Payments
YC-backed Djamo is building a financial super app for consumers in Francophone Africa
Djamo, a financial super app for consumers in Francophone Africa, is the first startup from Ivory Coast to get backing from Y Combinator. While there has been a huge profusion of financial services th
PayPal is shutting down domestic payments business in India
PayPal is shutting down its domestic business in India, less than four years after the American giant kickstarted local operations in the world’s second-largest internet market. “From 1 April 2021
Joompay launches its bill-splitting payment app across Europe to take on TransferWise and others
Joompay, a startup with an iOS and Android app similar to Venmo and TransferWise, has now launched in Europe after obtaining a Luxembourg Electronic Money Institution (EMI) license. The app allows peo
Mono, a startup that wants to build Plaid for Africa, gets backing from Y Combinator
Prakhar Singh and ex-Paystack employee Abdul Hassan have known each other for seven years, building different tech products individually and collectively along the way. Before joining Paystack in 2018
As contactless menu ordering becomes the norm amid COVID, China pushes back
Digital ordering and paying at restaurants was already gaining much ground in China before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. The tap-to-order method on a smartphone is part of the greater development in Chin
Nigerian digital bank Carbon hit $240M in payments processed last year, up 89% from 2019
In 2018, Carbon, a Nigerian fintech startup, made its financials public for the first time. Although typical for foreign private startups, it’s almost an anomaly in Africa. There have been rare
Fintechs could see $100 billion of liquidity in 2021
We believe one of the most important trends to gain traction in the last three years to be point-of-sale financing, now referred to as Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL).
Melio raises $110M on a $1.3B valuation to bring B2B payments for SMBs into the 21st century
Payments for consumers have made a huge shift to the online world in the last year, a time when they have moved more of their purchasing to the internet to minimize in-person transactions in the midst
Alma raises $59.4 million for its Klarna-like payment option
French startup Alma is raising a $59.4 million Series B funding round (€49 million). The company has been building a new payment option for expensive goods. You can choose to pay over three or four
China’s draft payments rules put Ant, Tencent on notice
A string of recent events in China’s payments industry suggests the duopoly comprising Ant Group and Tencent may be getting a shakeup. Following the abrupt call-off of Ant’s public sale an
PPRO nabs $180M at a $1B+ valuation to bring together the fragmented world of payments
The pandemic has hastened a shift of most commerce becoming e-commerce in the last year, and that has brought a new focus on startups that are helping to enable that process. In the latest development
TikTok’s Chinese version Douyin launches an e-wallet
Tencent’s WeChat Pay and Alibaba’s affiliate Alipay have long dominated digital payments in China, but they have always faced new challengers. The latest entrant in online payments is Douy
Extra Crunch roundup: Antitrust jitters, SPAC odyssey, white-hot IPOs, more
Some time ago, I gave up on the idea of identifying a thread that could connect each story in this weekly roundup. There are no unified theories for technology news.
Plaid CEO touts new ‘clarity’ after failed Visa acquisition
According to Plaid CEO Zach Perret, the COVID-19 pandemic triggered a "sea change" in consumer behavior.
Checkout.com raises $450 million and reaches $15 billion valuation
Payments company Checkout.com is raising once again. The company has closed a $450 million Series C round with Tiger Global Management leading the round — Greenoaks Capital and all existing investor
5 reforms necessary to create a truly cashless society
Innovation is necessary in the digital wallet space to pioneer the movement to change the outdated fee models for the simple act of money exchange.
Indian B2B e-commerce startup Udaan raises $280 million
Business-to-business marketplace Udaan has raised $280 million from new and existing investors as the Indian startup builds a war-chest to accelerate its growth and fend off rivals. The new capital is
India’s CRED raises $81 million, buys back shares worth $1.2 million from employees
Bangalore-based CRED is kickstarting the new year on a high note. The two-year-old startup, led by high-profile entrepreneur Kunal Shah, said on Monday it has raised $81 million in a new financing rou
2020 was a defining year for cannabis: What comes next?
Ross Lipson Contributor Ross Lipson is CEO and co-founder at Dutchie, an online cannabis marketplace. Ross possesses more than a decade of experience in advanced and equitable delivery services for a
The Biden administration can change the world with new crypto regulations
Regulation shouldn't be a guessing game.