Daily Fintech Podcast - March 23rd, 2022

Sign up for my Daily Fintech or Daily Digital Banking Newsletters here. Check out my latest podcast episode below: Welcome to another episode of our Daily Fintech Podcast. This podcast episode is sponsored by PayRetailers. PayRetailers’ payment platform leverages API technology to connect Latin American consumers with international merchants, offering a seamless payment experience. From the merchant’s perspective, the solution has the distinct advantage of eliminating the hurdles associated with integrating multiple acquirers and payment methods. Visit www.payretailers.com THE NEWS HIGHLIGHT OF THE DAY IS Jeeves has raised $180 million in a Series C round that values the company at $2.1 billion. JUST IN: Ramp has hit a $8.1 billion valuation after closing a $200 million funding round led by Founders Fund. LET’S HEAR ALL ABOUT MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS: Binance signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to acquire Brazilian securities brokerage sim;paul investimentos. AS FOR PARTNERSHIPS Mastercard has partnered HSBC to launch a product in the UK that allows businesses to use their commercial card programme to make payments to any supplier, regardless of whether the supplier accepts card payments. Finastra announced its collaboration with The Union of Arab Banks to help banks across the Arab League member states offer enhanced digital services to their customers. WHAT ABOUT FUNDING ROUNDS AND INVESTMENTS? Hoxton Ventures raised $215M to back early-stage ventures in Europe. The fund is purposed to help build and scale Europe’s most promising early-stage start-ups. NOW, LET’S COVER NEW LAUNCHES AND FEATURES. Zimpler and Payap have launched a new collaboration to disrupt the payment and payroll scene. Gemini has been approved to use electronic money in Ireland. AS FOR OPPORTUNITIES Sequoia Capital has launched an accelerator programme in Europe for seed-stage companies. Applications for the first European cohort will close on April 8.