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National Bank investing $6 million in Nest Wealth, plans to integrate its robo-advisor tech(BETAKIT)
The transactions are still subject to regulatory approval.
STACK RECOMMENDS: Bank on it: Canadians want more from their financial institutions online (GOOGLE)
“More Canadians craving self-serve banking. FinTech delivers with mobile solutions.”
– Miro Pavletic, CEO and co-founder of STACK
NetCents users can now purchase bitcoin with MasterCard(BETAKIT)
The company’s founder and CEO Clayton Moore said this is a big step for NetCents as “no one else offers direct BTC purchasing with MasterCard or Visa.”
Startup Hippo Insurance launches in California with a tech-enabled home insurance(TECHCRUNCH)
Hippo not only uses its technology to optimize pricing for potential policyholders, but offers tech-enabled devices like leak detectors and other IOT tools to monitor homes and ensure their upkeep.
Stock trading app Robinhood raises $110M at $1.3BN valuation(FINEXTRA)
DST Global led the round, with participation from NEA, Index Ventures, Ribbit Capital, as well as new backers Thrive Capital and Greenoaks Capital.
Apple is working on its own Visa pre-paid debit cards — and bank executives hate it(BUSINESS INSIDER)
The pre-paid debit cards would tie into an unannounced service that would allow iPhone users to send money to each other digitally.
Snapay aims at the unbanked with an app which replaces cash(TECHCRUNCH)
The company says it works in 50+ countries and six currencies, with an app which is poised to be launched on the Android/Google Play store.
National Bank of Canada acquires interest in Myanmar mobile money outfit Ongo(FINEXTRA)
The National Bank of Canada has acquired a 22% stake in Ongo, a mobile money service with big plans for expansion in Myanmar.
How banks can compete against an army of FinTech startups(HBR)
The glacial pace at which banks have moved SME lending online has left them vulnerable. Harvard Business Review suggests three strategies that banks can use to compete successfully online.
The Money Finder closes $1.5 million seed round from Build Ventures, Innovacorp(BETAKIT)
“Our team has bootstrapped everything to this point. We’ve built a product that the market wants and people need,” said founder and CEO Stephanie Holmes-Winton.
Visa partners with local polytechnics and Singapore FinTech Association(FINEXTRA)
The partnership will allow students to engage with payments experts from Visa, and visit the Visa Innovation Lab.
Quovo raises $10M in Series B funding(FINSMES)
New York-based Quova, a data platform that provides insights and connectivity for financial accounts, raised the funds from F-Prime Capital and Napier Park Financial Partners, with participation from existing investors.
ATB Financial will be the first bank in Canada to get Pepper robot assistant(BETAKIT)
Pepper is a proof of concept to test see how Albertans feel about interacting with a robot.
The challenges China’s booming FinTech sector will need to tackle for longterm growth (FORBES)
China’s FinTech sector is on the rise, and despite some challenges, the industry appears to be a bright spot in China’s economy.
Sir Alex Ferguson-backed startup Pockit has raised £2.3 million(BUSINESS INSIDER)
The startup, which offers banking services to the ‘unbanked,’ also raised just over £600,000 issuing new Seires A shares in December 2016. It’s not clear from the filings who the money was raised from.
Venture capital enthusiasm for FinTech startups shifts to Europe(FORTUNE)
VC investments in financial services startups are showing a geographical split, with funding for so-called “FinTech” companies in the US cooling but soaring in Europe, according to a new report.
BBVA steps up FinTech acquisition strategy with purchase of Openpay(FINEXTRA)
With BBVA’s backing, Openpay has set its sights on tripling the number of transactions currently processed to more than three million by the end of the year.
Exiger acquires Toronto-based OutsideIQ for AI-based financial compliance solutions(BETAKIT)
The acquisition is meant to help financial institutions convert compliance resources, manage large amounts of data, and respond to regulatory demands.
