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Global FinTech News - 28th of May 2021

Global FinTech News - 28th of May 2021
By Holland FinTech  • Issue #100 • View online
Dear reader,
One year ago, this week GDPR went into effect 1 year ago, putting privacy on the agenda everywhere, but in particular, the financial industry has been very careful to maintain their trusted status.
In a historic judgement, the Dutch court scrutinized Royal Dutch Shell’s climate plans and ordered them to reduce (2019 level) carbon emissions by 45% in 2030, causing many industrialists to worry about potential similar cases. The environmentalists who started the court case are talking about a historic victory for the climate.
In fintech, we saw developments in payments, banking, investment, fintech startups, blockchain, lending and more!
This Friday morning, our Founder & CEO, Don Ginsel, explored the latest developments in mortgage lending and servicing with Erwin Dreuning, CEO at Stater. If you missed this session, check out the video recording here.
What’s more? The annual event ‘Amsterdam Fintech Week’, organized by Holland Fintech, will take place from 4th to 11th June, gathering all stakeholders and active players in the ecosystem of digital finance. Don’t miss the opportunity!
From the Holland FinTech Team, we wish you a happy weekend!

Highlights from last weeks news related to fintech
Find out the latest fintech news for this week in terms of financial inclusion, tech hub expansion, new online marketplace, fintech partnerships, start-up ecosystem and more:
  • MAS becomes the first central bank to join Mojaloop Foundation to advance financial inclusion
  • Klarna, a buy-now-pay later service company, has been forced to temporarily shut down its service following reports that users are being logged into someone else’s account seemingly at random. On the bright side, the company is to open a new tech hub in Madrid that will employ 500 freshly-recruited engineering staff
  • Visa has expanded its Visa Fintech Partner Connect, a program designed to help financial institutions quickly connect with a set of technology providers
  • epay, the UK-based subsidiary of Euronet, has signed a partnership with challenger bank, Revolut
  • Latvia plans to develop two national policies in support of the start-up ecosystem, a national startup support policy and a fintech strategy
  • Bunq, the Dutch mobile challenger bank, adds Mastercard True Name feature for transgender and nonbinary users, allowing customers to display their preferred name on their card
  • Paymentus, a platform that offers interaction and payment options, became the most recent market entrant, rising nearly 40 percent in its trading debut at $28.61, up from its issue price of $21 issue price
  • Flywire, the Boston-based digital payments company, made its public market debut Wednesday on the Nasdaq exchange, after raising $250 million (€205M) in an initial public offering
  • U.S. lawmakers are ramping up scrutiny of special purpose acquisition companies, or SPACs, with a hearing set for Monday as they consider legislation aimed at curbing liability protections for the industry
  • Ricky Knox departs Tandem, one of the UK’s earliest digital banks, to focus on developing his other activities in fintech and the wider financial services arena
  • The Dutch Central Bank was challenged for its over-arching crypto service registration process, by crypto exchange Bitonic, and lost the legal battle in court
Read more about this week’s news HERE.
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The largest funding rounds we found from across the world
Topics of interest for this week’s finding fundings include: AI, payments, trading, insurtech, banking, blockchain, SaaS, merchant commerce, cloud computing, risk management, gathered from 19 May - 26 May:
  • OPay (Ikeja, Nigeria), backed by China, is reportedly raising $400M (€327M) at over $1.5B (€1.2Bn) valuation
  • DailyPay (New York, NY, USA), a company providing an on-demand pay solution for enterprises, raised $500m (€401M) in funding
  • Forter (New York, NY, USA), a fraud prevention platform, has hit a $3 billion (2.5Bn) valuation after raising $300 million (€245M) in a Series F funding
  • Pine Labs (Noida, India), a merchant commerce platform, completed a first close of $285m (€233M) funding
  • Pipe (Miami, FL, USA), a trading platform for recurring revenues, raised $250m (€204M) in funding
  • Zeta (San Francisco, CA, USA), a startup that helps banks and fintech firms launch products, has raised $250 million (€204M) in a Series C
  • Forte (San Francisco, CA, USA), an organization building a blockchain-based economic platform for video games, raised $185M (€151M) in Series A funding
  • Resolve (San Francisco, CA, USA), a provider of an embedded billing platform for business-to-business (B2B) companies to facilitate buying and selling on credit, raised $60m (€49M) in funding
  • OSF Digital (Quebec, Canada), a global leader in digital transformation strategies, received $43m (€35M) in funding
  • Faculty (London, UK), a AI and machine learning company, has raised £30 million (€34M) in growth funding from the Apax Digital Fund
  • Upstream Security (Herzliya, Israel), a provider of a cloud-based mobility cybersecurity and data analytics platform, raised $36M
  • Eco (San Francisco, CA, USA), a provider of a digital wallet for saving and spending, raised $26M (€21M) in funding
  • Solidus Labs (New York, NY, USA), a company that provides surveillance and risk-monitoring software for cryptocurrency trading platforms, raises $20 million (€16M) in Series A funding
Read more about this week’s funding news HERE.
