BlackFin Tech Weekly - September 15th, 2025
Every week, 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 seven fintech deals in Europe, raising a total of €22.8 million, including transactions in Italy, Cyprus, Ireland, France, Lithuania, Switzerland, and the UK.
Congratulations to the three largest rounds announced last week:
Tot, an Italy-based banktech platform that centralizes business accounts, cards, invoicing, and expense management for companies and freelancers, has raised €7 million in a Pre-Series A round led by CDP Venture Capital.
Keabank, a Cyprus-based crypto startup enabling seamless crypto-to-currency payments, instant conversion, and global banking access, has raised €6 million in a Seed round backed by Mark Carnegie.
Tipple, an Ireland-based payments platform handling alcohol e-commerce compliance, payments, and delivery across European markets, has raised €4 million in a Seed round led by Quadri Ventures.
Let’s dive in!
Tot, headquartered in Italy, provides a banktech platform that centralizes business accounts, cards, invoicing, and expense management for companies and freelancers. The company has raised €7 million in a Pre-Series A round led by CDP Venture Capital, alongside Azimut Group, The Techshop, X-Equity Venture Club, ClubDeal Digital, and Banca Sella. The new funds will be used to scale Tot’s platform and accelerate its expansion in the Italian SME and freelancer market.
Keabank, based in Cyprus, enables seamless crypto-to-currency payments, instant conversion, and global banking access. The company has raised €6 million in Seed funding from Mark Carnegie. The investment will support the development of Keabank’s infrastructure and allow the startup to expand its international footprint in digital payments.
Tipple, headquartered in Ireland, handles alcohol e-commerce compliance, payments, and delivery across European markets. The company has raised €4 million in a Seed round led by Quadri Ventures, with participation from Form Ventures and 7percent Ventures. The new capital will be used to strengthen Tipple’s compliance technology and fuel its rollout across regulated e-commerce markets in Europe.
In addition to this week’s fundraising activity, here is the European M&A activity for the week:
Applied Systems, a US-based provider of cloud software for insurance agencies, brokerages, payments, and data exchange, has announced the acquisition of Cytora, a UK-based insurtech digitizing and automating risk submissions with AI. This deal expands Applied’s AI capabilities across the policy lifecycle and supports its global growth strategy. Cytora will continue operating under its brand as a dedicated business unit, with its leadership team, including co-founder and CEO Richard Hartley, remaining in place.
Matica Fintec, an Italy-based provider of secure payment systems, card issuance, and digital identity solutions, has completed the €24 million acquisition of Panini, an Italian provider of check scanning, secure payment, and identity verification solutions for banks. The deal strengthens Matica’s position in the secure payments and KYC sector, enhancing its offering with Panini’s global expertise in financial document dematerialization and digital onboarding. Panini will continue to operate under its brand, with its established management team driving international expansion within Matica’s broader portfolio.
Position Green, a Norway-based B2B ESG reporting platform, has announced the pending acquisition of Greenomy, a Belgium-based regtech SaaS specializing in ESG reporting and EU regulatory compliance. The deal expands Position Green’s footprint across Europe and strengthens its capabilities in supporting corporates, financial institutions, and SMEs with CSRD, EU Taxonomy, and SFDR compliance. Greenomy will continue to operate under its brand and retain its leadership, contributing to Position Green’s strategy of building a leading pan-European sustainability software group.
And finally, we bring you four news stories that caught our eye last week:
Starling Bank is preparing a secondary share sale that could value the U.K. digital lender at up to £4bn, according to people familiar with the process. The sale, run with the help of Morgan Stanley and Rothschild, will allow investors including Goldman Sachs, Railpen, Chrysalis and Fidelity to reduce their holdings and bring in new backers. Starling was last valued at £2.5bn in 2022, though its worth was marked down after fund manager Jupiter sold its stake at a steep discount in 2023. Founded in 2014, Starling has more than 4mn U.K. users and offers current accounts, savings tools and fee-free foreign transactions. Under CEO Raman Bhatia, who succeeded founder Anne Boden last year, the bank is exploring international growth, including a potential U.S. acquisition to enable nationwide lending. It is also promoting its Engine software, which helps other banks build digital platforms and is already in use in Australia and Romania.
NOBA plans to list on Nasdaq Stockholm in the third quarter of 2025 in an IPO expected to value the digital banking group at about 35bn Swedish crowns ($3.7bn). Finland’s OP Cooperative, DNB Asset Management and Handelsbanken Fonder have agreed to subscribe to cornerstone investments worth 3.18bn crowns, supporting the offering. The group is controlled by Nordic Capital and insurer Sampo, and operates under the Nordax Bank, Bank Norwegian and Svensk Hypotekspension brands.
CEO Jacob Lundblad said the listing will raise NOBA’s profile and provide funding flexibility for potential acquisitions, though the bank remains profitable enough to finance growth internally. The lender serves more than 2mn customers across the Nordics and offers credit cards and deposit products in several European markets. Sweden’s IPO market has been one of Europe’s few bright spots this year, bolstered by deals like Klarna’s New York debut.
Nasdaq has filed a proposal with the SEC to allow trading of tokenized securities alongside traditional stocks and ETFs on its main exchange, in what would be the first such move by a major U.S. bourse. If approved, the initiative could see investors able to buy shares that settle in token form as early as late 2026, marking Wall Street’s most ambitious step yet toward blockchain-based settlement. The plan comes amid easing crypto regulations under the Trump administration and rising institutional demand for tokenized assets. Nasdaq said tokenized instruments must carry the same rights as traditional securities to trade on the same order book, aiming to set a higher standard than unregulated European offerings. While proponents argue tokenization will boost liquidity and efficiency, global regulators warn of risks tied to unclear standards and market stability.
Scalable Capital has secured a full EU banking licence from the ECB. “Scalable Capital Bank” will be supervised by BaFin and the Bundesbank and plans to start deposittaking and launch a flexible credit product on 1 Oct 2025. Cash interest is 2% today for both Free and Prime+, from October, Prime+ balances become uncapped while the Free plan’s interestbearing cap doubles to €100k. Prime+ cash will be placed across Scalable Capital Bank and its partners, notably Deutsche Bank & HSBC. Founded in 2014 in Munich, Scalable launched its digital wealth management business in 2016 and expanded to become a lowcost neobroker in 2020. It now serves 1m+ customers with >$34bn in assets. The licence follows a $175m round led by Sofina and Noteus three months ago. Total funding stands at $535m, with backers including Balderton Capital, Tencent and HV Capital
Have a great start into the week!
Sources of the fundraising reports