Happy new year! For those who missed the 10th FinTech Forum event- including our attempt at wrapping up 5 years of European FinTech, the summary is required reading before you kick-off 2019: 10th FinTech Forum shows the next wave of FinTechs, investments, partnerships and M&A is here.
This month marks five years (and 231 newsletters!) since we published the first newsletter covering the fledgling FinTech scene in Continental Europe back in Jan. 2014- quite a challenge given that the term FinTech was little known outside of the US and UK, and many press releases were only in the local language.
We have come a long way, and there is no dearth of newsletters, but we plan to keep curating our weekly selection of FinTech & InsurTech funding rounds, M&A and partnerships tracking where the smart money is headed in Continental Europe, as well as our 7 Questions series that have featured close to a hundred startups, VCs and financial institutions creating the future of financial services.
If you are reading this via our social media group and want to register or refer our newsletter, here you go: http://www.fintechforum.de/category/news/
The FinTech Forum team wishes you all a great start to 2019!
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Blockchain equity platform Neufund has raised €3 million so far in its Equity Token Offering
Berlin-based Neufund, a Blockchain-based asset tokenization and equity investment platform, has already raised €3 million halfway through its Equity Token Offering – double the offering’s soft cap. Amid volatile crypto markets, most of the capital raised comes in euros from a range of prestigious European investors, including VCs, angels, and private individuals.
https://www.eu-startups.com/2018/12/neufund-raises-funding/
Danish fintech startup Spiir raises €5.2 million from a duo of banks to boost PSD2 infrastructure in the Nordics
Danish fintech company Spiir, the company behind the eponymous personal finance management app as well as the Nordic API Gateway, has secured €5.2 million in fresh funding. Two of Scandinavia’s largest banks, DNB and Danske Bank, strategically invested jointly in the startup to attempt to building the leading PSD2 infrastructure in the Nordics and make it possible for others to innovate on top of banking data. Spiir has now raised €8.5 million in 2018 alone..
https://tech.eu/brief/spiir-nordic-api-gateway-funding/
Helaba buys Dexia Kommunalbank Deutschland
Die Landesbank Helaba verstärkt ihr Geschäft mit Pfandbriefen und in der Kommunalfinanzierung durch Übernahme der Dexia Kommunalbank Deutschland(DKD). Für 352 Millionen Euro Kaufpreis soll die 100-Prozent-Tochter der belgisch-französischen Dexia-Gruppe komplett unter das Dach der viertgrößten deutschen Landesbank wechseln, wie die Dexia und die Landesbank Hessen-Thüringen (Helaba) am Freitag mitteilten. Ziel ist, die Transaktion im zweiten Quartal 2019 zu vollziehen.
7 Questions with Kristoffer Borg Petersen, Hufsy
1. Please tell us a bit about yourself and Hufsy.
I’m Kristoffer and I’m the CEO of Hufsy. I’m overall responsible for running the business both in our HQ in Copenhagen as well as our office in Berlin. Prior to working with Hufsy I spent many years in the digital media business. I have worked for Microsoft and Bonnier Publications amongst others. My focus has always been commercial whether it has been sales management or business development and I bring my experience from the more corporate world to the start-up world of Hufsy.
http://www.fintechforum.de/7-questions-with…g-petersen-hufsy/
St. Louis’ SixThirty starts new year with new partnerships, international expansion
SixThirty, which launched in 2013 and invests in up to 12 startups a year, will formally announce this month that it’s opening a European office. The St. Louis seed fund and business incubator has invested in 44 startups so far. In a recent conversation, Managing Partner Atul Kamra touched on plans to expand internationally and the importance of strategic partnerships with some of the biggest companies in the financial and insurance technology business…SixThirty has appointed Samarth Shekhar as regional manager for Europe. Shekhar is the co-founder of FinTechForum, which is a European hub matching financial-technology startups and innovators with investors and financial institutions.
