Fintech Highlights -11/8/2022
Pinned to the Top
Brex sees startups as one of the key avenues to growth in the corporate card and spend management market. To that end, the company on Wednesday announced a partnership with Techstars to extend Brex services to companies within the accelerator, following similar tie-ups with Y Combinator and AngelList. For the duration of the accelerator, Techstars participants will get a Brex platform support team, access to exclusive Brex events and free use of Brex’s Pry financial forecasting platform. In an interview with TechCrunch, Brex CEO and co-founder Henrique Dubugras described the move as a customer acquisition play.
At Disrupt, TechCrunch interviewed Brex’s Dubugras onstage about the company’s recent change in strategy, which involves a stronger emphasis on software and the enterprise. A piece for TC+ breaks out the juicy highlights from the conversation, including why Brex decided to stop serving businesses funded outside the venture capital structure and the implications of the company’s layoffs earlier this year.
The BFD
Are landlords and tenants finally ready to ditch paper checks? JPMorgan Chase is betting that they are.
The details: The bank this week launched a pilot platform for property owners and managers that automates the invoicing and receipt of online rent payments.
Why this is the BFD: The market is enormous — JPMorgan estimates that more than 100 million Americans pay a combined $500 billion annually in rent to 12 million property owners —
Next steps: Convincing landlords to move from checks and money orders won’t be an easy feat. Only 22% of rent payments are made digitally today, according to JPMorgan.
Fintechs
Jeeves, the fintech startup that recently raised $180 million at a $2.1 billion valuation, told TechCrunch via email that it has launched a service called Jeeves Pay that it’s billing as a “credit-backed business payments solution” for enterprise customers. At a high level, Jeeves Pay lets customers use their existing credit line to send wires or pay vendors, ostensibly solving the problem of having to rely on cash or revenues to fund local and cross-border business and vendor payments. Jeeves Pay is available now to all Jeeves customers “where permitted by applicable local laws and regulations,” the company says.
Heylo wants to help you build your own little social circles for events
Heylo, an SF-based payments service for events and groups, raised $1.5 million. Heylo has helped groups launch memberships, host paid events and receive donations.
Iink Payments, a Tampa, Fla.-based digital payments startup for the insurance claims market, raised $3m in seed funding. More here ->
Former Google Pay head raises $90 million in Series A round
Arta Finance, a wealth management startup co-founded by ex-Google Pay chief Caesar Sengupta, raised $90m in Series A funding. Arta Finance aims to bring family office tools to the wealthy
Ethical lender Plend announces £40m investment to fuel growth in 2023 and end financial exclusion
Plend has raised £40m seed funding round to fuel growth for 2023 and end financial exclusion
Zest AI Raises Over $50M in Growth Funding
This investment from new and existing investors, led by Insight Partners and CMFG Ventures, will support Zest AI‘s next phase of growth in the fast-moving lending market and demonstrates confidence in the company’s ability to expand regardless of economic conditions.
Loop raises $30M to digitize shipping and logistics payments
Loop, a Chicago-based payments platform for the shipping and logistics industry, raised $30m
Digital card and gifting platform Givingli nabs $10M
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.
Retirable secures $6M to plan retirement for those without millions in savings
Retirable focuses on lower net-worth individuals and helping clients see what their income is and how much is safe to spend each month.
Money Fellows, an Egyptian fintech digitizing money circles, raises $31M funding
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.
Fintecture wants to replace paper checks or manual transfers for B2B payments
Fintecture raised a $26 million Series A funding round (€26 million) this year.
Crowded’s app gives clubs, associations banking flexibility
Crowded designed its mobile app for club treasurers so they can perform monthly duties, like request and collect member dues, digitally.
Investtech
Sidekick, a modern investment manager to help today’s generation navigate a rapidly changing world
The path for building wealth used to be much more clear: Get a free university education Secure a ‘job for life’ Buy a house with an affordable mortgage Retire with a comfortable employer-funded pension But this is no longer the case. Check out Sidekick
Treasury management startup Vesto wants to help other startups put their idle cash to work
Vesto has raised $2.8 million in seed funding, aims to help other startups “manage, protect and extend their runway.“
Troop rallies retail investors to get out the proxy vote
Fintech startup Troop is mobilizing retail investors alongside activist funds to push for ESG-oriented corporate decisions
InterPrice Technologies, a New York-based capital markets funding platform, raised $7.3m in Series A funding. More here ->
Crypto
Coinbase Ventures participates in $4.2 million funding round for NiftyApes
NiftyApes joins an increasing number of early stage NFT-focused debt financiers receiving venture capital interest.
Insuretechs
Kin secures $145 million in debt financing
Kin Insurance announced the closing of a $145 million committed credit facility.
Proptechs
Proptech startup Haven raises $8M for mortgage servicing software tools
Haven, a Newark, N.J.-based mortgage servicing software startup, raised $8m in Series A funding. The proptech startup builds new tools for mortgage servicers
Digital Homebuying Platform Prevu Acquires Mortgage Technology of Reali
Prevu, a real estate technology company on a mission to empower homebuyers, today announced that the company has acquired the assets of Reali
Travtus, a New York-based provider of multifamily property management software, raised $4m led by RET Ventures. More here ->
Aro Homes, a Mountain View, Calif.-based sustainable homebuilding startup, raised $21m. More here ->
From the Stash
The fintech layoffs just keep on coming
Numerous fintech startups have conducted layoffs in the past week, impacting thousands of employees across the globe.
Digital bank Chime is cutting costs across the board - including 12% of staff
Chime has cut 12% of staff – or 160 people – reduced marketing spend and is renegotiating vendor contracts.
U.S. Bank, Microsoft team up on embedded payments
U.S. Bank embedded its payment capabilities into enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution Microsoft Dynamics 365 this week, giving Microsoft business clients access to digital payment tools.
Marqeta launches banking service, crypto debit card
Payments fintech Marqeta has unveiled a suite of seven banking products in an expansion of its platform. The Marqeta for Banking app includes modular tools built on a single, integrated platform using open APIs.
Tractable, Entegral partner to streamline auto accident repairs, rentals
After an auto accident, appraisers and repair shops may not immediately know exactly how much damage there’s been to a vehicle.
Will insurers be connected to the connected car?
Today more cars than ever are connected, and those connected cars are creating and transmitting a lot of data.
Reports / Webinars
Gaining your Customers’ Trust - How to Navigate Through the Evolving Data Regulation Landscape
With the tremendous opportunities that innovation and technology offer, challenges of a similar scale arise. Customers fear their data being exploited, sold and put out of their own hands.