Fintech
F|T: The FinTech Times – Brex Drops CEO, Eyes IPO
Plus: an exclusive interview on Float’s new product launches.
Welcome to the FinTech Times, covering the biggest FinTech news from around the world.
Fintech Brex abandons co-CEO model, talks IPO, cash burn, and plans secondary sale
Since the birth of fintech startup Brex in 2017, its two co-founders Henrique Dubugras and Pedro Franceschi have run the company as co-CEOs.
But starting today, the two told TechCrunch in an exclusive interview, the San Francisco-based credit card and business expense management company is moving toward a more traditional model — and what they say should be more agile – with just one CEO at the helm. . Franceschi will become sole CEO while Dubugras will become chairman of the board of Brex.
In an in-depth conversation, the two co-founders spoke [TechCrunch] a look at what the new structure will look like, the current state of the company’s finances and how it has managed to reduce its cash burn.
Float launches products for bill payment and personal expense reimbursement
Toronto-based card and expense management technology startup Float has started rolling out a couple of new offerings: bill payment and refunds.
This is part of the business finance platform’s plan to help customers manage their expenses “all in one place,” from company card expenses to personal reimbursements and bill payments, the co-founder and Float CEO Rob Khazzam in an exclusive interview.
(BetaKit)
Fintech has hit bottom after plummeting valuations and a funding squeeze, executives and VCs say
The financial technology sector is embracing a new normal, with some industry executives and investors believing the sector has reached “bottom.”
Executives and investors at the Money20/20 event in Amsterdam last week told CNBC that valuations have corrected from the unsustainable highs of the sector’s heyday in 2020 and 2021.
Long gone are the days when venture capital flowed into startups with bold ideas and little to show for it in terms of business metrics and fundamentals.
(CNBC)
Led by former Solium CEO, CreditApp gets $2.7 million to market auto loan software
Calgary-based FinTech startup CreditApp has closed a C$2.7 million financing led by Inovia Capital to market its software to automotive dealers and lenders.
CreditApp is led by FinTech veteran Marcos Lopez, who took the reins of CreditApp as CEO in January to help expand the startup’s business. Lopez is the former CEO of Calgary FinTech unicorn Solium Capital, which developed software for managing employee stock options and cap tables and was acquired by Morgan Stanley in 2019 for $1.1 billion.
(BetaKit)
Fintech Giant Ant Group spends record $2.9 billion on research
Ant Group Co. spent a record 21.2 billion yuan ($2.9 billion) on research last year, as the fintech giant increased its investments in technology, including artificial intelligence.
The Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. affiliate has increased its investment in research and development over the past three years, according to its 2023 sustainability report released Thursday.
The fintech pioneer has expanded its operations overseas to overcome slowing growth at home. It is connected to more than 30 e-wallet platforms and banking apps for cross-border payments in regions including Southeast Asia and Europe.
The BetaKit guide: Collision Week 2024
Earlier this week, BetaKit learned Vancouver has a deal with Collision’s parent company Web Summit to bring a rebranded version of North America’s premier tech conference to the West Coast in 2025.
For those ready to make the most of the latest Collision conference in Toronto, which kicks off on June 17, BetaKit will remain your go-to source for the latest conference news and insights.
In the meantime, we created The BetaKit Guide: Collision Week 2024, presented by Interac.
The BetaKit Guide outlines the most anticipated speakers, recommendations for side parties and local hot spots, as well as tips for getting around—all provided by you, our readers.
(BetaKit)
Parliament lays the foundations for implementing tax changes on capital gains
The House of Commons passed a motion on Tuesday that will bring forward legislation on proposed changes to capital gains tax measures, with 208 MPs voting for and 118 against the motion.
Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland presented the “Ways and Means” motion to Parliament on Monday, a 59-page document outlining a bill to increase the capital gains tax inclusion rate from 50% to 66% starting June 25 .
(BetaKit)
SEC Reaches $4.47 Billion Settlement With Bankrupt Cryptocurrency Firm Terraform Labs
Terraform Labs has reached a $4.47 billion civil settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission after being found liable by a jury for defrauding cryptocurrency investors who lost about $40 billion when the tokens TerraUSD and Luna collapsed in 2022.
It’s unlikely he’ll get paid much because Terraform filed for bankruptcy in January. It will instead be treated as an unsecured claim in the case of Chapter 11, in which Terraform is in liquidation. The SEC accused Terraform and Kwon of misleading investors about the stability of TerraUSD, which it designed to maintain a constant price of $1, and of falsely claiming that Terraform’s blockchain was being used in a popular Korean mobile payment app.
(Reuters)
Michelle McBane knows how to play the long game
It’s fitting that Michelle McBane’s first foray into venture capital was a gamble that paid off.
Her journey into space began as a short-term assignment, when she was seconded by her employer at Primaxis Technology Ventures, one of its early-stage investments.
“As far as the idea of putting $1 here and getting $2 back, these companies are not at that point at all, and I like that gray area early on,” he said.
(BetaKit)
A British judge puts an end to the dispute between JPMorgan and the Greek fintech founder
A High Court judge in London has put an end to the feud between JPMorgan and the founder of a Greek fintech that the bank partly owns, opening up the possibility of a sale of the business.
The Wall Street bank and Haris Karonis had filed lawsuits against each other in February over shared ownership of Viva Wallet, a popular payments platform used by southern European businesses.
In a statement, JPMorgan said: “The court has now provided a critical step in moving forward with fair and transparent valuations, which could allow Viva to be sold soon, before the fintech mergers and acquisitions market weakens further.”
A match created by artificial intelligence
The presentation to the recruiter was compelling.
No, the candidate did not have five years of experience, which was listed as a prerequisite for the position. However, they boasted comparable skills and relative experience over their four-year work history.
And they were actively looking for a role, unlike many others who seemed like qualified candidates.
In short, he was not someone to be overlooked. At least according to AI.
(BetaKit)
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