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Global FinTech News - 5th of March

Global FinTech News - 5th of March
By Holland FinTech  • Issue #88 • View online
Hello there!
While the media news coverage focused on the mission launched by Pope Francis to end violence and extremism on the first ever papal visit to Iraq, Australia asking the EU Commission to review Italy’s vaccine block, and the EU preparing to take legal action against the UK over its decision to extend the grace period on food controls between Britain and Northern Ireland, we are bringing to you further relevant information from the fintech world.
For this week, explore new banks being launched, further inquiries from regulators, the UK market status, IPOs, M&A, partnerships, and more! And get ready to celebrate together with us, Funding Options, InShared, Trailblazings, and Bankifi International Women’s Day! Join a special “Women in FinTech” Event Edition!
This morning, our Founder & CEO, Don Ginsel, explored the latest trends in software development with our new live streamed session of Flash Friday, co-hosted by Marek Gajda, CTO at The Software House. Check out the video recording here.
From the Holland FinTech Team, we wish you a nice spring start!

Submit your response by 15th March 2021
It is time to shift the focus of our upcoming infographic back to the Dutch market, and showcase the Dutch FinTech Ecosystem in full glory (and in a single visual)! We would like to ask all companies in the fintech value-chain with an office in The Netherlands to submit your logo and most accurate segmentation in the form to the right, to make sure you are all represented on the final Dutch FinTech Map.
Participate HERE.
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Highlights from last weeks news related to fintech
Banking, regulatory inquiries, sandbox pilot, insurance. Explore the latest names from fintech this week:
  • Square officially now has a banking license in the US and also announced the acquisition of a stake in Tidal, an audio and streaming service led by Jay-Z
  • PayPal is planning to buy Curv, a banking platform that consolidates cards and accounts into one smart card and app in a deal that would value the target at $500 million
  • Reliance Industries, an Indian multinational conglomerate company, has partnered with Facebook, Google and fintech player Infibeam to set up a national digital payment network
  • Robinhood receives further inquiries from regulators: the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and the New York Attorney General’s Office
  • Klarna, a fintech unicorn that provides e-commerce payment and buy now pay later solutions to merchants and shoppers, expands its Open Banking solutions in 8 EU countries after receiving $1bn funding this week, in advance of an IPO
  • The Bank of Ghana has launched a regulatory and innovation sandbox pilot as part of its mission to promote and support fintechs, as well as drive financial inclusion
  • Hippo, an American property insurance company, announced to go public through a merger with a Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC)
  • The UK is looking to strengthen their Fintech strategy after Brexit. “The Kalifa Review of UK FinTech” explores solutions in order to create highly skilled jobs across the UK, boost trade, and extend the UK’s competitive edge over other leading fintech hubs
Read more about this news HERE.
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The largest funding rounds we found from across the world
Find out this week’s transactions, deals, funding rounds, and investments, from 24 February to 3 March. See the most prominent topics of activity, ranging from payments, insurtech, cybersecurity, to stock trading:
  • Klarna (Stockholm, Sweden), a fintech payments company, raised $1 billion (€0,83bn) at a valuation of $31 billion
  • RecargaPay (Sao Paulo, Brazil), a fintech that allows users to top off their prepaid cell phones online, announced this morning that they’ve closed their $70 million (€58,08m) Series C
  • Circulo (Columbus, OH, US), an insurtech company, raised $50M (€41,49m) in Series A funding
  • Stori (Ciudad de México, Mexico), a credit card startup, raised $32.5m (€26,97m) in Series B funding
  • Armorblox (Sunnyvale, CA, US), a cybersecurity company for organizations to communicate securely over email, raised $30m (€24,89m) in Series B funding
  • Parkside (San Francisco, CA, US), a stock trading and clearing platform for brokerages and digital banks, announced completion of its $24 million (€19,91m) Series A financing
  • Bottlepay (Newcastle upon Tyne, England), a payments app bringing real-time global payments in Bitcoin and other currencies, has closed an £11m (€12,74m) seed funding round
  • Other fundings that we found relevant for this week: SoundCommerce (€12,45m), MoCaFi (€9,96m), Zelros (€9,13m), AccountsIQ (€5.8m), Maslife (€3,47m), Stitch (€3,32m), Loc.tax (€2,99m)
Read more about this funding news HERE.
