The Fintech Times Bi-Weekly News Roundup takes a look at the latest international fintech stories. This Tuesday, gaming payment platform Edge toasts investment success, while Prime Bank joins forces with SimbaPay.
Funding & Investments
AMTD Singapore Solidarity Fund has invested in five fintech firms. In addition to providing financial support, AMTD will offer each company access to its one-stop digital platform and ecosystem. The lucky five are Active.ai, CardUp, Funding Societies, PolicyPal and TranSwap.
Edge, the end-to-end contract and payments solution for the sports and video games industry, has secured $1.5million investment. Edge says it will use the funds to invest in team infrastructure and to introduce new features. In addition, Edge will provide more statistical analysis systems to offer clients data analysis and insights.
Alternative investment platform Mintos will launch its first-ever crowdfunding campaign later this month via Crowdcube. Up until now, Mintos has raised €7million from angel investors, funding most of its growth by revenue. The new campaign forms part of a larger fundraising round planned with venture capital firms and will offer a limited amount of shares of the company.
ThinCats, the alternative finance provider for mid-sized SMEs, has invested £1.5million in working capital into travel management firm Fairway International Travel (FIT). David Parr, director of regional business development at ThinCats described the specialist sport travel service as a ‘great example of the mid-sized SMEs’ it specialises in funding.
UAE-based e-commerce platform Distichain and Lebanon-based grocery delivery service Markit are set to receive $45,000 in funding. The pair were peer-selected for investment during the Finance Forward Mena 2020 accelerator programme.
Launches
Mondia, the Dubai-based mobile technology company, has launched a time-based entertainment platform called Monsooq in South Africa. Monsooq is described as the first-of-its kind model where time is the currency and users pay only for the time they spend consuming content.
Kenya’s Prime Bank has joined forces with London-based fintech SimbaPay in order to launch an instant international money transfer service. Through SimbaPay, Prime Bank customers will be able to instantly and securely send money directly to bank accounts or mobile wallets across 15 countries.
Freetrade, the commission free investment app, is launching in Sweden. It also plans to open its European headquarters in Stockholm. Using the platform, customers can invest in 4,000 UK and US-listed shares, ETFs, and investment trusts.
Global early-stage investor Antler launches in Berlin, with a four year plan to invest in and support launches of 160 start-ups in the region. In addition to emerging investors addressing the growth stage funding scarcity in Europe, Antler says it is countering the declining level of funding in the Angel & Seed stage.
eCommerce platform Kooomo has unveiled updates, including enabling bank transfers with Stripe and adding two marketplace connectors. Yocabè provides shipment status updates, while Channable which provides feed management.
Announcements
It’s Talk Money Week and KickStart Money, a coalition of 21 savings and investment firms, has called for better financial education in primary schools in order to help children form good lifetime money habits. According to KickStart Money, only 48 per cent of 7-17-year olds receive a meaningful financial education at home or school.
Fintech Cardpay has changed its name to Unlimint, while unveiling plans to become the leading international payments partner for innovative businesses. Unlimint says its new name reflects the fact it provides unlimited growth opportunities for international customers.
Ripple, the enterprise blockchain solution, has chosen the Dubai International Financial Centre for its regional HQ. Together, the companies plan to advance the use of blockchain in Dubai and the UAE.
All this week, analytics company FICO is hosting the Taking Control: Digital Transformation in the New Normal virtual event. It includes 75 interactive sessions in order to share insights and recommendations for creating conditions to thrive. Learn more and register at https://events.fico.com/taking-control/home.
Job moves
Zumo, Scotland’s cryptocurrency wallet and payments platform, has unveiled a trio of female appointments. Amelie Arras joins Zumo’s marketing department, Angela Stevenson is the new customer support manager, while Piette Cyrus joins as compliance associate.
Many believe that the world of digital assets is built by men for men, but this isn’t an exclusive boys’ club. Cryptocurrency is inclusive and promotes financial empowerment.
Fintech Nium has appointed Frederick Crosby as its new chief revenue officer. In his last role, Frederick was the chief revenue and marketing officer at B2B global payment service Veem. He is tasked with ensuring Nium ‘remains the platform partner of choice for enterprises’.
While, Samer Mourched is joining brokerage Accuindex as chief operations officer. He will focus on developing Accuindex’s cutting-edge trading technology, in addition tobuilding on the firm’s strategic development plans.
Partnerships
Lloyds Bank has partnered with working capital fintech Demica on a new supply chain finance platform. Branded as The Open Account Platform, it will offer supplier finance and receivables purchase to Lloyds Bank customers through a single online portal.
Mashreq Bank and DMCC have forged a strategic partnership to support SMEs & start-ups in the UAE. The two organisations signed an aggrement that will enable DMCC to augment its service offering to its existing and new members by leveraging Mashreq’s banking capabilities.
Dedalus Global and Ibex Frontier, organisers of the Africa Fintech Summit are partnering with APO Group in order to grow Africa’s tech ecosystem. The Summit is a three-day virtual event taking place this 9, 10 and 12 November.
Finally, London-based cryptocurrency firm Koinal reaches agreement with Huobi to integrate its fast checkout system. This deal makes it possible for users to pay for cryptocurrency via Koinal using their credit or debit cards. Koinal’s system will accept cards issued by Visa, MasterCard and China Union Pay.
