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Global FinTech News - 25th June 2021

Global FinTech News - 25th June 2021
By Holland FinTech  • Issue #104 • View online
Dear fintech reader,
This week, Hungary has issued new legislation that criminalises homosexuality, triggering a fierce response from european countries to support the LGTB community. Many people and organisations have taken a stance against the new law, also influencing the Euro2020 football championship.
The European Union Digital COVID certificates (EUDCC) have now been issued to citizens in 17 countries, exempting holders from travel restrictions such as needing to quarantine, despite the rise of a new more contagious Delta variety of Covid-19..
We are back again on the news in fintech, exploring the newest trends from fintech - cybersecurity, IPO, cryptos, banking, partnerships, and more!
This Friday morning, Founder and CEO of Holland Fintech Don Ginsel was joined by Simon Cureton, CEO at Funding Options. The hosts discussed what is happening in the world of fintech and answered questions from Holland FinTech members. If you missed the chat session, check the recording here.
From the Holland FinTech Team, we wish you a nice weekend!

Highlights from last weeks news related to fintech
The highlighted topics for this week are: IPO, product launch, fintech partnerships, M&A, cyber security and digital wealth management:
  • British financial technology company Wise confirmed plans to list in early July in a test for London’s main market
  • The World Bank agreed to boost the amount of money it spends to tackle climate change to 35% from 28%
  • Brazilian digital bank Nubank is looking for investment banks to help support its initial public offering (IPO)
  • A new network of angel investors has launched in Southeast Asia, including Grab Financial, PayPal, Stripe, Revolut, and Remitly.
  • Visa announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Tink, a European open banking platform
  • Cybersecurity firm SentinelOne is aiming for a valuation of over $7 billion in its U.S. initial public offering (IPO)
  • JPMorgan Chase agreed to buy digital wealth manager Nutmeg Saving and Investment Ltd.
  • “ESG ratings need tighter oversight to avoid risks to the smooth functioning of financial markets”, Britain’s Financial Conduct Authority said on Tuesday
  • Andreessen Horowitz raises $2.2 billion for a third crypto fund
Read more about this week’s news HERE.
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The largest funding rounds we found from across the world
Explore the top domains of this week’s activity: payments, cryptocurrencies, trading, investment, AI, insurance, lending, digital assets, selected between 16 June and 23 June:
  • Mollie (Amsterdam, Netherlands), a payment processor, has raised €665 million in an all-equity round
  • Transmit Security (Tel Aviv, Israel), a biometric authentication platform raises $543M (€457M) in a series A round of funding
  • XSpring Capital (Bangkok, Thailand), an investment management company, has secured a €188M funding round
  • ThinCats (Ashby-de-la-Zouch, UK), an alternative lender, has raised £160 million (€186M) in strategic investment round
  • Vianai (Palo Alto, CA, USA), which is working on artificial intelligence technology, raised $140 million (€117M) in a Series C round
  • Chainalysis (New York, NY, USA), a provider of cryptocurrency investigation and solutions, Raises $100 Million (€84M) and is Valued at a $4.2 Billion (€3.5Bn)
  • Amber Group (HK, Hong Kong), a cryptocurrency trading startup, has raised $100 million (€84M) in a Series B funding round
  • Tractable (London, UK), the AI firm assisting insurers with accident and disaster recovery, has acquired $60 million (€50M) through a Series D round
  • Other interesting funding rounds for this week: Unit (€42M), Securitize (€40M), Splash Financial (€37M), Robin.io (€32M), Hellas Direct (€32m), Akur8 (€25m), Myos (€25m), Volt (€23.5m), Eltropy (€18m), Browze (€10M), Hawk AI (€8M)
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A selection of recent research reports and papers worth reading
Focus for this week: behavioral economics, money laundering, cybersecurity, wealth management is the US, investment:
  • “The Behavioral Economics Guide 2021” (Behavioraleconomics.com) - This research advocates flipping the traditional model of behavioral economics and call for policy research
  • “210 Of The Biggest, Costliest Startup Failures Of All Time” (CB Insights) - This paper presents an overview of the most well-funded startup companies that ultimately failed or had an undesirable exit
