Friday April 10, 2020 –
Here are the new and noteworthy stories we have been following this week.
Yapily Raises $13M in Series A Funding
Yapily a UK-based open banking fintech startup has raised $13 million in Series A funding; Yapily offers an opening banking API to allow accountancy advisers, payment companies, crypto currency providers, digital wealth apps and e-merchants, to connect to banks.
http://www.finsmes.com/2020/04/yapily-raises-13m-in-series-a-funding.html
Huawei joins China’s UnionPay to launch mobile payment service Huawei Pay in Singapore
Huawei has launched its Huawei Pay service in Singapore in collaboration with China’s UnionPay with Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) as the first bank to support the service; Huawei has been actively promoting its mobile payments service outside China and now is available in Russia, Hong Kong, and Pakistan.
Student lender SoFi to acquire Galileo Financial Technologies for $1.2 billion
SoFi is acquiring payments and banking technology provider Galileo Financial Technologies for $1.2 billion in cash and stock; the acquisition will allow SoFi to offer its products to Galileo’s clients and also provide SoFi recurring revenue from Galileo’s prepaid card issuer and payments processing businesses.
U.S. consumer credit increased at faster pace in February
According to Fed data, total consumer credit increased by $22.3 billion in February to $4.23 trillion; revolving credit increased at a 4.6% annual rate to $1.10 trillion, while nonrevolving credit increased at a 7% annual rate to $3.13 trillion.
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-consumer-credit-increased-at-faster-pace-in-february-2020-04-07
MAS launches S$125m support package for financial institutions and fintech firms
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has rolled out a S$125 million support package to help financial institutions and fintech firms amid the current economic slump; about S$90 million will go towards supporting workforce training and manpower costs, and S$35 million, towards strengthening digitization and operational efforts.
The Fed is modifying Wells Fargo’s asset cap so it can help lend to small business
The Fed is modifying the asset cap it has imposed on Wells Fargo so the bank can participate in the government’s business lending programs; as part of the relief measure the bank will have to return proceeds it gets from the government lending programs either back to the Treasury or to a nonprofit.
Visa invests in Railsbank
Railsbank has topped up its Series A funding round with investments from Visa and Japanese VC Global Brain; additionally, Railbank has become a Visa principal issuing member and Visa will help to progress Railsbank’s Banking as a Service offering in Singapore, the Philippines, Vietnam, and Thailand.
https://www.finextra.com/newsarticle/35606/visa-invests-in-railsbank
Programmable fintech payments startup Sila raises $7.7M seed to wipe out ACH
Sila, a payments and banking API infrastructure company has raised a $7.7 million seed funding round; Sila’s key product is an API for identity verification, which enables developers to identify their users and then use that information in the company’s banking API, which allows users to debit their accounts and move funds from one account to another.
Japanese payment service provider Paidy raises $48M from ITOCHU
Paidy, a Japanese fintech startup that enables consumers to make online purchases under a ‘buy now pay later’ model, has raised a $48 million Series C extension from ITOCHU; the company uses proprietary technology to score creditworthiness, underwrite transactions, and guarantee payment to merchants.
Indian digital banking startup Jupiter raises fresh funds; to launch service in July
India-based digital banking start-up Jupiter has raised $2 million in new funding bringing its total funding to date to $26 million; Jupiter expects to launch its service in July with a product set that includes savings accounts, investments, and lending services to salaried people.
Goldman Sachs, the white-shoe investment bank, launches installment loan business with JetBlue
Goldman has announced MarcusPay, a POS installment lending business for high-ticket purchases with JetBlue as a launch customer; the loans will range from $750 to $10,000 repaid over 12 or 18 months at a fixed rate of 10.99% to 25.99%.
PayPal Approved to Provide Access to Paycheck Protection Program Loans
PayPal has been approved to provide access to small business loans through the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Paycheck Protection Program; PayPal is one of the first non-bank institutions approved by the SBA for participation in the loan program.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/paypal-approved-access-paycheck-protection-231400719.html
