Orlando, US), an AP payments as a service platform, closed a $23m (€19.41m) funding round
  • Klar (Mexico City, Mexico), a fintech challenger bank, secured a $15 million (€12.66m) funding
Read more about this funding news HERE.
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A selection of recent research reports and papers worth reading
Please check out these research reports and white papers we discovered this week. We felt also some regulatory decisions would also fit well in this category for true readers.
  • In an updated Bitcoin Adoption Survey, consumers’ attitudes towards Bitcoin and what it could mean for the future of crypto are analyzed
  • In a new regulatory framework, the European Parliament is currently preparing its first set of rules to manage the opportunities and threats of AI
  • Marqueta and Coleman Parkes Research surveyed over 200 banking executives in their latest report to find out how the banking industry has adapted to the new climate
  • In a new paper, the Bank of Canada argues that the safety of a central bank digital currency (CBDC) needs to be further analyzed before involving third-party services
  • “Enhancing Cross-border Payments” report by the Financial Stability Board (FSB) presents a roadmap to highlight the key challenges often faced by cross-border payments
  • In a new mapping, “Threat Landscape 2020” by the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA), cyberattacks are shown to be on the rise
  • The “Diversity in FinTech” report by Barclays emphasizes the importance of a diverse and inclusive environment for the workplace
  • The “2020 Benchmark Report for Fintech Apps” by CleverTap analyzes users’ data in order to discover the most effective techniques implemented by leading fintech apps
  • For fintech, the European VC sector sees a stable and growing trend, with 20 European companies that raised rounds above $100 million for Q3 2020
  • The “2020 Euroscape: Decacorn Unleashed” report by Accel presents 2020 as the year of software technology and the rise of the “giants”
Read more about the research sources and download pdf’s HERE.
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Background information and insights from opinion leaders and experts
We are keeping track of what opinion leaders across the world have to say about everything that is happening in and around financial services and technology. Below, you can find the ones that stood out this week.
  • Dr. Andrew Johnston, Global Head of Willis Re Insurtech, warns that the insurance industry is facing unprecedented historical losses
  • In a discussion between Bill Wrest (Gresham Technologies) and David Christie (Bleckwen), it was highlighted that maximizing the full potential of data can be challenging
  • In a recent analysis conducted by Forbes, Daniel Webber, founder and CEO of FXC Intelligence, focuses on new trends for digital and cash transactions
  • James Booth, VP of Payment Partnerships, EMEA, at PPRO, further emphasizes the rise of a cashless society
  • According to FinSMEs, the current economic climate is facilitating fintechs with several advantages in terms of customers and market entries
  • In an experimental paper, it is emphasized how consumers can easily be influenced by the false impression of trust in financial providers
  • According to Lex Sokolin, a CoinDesk columnist, DeFi sector can fill in the gaps and bring solutions instead of crowdfunding and P2P lending
  • According to the Fintech Times, fintech solutions are gaining success in the entertainment field
  • Yandex acquisition plans for open bank Tinkoff did not have a positive outcome
Read more about these analyses & opinion pieces HERE.
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Connect with the fintech ecosystem at some of the upcoming events
ING labs Brussels 2021 - Deadline Applications: 25th October
Labs Brussels is a business implementation program aimed to increase ING’s speed of innovation through the collaboration with mature start-up/scale up companies. This program allows participants to put their technologies to the test and co-create with ING in a real banking environment.
Register HERE.
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Dutch E-commerce Week - 28th-29th October
E-commerce thrives in times of corona. That is why it is important to share knowledge with each other! We are proud to organize an e-commerce event in this day and age. With leading keynote speakers such as Shopping Awards winners Decathlon, Zooplus, bol.com, sanitairwinkel.nl, and Beerwulf, you can create your personal program
Register HERE.
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Hong Kong Fintech Week - 2nd-6th November
Invest Hong Kong (InvestHK) announced that its fifth annual Hong Kong Fintech Week will take place from November 2 to 6 digitally. InvestHK also outlined some of its activities and programmes planned for the months leading up to the region’s only cross-boundary fintech trade show.
Register HERE.
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Fintech Hall of Fame | Future of Fintech conference - 16th-18th November
The CB Insights Fintech Hall of Fame is an honorary club of fintech innovators and entrepreneurs whose companies or ideas have brought positive advances to technology, product development, business ideals, or consumer benefits to the fintech world.
Register HERE.
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Global Innovation Challenge | Future of Fintech - 16th-18th November
Organizations and innovators can connect and collaborate on game-changing ideas. Finalists will present their projects to the Future of Fintech audience in November, competing for cash and valuable business development opportunities.
Register HERE.
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Digital Financial Summit 2020 - 24th November
Hosted in Brussels, the capital of European policy setters on the 24th of November, Digital Finance Summit is at the crossroads between Tech Talent, RegTech, Cloud Computing, Big Data, Blockchain, Crypto-assets, Artificial Intelligence, Crowdfunding, Cybersecurity and Banking.
Register HERE.
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DIA Prime Time - 30th November-3rd December
Tune in from home or from the office. Shape the future together with handpicked insurtechs. Learn from a record number of keynote speakers. Immerse in effective ways of networking. DIA Prime Time will take place from Monday 30 November to Thursday 3 December; each day from 2 pm to 5 pm, in three different time zones.
Register HERE.
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