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Global FinTech News - 2nd April

Global FinTech News - 2nd April
By Holland FinTech  • Issue #92 • View online
Dear fintech enthusiasts,
This week, the EU has decided to redistribute vaccins to countries that are lagging behind and we saw global container logistics relieved after the Ever Given was removed from blocking the Suez channel. In fintech we saw new investigations, new collaborations and new acquisitions making the news. Read up on SPAC’s, Visa, Ripple, Whatsapp, Tide, Currencycloud, JP Morgan and many others.
This morning, our CEO, Don Ginsel, explored in a new Flash Friday edition fintech insights with Nicole Wolters Ruckert, Head of Data Privacy at Allen & Overy. Check out the video recording here.
From the Holland FinTech Team, we wish you a Happy Easter weekend!

Highlights from last weeks news related to fintech
Find out the latest fintech news for this week and dive into topics regarding fintech partnerships, cryptocurrency, Open Banking, P2P payment, M&A, and more:
  • The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) launched inquiries into special-purpose acquisition companies (SPACs), starting with Wall Street banks
  • Qoala, an Indonesian insurtech firm, announced the acquisition of Thailand’s FairDee to further expand its reach in Southeast Asia
  • Visa will allow the use of the cryptocurrency USD Coin to settle transactions on its payment network and is piloting transaction settlement in stablecoins on the Ethereum blockchain
  • HUBUC has partnered with fintech CurrencyCloud to support its business customers with cross-border payments, employee-to-employer payments, digital multi-currency accounts and wholesale foreign exchange rates
  • Tide, a business banking platform, is offering UK’s banks a business model for their Open Banking practices
  • According to JPMorgan, banks could face up to $10 billion in losses rooting from the liquidation of Archegos Capital Management
  • Finch Capital, an early-stage fintech VC, announced that it is acquiring Wirecard Turkey
  • Ripple, a blockchain based payment system, has agreed to acquire a 40% stake in Tranglo to expand its RippleNet On-Demand Liquidity service
  • Brazil’s Central Bank has given WhatsApp the greenlight to relaunch P2P payments in the country
Read more about this week’s news HERE.
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The largest funding rounds we found from across the world
We explore the most prominent rounds and transactions of the week including various sectors such as blockchain, financial risk management, insurance, investment applications, digital banking technology, online payment platforms, selected from 24 March to 31 March:
  • Dapper Labs (Vancouver, BC, Canada), a blockchain-based experience provider, closed a $305M ( €256M) funding round
  • Blockchain.com (London, UK), a crypto wallet and exchange operator, has secured $300M ( €254M) funding in the Series C round at a post-money valuation of $5.2bn (€4.4bn)
  • Feedzai (Lisbon, Portugal), a financial risk management platform provider, raised $200m (€169M) in Series D funding round
  • Pie Insurance (Washington, DC, US), a startup offering workers’ compensation insurance to small businesses, announced this morning that it has closed on $118M (€100M) in a Series C round of funding
  • Airwallex (Melbourne, Australia), a fintech company for cross-border businesses, has added $100 million (€84M) more to its Series D round, bumping its valuation up to $2.6 billion (€2.2Bn)
  • Ajaib (Jarkarta, Indonesia), an online brokerage, has added $65 million (€55M) to its Series A, bringing the round’s total to $90 million(€76M)
  • Other fundings that caught our eye this week: Fixico (€12M), Recharge.com (€10M), Meniga (€10m), Vega (€4M), Osu (€2.64M)
Read more about the funding news HERE.
