Wirecard’s whistleblower plots new startup to avoid Wirecard 2.0
Good morning!
Today, I'm thrilled to highlight a transformative development that I'm personally invested in, both as an advisor and supporter. Pav Gill, the courageous whistleblower behind the Wirecard AG case, has launched a groundbreaking initiative: Confide.
Confide is a whistleblowing platform meticulously designed to fortify corporate governance. With the recent EU legislation championing streamlined misconduct reporting, this platform is undoubtedly a beacon for companies championing transparency and robust governance.
On a personal note, I was fortunate enough to secure an allocation in Confide's funding round. For those of you who wish to stay in the loop with my investments and are keen to co-invest in early-stage fintech deals alongside me, consider this an open invitation.
Sign up for my specialized angel investors syndicate, where our focus is laser-sharp on fintech opportunities poised to reshape the industry.
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Onward to innovation and impact!
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#FINTECHREPORT
Bridging the EU Open Finance Gap with Data Access Evolution. The financial sector is adopting data-driven strategies to drive economic growth and innovation, using data and software to reshape the industry. Download the full report to learn more.
FINTECH NEWS
🇨🇴 Nequi and Visa have introduced a feature that allows Nequi Visa digital card users to make contactless payments using their Android devices, eliminating the need for the physical card. The decision was influenced by Nequi user behavior, with 86% of transactions being digital.
🇦🇺 Fintech Upstreet throws in the towel. The Australian FinTech has shut shop seventeen months after it raised $3 million from investors. The co-founders announced the closure of Upstreet through an email seen by Street Talk.
Upvest to support Plum’s investment product expansion across Europe. Berlin-based fintech Upvest is set to provide Plum, the smart money app, with its investment API, enabling Plum to expand its range of investment opportunities to EU customers.
Signicat becomes first international aggregator to offer SPID. The integration of SPID, which is eIDAS compliant, into Signicat’s electronic identity portfolio marks a significant breakthrough, enabling European corporates across all verticals to offer SPID in their Italian onboarding journeys.
🇬🇧 Twentyone goes live with beta launch. The solutions enable users to create new current accounts, deposit funds, as well as send and receive transactions. Read more
🇺🇸 Credit Sesame rolls out new AI-based platform, Sesame RingTM, which makes it easier for everyone to see their credit in context, take control of their credit, make informed decisions, and follow an interactive game plan to stay on track.
🇸🇦 Mastercard and Fintech Saudi sign MoU. The announcement marks another step towards powering an inclusive digital economy and advancing entrepreneurship in the Saudi Arabia.
Yapily plugs into Ntropy data enrichment API. This collaboration will enable Yapily’s customers to access Ntropy’s cutting-edge financial data and enrichment API to fully leverage the power of the open banking data.
🇸🇦 UAE digital real estate investment platform enters FinTech lab in Saudi Arabia. Stake, a digital real estate investment platform, has obtained the approval from the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) in Saudi Arabia to enter its Fintech Lab and plans to launch KSA real estate investment opportunities on its app by the end of the year.
🇬🇧 Incard partners with Currencycloud to help creators and digital entrepreneurs reach global markets. The partnership aims to simplify and add value to international transactions, by unlocking global revenue streams and allowing businesses to expand globally.
PAYMENTS
Wirex chooses Polygon CDK to build its upcoming payment-focused app chain. This positions Wirex at the forefront of the crypto payment revolution, leveraging the advancements in Polygon blockchain protocol technology. Read more
🇮🇳 PayU India Rolls out Tools for Merchants. The online payments company’s CommercePro stack, announced Sept. 5, is designed to help merchants deal with issues like cart abandonment and scalability troubles.
Visa expands stablecoin settlement capabilities to merchant acquirers. Through live pilots with issuers and acquirers, Visa has already moved millions of USDC between its partners over the Solana and Ethereum blockchain networks to settle fiat-denominated payments authorized over VisaNet.
🇮🇳 Banks can offer a BNPL experience to its customers via UPI. As the unified payments interface (UPI) becomes the de facto digital payments mode for the country, the Reserve Bank of India intends to open up more credit instrumentson the platform.
🇬🇧 Klarna global boss doubles down on UK investment despite regulation uncertainty. Klarna’s founder and chief, Sebastian Siemiatkowski, told City A.M. that the UK remained a key market for the firm despite a push from regulatorsfor firmer rules around the deferred payment tools.
REGTECH
🇩🇪 Regulators to probe Deutsche Bank over Postbank unit concerns. Deutsche Bank AG is confronting a probe by Germany’s financial supervisor after it unsuccessfully remedied software issues at its retail unit Postbank that contributed to disruptions of customer business.
DIGITAL BANKING NEWS
🇲🇾 Grab’s GXBank First digibank to receive BNM approval to kick off operations. The bank aims to serve the needs of the unserved and underserved individuals, and micro and small medium enterprises (MSME) through various channels including a bank app and 24/7 customer support via multiple platforms.
🇸🇦 Saudi Awwal Bank signs with Wise with the aim to provide “SAB’s” customers with fast, secure, and cost-effective solutions for sending and receiving money internationally. Read more
🇨🇭 Temenos rolls out first generative AI tool. The new product enables banks to classify and label customer transactions from free text narrative automatically and with a 'high degree of accuracy' in different languages.
Fed-backed project validates exchange framework for e-remittance information. The Business Payments Coalition (BPC) will pilot a fully operational exchange framework that will focus on finalising the ISO 20022 remittance data model and preparing for the establishment of a production remittance exchange framework.
🇬🇧 Monzo tackles impersonation scams with new 'status call' feature that helps customers discern whether they're being called by a genuine bank staffer or a fraudster running an impersonation scam.
🇰🇷 Toss Bank mulls introducing house mortgage loans. Hong Min-taek, CEO, said Tuesday that launching a house mortgage loan service is inevitable for the firm, but that it will wait for the right timing amid the government's efforts to curb household debt.
🇺🇸 Bluevine expands FDIC Insurance Protection up to $3MM for business banking customers. This new benefit follows several recent Bluevine releases that enhance the banking experience for small businesses. Read more
🇩🇪 Germany’s banking regulator BaFin hit by cyberattack. BaFin took defensive measures following the attack Sept. 1, which restricted access to the website, Bloomberg reported on Sept. 4. The site appeared to be down Monday afternoon.
🇬🇧 UK digital challenger bank Kroo Bank is gearing up for a fundraise of up to £70m and is to launch a current account tracker rate, as it rails against traditional banks’ “cryptic” interest rate levels.
BLOCKCHAIN
Revolut revolutionises the use of bitcoin by integrating SegWit wallet for its users. The move has been warmly welcomed by its 15 million users worldwide and is an important step towards making Bitcoin transactions more efficient and convenient.
DONE DEAL FUNDING NEWS
Dutch VC Curiosity-backed fintech startup Strise raises €10M led by Atomico. Strise plans to use the funds to expand internationally, starting with the UK, and target customers in finance, insurance, legal, and other sectors.
🇮🇪 Wayflyer secures $1bn financing from Neuberger Berman. The facility means that Wayflyer is able to continue to offer capital on the most competitive terms to its customers. Read more
M&As
🇦🇺 CBA's x15ventures to acquire cloud-based invoice lending platform Waddle. The acquisition will enable CBA to accelerate the growth of its Stream Working Capital product, while continuing to benefit from the first class automation and flexibility the Waddle platform is known for.
🇬🇧 Clear Junction snaps up crypto firm Altalix. Clear Junction described the deal as a strategic acquisition representing a “significant milestone” for the company as it works to become a “one-stop-shop” for clients to manage their payment and treasury needs worldwide.
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