Friday April 5, 2019 –
Here are the new and noteworthy stories we have been following this week.
Novo raises $4.8 million seed round to make banking easier and more accessible for small businesses with no-fee, FDIC-insured digital banking
Novo, a new banking fintech catering to startup founders and business owners has raised $4.8 million in seed funding led by Crosslink Capital.
BBVA loan links interest rate to digital milestones
BBVA launches the ‘D-Loan’, that provides borrower companies interest rate reductions as they hit a set of 32 digital targets.
https://www.ft.com/content/08ed84fa-5270-11e9-9c76-bf4a0ce37d49
Spare Change Donation App Softgiving Launches Rebates App To Donate With Each Purchase
Softgiving partners with First Data to support consumer micro-donations and is launching the new Donor Rewards app that allows users to donate rewards earned on their card spend.
https://hypepotamus.com/news/softgiving-grows-partnerships-launches-new-app/
AmEx Renews Credit-Card Partnership With Delta Through 2029
American Express and Delta renewed their co-brand credit card agreement for an additional 11 years representing a strategic win for Amex, and a financially lucrative one for Delta.
Wells Fargo Adopts Tap-to-Pay Technology for Credit, Debit Cards
Wells is the latest large bank to start rolling out contactless cards starting with credit and then debit later in the summer.
Mastercard to invest EUR50m in African online retailer Jumia
Mastercard is investing EUR50 million in Jumia Technologies through a private placement ahead of its upcoming IPO.
Cambridge Blockchain Receives Investment from PayPal
PayPal has made its first blockchain related investment by joining the Series A funding round of digital identity provider, Cambridge Blockchain.
Max Levchin’s Affirm raises $300 million in latest funding round
Affirm raises $300 million led by Thrive Capital to continue to scale and grow the company.
Banco Santander earmarks EUR20 billion for digital spend
Banco Santander is to invest EUR20 billion on digital technology over the next four years as part of a large-scale digital transformation and efficiency initiative.
https://www.finextra.com/newsarticle/33631/banco-santander-earmarks-eur20-billion-for-digital-spend
Klarna’s push into authentication and identity could be a gamechanger for retailers
Klarna has announced a suite of authentication technologies for e-commerce retailers allowing them to use Klarna as the login provider for their site.
http://www.altfi.com/article/5219_klarna-authentication-identity-gamechanger-retailers
One-third of retail banks planning to build digital brands
According to a survey of global banks conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit on behalf of Temenos, one third of retail banks are looking to build a digital bank.
Consumer Credit in U.S. Rose by Less Than Forecast in February
Consumer credit growth decelerated modestly in February increasing at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.5% to $4.046 trillion ($15.2 billion increase vs. the $17 billion median estimate).
