Plus: Block rival SumUp defies FinTech funding slump with $307 million cash injection.
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Synctera launches embedded banking platform in Canada
(BETAKIT)
After getting its start in the United States, banking as a service (BaaS) platform Synctera has launched in Canada.
The platform allows organizations of various sizes, from small FinTech startups to major brands, to develop FinTech apps and embedded banking products — including bank accounts, card programs and lending — that are compliant with Canadian payments and banking regulations.
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SumUp, a rival to Jack Dorsey’s Block, defies fintech funding slump with $307 million cash injection
(CNBC)
British payments startup SumUp, known for its small card readers, on Monday announced it has raised 285 million euros ($306.6 million) in a bumper round of funding that values the company north of $8.6 billion.
SumUp Chief Financial Officer Hermione McKee said the fresh capital gives the company “more firepower to act on opportunities that we see arising over the course of the next two years.”
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As Intuit winds down Mint, financial planning app Monarch Money comes to Canada
(BETAKIT)
Since Intuit decided to shut down its free budgeting app, Mint, last month, San Francisco-based personal finance app Monarch Money identified a gap in the market and decided to hasten its Canadian expansion plans.
“We saw on Reddit and elsewhere the Canadian frustration of, ‘Oh my gosh there’s nothing else we can use that really [does] what Mint did,’ so we fast-tracked the Canadian release,” Monarch co-founder and CEO Val Agostino told BetaKit in an exclusive interview.
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Wirecard’s former chief financial officer charged with fraud
(FINANCIAL TIMES)
Munich prosecutors have charged Wirecard’s former chief financial officer with fraud more than three years after the payments company collapsed in one of Germany’s biggest corporate scandals.
Burkhard Ley, who was CFO from 2006 to 2017 and then worked as an external adviser to Wirecard, was charged with fraud, breach of trust, accounting, and market manipulation.
Wirecard failed in June 2020 after disclosing that €1.9bn in corporate cash linked to outsourced operations in Asia did not exist.
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Vistara Growth secures $200-million CAD initial close for fifth private credit fund
(BETAKIT)
Vistara, which targets enterprise software companies with between $10 million and $100 million in annual recurring revenue, creates tailored investment structures comprised of debt, equity, or some combination of the two to help tech companies finance organic growth, mergers and acquisitions, or shareholder liquidity initiatives.
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Credit Karma co-founder Nichole Mustard stepping down after more than 16 years
(TECHCRUNCH)
Intuit closed on its $8.1 billion cash and stock purchase of Credit Karma in 2020 and things have been a bit bumpy since.
Mustard’s decision to step down marks the third known high-profile executive departure at Credit Karma in 2023, with Chief People Officer Colleen McCreary leaving her role in January and Greg Lull announcing in September that he would be resigning as chief marketing officer as soon as his replacement is found.
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Woveo closes $2.3 million to expand community wallet platform for underserved banking customers
(BETAKIT)
Calgary-based FinTech startup Woveo has raised $2.3 million CAD in seed financing as it looks to expand the reach of its community wallet platform.
Founded in 2020, Woveo has developed a digital community wallet designed to help groups of people improve their financial well-being through group rotating savings, credit building and short-term credit access.
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How John Raeder would use his $600 million growth fund to scale your startup
(BETAKIT)
After successfully operating businesses through both the dot-com bust and the 2008 Financial Crisis, John Raeder has developed a “paranoia of operational frailty,” always planning for a doomsday scenario.
In a recent #CIBCInnovationBanking podcast episode, Raeder shared how he thinks about growing businesses—and what founders should be doing to set the stage for growth.
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Kapital secures $165M in equity, debt to provide financial visibility to LatAm SMBs
(TECHCRUNCH)
Bank and technology platform Kapital continues to rake in venture capital, grabbing another $40 million in Series B dollars and $125 million in debt financing.
This marks the second investment for the Mexico City–based company this year following its $20 million Series A in May that included $45 million in debt.
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Six Canadian tech founders share their wins and learnings from 2023
(BETAKIT)
It’s no secret that 2023 has been a tumultuous year for tech. But in some ways, for founders, it was a year like any other: navigating challenges and uncertainty to find opportunity and success.
We asked a group of Canadian tech founders to reflect back on an unpredictable year. They shared their views on adopting new technologies, celebrated their biggest wins, and shared what learnings they’ll bring into 2024.
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Exclusive: Apple offers to let rivals access tap-and-go tech in EU antitrust case
(REUTERS)
Apple has offered to let rivals access its tap-and-go mobile payments systems used for mobile wallets, three people familiar with the matter said, a move that could settle EU antitrust charges and stave off a possible hefty fine.
The EU competition enforcer last year charged Apple with curbing rivals’ access to its tap-and-go technology, Near-Field Communication, making it difficult for them to develop rival services on Apple devices.
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Notman House is in trouble. What’s next for the home of Montréal tech?
(BETAKIT)
Notman House, the Montréal startup hub run within a 187-year-old heritage building, will likely be put up for sale as government creditors claim years of unpaid debt.
Many are now concerned about what Notman’s uncertain future means for Montréal tech.
A new initiative with a similar mission called Ax-C, which is set to open on the former trading floor of the Montréal Exchange by the end of next year, has garnered $48 million in government support. Meanwhile the OSMO Foundation, which owns and operates Notman House, owes $323,000 in unpaid mortgage fees to the Business Development Bank of Canada and Investissement Québec.
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How Xero overhauled its customer support function using gen AI
(BETAKIT)
New Zealand-headquartered and Canada-connected Xero recently launched a gen AI solution for its Xero Central self-service helpdesk, built in partnership with Québec-based AI software platform Coveo.
Speaking with BetaKit, Nigel Piper, executive general manager at Xero, explained how the project came to be and what it took to build and implement a solution.
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Line Next banks $140m from Peter Thiel-backed Crescendo
(TECHINASIA)
Line Next Corporation, a Line unit that focuses on the NFT ecosystem, raised a US$140 million round from a consortium led by Crescendo Equity Partners, a private equity firm sponsored by Peter Thiel.
With the funds, which come amid a rebound in crypto values, the company plans to grow its global business and create new services as it strives to make Web3 more accessible.
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