Welcome to The Interchange! If you got this in your inbox, thank you for signing up and for your vote of confidence.If you are reading a post on our site, please register here Then you can receive it directly. Each week, we take a look at the hottest fintech news from the previous week. This will include everything from funding rounds to trends to analysis of specific sectors to buzz about a particular company or phenomenon. There’s a lot of fintech news out there, and it’s our job to stay on top of it – and understand it – so you stay informed. — marianne and Christine
Hi, hi. Christine and I deviated from our typical fintech coverage this week and did some investigative reporting.we took a look new core, an accelerator based in Austin, recently collapsed. It’s definitely worth a read, in our humble opinion. While it doesn’t target fintech startups specifically, it tells the complicated story of a struggling accelerator that claims to help entrepreneurs “succeed”. Some founders claim it did nothing, while a group of employees were so dissatisfied with the way the company was being run that they walked out en masse two weeks ago. There’s been a lot of back and forth, and while we’re not sure what happened behind closed doors, it’s a shame to see any organization that aims to serve the startup community end up in this situation — especially for the founders and employees affected.
In terms of pure fintech, last week we saw a flurry of insurtech funding rounds! TechCrunch reported just four such raises, including micro fox, Obi, bolt technology and Fig. This prompted TC+ editor Alex Wilhelm to conclude in more depth: “Despite the IPO chaos, there are good reasons to be optimistic about insurtech startups.” — marianne
Beyond Apple, Step launches 5% savings account
Over the past few years, every time I look at the monthly dividends on my bank account, I think to myself, “the bank could really keep that 6 cents.” Well, neobanks and other fintechs Think we deserve better returns too.
This week, I wrote about Step, a digital banking service for teens and young adults, announcing interest rates of up to 5% on its savings accounts.
While interest rates are important, I do want to point out that notoriously few Americans can come up with $400 for an emergency, so it’s nice to see Step and others focus on ways to incentivize people to save more.
The news comes a month after Apple introduced a 4.15 percent interest rate on savings accounts. Step co-founder and CEO CJ MacDonald told TechCrunch that offering the highest rates has always been the company’s goal; however, you can’t help but wonder if Apple’s entry into the market will inspire neobanks and other financial institutions to close the gap.
Learn how Step’s 5% account works. — Christine
weekly news
According to Manish Singh: “The founder passion money has resigned from the start-up, the latest twist in the fortunes of the Indian fintech company, whose ability to offer small paper loans to first-time internet customers was backed by a number of high-profile investors, including Goldman Sachs. ZestMoney founders Lizzie Chapman, Priya Sharma and Ashish Anantharaman informed staff of their decision on Monday. ” More here.
After recently acquiring another startup, ribbonReal estate fintech easy knock Confirmed that it laid off 10% of its staff. A spokesperson told TechCrunch that the decision “is part of a larger effort to accelerate” the company’s “path to profitability and ensure long-term business sustainability.”
In the WTF section of our newsletter: Revolut UK chief tells customers he’ll be waiting for him with shotgun.
If it feels like every week an enterprise spending company is releasing a new feature, that’s because…that’s pretty much what’s happening. Here is the latest: Ramp launches AI tool to track business costs. return, Fintech Ramp launches money-saving AI tools for businesses, Microsoft CEO announces more as investors.
Truist Invites Clients to Play Financial Health ‘Long Game’ (TechCrunch reported the news as Truist acquires Long Game to appeal to a younger crowd in 2022. )
Stripe brings Pay By Bank support to Airbnb
Public Introduces Alpha: Your AI-Driven Investing Assistant for Smarter Decisions
Funding and M&A
See on TechCrunch
Wefox secures fresh funding at $4.5 billion valuation as it aims to turn a profit
UK pension startup Smart banks lands $95 million
Cold chain startup Figorr raises $1.5M to back launch of data-driven perishables insurance
M-KOPA acquires over $250 million in debt and equity for its asset financing platform
After $50M Series C, Spiff embarks on “massive overhaul of core sales commission engine”
Insurtech bolttech lands $196M at $1.6B valuation from investors including MetLife
Tiger Global-backed Axis launches digital payments platform for Egyptian SMEs months after securing $8.25M in seed funding
Percent secures $30M to connect investors with private credit
Landlord-focused insurtech Obie raises $25.5M led by Battery Ventures
Procurement platform Zip raises $100 million at a $1.5 billion valuation
and elsewhere
Accounting software company Tipalti secures $150 million in growth funding
PayIt makes first acquisition with purchase of S3
Rental platform Avenue One hits $1 billion valuation
Co-branded credit card startup Cardless secures $75 million line of credit
Fintech Maxwell acquires mortgage solutions provider LenderSelect
Thanks again for your reading and support! We appreciate you. See you next week! xoxoxo, marianne and kristen
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