Issue #398 - New Investments, New Promises, New Trends January 12th, 2023

Learn about the ongoing evolution in Banking-as-a-Service, the key market players, the market structure and how incumbents deal with new challengers.

InsurTech Superscript has completed a £45 million series B funding round, which will be used to develop Superscript’s underwriting and broking capabilities, as well as to grow its range of insurance products and services.

Salesforce announced that it’s slashing off 10% of the staff. At the same time, Amazon announced layoffs after the massive over-hiring activity due to the pandemic. But it’s precisely because of the pandemic that recruiters are now more willing to include the excluded workforce.

The UK and the Euro area are already in recession, and this will drive inflation to higher peaks. According to Golman Sachs’ forecasts, the UK is just fractionally behind Russia for what concerns recession.

CDAO Financial Services brings together your data & analytics community from the Financial Services industry for two days of learning, networking, and collaboration. New this year, there will be two specialized tracks for those who work for organizations with assets under management of below $500 million and assets under management $500 million and above. Join data & analytics leaders from TD, Morningstar, Barclays, Citi and more on March 1-2, 2023 in New York City. Free passes (subject to team approval) are available for a limited time.

As an annual signature event held in Hong Kong to promote collaboration in the Asia’s financial industry, the Asian Financial Forum (AFF) will return on 11-12 January 2023 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre with a digital extension. Themed “Accelerating Transformation: Impact ∙ Inclusion ∙ Innovation”, the Forum will map out a sustainable growth paradigm to build a resilient economic landscape that achieves positive impact and encourages inclusivity and innovation. Join us to embark on 2023 with knowledge exchange and networking opportunities. Grab your Standard Pass using discount code for readers of FinTech Weekly: P-AMP09D

Financial and tech stocks underperformed in 2022, maybe because of the many occasions for growth offered by the pandemic. The fintech sector was actually one of the more successful during Covid-19, but now it has to face the choices of the past.

Tap, the crypto trading app founded by 29-year old Arsen Torosian, allows users to trade currencies and use them also for purchases thanks to the partnership with Mastercard. Since its launch in 2018, Tap has grown to over 10.000 users, and will soon be available in the USA and Australia. Tap is one of the first stocks listed in the UK in 2023.

Vista Equity Partners agreed to pay 2.6 billion to Duck Creek Technologies, a service that provides software to property and casualty insurers for underwriting, claims management, billing and payments.

In the past few years, fintech has dominated startups in India. Since then, India has taken giant steps in fintech. 2023, we will see the rise of responsible fintech, that will be focused on customer rights and green technology.

In his first speech of the year, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak promised 20 billion worth of funding for R&D. In his speech, he also said that maths will become a priority of the educational system, and that the new government’s plan will also include helping people get back into work.