Global

July 8, 2021 @ 9:28 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Workmate, a Southeast Asian Workforce Management Platform and marketplace for informal workers, has reportedly acquired a senior secured loan of “up to $10 million” from Lendable Inc., a provider of debt to Fintechs in emerging and frontier markets. As mentioned in the announcement: “A committed… Read More

July 8, 2021 @ 8:02 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

On July 5, 2021, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) had completed its second 12-month review of the implementation of its updated Standards on virtual assets and virtual asset service providers or VASPs. A review from CipherTrace examines how different jurisdictions and the private sector… Read More

July 8, 2021 @ 3:19 pm By JD Alois  |  

Liti Capital SA,  a Swiss litigation finance firm, says it has raised an additional $5 million to purchase assets worth up to $50 million. Litigation finance is when a firm purchases a percentage of a lawsuit to help fund a lawsuit in the hopes of… Read More

July 8, 2021 @ 1:31 pm By JD Alois  |  

The news regarding China’s crypto exit continues to cascade around the world as the second-largest economy puts the squeeze on Bitcoin mining, crypto trading, and other uses of crypto-assets. Just this week, it has been widely reported that the People’s Bank of China has demanded… Read More

July 8, 2021 @ 12:52 pm By JD Alois  |  

  Younited, a France-based Fintech that provides both online lending as well as payments and BaaS, has raised $170 million in equity capital in a move that is expected to accelerate product innovation and expansion of its solutions including the launch of Younited Pay, a… Read More

July 8, 2021 @ 11:23 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The team at UK-based Blend Network, a peer-to-peer lending platform, notes that Q2 2021 was a “fantastic quarter” for the service provider. Blend Network reveals that it listed and funded some of their biggest loans, “helping build much-needed homes across the UK.” In June 2021,… Read More

July 8, 2021 @ 11:21 am By JD Alois  |  

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and Banque de France (BdF) say the two agencies have successfully completed a test using central bank digital currency (CBDC) for a wholesale cross-border payment and settlement. Both jurisdictions have been known to be experimenting with CBDCs with the… Read More

July 8, 2021 @ 10:03 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Israel’s National Bureau for Counter Terror Financing (NBCTF) has shared information on the “seizure” of virtual currency held by several different crypto wallets that are believed to be associated with donation campaigns “carried out by Hamas.” As noted in a report from Chainalysis, the seizure… Read More

July 8, 2021 @ 10:00 am By JD Alois  |  

Pollen Street Capital has invested €193 Million in Bunq, a Netherlands-based digital bank. The investment represents a 10% stake in the Fintech valuing Bunq at €1.6 billion, according to multiple reports. It was reported last month that Bunq was looking to raise additional growth capital…. Read More

July 8, 2021 @ 8:41 am By Omar Faridi  |  

UK-based digital banking platform Monzo has teamed up with Wise (previously dba TransferWise and now having completed a direct listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) on its Main Market) in order to provide clients with a simple and affordable way to send funds overseas…. Read More

July 8, 2021 @ 8:38 am By Omar Faridi  |  

European P2P lending platform Bondora reports that it has been making a “strong comeback” after the “universally challenging” 2020 (due to the COVID outbreak and resulting socioeconomic challenges). The Bondora team writes in a blog post dated July 8, 2021 that this ongoing recovery is… Read More

July 8, 2021 @ 8:34 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The cryptocurrency markets had been “brimming” with excitement to start the year. However, as we get ready to enter the “dog days” of summer 2021, Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and other virtual currencies are “flatlining,” the Kraken team notes in an update while pointing out… Read More

July 8, 2021 @ 2:52 am By Omar Faridi  |  

ACI Worldwide (NASDAQ: ACIW), an international provider of real-time payments and digital payment software applications, reveals that it has teamed up with Swedbank, a leading issuing and acquiring bank in the Nordic and Baltic regions. The company has contributed to a 55% decrease in payment… Read More

July 8, 2021 @ 1:50 am By Omar Faridi  |  

ikigai, the very first UK app to combine everyday banking and wealth management services, has decided to offer Apple Pay, a safe, secure and private way to make payments. Apple Pay helps clients maintain privacy and control by not requiring them to hand over their… Read More

July 7, 2021 @ 11:28 pm By Tony Zerucha  |  

A group of local and regional representatives has thrown its support behind the European Union’s stance on regulating digital markets. During the June plenary session, the European Committee of the Regions (ECR) adopted an opinion supporting the European Commission’s intention to provide tougher regulation of… Read More

July 7, 2021 @ 9:42 pm By Tony Zerucha  |  

A new partnership announced this week between Pipit Global and Cellulant promises to provide Africans living abroad with a cheaper option to send money back home. The agreement allows people in Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Mali, Senegal, and Ghana to transact on Pipit Global at… Read More

July 7, 2021 @ 9:01 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Real-time payments are becoming increasingly common as cash as a payment solution or method for consumers in Southeast Asia, according to research from ACI Worldwide (NASDAQ: ACIW) and YouGov. Three out of five or around 60% of consumers residing in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore… Read More

July 7, 2021 @ 7:46 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Interchain Foundation and BlockScience are pleased to confirm their new partnership in order to bring “robust” and complex systems engineering to the Cosmos stack. As noted in an update from the Interchain Foundation: “To date, the Interchain Foundation has made significant investments in the… Read More

July 7, 2021 @ 7:00 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Mette Ingeman Pedersen will reportedly be joining Saxo Bank as the firm’s newly appointed Group Chief Financial Officer and member of the Board of Management and Executive Team. Mette will be reporting directly to Kim Fournais, CEO and Founder at Saxo Bank, a Danish investment… Read More

July 7, 2021 @ 6:26 pm By Tony Zerucha  |  

Some old favorites top the list of the most attractive countries to invest in post-COVID-19, the 2021 Venture Capital and Private Equity Country Attractiveness Index reveal.  The USA takes the top spot, with the United Kingdom, Japan, Germany, and Canada rounding out the top five…. Read More