News

Newsletter 27 May 2019

Goldman Sachs invests in German fintech startup Elinvar

Goldman Sachs has invested in Elinvar, a German startup founded by Deutsche Bank veterans that has built a digital platform that helps traditional lenders offer their services online. Goldman’s Principal Strategic Investments group led a funding round joined by existing investors Ampega Asset Management and Finleap which brings Elinvar’s total funding at over EUR20 million, according to Bloomberg. Goldman now holds a 13.9% stake in the startup.

https://www.finextra.com/newsarticle/33818/goldman-sachs-invests-in-german-fintech-startup-elinvar

 

Raisin rides into the US with its savings and investment marketplace

Raisin, the pan-European fintech marketplace for savings and investment products, is headed to the U.S., announcing plans to roll out a similar offering across the pond. The German company, which is backed by the likes of PayPal, Index Ventures, Ribbit Capital and Thrive Capital, wants to bring greater competition and easier savings and deposit account opening to U.S. customers.

https://techcrunch.com/2019/05/21/raisin-usa/

 

Ventech invests 2.5 million euros in 4stop

The French investor Ventech invests 2.5 million euros in the Cologne startup 4stop . The company, which develops and distributes anti-fraud software, was founded in 2016 by Ingo Ernst, Alvaro Kurth, Nolan Bolusan and Daniel Alvarado. With the fresh capital, the company plans to drive its growth.

https://www.deutsche-startups.de/2019/05/16/dealmonitor-16-05-2019/

 

7 Questions with Jens Siebert, wevest

1. Please tell us a bit about yourself, both at work and leisure.

I was born and raised in Berlin and I am currently the CEO of wevest Digital AG. I have spent my entire career in the banking and financial services industry – first at a large consultancy firm and afterwards as project manager for the group of German cooperative banks. Privately, I enjoy going to the theatre and cycling. Once I made a trip cycling from Berlin to Barcelona in 30 days. That required good planning and endurance. The same holds true for starting your own business.

http://www.fintechforum.de/7-questions-with-jens-siebert-wevest/

 

Finleap’s biggest coup? Competitor planned for Check24

Der chinesische Versicherungskonzern Ping An will gemeinsam mit Finleap ein Finanzportal aufbauen. Es muss sich gegen den mächtigen Player Check24 behaupten.

https://www.gruenderszene.de/fintech/finleaps-check24-konkurrenz?interstitial_click

 

The biggest #FinTech players are speaking this June in Amsterdam. Hear from the industry heavyweights at this year’s #M2020EU: http://bit.ly/2YrrBgi

 

Dutch-African startup CarePay International raises €40 million to expand its mobile health payment platform in Nigeria and Tanzania

Amsterdam and Nairobi-based CarePay International, a mobile health payments platform, has raised €40 million in a Series A financing round, making it one of the best funded startups operating in Africa. Launched in 2016, CarePay International digitally connects health players including insurers, users, and providers on a single mobile platform, so that they can communicate and make transactions in real-time.

https://www.eu-startups.com/2019/05/dutch-african-startup-carepay-international-raises-e40-million-to-expand-its-mobile-health-payment-platform-in-nigeria-and-tanzania/

 

Sweden’s Anyfin scores €8 million in funding to help consumers refinance their loans

Swedish fintech company Anyfin has secured €8 million in fresh funding from its existing backers Northzone, Accel and Global Founders Capital. The only new investor in this extension of its Series A round is NYC-based Fintech Collective.

https://tech.eu/brief/anyfin-fintech-series-a-extension-funding/

 

Steven raised $1.3M from new and existing investors.

Steven, a Stockholm, Sweden-based service operating a payment app, completed a new investment round totalling SEK 12M ($1.3M). The money was provided by new and existing investors, including Swedish angel investor and former Swedish finance minister Anders Borg.

https://nordic9.com/news/steven-raised-1-3m-from-new-and-existing-investors-news3319597197/

 

Instant Payments: Volksbanks now offer fast transfers

Auch die Volksbanken- und Raiffeisenbanken bieten nun die sekundenschnellen, Instant Payments genannten Überweisungen. Insgesamt haben 546 der Genossenschaftsbanken jetzt diese Überweisungsart in Online-Banking und Banking-Apps im Angebot, teilte der Bundesverband der Volks- und Raiffeisenbanken (BVR) mit. Auch die P2P-Zahlungsapp Kwitt soll nun darüber funktionieren.

https://www.heise.de/newsticker/meldung/Instant-Payments-Volksbanken-bieten-jetzt-auch-schnelle-Ueberweisungen-4427693.html

 

For the first time, the blockchain platform finledger enables fully digital processing of promissory note loans

In einem Pilotgeschäft haben die vier Kreditinstitute die Emission eines Schuldscheindarlehens erfolgreich über die neu geschaffene Blockchain-Plattform finledger abgewickelt. Nach Abschluss der Pilotphase wird diese auch anderen Instituten zur Verfügung stehen. Damit etablieren die vier Banken erstmals einen Marktstandard für die digitale Abwicklung von Schuldscheindarlehen und stellen eine institutsübergreifende Plattform zur Verfügung, die die Ansprache einer breiten Kundengruppe ermöglicht.

https://www.helaba.com/de/informationen-fuer/medien-und-oeffentlichkeit/news/meldungen/2019/blockchain-plattform-finledger-ermoeglicht-erstmals-vollstaendig-digitale-abwicklung-von-schuldscheindarlehen.php

 

Upcoming Events:

Looking to connect to the European FinTech & InsurTech ecosystem? Here is a selection of events we are speaking at or attending:

HighTech-Gründerfonds Family Day 2019: 28-29 May 2019, Bonn

https://high-tech-gruenderfonds.de/de/events/family-day-2019/

Money2020 Europe: 3-5 Jun. 2019, Amsterdam https://goo.gl/BuC5TC

Digital Insurance Agenda: 25-27 Jun. 2019, Amsterdam http://www.digitalinsuranceagenda.com/dia-amsterdam-2019/

 

FinTech Forum partners:

www.advinda.com

www.be-tse.de/en/

www.boersen-zeitung.de/

www.eschborn.de

www.heussen-law.de

www.innovationhub.innogy.com

www.investhk.gov.hk/

www.miles-and-more.com

www.dvfa.de/