BlackFin Tech Weekly — March 25th, 2024
Every Monday, we publish a short digest which sums up last week’s Fintech activity.
Hello FinTech Friends,
Welcome back to our newsletter! As we bid adieu to Q1, we're excited to continue our journey together through the ever-evolving landscape of European FinTech. In this edition, we'll be covering the most recent developments, trends, and deals that are making waves in the industry. So, without delay, let's jump right in and stay ahead of the curve with the freshest insights from the world of European finance and technology.
Last week we saw 14 official fintech deals in Europe for a total amount of 218,7m€ raised with 5 deals in the UK, 4 in Germany, 1 in France, 1 in the Netherlands, 1 in Ireland, 1 in the Czech Republic, and 1 in Estonia.
Congratulations to Solaris SE, the embedded finance platform, who has successfully raised €96 million in a Series F funding round led by SBI Group. Well done also to Greenly, a Paris-based company that provides tools for SMBs to track their carbon emissions, for having raised a €48 million Series B round. The new round, which includes some debt, was led by UK-based investor Fidelity International Strategic Ventures, with participation from VC Benhamou Global Ventures and Move Capital. Lastly, we want to extend our congratulations to bezahl, a Cologne, Germany-based fintech company that operates the automotive payment management platform, who raised €22 million in Series B funding. The round was led by PayPal Ventures, with participation from Seaya Ventures, Walter Ventures, and existing investor Motive Ventures.
Let’s dive in
Solaris SE, Europe's leading embedded finance platform, announced the raise of its Series F round led by SBI Group and other existing investors. The current round consists of EUR 96 million in additional capital and a financial guarantee of up to EUR 100 million in capital equivalent. Solaris will use the funds to onboard the ADAC (Allgemeiner Deutscher Automobil-Club) credit card program, strengthen its core capital, and invest in the resilience of its platform. The funding round was led by SBI Group, one of Solaris' early strategic investors, and will enable the delivery of the ADAC migration. In September 2022, Solaris secured a long-term agreement to become ADAC's co-branding credit card partner, issuing more than 1.2 million credit cards going forward. In July 2023, Solaris closed its first round of Series F funding at EUR 38 million, also led by existing investors, with the funds being used to strengthen governance and compliance and navigate the challenging market environment. In line with its 5-year strategy, Solaris is entering a new chapter dedicated to achieving profitable growth and placing a focus on core vertical markets. As international brands seek an entry point to begin their embedded finance journey, Solaris' product offering will center on providing accessible and scalable products: cards, accounts, and lending.
Paris-based climate tech Greenly, which provides tools for SMBs to track their carbon emissions, has raised a $52m Series B. The new round, which includes some debt, was led by UK-based investor Fidelity International Strategic Ventures, with participation from US VC Benhamou Global Ventures and French growth equity fund Move Capital. Returning investors included French VC XAnge and US investor Energy Impact Partners. Banking giant HSBC and IT multinational HPE also participated in the round. Greenly provides a platform that enables SMBs to assess their emissions — a service that is increasingly in demand as regulations kick in across the globe requiring companies to report their environmental impact. In the EU, the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), which was introduced last year, makes it mandatory for businesses above a certain size to report on sustainability metrics as of 2024. But Greenly isn’t the only startup to have spotted an opportunity here. The past few years have seen startups offering carbon accounting tools pop up all over Europe — including France’s Sweep, which raised a $73m Series B in 2022, and Germany’s Plan A, which recently raised a $27m Series A extension.VCs, meanwhile, are cooling on the sector: in 2022, investors poured $860m into European carbon accounting startups, according to analysis by data provider Net Zero Insights; but in 2023, investment dropped to less than $300m.
NX Technologies, a Cologne, Germany-based fintech company that operates the automotive payment management platform bezahl.de, raised €22M in Series B funding. The round was led by PayPal Ventures, with participation from Seaya Ventures, Walter Ventures, and existing investor Motive Ventures. The company intends to use the funds to strengthen its market position in Germany, expand into new European markets, and grow its platform. Founded in 2018 NX Technologies specializes in digital payment management with its main product “bezahl.de”. bezahl.de allows its customers to handle the entire receivables process straightforwardly, shortening the order-to-cash timeframe and minimizing accounting and back-office resources. The platform offers a modern payment experience for customers of dealerships and other automotive providers, with numerous payment methods and embedded financing options. More than 70 percent of the top 100 automotive retail groups and over 1,000 car dealerships in Germany rely on bezahl.de to manage payments for their businesses.
In addition to this week’s fundraising activity, here is the European M&A activity of the week:
Cube has announced securing a significant investment from HG Capital. HG Capital is a private equity firm that invests in tech businesses in Europe and North America. Founded in 2000, HG has around $65bn under management today and has made over 200 investments. It has invested over $6.5bn in the regulatory, compliance, and financial technology sectors. Cube is an Automation Regulatory Intelligence (ARI) and Regulatory Change Management (RCM) technology provider that was founded in 2011. Cube counts some of the world’s largest banks, such as Citi, Wells Fargo, and Deutsche Bank among its clients. Furthermore, Cube has invested significantly in AI to improve efficiency and create further customer value. The terms of the deal have not been disclosed.
Read more
And finally, here are the news that caught our eye last week:
Stripe is now facilitating payments for retailers utilizing Amazon's Just Walk Out technology in Australia and Canada, enabling consumers to shop and exit without waiting in line to pay. This deployment aligns with consumer preferences, as 35% of consumers who use internet-connected devices on a day-to-day basis would be interested in this sort of shopping experience.
BlackRock has entered the world of tokenization with the launch of its first tokenized fund on the Ethereum blockchain in partnership with Securitize called the BlackRock USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL).
The BlackRock Digital fund marks a significant step in BlackRock's digital asset strategy, aimed at addressing client needs and leveraging the transformative potential of tokenizing securities in capital markets.
Thunes, a cross-border payments firm, is expanding its partnership with Visa into Asia and Africa, enabling Visa to utilize Thunes' international network.
With digital wallets becoming increasingly popular, more banks are partnering with Visa to enhance cross-border payout capabilities, recognizing mobile wallet interoperability as crucial for optimizing payments to both consumers and businesses.
Last year, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) reported a 23% surge in Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs), with criminals targeting various types of checks. To combat this trend, the American Bankers Association (ABA) and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service are educating postal and banking employees and consumers on preventive measures.
Have a great week & see you soon!