Issue #328 September 10th, 2021

The IOTA non-profit and its distributed ledger technology has been named as one of seven providers selected by the Commission to develop the European Blockchain Services Infrastructure (ESBI).

No other startup company in Africa has managed to raise such an amount in a Series A round. OPay, likewise a fintech solution provider, managed to raise $400-million in the continent’s largest-ever venture capital investment during a Series C round. Interswitch follows OPay with its $200-million investment from Visa also during Series C funding.

Now, major bitcoin and cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has revealed the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has warned it will sue Coinbase if it launches a new digital asset lending product.

A recent survey by DNV and World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) reveals that circular economy is rising on corporate agendas across geographies. Despite the growing attention in the public, among legislators and companies, the shift to business models that design waste out of the system seems to progress slowly.

Most corporates don’t invest in startup seed rounds. At this early stage, the companies are usually still pre-revenue, they may only have a prototype ready and it can be difficult to predict when they will be ready to commercialise their technology.

PayPal Holdings Inc. said it will acquire the Japanese upstart Paidy Inc. for 300 billion yen ($2.7 billion) as it seeks to deepen a push into buy-now-pay-later products. The acquisition will be “minimally dilutive” to adjusted earnings per share in 2022, PayPal said Tuesday in a statement. The deal, which is expected to close in the fourth quarter, will be paid for principally with cash, PayPal said.

And the winner is... Paris-based expense management platform Spendesk came top of Glassdoor’s European ranking, with an average rating of 4.9 across over 50 employee reviews.

Standard Chartered is teaming up with Singapore's National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) to launch a digital-only bank. Standard Chartered subsidiary SCBSL is contributing S$144 million for 60% of the joint venture, with NTCU-controlled BetaPlus holding the other 40% for a S$96 million price.

If a customer overdraws on one Bank of America account, Balance Connect ferries money from another of the user's accounts with the bank for a $12 fee.

JPMorgan Chase plans to acquire a controlling interest of close to 75% of Volkswagen Financial Services, the German car manufacturer’s payments platform, the bank announced Wednesday. The New York City-based bank said the deal, which is expected to close in the first half of 2022, will expand the bank’s digital payment capabilities and "see the platform extended and accessible to the broader auto industry for the first time." Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.