Your Daily FinTech Podcast - May 16th, 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 Global cryptocurrency exchange KuCoin Exchange has raised $150 million in a pre-Series B funding round, taking its valuation up to $10 billion. WHAT ARE THE LATEST INSIGHTS? The use of cryptocurrency in sub-Saharan Africa, particularly among its young people, cannot be overstated. Data from blockchain intelligence firm Chainalysis Inc. says the region’s crypto usage grew 1,200% last year, making it the third-fastest growing cryptocurrency economy. AS FOR PARTNERSHIPS SurePay, the leading Confirmation of Payee provider, announced that it has partnered with Buckaroo, an established payment service provider for businesses, to offer its Confirmation of Payee solution to their customers in the Netherlands. Skaleet (ex: TagPay), a French fintech providing a next-generation Core Banking Platform announced a new partnership with Marqeta, the global modern card issuing platform, to enrich its existing ecosystem. Monoova, a leading B2B payments solutions provider, and TrueLayer, a global leader in open banking, are partnering to harness financial and identity insights using Australia’s Consumer Data Right (CDR) for smarter, faster, data-enabled payments in the Australian market. WHAT ABOUT FUNDING ROUNDS AND INVESTMENTS? CoverGo | Insurtech, a global enterprise no-code SAAS insurance platform, secured $15 million in Series A funding. Ness, a New York-based fintech company building credit cards limiting the cost of wellcare, raised $15.5M in Seed funding. Bengaluru-based fintech startup BharatX has bagged $4.5 Mn in its seed round. Spurring a growing trend of traditional banks making investments in fintech, Dubai-based Mashreq Bank announced a $10 million investment in Cashew Payments, one of the leading “buy now, pay later” service providers to consumers in the UAE and Saudi Arabia. Habi, a real-estate company that is trying to create a digital marketplace for home buyers and sellers in Latin America, has raised $200 million in a Series C funding round.