On the “Future of Payments” panel last week at the Localogy 2021 conference in Hollywood, we heard how investor interest in fintech is shifting from consumer to B2B. This week we read about two funding rounds that highlight this trend.
The reason is clear. There is a massive opportunity globally in helping SMBs solve pain points that traditional banks either cannot or will not solve.
The UK-based open banking company Vyne just raised $15.5 million in a seed round backed by Hearst Ventures, Entrée Capital, Triplepoint, Seedcamp, Venrex, Founder Collective, and others.
The company’s original mission was to make merchant payments faster and easier with open-banking protocols.
Vyne contends it is “transforming the checkout experience”. And that it allows payments to be “completed by consumers in three clicks. And merchants can engage customers through more digital channels such as QR codes and pay-by-link, which can be sent by email, SMS or in person.”
Open banking is a process where banks and others financial institutions share their data with other financial services providers. Open banking advocates insist the system is safer and more regulated than that description implies. Also, open banking advocates say the process makes it easier to innovate. And to offer faster and more efficient products, particularly in the payments space.
“This seed round will further propel Vyne on its mission to make account-to-account payments the best way to pay and get paid around the world,” said Vyne co-founder and CEO Karl MacGregor. “The caliber of investment we have received is testament to not only the team’s hard work to date but also the opportunity open banking presents to overhaul the traditional banking and payment infrastructure that merchants and consumers have been beholden to for decades.”
Fintech is Thailand’s First Unicorn
Several times zones east, a Thai fintech called AscendMoney has raised a $150 million Series C round. This round makes the company Thailand’s first tech unicorn. The company plans to invest in making its core product, the TrueMoney Wallet, more robust. The company needs to invest in its product to meet growing demand and to enable further geographic expansion.
Today TrueMoney Wallet serves as a payment platform for businesses ranging from enterprise down to micro-SMBs. The company handled $14 billion in payment volume in 2020. The wallet also provides loans, targeting smaller businesses that lack access to traditional credit scoring mechanisms.
Just another example of a fintech providing a service that traditional banks either cannot or will not provide. Still, according to Bloomberg, Thailand’s banking industry isn’t taking this threat lying down. Thailand’s biggest lender, Siam Commercial Bank, is reportedly investing heavily in fintech is make itself more competitive against challengers like AscendMoney. The bank reportedly has its own ambitions to expand outside Thailand into other Southeast Asian markets.
AscendMoney operates in six Southeast Asian markets, with 70% of its payments volume originating in Thailand.
AscendMoney has some interesting investors behind it. Its original backer is Ant Group, the parent company of Alipay, the payments business linked to eCommerce giant Alibaba. Ant joined the C round which was led by Charoen Pokphand Group. Also participating is Bow Wave Capital Management.
