Fintech Highlights - 11/1/2022
Pinned to the Top
Apple will start to offer health insurance in 2024 as it looks to build on the health data it has acquired from the Apple Watch, an analyst has predicted.
CCS Insight believes that Apple will take its tentative first steps into the U.S. health insurance market in partnership with a major insurer, using the health data it’s already collecting to give it a competitive edge over rivals.
Apple already collects data such as blood pressure, blood oxygen levels, ECG readings and body temperature from the Watch, as well as helping people regulate their medication. With accompanying devices, the Watch and iPhone can also be used to monitor conditions such as diabetes.
The analysts believe having access to such rich data will give the company a head start in the insurance market and allow it to cut costs for consumers.
We'll see…...
The BFD
Wells Fargo is launching a new virtual assistant (Fargo). Integrating with Google’s AI platform, the company hopes to take on the likes of Erica (Bank of America) on personalisation and usability.
Why this is the BFD: Good question. Fargo is a little behind the curve on this one. Virtual assistants aren’t exactly the shiniest, newest toy on the market. But their popularity is increasing. For simple actions, like checking account balances or freezing debit cards, they’re pretty useful. For anything more complex, that’s where the technology falls down.
What's next: Nearly two-thirds of surveyed millennials and Gen Zers prefer to use a virtual assistant rather than waiting to chat with customer service on the phone. Erica alone has recorded a 67% increase in users since 2019. The technology is becoming a cornerstone of modern financial services. And with 76% of Americans using digital banking in the last year, expect to see virtual assistants becoming more mainstream. For better and/or for worse.
M&A
Pet insurance company ManyPets announced the acquisition of Digital Edge Insurance Company, a US-based carrier, from Munich Re Digital Partners US Holding Corporation, following regulatory approval. More here ->
People
SaveDay, a 401(k) provider for small and medium-sized businesses, announced that Holly Tachovsky has been appointed the company's Chief Executive Officer. Ms. Tachovsky steps into the role following Barry Mione, SaveDay’s co-founder, who has been appointed SaveDay’s Chief Product Officer. More here ->
Embedded Fintech & Insuretech
Cover Genius lands $70M infusion to grow its embedded insurance business — techcrunch.com Cover Genius, which provides insurance products ranging from warranties to travel insurance, has raised $70 million in capital to expand.
Nacha Announces Sila as a Preferred Partner for ACH Enablement and Payments — www.silamoney.com
Sila is now a Nacha Preferred Partner for ACH Enablement and Payments. In becoming a Preferred Partner, Sila joins an elite group of innovators that Nacha recognizes for offering products and services that align with Nacha’s core strategies to promote the ACH Network.
Moneyhub Secures £35M From Legal And General, Lloyds Banking Group — www.crowdfundinsider.com Moneyhub, an Open Finance & payments platform, announced that it has secured "an initial £35m in funding from high profile backers."
Evy wants to offer product protection insurance everywhere — techcrunch.com Evy isn’t just an insurance play. There’s a bigger vision around product lifecycles.
Neat, a Paris-based embedded insure-tech for retailers, raised €10m. Octopus Ventures led, and was joined by New Alpha, Founders Future and Mundi Ventures. More here ->
Trellis Connect is the new P&C pre-fill solution that accelerates digital customer acquisition.
Fintechs
Artificial intelligence (AI) platform aims to give lenders improved efficiency, expanded financial product offerings — venturebeat.com
Lama AI, a New York-based business lending platform, raised $9m in seed funding. The company says fintech partners can avoid building their own lending infrastructure, models and secure credit facilities while enjoying increased approval rates.
Fursure Closes $3M Seed+ Funding Round — www.finsmes.com Fursure, a San Francisco, CA-based provider of a pet insurance marketplace and mobile banking solution for pet parents, raised $3M in Seed+ funding
Gallus Insights Upgrades its Analytics Platform to Help Mortgage Firms Navigate Market Shifts More Effectively — www.marketwatch.com
The Dallas-based platform for mortgage market competitive insights has also raised $1 million of seed funding
Uber alum rakes in $9.7M to curb finance-related fights between co-parents — techcrunch.com The daughter of divorced parents herself, Uber alum Jacklyn Rome founded Onward to help co-parents more easily manage their shared expenses.
Mattilda wants to take over payment collection for Latin America’s private schools — techcrunch.com
Mattilda, a payments startup focused on private schools in Latin America, raised $10m in seed funding.The SaaS tool enables parents to make private school tuition payments from a personalized payment link sent to them via email or WhatsApp.
WeTravel books $27M to build fintech and more for bespoke group travel — techcrunch.com Travel is back on the radar for investment, with consumers and business users on the move again after a long pandemic period of staying in one place.
Suma Wealth helps Latinos build credit through gaming, in-culture content — techcrunch.com Suma Wealth offers in-culture financial content, products and experiences to help them gain control of their economic power and build wealth.
