BlackFin Tech weekly — September 4th, 2023
Every Monday, we publish a short digest which sums up last week’s Fintech activity
Hello again, Fintech friends! We hope you're all doing well.
As always, thank you for reading our updates every week. Let’s dive right into the latest:
In the final week of August, just two fintech deals were announced in Europe for a total amount of €29.3m raised, with one deal in Germany and one deal in France.
Congratulations Ivy and its global network for open-banking payments on its €18.3m Series A round led by Valar Ventures, followed by the Paris-based insurtech Dattak which provides insurance for cyber threats, that raised a €11m Series A led by Xange, BpiFrance and Breega.
Let’s dive in
Berlin-based startup Ivy secures $20 million in Series A funding led by Valar Ventures, aiming to establish a global network for open-banking payments.
Ivy's API creates a worldwide "network of networks" for seamless cross-border transactions, utilizing open banking data and APIs.
CEO Ferdinand Dabitz envisions open banking interoperability, similar to Visa's success in card payments, emphasizing a unified point of contact.
Ivy offers tools for merchants to integrate open banking payments, "smart routing" for faster transactions, risk management, instant payouts, and payment links.
Backed by Valar Ventures, known for Wise and N26 support, Ivy quickly integrates with 5,000+ banks across 50 regions, focusing on online merchants and providing cost-effective alternatives to card payments.
Read more
Insurtech startup Dattak secures €11 million in Series A funding to safeguard SMEs against cyber risks.
Founded in 2021 by Benoît Grouchko, Charlotte Couallier, and Damien Damamme, Dattak gains new investors Breega and Bpifrance, along with XAnge.
The new funding will enable Dattak's expansion into mid-sized enterprises (ETIs) and European growth.
Dattak provides cyber insurance and vulnerability tools for SMEs, collaborating with insurance brokers for distribution.
With the funding boost, Dattak will augment its team, recruit cybersecurity and insurance experts, and extend services to ETIs, while meeting policyholder needs.
In addition to this week’s fundraising activity, we also observed the following M&A deal in Europe:
San Francisco-based document startup Pandadoc has acquired Germany's Denario, a fintech specializing in payment solutions. Denario, founded by Philipp Pohlmann, aimed to help small and medium-sized businesses manage outstanding invoices. Pandadoc plans to incorporate Denario's technology into its document creation process, although the acquisition price remains undisclosed. This acquisition reflects the challenging funding climate for fintechs, but it also underscores Denario's appeal to a tech player like Pandadoc.
Swedish payments firm Trustly has acquired SlimPay, a recurring payments platform based in A2A, in a €70 million deal. This adds to Trustly's Direct Debit capabilities in the UK and Sweden and expands their pan-European recurring payments service to countries like Germany, France, Spain, and Italy. This acquisition aligns with Trustly's strategy to provide a comprehensive embedded payment experience and follows the recent launch of Trustly Azura, offering personalized data services for consumers and merchants.
European digital insurance platform +Simple has merged with tech-enabled master MGA and reinsurance firm GMBC. +Simple has acquired 100% of GMBC's shares through cash and stock, with GMBC's co-founders staying on as the executive team and shareholders of +Simple. This merger enhances +Simple's MGA management capabilities, offering services like accounting, reporting, cash management, and compliance to risk carriers. It also provides portfolio monitoring and a unified European underwriting approach for risk carriers and reinsurance partners. GMBC will maintain its branding, operating as 20AGENTS. The merger aims to boost transparency, efficiency, and risk management capabilities.
And finally, here are the news that caught our eye last week:
Klarna Drives BNPL Growth in Europe. Klarna, a leading BNPL service, has achieved over 100 million European customers, with the UK showing strong growth at 26% higher goods sold in Q2 2023. Across Europe, Klarna collaborates with 470,000 merchants and has a 14% growth globally, becoming the world's largest instalment payment service. Investments led to 77% reduction in Q2 2023 losses, and Klarna's path to profitability includes expanding into new sectors and appealing to a wider age range.
Mastercard Ends Binance Crypto Card Partnership. Mastercard is discontinuing its crypto card partnership with Binance in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, and Bahrain, allowing users to convert their Binance wallet holdings. Other crypto programs are unaffected, as users used the cards for daily expenses funded with crypto assets.
LHV Bank Enters Personal Savings via Raisin UK Partnership. LHV Bank, with a new UK banking license, partners with Raisin UK for personal savings accounts, including fixed term and easy access options, supporting SME lending with customer deposits protected under FSCS up to £85,000. This follows LHV Bank's acquisition of SME lending business from Bank North last year.