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A selection of recent research reports and papers worth reading
Dive into the newest figures on the topic of AI, embedded analytics, data utilization, digital payments, cyber security and more!
  • “General principles for the use of Artificial Intelligence in the financial sector” (Dnb.nl) - This paper provides basic background information on AI, as well as its current and future use in the Dutch financial sector
  • “Why Embedded Analytics Is The Future Of Data Utilization” (Sisense.com) - This report shows that embedded analytics across an organization or within customer solutions allow businesses to get more value and usage from data insights
  • “Global AI Adoption Index 2021” (Filecache.mediaroom.com) - This report reveals that almost a third of the IT professionals say their business is using AI. 43% of businesses reported that their company accelerated its rollout of AI as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic
  • “Belgian population makes massive shift to digital payments” (Payment Cards & Mobile) - Results verify the impact of the coronavirus crisis on the payment behaviour of Belgians and to trace the evolution of digital payment
  • “FinTech funding in Singapore on track to recover after a slow 2020” (Fintech Global) - Findings show that fintech companies in Singapore raised $479m in the first quarter of 2021, across 39 deals
  • “The Best Live Cyber Attack Maps” (Cyberwarzone) - The cyber attack maps show a real-time feed of attacks which are being performed world wide
  • “Digital 2021 April Global Statshot Report” (Datareportal.com) - Results indicate that global internet users have grown by more than 330 million over the past year, reaching a total of more than 4.7 billion at the start of April 2021
Read more about research papers HERE.
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Background information and insights from opinion leaders and experts
Explore the analyses and opinions from experts and professionals in the fintech field, regarding fintech startups, global corruption, EU merchants, banking, cyber resilience and mortgage management:
  • “How This Fintech Startup Scored Investments From Major VCs And Celebrities” via Forbes - Nina Bambysheva, writer at Forbes, and Andy Bromberg, Chief Executive Officer of Eco, explore the drives behind the success of the a digital wallet company Eco
  • “3 FinTech giants making waves in the Chinese market” via IBS Intelligence - Leandra Monteiro, writer at IBS Intelligence, dives into the fintech industry in China and highlights that Chinese consumers have readily adopted fintech facilities and reveals the top 3 fintech players in this country
  • “Unbundling Corruption: Why it matters and how to do it” via OECD - Yuen Yuen Ang, Political Scientist at the University of Michigan, writes about global corruption and addresses questions related to this subject
  • “Are European merchants paying more than ever to accept card payments?” via The Paypers - Martha Southall, Economist at CMSPI, explores the main factors influencing the rising tide of acceptance costs for European merchants
  • “What Banks Need to Know About Cyber Resiliency” via BankDirector.com - Krystal Rennie, Communications Manager at Adlumin Inc, concludes that resiliency is the key for the knowledge and strength it takes for banks to overcome setbacks on an individual and organizational level
  • “How can one ensure financial stability alongside having a mortgage?” via Fintech Global - Writers at Fintech Global cited takeaways from the weathertech firm Kidbrooke regarding financial planning for mortgage and lending
  • “In the trenches of digital transformation” via Fintech Talents - Gilad Amir, Operating Partner for Technology at Pollen Capital, emphasizes the two mega factors for the fast pace of developments in the fintech industry
Read more about these analyses & opinion pieces HERE.
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Connect with the fintech ecosystem at some of the upcoming events
Join us for XFW21! What can you expect? Whatever your background, you will encounter financial services on a day to day basis and you also encounter the consequences of innovation and change. Therefore, you can expect a week full of events, with several highly anticipated keynotes, expert panels, workshops and startup pitches. As active reader of our newsletter you get a 50% discount to Amsterdam Fintech Week with code XFW21_NWL
From the Holland Fintech Team, we are looking forward to seeing you during Amsterdam Fintech Week from 4-11 June.
Stay tuned for more announcements! Get involved HERE.
xfw.amsterdam  •  Share
Buckle up for your start-up ride - session with Google - 9th June 2021
On June 9th, join Fahd Ekadioin - Partner Engineer at Google - for a session during which he’ll talk about the experience of a growing company. All of it: from growing pains to successes.
Register HERE
thenextweb.com  •  Share
Global Treasury Americas Event Home | EuroFinance - 9th -10th June 2021
Global Treasury Americas is the meeting place for senior treasury professionals in the Americas.
Register HERE
www.eurofinance.com  •  Share
Innovation in Belgium - Fintech Belgium - 17th June
Come and discover what’s new in our industry during our series of new events that will take place on June 17th and September 30th.
Register HERE
events.bizzabo.com  •  Share
Ready to get involved? Click here to find out more.
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