Friday June 11, 2021 –
Here are the new and noteworthy stories we have been following this week.
Visa and Goldman Sachs Partner to Modernize Global Money Movement
Visa and Goldman Sachs have announced a strategic partnership to facilitate cross-border payments for businesses, specifically providing Goldman’s corporate clients money movement capabilities in over 90 markets; for high value B2B payments Goldman will use Visa B2B Connect, and for low-value B2B payments Goldman will use Visa Direct Payouts.
Mark Cuban-backed banking app Dave to go public in $4 bln SPAC merger
Dave, a digital banking app will go public through a merger with a SPAC sponsored by investment firm Victory Park Capital, valuing the banking app at $4 billion; Dave which focuses on improving financial wellness was launched in 2017 and currently has 10 million customers.
Wells Fargo Goes on the Offensive With New No-Fee, 2% Cash-Back Credit-Card
Berkshire Hathaway to Buy $500 Million Stake in Brazil’s Nubank
Berkshire Hathway has invested $500 million in Brazil’s Nubank as part of a $750 million fund raise that included various domestic and foreign investors; Nubank, a credit card led digital bank is the largest fintech in Latin America and one of the largest in the world, with 40 million users in Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia.
Bitcoin: El Salvador makes cryptocurrency legal tender
Marqeta closes up 13%, topping $16 billion market cap in Wall Street debut
Mexico’s Clip hits unicorn status after SoftBank investment
Clip, a Mexican payments startup has received a $250 million investment led by SoftBank Latin America Fund and Viking Global Investors LP; Clip which was founded in 2012, offers a mobile credit card reader that fits onto smartphones (similar to Square’s dongle).
Fintech startup Now, co-founded by Stacey Abrams, raises $9.5M to scale platform
Now Corp., an Atlanta-based fintech company that facilities payments and lending to small businesses has raised $9.5 million led by Virgo Investment Group with participation from Cresset Capital Partners; Now has been in business for 10 years and currently has about 350 active clients,
SoftBank leads $640 million investment in Klarna, valuing buy-now-pay-later firm at $46 billion
Klarna has raised $639 million in a new funding round led by Softbank, valuing the company at $45.6 billion as it continues to grow the ‘buy now pay later’ (BNPL) space ; at this valuation Klarna is now Europe’s top fintech unicorn, and the second-biggest fintech start-up by valuation after Stripe.
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/06/10/klarna-softbank-funding-round.html
State Street sets up digital unit to capitalise on crypto craze
State Street is setting up a new digital division to handle client demand related to trading and custody services for cryptocurrencies; according to the head of State Street Digital, “We will support everything in crypto services that we are allowed to support from a regulatory perspective.”
https://www.ft.com/content/52b1b8a9-2322-496c-ac16-a847c658d186