  • “The Biggest Business Risks in 2021” (Visual Capitalist) - This research surveyed nearly 3,000 risk management experts and uncovered the top 10 business risks that leaders must watch out for in 2021
  • “The advantage of Machine Learning in preventing fraud” (Finextra & Sift) - This report highlights that accurately identifying customer behavioural trends and proactively preventing payments fraud and other criminal activity can be done with machine learning
  • “Analyst Report: Expectation Versus Reality for Payments Data Monetization” (Fintech Futures) - Researchers have conducted surveys of senior executives, which in combination provide an in-depth view over both the demand and supply ends of the value chain
  • “The economic state of Black America: What is and what could be” (McKinsey) - This research provides a fact base to document the racial gaps that exist in the US economy today and offer a vision of what could be gained if they were closed
  • “FinTech investment growth in the Baltics paused in Q1 due to lack of large deals” (Fintech Global) - This report shows that the countries in the Baltic region - Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, possess a high level of technology penetration despite being a small market
Read more about research papers HERE.
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Background information and insights from opinion leaders and experts
Take a look at the topic of community banks, cybersecurity, AI, pension, and ESG:
  • “How community banks can thrive in a post-pandemic world” via Finextra - Helene Panzarino, banking-innovation consultant & evangelist, advises that now is the time to be forward-looking to safeguard the future of community
  • “Asia’s Tech Juggernauts Zero In On Indonesia’s Digital Banking Market” via Forbes - Zennon Kapron, fintech contributor at Forbes, highlights the gap in the digital banking sector across Asia
  • “Too many firms still missing the mark on Mifid II and EMIR, financial advisor warns” via Bobsguide.com - Tom Lemmon, journalist at bobsguide, emphasizes that a striking majority of financial firms assessed by financial advisor ACA Group
  • “Ransomware and hacking now bigger threat to UK businesses than hostile states” via Payments Cards & Mobile - Alex Rolfe, Managing Director at Payments Cards & Mobile, looks at the mission of the G7 countries’ leaders
  • “How Consumers Live In The Connected Economy” via PYMNTS - Karen Webster, CEO of Market Platform Dynamics, highlights that almost everyone in the U.S. today participates in the connected economy
  • “Build vs buy? Time for a rethink” via AltFi - Emma Hollingworth, Distribution Director at MQube, advises businesses on whether a build or buy strategy is most suited, depending on innovative technologies
  • “Activist shareholders must push for environmental change” via Financial Times - Lakshmi Naaraayanan, Assistant Professor of Finance at London Business School, explains that divestment is not the only way for driving environmental change but also pension funds
Read more about these analyses & opinion pieces HERE.
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Connect with the fintech ecosystem at some of the upcoming events
The Africa Blockchain Week Virtual Summit will bring high level regulators, opinion leaders and decision-makers to debate the latest industry trends and future innovations, and provide unparalleled access to visionaries, influencers, and disruptors in the business and technology world.
Register HERE.
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Sustainability 2021 Program - 28th June - Holland FinTech
Startupbootcamp Sustainability will connect visionary founders with impact investors, conscious global corporations, their corporate leaders, and experienced mentors to speed up the startup acceleration process.
Register HERE.
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Native Elasticsearch on Azure: Observability - 29th June - Holland FinTech
In this session we will have a look at the Observability solution provided by the stack and focus on all available options for collecting Logs and Metrics within the Azure Cloud environment.
Register HERE.
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Focus on Governance - Luxembourg for Finance - 8th July
The panel ill discuss the role of boards in setting the right strategy for a sustainable business. This is followed by a second panel on the increasingly complex operating environment firms find themselves in and how boards are better able to exercise control.
Register HERE.
www.luxembourgforfinance.com  •  Share
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