Hello Fintech Friends,
We are republishing yesterday's newsletter because our publisher has been having some formatting issues, which scrambled much of the original Sunday newsletter:
The world has also changed since we scheduled our newsletter and LP emails last week.
One of the reasons I love fintech is because it is not just an industry, it is a global community – and that community does not exist in isolation. There are times when larger events merit our thoughts and attention.
Our team at TWIF is lucky to have hosted two community events this year in Tel Aviv, the first one of which I was fortunate to attend. Last year, we convened our three-day fintech trek in Dubai & Abu Dhabi, which included not just our gracious hosts from the Gulf fintech ecosystem but also our colleagues from Tel Aviv. What struck me on both trips is what has always struck me when traveling: that people are remarkably similar everywhere. Whether in Tel Aviv, Dubai, New York, or San Francisco – people in the fintech community are hardworking, intelligent, thoughtful, and eager to collaborate with and learn from each other.
That is why it is incumbent on all of us to stand with each other against extremism and hate anywhere that it exists.
Let's take the opportunity to stand with our Israeli colleagues in this difficult moment. I hope that our children grow up in a world better than the one we live in today, but that won't happen without our concerted efforts.
🎉 Wow, what an evening! We had the pleasure of partnering with @twifintech @NikMilanovic to host their first-ever #Fintech Happy Hour in Tel Aviv. Thank you to everyone who joined us for this incredible gathering! Check out the photos here: https://t.co/NV081jumoQ pic.twitter.com/Xow6t4JOj1— TLV Partners (@TLV_Partners) June 18, 2023
@twifintech @team8group talking about all things fintech. Kudos @xtina1225 for putting this together with such a great turn out in Tel Aviv pic.twitter.com/U0qeCjV5jO— Adi Levanon (@LevanonAdi) September 4, 2023
Tel Aviv is the most hospitable city I've ever visited— Nik (@NikMilanovic) June 15, 2023
– Nik
📖 Read of the Week
I loved Rohit's writeup this week (with a great graphic) on the nuances of building different lending products, the processes required, and the vendors that will support you based on the loan product you're building. My experience building Petal (consumer credit card product with a bank partner) was very different than that of early Funding Circle (borrower-dependant small business loan notes).
"Credit products, unlike many others, can’t be launched without figuring out many details at the outset. Even though the fintech landscape is exploding, it remains difficult for founders to launch quickly. Depending on your product - credit card, personal loan, mortgage, auto loan, etc. - your compliance regulations, risk models, operations, processes, and funding models are going to be different and super complex. There are unique nuances to each of these products and you’d need to learn those prior to launch."
☯️ Exits
🤝 M&A - Fintech
Publicly-listed identity verification provider Clear (which you've probably encountered in airports) acquired reusable KYC provider Sora ID to expand into financial identit
The "Robinhood for Nigeria," Chaka, was acquired by pan-African investment management platform Rise* to build borderless investing.
AI debt collection provider Colektiaacquired a portfolio of non-performing loans for $72 million.
Redwood, a British neobank for small businesses, is looking to raise fresh capital through its reverse takeover of London-listed R8 Capital Investments, taking it public.
Vista Equity bought a majority stake in subscription management software provider TRG Screen for $250 million.
Private equity firm Arlington Capital Partnersannounced its acquisition of Avenu, a provider of administrative and payment software and solutions to state and local governments.
Financial wellbeing app Wagestream acquired challenger credit card startup Keebo to help more workers access credit.
American Express is seeking a buyer for Accertify, more than a dozen years after buying the fintech, according to three banking and venture capital executives.
British digital banking software provider ieDigitalacquired its American counterpart Connect FSS .
Private equity firm General Atlantic is looking into selling off payments software vendor EngageSmart, which has a market value of $3.3 billion.
🏦 M&A - Bank and FinServ
PNC Bank acquired a portfolio of $16.6 billion in capital commitments from Signature Bridge Bank.
ABN Amro sold its 49% stake in EMS, a Netherlands-based payment processing joint venture, to Fiserv.
Premji Invest, a multi-family office, and stock broking giant Zerodha are engaging with Bank of Baroda to acquire a stake in the lender’s subsidiary Nainital.
We had a turbulent last few years at @braid_app, and shut it down for good in Sept '23. I wrote a post-mortem and found I had A LOT to say about the past few years in fintech/payments. Enjoy!
Braid is Dead, Long Live Braidhttps://t.co/4duAU7gtf3 pic.twitter.com/OFASpwVwzE— amanda peyton (@amandapey) October 6, 2023
Fintech Biz Weekly just dropped
-$13 Million in Missing User Funds: Evolve Bank & Trust, Synapse Play Blame Game as Banking-as-a-Service Crisis Intensifies
-FTV Capital Sues Solid and Its Cofounders Personally For $61 Million Over Alleged Fraud
Additional key points include👇… pic.twitter.com/m0yvhNWzMu— Jason Mikula (@mikulaja) October 8, 2023
Lots of people have asked me to describe the pain points of USDC off-boarding, so I thought I'd share them publicly:
1. Transfer != payments. It is expected in payments to pay a tiny % fee on payment. Not for transfers. Transfers should be free (today's standard in TradFi for…— thibauld 🌍🔥⏳🦇🔊 (@thibauld) October 4, 2023
🌎 Fintech Around the World
📚 Deeper Reads & Features
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