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A selection of recent research reports and papers worth reading
Dive into the latest research pieces on Open Banking, the future of finance, the top-funded tech hubs in Europe, the global cybertech landscape, asset management, the future cloud computing:
  • “Open Banking: Rearching the Financial Landscape” (FT Partners) - the findings show that 86% of financial institutions recognize the value of Open Banking data and compared the banking sector between the US and the EU territory
  • “Finance in Transition: Principles for a Positive Finance Future” (RSM) - this paper presents scientific evidence of the negative impact of our current economic system on climate and biodiversity and calls for critical parties to address this transformative change
  • “Indicators overview for the Netherlands” (OECD) - this report maps the Netherlands’ progress of going digital and draws a digital integrated policy framework and points out opportunities to catch up, and factors that need to be improved
  • “Startup Continent: The Most Well-Funded Tech Startups In Europe” (CB Insights) - the results highlight the top-funded tech startup in every European country
  • “Global CyberTech funding set a new record last year amid escalating cyber threats brought by the pandemic” (Fintech Global) - this paper reveals that the total global funding grew at a CAGR of 91.6%, from nearly $666.1m to nearly $4.7bn at the end of last year
  • “Asset managers, market liquidity and bank regulation” (BIS) - the findings show that the asset management sector may take on too much liquidity risk from a social perspective
  • “The Future of Cloud: Evolving the Financial Services Industry” (Finextra) - it is reported that a critical mass of financial services institutions that have migrated or are migrating to the cloud. For other companies, the concerns are: time to completion, cyber security, trust establishment with cloud providers and upskilling labor force
Read more about the research news HERE.
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Background information and insights from opinion leaders and experts
Explore the latest voices from the industry on topics such as cryptocurrency, invoice fraud threat, customer service support,collective voice in the financial sector, chatbot’s role in the financial industry, and the future of cloud data:
  • “Bitcoin Still A Long Way From Being Money” via Forbes - Simon Constable, writer at Forbes, highlights that cryptocurrency is not money since cryptos don’t have the store of value, medium of exchange and unit of account
  • “Receivables Finance to Prioritise Invoice Fraud Threat” via Bobsguide - Kevin Day, CEO at HpD LendScape, says that it is important to reduce staff burden by establishing processes like the telephone verification of invoice, to protection through data transparency and to increase investment in technology for digital verification and processing
  • “The Role of Consumer Organizations to Support Consumers of Financial Services in Low and Middle Income Countries” via FinDevGateway - this analysis highlights key approaches to support consumers, ranging from direct engagement with consumers, generating insights about the consumer experience, to public interest and consultations
  • “Elevating the Collective Consumer Voice in Financial Regulation” via CGAP - Eric Duflos, Senior Financial Sector Specialist at CGAP, Mary Griffin, consultant at CGAP, and Myra Valenzuela present three opportunities to elevate the consumer voice that deserve support: consumer groups and associations, regulatory consultative bodies, and technologies that elevate the consumer voice
  • “Modernizing Legacy Processes, Business Models and Technology without breaking the Bank” via Finextra - Prasoon Mukherjee, VP Societe Generale Bank, emphasizes that no transformation can be successful unless the legacy business, legacy process and legacy technology are considered in tandem
  • “How AI Chatbots Play A Role In The Fintech Industry” via Datafloq - Aakit Avaish, author at Datafloq, identifies the important role of chatbots in the fintech industry, which bring useful features such as 24/7 support, financial advice, digital payments, advertisement, investments, insurance and loans
  • “COVID-19 & the Future of Data Discovery, Access and Integration” via Fintech Futures - Gerald Francis, Global Head of Enterprise Data at Bloomberg, revealed that Cloud data will be the future for access and integration
Read more about these analyses and opinions HERE.
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Connect with the fintech ecosystem at some of the upcoming events
Our Holland FinTech Online Meetups allow the international Fintech ecosystem to gather together and allows for the companies of our Network to stay at the Forefront of Innovation. If you are looking for exposure, new customers, investors, team members or cool startups, you will surely meet them here!
Register HERE.
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Women in FinTech Virtual Summit - 14th-15th April
Discover the latest challenges, progressions and impacts from the world’s leading female innovators across industry, research and the financial sector.
Register HERE.
www.re-work.co  •  Share
Fintech Week Tel Aviv - 19th-22nd April
Now in its 5th year, Fintech Week Tel Aviv brings together key players from a host of global fintech and financial services hotspots to engage with the Israeli ecosystem, and see Israeli innovation first-hand.
Register HERE.
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UK FinTech Week 2021 - 19th-23rd April
Power up your UK FinTech Week with an IFGS ticket. Gain meaningful connections during the world’s-leading FinTech Week and Global Summit combined.
Register HERE.
www.innovatefinance.com  •  Share
AltFi - AltFi Australasia Summit 2021 - 28th-29th April
After the disruption of Covid-19 last year, 2021 is poised to be a crucial year as key Australian players work to build the future of finance.
Register HERE.
www.altfi.com  •  Share
Ready to get involved? Click here to find out more.
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