The Week in Review

The Week in Review

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.

https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210607005119/en/Visa-and-Goldman-Sachs-Partner-to-Modernize-Global-Money-Movement

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.

https://www.reuters.com/technology/mark-cuban-backed-banking-app-dave-go-public-4-bln-spac-merger-2021-06-07/

Wells Fargo Goes on the Offensive With New No-Fee, 2% Cash-Back Credit-Card

Wells Fargo has signaled a major commitment and push on credit cards as it launches new card products and increases its spend on card marketing three fold; Wells’ first card is the Active Cash card that will offer 2% cash back on all spend – this will be followed by a low-rate card and a new rewards card line-up.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-06-08/wells-fargo-s-scharf-goes-on-offense-with-new-credit-card-lineup

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.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/berkshire-hathaway-to-buy-500-million-stake-in-brazils-nubank-11623153600

Bitcoin: El Salvador makes cryptocurrency legal tender

El Salvador has become the first country in the world to officially classify Bitcoin as legal currency as Congress voted to approve the President’s proposal; Bitcoin is expected to become legal tender, alongside the US dollar, in 90 days and every business must accept Bitcoin as legal tender for goods or services, unless it is unable to provide the technology needed to complete Bitcoin transactions.

Marqeta closes up 13%, topping $16 billion market cap in Wall Street debut

Marqeta a card issuer processor and payments processor went public on the Nasdaq at $27 per share raising about $1.2 billion; the company’s shares closed up 13% at $30.52, giving Marqeta a market cap of just over $16 billion.

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).

https://www.reuters.com/technology/mexicos-clip-hits-unicorn-status-after-softbank-investment-2021-06-10/

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,

https://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/inno/stories/fundings/2021/06/10/fintech-startup-now-stacey-abrams-raises.html

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