NatWest invests €65m in Dutch fintech Floryn — www.altfi.com
Floryn, a Dutch online lender for SMBs, has rasied capital. The new senior debt financing adds to the €69m the lender has received over the past five years.
Fintech Platform ConnexPay Nabs $110M To Expand Into Europe — news.crunchbase.com Fintech platform ConnexPay announced it received $110M in growth investment led by FTV Capital to expand beyond the U.S. and into Europe.
Apis in talks to back fintech Money View at $1 billion valuation despite market slump — techcrunch.com Indian lending fintech Money View is in talks to raise a new round of funding at a unicorn valuation, sources familiar with the matter said.
Rapyd Ventures backs Indian fintech-as-a-service startup Decentro — techcrunch.com Fintech-as-a-service platform Decentro, backed by Y Combinator, has raised $4.7 million in a Series A funding round led by Rapyd Ventures.
Digital card and gifting platform Givingli nabs $10M — techcrunch.com Givingli, a digital card and gifting platform, has raised $10 million in a round led by Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian's VC firm, Seven Seven Six.
Money Fellows, an Egyptian fintech digitizing money circles, raises $31M funding — techcrunch.com Money Fellows, a platform that lets users in Egypt to sign up for slots in money circles and ensure payouts are securely deposited, gets $31M investment.
Crypto
Hong Kong Fintech Startup Reap Raises $40 Million For Web3 Payments — www.forbes.com
Reap, a Hong Kong-based web3 payments startup, said it will continue to build Web3 infrastructure in collaboration with cryptocurrency firms to help provide them access to traditional merchants and physical services.
Race Capital leads Aptos wallet Martian’s $3 million raise — www.theblock.co Aptos wallet Martian has raised $3 million in a pre-seed round led by Race Capital. Other backers include FTX Ventures and Jump Capital.
Insuretechs
Vesttoo valuation more than triples to $1 billion after latest funding — www.reuters.com
Vesttoo, an Israeli insurance risk transfer platform, raised $80m in Series C funding at a $1b valuation
LuckyTruck raises $2.4M for insurtech, taps industry veteran as CEO — www.insurtechinsights.com
Insurtech company LuckyTruck announced Thursday it has raised a $2.4 million seed extension led by Candid Insurance Investors.
Proptech
Bilt Rewards’ valuation jumps to $1.5B following new $150M growth round — techcrunch.com Bilt Rewards creates loyalty programs and credit cards for property renters and now has a program to find homes for the same monthly rent.
Apply Design, an Israeli "Shopify for property listings," raised $3.3m from Urban Innovation Fund, Cathexis Ventures, Goodwater Capital and YC. More here ->
From the Stash
Amazon now allows customers to make payments through Venmo — techcrunch.com Amazon announced that it will roll out Venmo as a payment method for purchases for U.S-based users by Black Friday.
PayPal rolls out support for passkeys on Apple devices — techcrunch.com PayPal is rolling out support for passkeys on Apple devices, enabling users to log in without having to enter a password.
Bolt launches virtual Shopper Assistant for easier access to personalized experiences — techcrunch.com The Shopper Assistant enables customers to simply check a box to utilize first-time shopper coupons at checkout without leaving the site.
Wells Fargo, Google Cloud to launch AI assistant — bankautomationnews.com LAS VEGAS — Wells Fargo will launch a new artificial intelligence (AI)-based virtual assistant that will be powered by Google Cloud. The AI assistant, Fargo, will allow customers of $1.9 trillion Wells Fargo 24/7 access to their accounts with the ability to activate and deactivate debit cards, search for transactions, monitor FICO scores and review
Fintech fundraising has reverted to the mean — techcrunch.com Fintech fundraising has fallen along with the rest of the venture activity. But the portion of VC activity that fintech can lay claim to is also in decline.
Envestnet, FNZ to launch real-time account opening, funding — bankautomationnews.com
Wealth tech giant Envestnet and U.K.-based platform-as-a-service provider FNZ have teamed up to launch a digital, integrated solution that facilitates real-time account opening and funding, and allows for digitally automated servicing and maintenance offerings.
Fiserv introduces data-as-a-service offering — bankautomationnews.com
Core provider Fiserv is staying focused on innovation opportunities through partnerships and acquisitions. The company’s partnership with cloud-computing provider Snowflake will “enable Fiserv customers to access their payments data in near real-time to better inform their business decisions” through a data-as-a-service (DaaS) solution introduced in September, Fiserv Chief Executive Frank Bisignano said.
Brex lands Coinbase as new software customer — techcrunch.com
There was a lot of fintech activity at TechCrunch Disrupt this year, with news about Brex and Rippling.
Reports / Webinars
Designing Motor Insurance — www.youtube.com In our first in-house insurance episode, Joe is joined by 11:FS’ Ali MacManus and Aisha Aliyu. Together, they discuss motor insurance and the best design pra...
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