Another week and another dose of juicy news waiting for you in our FinTech Wire series. Apart from exciting exciting updates from UK businesses such as Kroo, Zilch, Keebo, Appital, and LendInvest, you’ll also learn about Canada’s RBC Ventures interesting launch dedicated to… kids! Keep reading to find out about the inspiring achievements of the FinTech world figures.
Weekly FinTech news digest: 10—16 August 2021
Kroo raises £17.7m in Series A funding round
“Social” banking app that makes joint finances easier
Kroo, also called a “social bank,” is an app that helps to track and manage personal and social finances. The startup’s main goal is to reduce misunderstandings that can arise around financial interactions between friends and family. It enables creating groups that help track and split joint spendings and pay bills quickly and securely.
Along with the primary goal, the startup also wants to support social causes by donating a percentage of its profits. “We want to build the world’s greatest social bank: a bank dedicated to its customers and to the world we live in,” said Andrea de Gottardo, the CEO of Kroo.
Read more about FinTech mobile app development
Zilch acquires NepFin to enter the US market
It’s just the first step in Zilch’s international growth
Just a few weeks ago, we wrote about Zilch’s success in the Series B funding round, where it secured another $110m. Today we already know where the money went — and it looks like Zilch kept its promise of spending it on the expansion to the U.S. market. The U.S. division will be built by former NepFin founders — Albert Periu (who becomes the CEO of the U.S.) and Thomas Meister (who covers the U.S. COO & General Counsel role).
As quoted by IBSintelligence: “We’ve been exploring growth options in the U.S. for some time and following the additional funding, now was the perfect time to take another meaningful step towards our U.S. launch. Albert, Tom, and their team have done tremendous work, and adding them to our team enables us to hit the ground running with regulation top of mind,” said Philip Belamant, CEO and founder of Zilch.
Read more about the top buy now, pay later apps
Keebo secures £5m in seed funding
Credit app that nurtures financial stability
Keebo is a credit card and app based on open banking data and behavioral science. Along with helping its users build their credit, it also provides them with knowledge about their purchases’ impact on their personal credit score. The startup’s goal is to give users a complete picture of their spending behavior, and through that, to improve their financial well-being.
According to Finextra, aside from successful funding (led by Breega and Connect Ventures), Keebo also received Innovate UK’s Fast Start grant for cutting-edge startups and two other technology grants from the UK government. It’s also supported by and launching with Mastercard.
Read more about open banking development services
Appital secures £2.5m from Frontline Ventures and angel investors
Mission: bring innovation to Equity Capital Markets
Appital is a platform dedicated to the buy-side community. It enables latent liquidity discovery and provides users with better exposure to deal flow and execution opportunities in illiquid stocks. The company aims to bring innovation to the Equity Capital Markets, which are largely untouched by automation and burdened by non-transparent legacy processes.
“We enable buy-side firms to radically rethink their approach to interacting with the market, gain exposure to deal flow opportunities they have not been able to access before, and proactively drive liquidity in the market,” says Mark Badyra, Chief Executive Officer of Appital.
Read more about finance technology
RBC Ventures launches money management app for kids
Practical lesson on responsible finance management
According to the University of Cambridge experts, many adult financial habits are developed at an early age. Following that logic, the new RBC Ventures app gives kids and teens real-world experience in responsible spending — in a safe way, with full parental supervision. Mydoh is available on Android and iOS, and it can be used by customers of other Canadian banks, too.
The app combines interactive tools and a prepaid Visa card that make the young user experience easy and fun. Gaurav Kapoor, the founder of Mydoh, explains, “Good money management habits are not innate. Like any life skill, they need to be learned early. Mydoh helps make this experience fun and engaging.”
Read more about FinTech mobile app development
LendInvest partners with Barclays and HSBC
Good news for UK property entrepreneurs
As reported by London News Today, LendInvest signed a £150 million worth partnership with Barclays and HSBC to get funding to UK property entrepreneurs. Thanks to that, the company will be able to provide its customers with short-term mortgages within just days through its digital platform.
What’s worth mentioning, the deal was signed just a few weeks after LendInvest got listed on the London Stock Exchange. Through that partnership, Barclays joins HSBC, Citibank, JP Morgan, and NAB on LendIvest’s financial partners list.
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