Daily Fintech Podcast - March 25th, 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. THE NEWS HIGHLIGHT OF THE DAY IS The European Payments Initiative has given up on its effort to build a rival to Mastercard and Visa in Europe after more than half its members left. JUST IN: The neobank Northmill continues to focus on customer experience by introducing WeMeet. WHAT ARE THE LATEST INSIGHTS? The growth of the crypto industry in Latin America has been extraordinary in the last three years. This has led governments to adopt different regulatory standards to try to keep this industry under the supervision and prevent its control from getting out of hand. Last year the cryptocurrency business reached a market volume of over 3 billion dollars. This market continues to grow as fiduciary currencies devalue with inflation and do not serve all the needs of the users of the financial system. WHAT ABOUT FUNDING ROUNDS AND INVESTMENTS? Kathryn Haun has raised $1.5 billion for a pair of crypto-focused VC funds, just months after leaving Andreessen Horowitz to form her own firm. Gramercy Funds Management LLC, an emerging-markets asset manager, loaned $100 million to OmniLatam, a Bogota-based fintech that’s entering the Brazil market. Capitolis announced it has raised a $110 million Series D at a $1.6 billion valuation, driven by the rapid emergence and market acceptance of its marketplace solutions. NOW, LET’S COVER NEW LAUNCHES AND FEATURES. NatWest is working with fintech Cogo to launch its own free Carbon Tracker app as a pilot aimed at the manufacturing and transportation sectors. Provenir introduced Provenir AI, giving financial institutions the power of artificial intelligence (AI) for better and faster risk decisioning while eliminating barriers to entry via a no-code approach. THAT’S ALL THE NEWS FOR TODAY. THANKS FOR LISTENING. TUNE IN TOMORROW FOR ANOTHER DAILY FINTECH PODCAST