BlackFin Tech Weekly — April 14th, 2025
Every Monday, we publish a short digest which sums up last week’s Fintech activity.
Hello FinTech Friends,
Welcome to another week of fintech insights. Let’s explore the news and trends shaping the industry!
Over the last week, there were 11 fintech deals in Europe, raising a total of €111 million in equity, 6 deals in the UK, 2 deals in France and one deal in each of Germany, Czech Republic and Spain.
Congratulations to Hawk and Transficc, both BlackFin portfolio companies, for making the headlines this week! They are joined by Mila:
Hawk, an Ai-powered anti money laundering, screening and fraud prevention solution has raised a €50.6m Series C led by Onepeak, joining existing investors Macquarie Capital, Rabobank, BlackFin Capital Partners, Sands Capital, DN Capital, Picus and Coalition.
Transficc, a UK-based provider of low-latency connectivity for Fixed Income and Derivatives markets, has raised a €22.7m Series B from Citadel Securities and Blackfin Capital Partners.
Mila, an Insurtech focusing on insurance products for real estate professionals has raised a €12m Series A led by Elevation Capital Partners.
Let’s dive in
Hawk, a leading provider of AI-powered anti-money laundering (AML), screening, and fraud prevention solutions, has raised €50.6m in a Series C funding round. The round was led by One Peak, joining existing investors Macquarie Capital, Rabobank, BlackFin Capital Partners, Sands Capital, DN Capital, Picus and Coalition. The funds will be used to support continued product innovation and Hawk's global expansion, particularly into the U.S. market. Hawk's AI technology aims to enhance the accuracy of risk detection and reduce false positives in financial crime monitoring. Hawk currently serves over 80 customers worldwide, including Tier 1 banks, mid-market financial institutions, and fintechs. The company's mission is to provide financial institutions with the technology, expertise, and support needed to realize the transformative impact of machine learning and generative AI in combating financial crime
TransFICC, a UK based provider of low-latency connectivity for Fixed Income and Derivatives Markets, has secured a €22.7m Series B funding round. The investment was led by Citadel Securities, with participation from BlackFin Capital Partners. The funds will be utilized to enhance TransFICC's trading solutions, addressing complex liquidity and execution challenges in the Fixed Income market. Over recent years, electronic trading in Fixed Income markets has gained significant traction among both buy side and sell side institutions.
French digital insurer Mila has raised €12 million in funding, led by Elevation Capital Partners. Mila specializes in collaborative, digital-first insurance products, particularly for co-owned properties and syndics. The funds will be used to expand Mila’s product offering, enhance its proprietary tech platform, and grow its team. The company aims to scale its presence in the French market while continuing to innovate in claims automation and risk management. This latest round underscores growing investor confidence in Mila’s model of modern, tech-enabled, customer-centric insurance solutions.
In addition to this week’s fundraising activity, here is the European M&A activity of the week:
Ripple, a crypto payments and infrastructure company, has acquired Hidden Road, a U.K.-based prime brokerage specializing in digital and traditional asset trading, for $1.25 billion. Hidden Road provides institutional clients with access to trading and credit services across digital and traditional markets. Through this acquisition, Ripple expands its offering beyond payments, entering the institutional brokerage space. The deal also supports Ripple’s strategy to grow adoption of its new U.S. dollar stablecoin (RLUSD), which will be integrated into post-trade operations and used to settle transactions over the XRP Ledger. Hidden Road will operate under the Ripple brand, helping bridge traditional finance and blockchain-based infrastructure.
Visma, a Norway-based provider of cloud ERP and accounting software, has acquired Finmatics, an Austrian company specializing in AI-powered automation for accounting processes. Finmatics offers tools that help accounting firms and finance teams automate manual tasks such as document processing and data entry. With this acquisition, Visma strengthens its position in the DACH region and enhances its product suite with AI-driven pre-accounting capabilities. Finmatics will continue operating under its own brand, integrated into Visma’s ecosystem to support greater efficiency in financial workflows
And finally, we bring you 4 news stories that caught our eye last week:
Kraken has partnered with Mastercard to introduce crypto-linked debit cards across Europe. The cards enable users to spend cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum directly from their accounts while earning cashback rewards in crypto. This collaboration marks Kraken's first major foray into payment solutions and strengthens Mastercard's position as a leader in crypto-friendly financial services. The cards also integrate with Kraken's mobile app for seamless account management and transaction tracking.
Block, formerly Square, has agreed to pay a $40 million penalty following an investigation by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) into AML violations. The fintech giant failed to implement adequate transaction monitoring and customer due diligence processes, allowing suspicious activities to go undetected. FinCEN highlighted that Block's Cash App platform was particularly vulnerable, with gaps in its compliance framework leading to violations of the Bank Secrecy Act. The penalty underscores growing regulatory scrutiny of fintechs as they expand into traditional financial services.
Metro Bank has launched an AI-powered scam prevention tool, "Ask Silver," to combat financial fraud targeting its customers. Developed in partnership with Silver, the tool uses machine learning algorithms to detect and block suspicious transactions in real-time. The initiative aligns with Metro Bank's broader strategy to enhance digital security amid rising fraud cases across the UK banking sector. Early trials of "Ask Silver" reportedly reduced scam-related losses by 15%, demonstrating its effectiveness in protecting vulnerable customers.
Klarna has partnered with Canadian retailer Aritzia to offer flexible, interest-free payment options across the US and Canada. Customers can now split payments for purchases made online or at select boutiques using Klarna's BNPL services. The partnership strengthens Klarna's presence in North America, where BNPL transactions are projected to grow by 12% in 2025. With over 675,000 merchants globally, Klarna continues to expand its network to meet rising consumer demand for alternative payment solutions.
Have a great start into the week!
Sources of the fundraising reports