Fintech Focus For September 10, 2021

Quote To Start The Day: “The strongest bull markets I’ve been in are built on walls of worry.”

Source: Cathie Wood

One Big Thing In Fintech: JPMorgan Chase is taking a 75% stake in Volkswagen Payments, a unit of the automaker with expertise in artificial intelligence, the "internet of things" and other innovations.

The Volkswagen deal, which is expected to close in early 2022, comes as in-vehicle technology becomes more of a launching point for other tasks such as in-car shopping. Chase hopes that in addition to handling payments for motorists, the Volkswagen technology can provide services for other purposes such as B2B payments or new customer-facing payments that use some of the same technology that powers in-car finance.

Source: American Banker

Other Key Fintech Developments:

• BlackRock joined Axoni for swaps.
• L Square closed on STT acquisition.
• MNT-Halan secures a $120M round.
• FTX added a new NFT marketplace.
• Addi raises $75M for LATAM BNPL.
• Canoe Intelligence completes round.
• ZEBEDEE adds new $11.5M round.
• Finder, Envestnet | Yodlee updates.
• Varo Bank secures a $510M round.
• Scalapay raises $155M in Series A.
• PhonePe intros an interactive portal.
• ICE, ADP launch new data service.
• Ex-Mint head raises $4.5M for Lean.
• dydx opened up governance token.
• How fintech is changing Farmland?
• RBL has picked Adenza for platform.
• PayPal purchased Paidy for $2.7B.
• Truist looking to fintech innovations.
• Marqeta has teamed up with Zip Co.
• FourQ, Pagero entered partnership.
• Seismic fund to fuel new innovation.
• Irwin secures $20M Series A round.
• Marshmallow raises $85M Series B.
• Expensify announces perk addition.
• JPMorgan buys VW payment stake.
• MX, Payveris teamed up on fintech.
• DLT Network energy consumptions.
• Acorns launches military promotion.

Watch Out For This: More than 3 in 4 (77%) retirees and near-retirees cite declining purchasing power as a major concern, and that’s greater than the share concerned about the cost of healthcare (74%).

Source: Personal Capital

Interesting Reads:

• The first UCLA player makes crypto.
• Biden generates new shot mandates.
• Potential for increased holiday hacks.
• The meaning of a central bank taper.
• Rents rise in all the bigger U.S. cities.
• Fauci talks “control” over COVID-19.
• Moderna working on combo vaccine.
• Narrowing big minority investing gap.

Market Moving Headline: The ECB decided to slow the pace of its bond purchases moderately, but the bigger decisions will take place only in December. Lower pace of buying leaves bond yields with upside potential during the autumn.

Source: Nordea