Friday April 12, 2019 –
Here are the new and noteworthy stories we have been following this week.
AI Lender Upstart Raises $50M and Announces New Bank Partnerships
Upstart announced a $50 million equity investment and lending-as-a-service platform partnerships with First National Bank of Omaha, First Federal Bank of Kansas City, and Accion Chicago.
Visa backs Branch for mobile-based lending in developing markets
Branch has received $170 million from Foundation Capital and other investors and also entered into a partnership with Visa for the issuance of virtual prepaid debit card numbers.
Dubai’s Network International jumps in early trading after $1.4bn London IPO
UAE based payments company, Network International raised $1.4 billion at a $2.8 billion valuation in its London IPO.
Standard Chartered Bank launches fintech hub Africa eXellerator in Nairobi
Standard Chartered Bank has launched its Africa focused innovation hub eXellerator lab in Kenya.
https://ventureburn.com/2019/04/standard-chartered-bank-africa-exellerator/
Cashierless Amazon Go stores are planning to accept cash
Extend Raises $11 Million in Series A Funding Co-Led by Point72 Ventures and FinTech Collective
Extend, an early-stage company that provides virtual credit card issuance functionality to banks, companies, and other startups raised $11 million in a Series A round.
Bank of America is creating a digital financial coach to chase the ‘holy grail’ of banking
Bank of America is releasing ‘Life Plan’, an automated financial tool that helps customers plan for and work towards major life goals.
Italy’s Nexi Raises $2.3 Billion in Europe’s Largest IPO in 2019
Italian payments company, Nexi raised $2.3 billion at a valuation of $6.5 billion.
JP Morgan shares surge after bank posts record profit and revenue
Chase posted record Q1 results earning $9.18 billion in profits on revenue of $29.9 billion.
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/12/jp-morgan-earnings-q1-2019.html
Wells Fargo Reports $5.9 Billion in Quarterly Net Income; Diluted EPS of $1.20
Wells reported strong Q1 results earning $5.9 billion in net income on revenue of $21.6 billion.
Naspers-owned PayU doubles down on India with $70M deal to buy Wibmo
PayU has acquired Wibmo to expand its payments business capabilities and reach into new markets with a focus on India.
https://techcrunch.com/2019/04/12/payu-wibmo/
