THE NEWS HIGHLIGHT OF THE DAY IS
Y Combinator, a Silicon Valley kingmaker, is advising its portfolio founders to “plan for the worst” as startups across the globe scramble to navigate a sharp reversal after a 13-year bull run. For those who don’t have the runway to “reach default alive,” YC is strongly suggesting that they consider raising money.
JUST IN:
Leading ‘buy now, pay later’ (BNPL) provider Klarna has just reached 150 million users. The fintech giant, which launched in 2005, has also recently hit 400,000 merchant partners.
ALSO:
Belvo launches an official Open Finance solution for regulated institutions in Brazil. Through Belvo’s new Open Finance product, which is compliant with the guidelines from Banco Central do Brasil (BACEN), financial innovators now have an easy and secure way to access end-user data according to present and future guidelines and regulations.
FURTHERMORE,
Brazilian neobank Nubank has just launched a new feature within the fintech’s corporate account, NuTap, a POS terminal without the hardware: the solution allows Nubank‘s corporate customers to collect payments using their cell phones as POS terminals, within the account app.
WHAT ABOUT CRYPTO?
Revolut's planned native crypto token will aim to reward customers for their loyalty, CEO Nik Storonsky said in an interview, in which he also shared details on the neobank's forthcoming non-custodial wallet.
LET’S HEAR ALL ABOUT MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS:
Square has acquired GoParrot, an all-in-one digital ordering and marketing platform for restaurants.
WHAT ABOUT FUNDING ROUNDS AND INVESTMENTS?
UAE-based fintech Pemo has raised a $12 million Seed round, co-led by Cherry Ventures and Shorooq Partners
Zipmex, Southeast Asia’s crypto platform, has invested in Forward, a Thai-based fintech firm specializing in DeFi Derivatives Trading in a bid to increase operational potential for Zipmex.
Payments and software startup SpotOn has closed on $300 million in a Series F financing that values the company at $3.6 billion.
Keep Financial, a San Jose, California—based technology company focused on compensation to enhance recruiting and retention, raised $9m in seed funding.
NOW, LET’S COVER NEW LAUNCHES AND FEATURES.
Commonwealth Bank of Australia has begun pilot tests of Kit, a new money app and digital information tool for kids.