Web3 Payments Solution from Banking Circle Enables Asset-backed Stablecoin Settlements

Large enterprises today are facing significant macroeconomic uncertainty across the world, according to an update from Paysend. Alexander Budyakov, Enterprise Business Executive, Paysend, notes that the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic continues “to disrupt markets and supply chains whilst inflationary pressures and fluctuating currency markets are complicating cross-border trade.”

Engage People, which claims to be the only loyalty network that enables program members to pay with points (PwP) directly at checkout, announced it is partnering with Velocity Logic, a reward technology company, “to allow bp retail consumers to use their loyalty and rewards points at the pump.”. bp...

Groceries, transportation, relationships, entertainment, and more are all now “available at the swipe of a smartphone,” the team at Inscribe notes in a blog post. Buyers have come “to not only enjoy — but expect — frictionless interactions that provide instant gratification.” Fast response times are “no longer a perk; they’re the most important attribute of the customer experience,” Inscribe writes in a recent update.

Eazy Digital, a Thai insurtech startup that provides digital platforms for insurance companies, has raised US$850,000 in an oversubscribed seed funding round. The investment round was “led by Wavemaker Partners, with participation from Seedstars International Ventures, Wing Vasiksiri, and Sasin Bangkok Venture Club.”. Eazy Digital is a platform that...

On January 6, 2023, Okcoin launched its new Unified Account and API v5 (they skipped v4 since some of their users consider the number “4” bad luck). Okcoin is excited to share “this upgraded, more seamless trading experience with a select group of users.”. Over the next...

Stellar blockchain proponents Tempo France and Armenotech have announced a partnership on payments and remittances, according to a note from the firms. Tempo France is an international money transfer system that recently utilized Stellar to power transfers in Europe and the Asia Pacific region. Tempo reports using over 100 payment methods in 100 countries globally.

The crypto-asset industry might have been struggling during the past year, however, global banking institution HSBC (NYSE: HSBC) is looking to enhance its expertise in the area, advertising for senior digital assets and tokenization professionals. The new roles, both at HSBC‘s Global Private Banking and Wealth (GPBW) business and both...

Freightos (Nasdaq: CRGO), a global freight booking and payment platform, has listed its shares on the Nasdaq. Freightos is a long-time OurCrowd portfolio company and represents another exit for the global securities crowdfunding platform. Freightos went public as part of a SPAC deal sponsored by Gesher I Acquisition Corp, raising...

Varo Bank, the first Fintech to receive a federal bank charter and become a regulated digital-only bank, continues to lose money as it pursues its mission of improving the financial health of its customers. A document recently filed with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency indicates that Varo...

Channel Capital Advisors LLP has closed a mezzanine funding facility with TP24, a European fintech lending platform. Channel is an FCA-regulated alternative investment fund manager (AIFM) “specializing in fintech, working capital and trade finance investments.”. Since 2014, the London-headquartered company has “deployed more than $9 billion of assets across...

Wafeq, a modern and easy-to-use accounting platform, has announced the completion of its $3 million seed round. The Dubai-headquartered company’s seed round was “led Raed Ventures by and saw participation from Wamda Capital, both of which are two of the most prominent names in the region’s early-stage funding ecosystem.”

The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) announced the licensing of two finance companies that are “specialized in debt-based crowdfunding, namely: Forus and Tameed.”. The licenses were “granted to the companies after successful testing of their solutions in SAMA’s Regulatory Sandbox; an experimental environment dedicated to innovative financial products and services in Saudi Arabia.”

Commonwealth and JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM) announced the next phase of their collaboration to address “the challenges and opportunities that emerging technologies present for advancing the financial lives of US workers earning low and moderate incomes, who are disproportionately Black, Latinx, and women-led households.”. This project will “advance the strategic...

A new report indicates that Fintech funding declined in 2022 as the sector was impacted by a challenging market. According to Tracxn, private Fintech firms in the UK raised a total of $11.2 billion in 2022, a drop of 13% from the year prior. In 2021, Fintechs raised $12.9 billion.

January is a time of “reflection,” Bondora writes in a blog post while adding that they usually look back at the history of investing via the European investment platform. According to Bondora, it is “no surprise that there’s always been one main driver behind everything they do: you, their investors.”

“The business model Celsius advertised and sold to its customers was not the business that Celsius actually operated.” – Court Document, Filed January 31, 2023. Celsius, one of the first big crypto firms to fail and file for bankruptcy protection, continues to meander its way through the US bankruptcy court, Southern District of New York. Today, an enormous document was filed by examiner Shoba Pillay, who was tasked with investigating and reporting on Celsius’ activity before it went bust, including allegations that Celsius was a Ponzi scheme.

Fundrise, a real estate investment platform that recently entered the early-stage investment sector, has filed to raise $19.7 million in a sale of Class B Common shares. Fundrise has raised growth capital for itself in the past using the Reg A+ securities exemption. The $19.7 million represents the approximate balance available under Reg A as an issuer may raise up to $75 million in a given year. In total, Fundrise has raised almost $170 million under Reg A+, plus another $7.2 million in a Reg D offering. The price per share of the sale of $15.15 is the same as last June.

Yield App has acquired Trofi Group, a platform that offers structured product solutions for cryptocurrencies, in response “to growing investor demand for enhanced yield investment opportunities.”. The acquisition adds four new structured product strategies “to Yield App’s product suite that offer the opportunity to capture upside across a range...

The UK government has announced its intent to “robustly regulate crypto-asset activities.” In recent years, the UK has expressed its intent to become a crypto hub – supporting innovation while crafting a regime that provides sufficient consumer protections and transparency. The goal is to deliver on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s plan to grow the economy while enabling innovation. Crypto assets will be regulated similarly to traditional financial offerings.

As war continues to rage in Ukraine and inflation impacts the economy, fintechs and digital banks expect the subsequent global economic downturn “to drive a rise in financial crime – and they’re staffing up their financial crime prevention teams.”. A new survey by ComplyAdvantage, a financial crime...