SolarisBank Partners with Boerse Stuttgart, will Launch Cryptocurrency Exchange in 2019
Boerse Stuttgart, Germany’s second largest stock exchange, has reportedly partnered with fintech startup SolarisBank to develop a cryptocurrency exchange. In a press release issued December 12, 2018, SolarisBank said that the cryptocurrency trading platform is scheduled to release sometime in the first half of 2019.
https://btcmanager.com/solarisbank-partners-boerse-stuttgart-launch-cryptocurrency-exchange/
Cooperative banks and savings banks invest in identity service “Yes”
Die Sparkassen und Genossenschaftsbanken haben sich am Identitätsdienst „Yes“ beteiligt. Die Investition läuft über die Dienstleister der Bankengruppen, den Deutschen Sparkassenverlag (DSV) und die Fiducia & Gad. Die Unternehmen bestätigten ihre Beteiligung dem Handelsblatt. Die Fiducia & Gad hat nach Angaben einer Sprecherin einen Anteil in Höhe von fünf Prozent an Yes erworben. Ziel sei es, die Interessen der Volks- und Raiffeisenbanken über die Kooperation hinaus abzusichern.
Apple Pay Launches in Germany
Apple Pay made its long-awaited debut in Germany this evening, allowing iPhone and Apple Watch users in the country to finally take advantage of the contactless mobile payments service if their card issuer supports it.
https://www.macrumors.com/2018/12/10/apple-pay-launches-in-germany/
Bitwala Begins Offering Bank Accounts With Bitcoin Wallet and Debit Card
Cryptocurrency banking provider Bitwala has started offering its banking service to cryptocurrency users in Germany, starting with 40,000 pre-registered customers. A spokesperson for the company has shared details with news.Bitcoin.com about this new service which will soon add support for additional countries and cryptocurrencies.
https://news.bitcoin.com/bitwala-bank-bitcoin-wallet-debit-card/
Pax-Bank is testing the digital bell bag – mobile payment soon in the church too
Die Pax-Bank aus Köln bringt kontaktloses Zahlen auch in die Kirche. Das zeigt auch, wie weit die Digitalisierung um sich greift. Die jetzt vorgestellte Lösung „Elektronische Opferstock“ ist vor allem für touristisch frequentierte Dom- und Wallfahrtskirchen gedacht. Auch die Kirchen haben verstanden, das viele Besucher heute bargeldlos reisen und ja, sie kennen elektronische Opferstöcke bereits aus anderen Ländern.
https://www.it-finanzmagazin.de/pax-bank-klingelbeutel-mobile-payment-82198/
Targobank starts Robo-Advisor
Die Targobank startet ihren Robo-Advisor und kombiniert ihre eigene Anlagestrategie mit der Technologie eines Fintechs. Damit folgt sie einem Trend.
„Pixit“ soll sie heißen – eine Wortschöpfung aus „Pixel“ als Symbol für die digitale Welt und „Pig“ als Symbol für ein Sparschwein.
Wie das Handelsblatt vorab von der Bank erfuhr, zeichnet sie für die Anlagestrategie selbst verantwortlich, hat sich für die Technologie aber ein Finanz-Start-up zu Hilfe geholt. Damit folgt sie gleich mehreren Trends.
creditshelf launches first digital securitisation of SME loans together with CrossLend
creditshelf Aktiengesellschaft, a pioneer in the field of digital SME financing in Germany, is launching a partnership with the credit marketplace CrossLend to offer the first digital securitisation of SME loans in Germany. CrossLend acts as an investor on the creditshelf platform and purchases loan receivables as part of the regular lending processes. CrossLend then securitises the loan receivables and offers them in the form of a new product to a broad base of additional investors via its own channels.
HVB extends Instant Payment (SCT Inst) to corporate customers and private customers online & mobile banking
Die HypoVereinsbank hat ihr Instant Payments Angebot auf Firmenkunden ausgeweitet und habe bereits erste Echtzeitüberweisungen von Firmenkunden abgewickelt. Nach der Einführung von Instant Payments für Privatkunden (vor etwa einem Jahr) können nun auch Firmenkunden der HypoVereinsbank an Geschäftspartner oder Privatpersonen Zahlungen in Echtzeit von Konto zu Konto senden. Damit wird das bislang ausschließlich für Zahlungen von Privatpersonen genutzte Verfahren erweitert.
https://www.it-finanzmagazin.de/hvb-instant-payment-sct-inst-firmen-82563/
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