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A selection of recent research reports and papers worth reading
Watch out for the latest additions from the fintech research market - microfinance, insurance, Brexit, data collection:
  • “MFIs During the Crisis” (CGAP & Symbiotics) - the findings of this study show that, as of October 2020, microfinance institutions (MFIs) remain resilient and have managed to stop the negative trends reported in the first half of 2020
  • “Global insurance market trends” (OECD) - this annual report monitors global insurance market trends to support a better understanding of the insurance industry’s overall performance and health
  • “Managing the Winds of change” (WCR) - the findings of this study highlight how technological innovations in financial services are affecting every sector of the financial industry and generating a surge of new applications
  • “How Quantum Computing Will Transform These 9 Industries” (CB Insights) - this research piece dives into the potential solutions that quantum computing has to offer across diverse sectors, from healthcare to finance to artificial intelligence
  • “UK FinTech deal activity hit record highs in 2020 as funding declined” (FinTech Global) - the report presents insights into how investors shrugged off Brexit and Covid-19 uncertainty and backed 376 FinTech rounds in the UK last year
  • “Transforming data collection from the UK financial sector: a plan for 2021 and beyond” (Bank of England) - this paper documents insights learnt about the problems with data collection – and the possible remedies for those problems – before setting out our aspirational vision for data collection
  • “The power of data analytics in fintech solutions” (FinTech Futures) - with the data revolution in financial services being already set in place, data analytics for fintech solutions still is proving to be a challenging task
Read more about the research papers and download the pdf’s HERE.
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Background information and insights from opinion leaders and experts
Curious to find out the latest opinions, insights, and trends from industry experts? Dive into a wide selection of subjects, from Facebook, neobanks, inflation, to Bitcoin:
  • “The Real Story of What Happened With News on Facebook in Australia” via About Facebook - Nick Clegg, VP of Global Affairs at Facebook, explains the latest details on why Facebook reached the decision to stop the sharing of news on its service in Australia in opposition to the proposed news media bargaining code.
  • “Mobile money-enabled remittances are a lifeline for families of migrant workers” via GSMA - Nika Naghavi, Data & Insights Director at GSMA, and Lamia Naji, Senior Insights Manager at GSMA, dive into the implication of Covid-19 for the economy and also the severe consequences on migrant workers and their families in the developing world
  • “The US Fintech Domino: Bank M&As and SMB Neobanks” via WhiteSight - in this analysis, an overview on neo-banking and digital challenger banking space is given
  • “Getting the Social Cost of Carbon Right” (Project Syndicate) - Nicholas Stern, a former chief economist of the World Bank, and Joseph E. Stiglitz, a Nobel laureate in economics and University Professor at Columbia University, dive into a new initiative taken by US President Joe Biden’s administration against climate change
  • “Will Inflation Make a Comeback?” via Project Syndicate - Axel A. Weber, a former president of the Deutsche Bundesbank and former member of the Governing Council of the European Central Bank, explores economic forecasting models for inflation rates, and how Covid-19 has affected this relationship
  • “Bitcoin will remain a diversification strategy as prices surge, says WEF blockchain chief” via CNBC - Sheila Warren, head of blockchain at the World Economic Forum, joins “Squawk Alley” to discuss the rush of new investors into bitcoin
  • “These are the countries where cryptocurrency use is most common” via The World Economic Forum - Katharina Buchholz, Data Journalist at Statista, explains why cryptocurrency use is on the rise, with 33% of Nigerians either using or owning cryptocurrency, according to a recent survey
Read more about these analyses & opinion pieces HERE.
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Connect with the fintech ecosystem at some of the upcoming events
For 2021’s International Women’s Day, Holland FinTech gathered together a diverse group of female employees from around the network to share their thoughts on the industry – and much more.
Register HERE.
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Benelux InsurTech Digital Meetup - 11 March
It is clear that today’s ‘new normal’ has speeded up digitalisation in our day-to-day lives. LHoFT, Holland FinTech and FinTech Belgium have joined forces to inspire all the insurance stakeholders.
Register HERE.
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Holland FinTech Online Meetup - 12th March
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! This month we will focus on the topic of InvesTech! Join us to follow the pitches and be updated on the latest developments!
Register HERE.
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Fintech Expo - 10th-11th March
As part of the FICCI Fintech Expo 2021, we will have leading Indian fintech companies join us and showcase their products and tech offerings to financial institutions.
Register HERE.
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Venture Summit Virtual Connect West - 16th-18th March
Holland Fintech invites you to join over 200 leading VCs, Corp VCs, Angel Investors and over 100 Top Innovators at #VSVC Venture Summit Virtual Connect West.
Register HERE.
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Ready to get involved? Click here to find out more.
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