HSBC and Copenhagen-based B2B fintech Tradeshift announced a joint venture to develop embedded finance solutions for trade, e-commerce, and marketplace platforms. HSBC invested $35 million in Tradeshift as part of a funding round targeting at least $70 million. The venture aims to integrate payment and fintech services into Tradeshift's global commerce network, which supports over $260 billion in annual gross merchandise value.
Savi Financial Corp. received FDIC approval in 2023 for a Washington state-chartered de novo bank called Orca Bank. The company still required Federal Reserve approval and targeted a Q1 2024 opening. The approval is notable given the extremely challenging environment for new bank charters, especially for fintech-adjacent applicants.
Priority Technology Holdings acquired Plastiq, a B2B payments firm, to expand its unified commerce platform for bill pay and working capital solutions. The deal enhances Priority's embedded B2B payment capabilities for SMEs and enterprises. Plastiq's bill pay technology complements Priority's existing merchant acquiring and payment facilitation business.
Better Home & Finance Holding Company acquired 100% of Birmingham Bank for $19.3 million ($15.9 million cash plus $3.4 million in other consideration). The acquisition supports Better's strategy to invest in technology platforms like Tinman and its One-Day Mortgage program. This represents a fintech acquiring a bank to strengthen its embedded finance capabilities.
Entities: Better Home & Finance Holding Company · Birmingham Bank
Velo Payments agreed to acquire YapStone, a payment processor for the rental and property management industry. The deal combines Velo's banking platform with YapStone's payment processing to reduce cross-border payment costs. The acquisition targets embedded payment infrastructure for vertical markets.
Ramp, the corporate card and spend management fintech, announced $300 million in new funding at a $5.8 billion post-money valuation. The raise underscores strong demand for embedded financial products in the B2B segment. Ramp's platform integrates corporate cards, expense management, and payments into a unified offering.
Treasury Prime partnered with Liberty Bank, N.A. to provide embedded banking services including deposit accounts, ACH, and wire transfers to fintech end-users. The partnership targets B2C and B2B payments as well as e-commerce use cases. This expands Treasury Prime's bank partner network for its BaaS platform.
Treasury Prime partnered with Academy Bank to launch a Banking-as-a-Service product offering embedded deposits and digital banking solutions. The collaboration enables fintech clients to access scalable banking infrastructure including money transfers and risk mitigation. Academy Bank provides the regulated banking infrastructure while Treasury Prime contributes its embedded banking software platform.
SME lending fintech TP24 raised £345 million in debt funding from Barclays Bank and M&G Investments. Barclays committed up to £200 million in warehouse financing while M&G provided up to £40 million in mezzanine funding. The capital will fund SME lending operations in the UK, Netherlands, and Australia.
Traditional community banks, including First Bank, are increasingly partnering with fintechs through white-label BaaS programs, with some banks maintaining up to a dozen fintech relationships. A Cornerstone Advisors report found 66% of US banks had partnered with at least one fintech. Revenue sharing and technology upgrades are driving adoption despite heightened regulatory scrutiny.
Old Glory Bank launched Old Glory Pay, a proprietary closed-loop payment system enabling secure P2P transfers between customers. The system supports FDIC-insured accounts and plans to expand to merchant acceptance and crowdfunding. The bank positions the product as a 'cancel-proof' payment alternative.
French fintech Defacto secured a €167 million credit facility to provide instant short-term loans to SMEs through API-based embedded financing. The startup integrates with fintech platforms like Qonto and Malt to deliver financing at the point of need. The facility enables Defacto to scale its embedded lending product across multiple distribution partners.
Divido launched Divido Connect, an expanded platform for embedded retail finance that integrates multiple lenders across the UK and six European countries. The product supports omnichannel checkout finance options including pay-in-three and installment plans. The platform creates a multi-lender network enabling retailers to offer diverse embedded financing at point of sale.
Fintech Clair raised $175 million to launch a free on-demand wage advance product powered by FDIC-insured bank partner Pathward. The solution provides front-line workers with wage advances up to $150 million in participation capacity. The product is built on embedded banking infrastructure, enabling employers to offer earned wage access at no cost to workers.
Visa announced the acquisition of Brazilian fintech Pismo for approximately $1 billion. Pismo provides issuer processing and core banking technology, including support for emerging payment rails like Brazil's Pix. The deal significantly bolsters Visa's capabilities in embedded finance infrastructure and core banking-as-a-service.
Cross River partnered with Plaid to enable real-time payouts across ACH, RTP®, and FedNow® Service rails. The integration leverages Cross River's proprietary API-based core banking infrastructure. This partnership expands instant payment capabilities for fintechs and platforms connected through Plaid's network.
The Federal Reserve launched the FedNow® Service, enabling 24/7 real-time transactions across the U.S. banking system. The launch modernizes U.S. payment infrastructure and represents a transformational moment for the fintech industry. FedNow provides an alternative to the existing RTP network operated by The Clearing House.
Cannabis fintech Dama Financial announced plans to more than double its sponsor bank portfolio from five banks by year-end. The expansion focuses on compliance-driven payments for cannabis businesses. The move comes as the industry watches potential SAFE Banking Act progress that could reshape cannabis banking.
Core Bank became a member of the Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) Association, signaling its commitment to bank-fintech partnerships and serving underbanked communities. The membership aims to promote innovation and safe collaboration between banks and fintechs. Core Bank joins a growing group of community banks embracing BaaS models.
Routefusion announced a partnership with Evolve Bank & Trust to offer US-based accounts, ACH processing, virtual USD accounts, and FDIC insurance to fintechs and marketplaces. Evolve Bank & Trust already powers notable fintechs like Mercury and Rho. The partnership expands Routefusion's embedded finance infrastructure for its clients.
Stronghold launched StrongholdNET, a payments ecosystem integrating blockchain technology with merchant financing, card processing, and ACH transfers. The platform expanded Stronghold's Merchant Financing Program with DeFi-backed cash advances. It combines traditional payment rails with blockchain-based settlement.
InCore Bank successfully integrated the first bank from Entris Banking Group for cryptocurrency trading and custody via its white-label digital asset banking platform. The partnership enables Entris member banks to offer regulated crypto services without building proprietary infrastructure. This highlights growing BaaS adoption in digital asset banking in Switzerland.
Mbanq's Banking-as-a-Service platform was used to power Cheqly, a fintech focused on simple banking for startups and SMEs. The white-label arrangement reduced costs for Cheqly and enabled tailored digital banking services. This partnership exemplifies BaaS enabling niche fintechs to launch without building banking infrastructure from scratch.
PayPal launched Tap to Pay on Android for U.S. merchants through its Venmo and Zettle apps, enabling contactless payment acceptance without additional hardware. This embedded finance capability allows merchants to turn Android phones into payment terminals. The launch followed PayPal's earlier iOS support and trailed competitors Stripe and Square.