Finextra Research: Latest fintech news, analysis, interviews, features and opinion by industry experts

DriveWealth raises $450m

DriveWealth, a provider of API-based brokerage technology that enables partners to offer real-time access to the US equities market through fractional share trading, has closed a $450 million Series D funding round at a $2.85 billion valuation.

23 August 2021

News/sustainable

Acacia uses open banking to help Aussies build wealth in sustainable way

Australian startup Acacia is emerging from stealth mode with the launch of it money management app that uses open banking and data analytics to give user insights into their financial and environmental arrangements.

18 August 2021

News/retail

Brex buys Israel's Weav

US corporate card unicorn Brex has paid $50 million to buy Weav, an Israeli outfit offering a universal API for commerce platforms.

17 August 2021

News/retail

JP Morgan Private Capital and AmEx invest in Plaid

Open banking platform Plaid has topped up its Series D financing round with investments from JP Morgan Private Capital Growth Equity Partners and Amex Ventures.

17 August 2021

News/cloud

NAB, CIBC, Itaú Unibanco and NatWest launch open finance challenge

NAB, CIBC, Itaú Unibanco and NatWest Group have joined forces with Amazon Web Services to run a global open finance challenge, inviting fintechs, universities and other large organisations to prototype and develop new digital banking services.

16 August 2021

News/payments

Santander rolls out QR code-based CashFlow Manager app

Banco Santander has begun the roll out of its CashFlow Manager app in the UK, enabling businesses to view account balances from multiple banks in one place and collect payments from customers instantly using QR codes.

09 August 2021

News/retail

Plaid settles $58 million class action lawsuit

Plaid has settled a $58 million class action lawsuit over claims that the fintech firm passed on personal banking data to third party firms without user consent.

09 August 2021

News/regulation

Canada sets 2023 target for open banking regime

Canada's government has paved the way for an open banking regime in the country by the beginning of 2023.

06 August 2021

News/startups

Snoop raises £15 million to fund international expansion

Founded by former Virgin Money chief Jayne-Anne Gadhia, smart money app Snoop has secured £15 million in Series A funding from American investment management firm Paulson & Co. Inc.

02 August 2021

News/startups

Mercury hits unicorn status

Mercury, a San Francisco-based digital banking outfit targeting startups, has raised $120 million at a $1.62 billion valuation in a Series B funding round.

30 July 2021

News/startups

Prime Trust raises $64m

Prime Trust, a one-stop-shop for API-based financial infrastructure for fintech and digital asset innovators, has raised $64 million in a Series A funding round led by Mercato Partners.

29 July 2021

News/payments

CMA mandates ‘Sweeping’ in big win for UK Open Banking

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has ruled in favour of the Open Banking Implementation Entity’s (OBIE) recommendation to mandate Variable Recurring Payments (VRPs) as the mechanism for implementing Sweeping, injecting a further element of competition into the Open Banking market and ending years of opposition from some of the UK's biggest banks.

28 July 2021

News/retail

Finleap connect acquires Spanish Open Banking platform provider MyValue Solutions

Germany's finleap connect has acquired Spanish Open Banking platform MyValue Solutions.

28 July 2021

News/payments

Nium closes $200m Series D

Cross-border B2B payments operator Nium has joined the unicorn club after raising $200 million in a Series D funding round led by Riverwood Capital

27 July 2021

News/startups

Sila raises $13m

Sila, an API platform that provides payment infrastructure as a service while ensuring regulatory compliance, has raised $13 million in Series A funding led by Revolution Venture.

27 July 2021

News/cloud

Solarisbank raises EUR190m; buys Contis

Berlin-based banking-as-a-service platform Solarisbank has set its sights on conquering Europe after raising EUR190 million in a Series D funding round at a EUR1.4 billion valuation and buying UK outfit Contis.

26 July 2021

News/retail

Nationwide utilises Open Banking technology to help debt-distressed customers

Nastionwide is using Open Banking technology from Openwrks to help customers facing financial hardship build a rounded picture of their finances before meeting with the mutual's collections and recovery team.

22 July 2021

News/retail

UK Open Banking outfit Yapily completes first close of $51 million Series B round

London-based Open Banking infrastructure supplier Yapily has completed the first close of a $51 million series B funding round, taking its total investment funding to date to $69 million.

21 July 2021

News/startups

Wall Street giants invest in Vestwell

Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley have joined a $70 million Series C funding round for workplace savings and investing platform Vestwell.

21 July 2021

News/cloud

Fidelity taps Finbourne to drive data strategy

Fidelity International has picked technology from Finbourne to drive its data strategy in a deal that also sees the asset manager make a strategic investment in the London-based startup.

21 July 2021

Open APIs