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Old bank fears of regulators is opening massive new markets to their challengers
I’ve just been through a very strange process with my main personal bank account provider who, thanks to fear of FCA and crypto, noticed that I had regular payments in and out of my account to Coinbase. During 2023, they decided that Coinbase and crypto is no good, and so they rang me to discuss……
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A $7 trillion opportunity for banks … or is it?
Banks are boring but necessary. Banks are stable, secure, reliant, resilient and shouldn’t innovate or do things that could increase risk to the system. As a result, banks have been here forever and, love or hate them, will never go away. According to a new report from the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), global banks could boost……
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General Catalyst leads $200M investment into Bilt Rewards, doubling its valuation to $3.1B
Bilt Rewards, whose platform aims to allow consumers to earn rewards on rent and daily neighborhood spend, has raised $200 million at a $3.1 billion valuation, the company announced today. General Catalyst led the financing, which more than doubles the New York-based company’s valuation compared to its $150 million October 2022 raise. Eldridge and existing…
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Who knew M&A would be the thing we couldn’t shut up about?
Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts. Hello, and welcome back to Equity, the podcast about the business of startups, where we unpack the numbers and nuance behind the headlines. This is our startup-focused, Wednesday episode, so today we’re counting down important venture rounds and chatting our way through other startup and VC news. Here’s what…
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Klarna introduces $7.99 ‘Klarna Plus’ subscription plan as it approaches an IPO
Swedish fintech company Klarna announced today its first subscription plan, “Klarna Plus,” for $7.99 per month, featuring benefits like no added service fees when using Klarna’s One Time Card, double rewards points and access to exclusive discounts with popular brands. The company also has a new welcome offer for subscribers, saving them $8 on their…
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Gen Z investing app Alinea raises $3.4M, plans to launch an ‘AI copilot’
Alinea Invest, a fintech app offering AI-powered wealth management aimed at Gen Z women, has $3.4 million in seed funding ahead of the launch of a virtual AI assistant that will help users with their investing needs. The fundraising comes on the heels of 225,000 downloads of Alinea’s app, leading to a revenue run rate…
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KeyBank tech leaders to speak at Bank Automation Summit U.S. 2024
Technology leaders from KeyBank will join Bank Automation Summit U.S. 2024 to discuss balancing automation and efficiencies and robotic process automation. KeyBank Chief Transformation Officer Dominic Cugini and domain manager of service digitization Mike Reynolds will join the speaker faculty at the summit. Cugini will speak Tuesday, March 19, at 9:10 a.m. CT on the…
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Earnings roundup: Digital adoption drives FI investment
Financial institutions are investing in digital and mobile banking offerings, closing out 2023 with an uptick in digital adoption. This trend was prevalent in the fourth quarter of 2023 for large and small financial institutions alike. At Puerto Rico-based, $18.6 billion First BanCorp, digital banking users increased 14% year over year to 443,000, according to…
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Transactions: Mastercard, The Clearing House extend RTP collaboration
Mastercard extended its collaboration with The Clearing House today to allow customers and businesses to use real-time payments. Mastercard will be the exclusive instant payments software provider for The Clearing House’s (TCH) RTP network, according to a news release from Mastercard. TCH’s RTP network has been gaining traction since the launch of FedNow, with more…
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A $7 trillion opportunity for banks … or is it?
Banks are boring but necessary. Banks are stable, secure, reliant, resilient and shouldn’t innovate or do things that could increase risk to the system. As a result, banks have been here forever and, love or hate them, will never go away. According to a new report from the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), global banks could boost……