Embedded finance is one of the hottest trends in fintech, but despite the buzz about this transaction revolution across the industry, 49% of consumers have never heard of the term ‘embedded payments’ and a further 23% have, but they do not understand what it means.

Sage commissioned the study, which was launched at a House of Commons event today, of 5,000 SMBs across the country to understand the level of digitalisation and how it is boosting UK economic growth. SMBs are an integral part of the UK’s economy, representing 61% of UK jobs and 52% of UK turnover.

Kushki, the payment technology company that connects LatAm through payments, today announced a $100 million extension of its Series B fundraising at a valuation north of a billion dollars. The latest round includes participation from new and existing investors including Kaszek Ventures, Clocktower Ventures, SoftBank Latin America Fund and DILA Capital among others, and brings the total amount raised in the combined Series B to $186 million.

LoopingOne, the most flexible KYC and Payments platform for Marketplaces and Platforms has closed its first seed round from Ebury, one of the world's largest fintech companies offering financial solutions to simplify international trade.

The commercial world is experiencing rapid digitisation and the payments industry is no exception. Consumers see payments as a commodity, expecting a variety of payment methods to be available at the checkout, and for those methods to work in a convenient and secure nature every time. 

Cryptio, an enterprise-grade back-office platform, has secured $10 million in a Series A round led by Point Nine, early investors in Chainalysis, Zendesk, and Revolut. 

Other participants include BlueYard, Alven, Coinshares, Avantgarde Finance, Protocol Labs, and Draper Associates. Senior executives from Twitter, GoCardless, Fireblocks, and Ledger also participated in the round as angel investors. 

Karan Shanugarajah is CEO and Co-Founder of WealthKernel, a supplier of investment infrastructure for companies looking to offer digital investment services. It is a vertically integrated and one-stop-shop provider of various services, such as client onboarding, trading, and custody. WealthKernel’s infrastructure is optimized for the delivery of investment and wealth-management services to non-traditional clients. 

1. Can you briefly tell us about yourself and your company’s mission?

Digital payments company Pomelo Pay (Pomelo) announced a partnership with Dialog Axiata PLC (Dialog), Sri Lanka’s premier connectivity provider, to consolidate and provide an enhanced payment platform for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Sri Lanka, helping them to digitalise and accept payments.

PayU, the leading online payment service provider operating in 50 emerging markets, announces that it is strengthening its foothold in Africa with expansion into Ghana and a number of strategic product updates: Payflex in South Africa, as well as both

Digital bank Zopa has entered the BNPL space with a suite of fully regulated products that prioritise transparency and customer protection.
 
Setting its sights on the UK’s £6 billion BNPL market, Zopa brings a simple and fair option for larger purchases (£250 - £30,000) that may take customers months or years to save up for.