Employer.com Offers to Buy Shuttered Startup Level
Marcel van Oost - FinTech News USA
Connecting the dots in FinTech...
👀 NEWS HIGHLIGHT
TransUnion currently owns 30% of the equity of Monevo after acquiring a minority stake in 2021 and has agreed to acquire the remaining ownership position from Quint Group Limited.
“We are committed to making trust possible in global commerce by ensuring consumers and organizations can transact with confidence,” said Todd Skinner, President, International, TransUnion.
📊 INFOGRAPHIC
Here's their impressive growth over the past years 👇
NOW, ON TO THE SUMMARY OF LAST WEEK'S NEWS
🇺🇸 NATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS
⭐️ 2025's first big fraud trial begins Feb 10 with Frank founder Charlie Javice.
⭐️ Employer.com Offers to Buy Shuttered Startup Level.
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FINTECH
FinTech startup Level abruptly shuts down. Benefits startup Level announced it is shutting down after an acquisition deal fell through. Founded in 2018 and having raised $27 million in a 2021 Series A round, Level informed its clients to notify their employees and refer them to other benefits providers. Read More
Recommended by LinkedIn
FinTech Ad Spending climbs 45% in last 3 Years. The 45% figure comes from Outfront Media, an advertising company whose clients include several high-profile FinTechs, including CashApp, Klarna, PayPal and its peer-to-peer arm Venmo. Also comes as FinTechs grow in popularity among users, with these companies setting the stage for potential acquisitions or initial public offerings (IPOs).
15 AI-powered FinTechs to watch in 2025. Despite a funding slowdown in FinTech during 2024, investors remain optimistic, especially about AI-driven innovation. AI startups are transforming banking, investing, saving, and financial workflows. The sector’s potential positions AI as a key focus for future FinTech growth.
PAYMENTS
DraftKings tries subscription payments. The company is promoting the new service by offering customers boosted offers if they sign up. DraftKings said: “The subscription service was designed to offer our customers an enhanced fan experience, creating more excitement and value to our extensive parlay offering”.
REGTECH
US regulator warned banks on crypto, but did not order them to stop providing banking services to crypto companies. A court ordered the FDIC to release supervisory "pause letters" following a lawsuit by Coinbase-hired researchers. Continue reading
DIGITAL BANKING
Morgan Stanley’s E-Trade explores offering crypto trading. This move comes as the Trump administration takes a more crypto-friendly approach, with other large brokers like Schwab also exploring crypto services. E-TRADE's potential entry highlights the expanding role of cryptocurrencies in retail investing.
CRYPTO
MicroStrategy buys bitcoin after stock offering. The preferred stock offering is part of its plans to raise $42 billion of capital through 2027 using at-the-market stock sales and convertible debt offerings. MicroStrategy has already surpassed two-thirds of its equity goals. Read more
MatterFi’s Michael “Mehow” Pospieszalski’s plan to bring crypto mainstream. The company develops secure infrastructure for software and hardware wallets and custody systems, ensuring safety and accessibility. Inspired by traditional finance apps, users can send crypto using names instead of addresses.
CFTC leader in bitcoin oversight steps down. Chairman Rostin Behnam will resign on Jan. 20 and leave the agency on Feb. 7. During his tenure, Behnam advocated for making the CFTC the primary regulator for Bitcoin and crypto exchanges. Click for more information
Ripple and Chainlink partner for RLUSD stablecoin. By adopting the Chainlink standard for verifiable data on the Ethereum blockchain, Ripple is enhancing the utility of RLUSD across the onchain economy. RLUSD is an enterprise-grade, USD-denominated stablecoin created with trust, utility, and compliance at its core.
DONEDEAL
JPMorgan quits Net-Zero Banking Alliance, the latest U.S. lender to the sector's biggest climate coalition amid rising U.S. political pressure. JPMorgan gave no clear reason for leaving the initiative, yet it comes after months of pressure from some Republican politicians who said membership of such coalitions could breach anti-trust rules.
M&As
FalconX acquires Arbelos Markets. This acquisition will further enhance FalconX’s capabilities to provide customers with access to deeper liquidity and bespoke derivatives solutions, supporting institutions with a more sophisticated and diversified range of trading strategies.
Elite acquires Tranch to streamline law firm payments. Elite’s acquisition of Tranch will enhance its ability to augment law firms’ financial and business management processes by delivering elevated, end-to-end visibility and management of revenue cycles to help firms accelerate growth. Click here for more information
ClearScore acquires Aro Finance, Argos and Asda Partner. "This acquisition allows us to continue our growth by expanding into two complementary areas as a credit broker, namely embedded finance and secured second charge lending," Justin Basini, ClearScore's chief executive, said.
Eltropy acquires Lexop for collections tech. The acquisition will add Lexop’s collections technology to Eltropy’s artificial intelligence-powered unified conversations platform. Also the combination of these tools will offer community financial institutions a better way to handle loan repayment and collections, according to the release.
MOVERS & SHAKERS
HSBC names Lisa McGeough as US CEO. McGeough is the first woman CEO to lead the bank's operations in the region in more than a decade. She will be responsible for the Asia-focused lender's growth in the United States, including the expansion of its corporate and institutional banking business in North America.
Onbe hires Sayid Shabeer as CPO. "As financial institutions and software companies increasingly seek to embed modern payment capabilities into their platforms, Sayid's experience in building scalable solutions and market-driven innovations will help us extend our reach across new segments and clients,”says Bala Janakiraman, CEO of Onbe.
Wise expands leadership for EMEA. Wise announced the appointment of Lauren Langbridge as CD for North America, and Manuel Sandhofer as its new GM for Europe, Middle East and Brazil. They will oversee and scale Wise Platform’s strategic partnerships, growth, and commercial strategy across the regions, as demand for its solutions rapidly grows.
Masttro appoints Jay McNamara as CEO. McNamara is a proven leader with a track record of driving strategic growth, operational excellence, and innovation. McNamara is a proven leader with a track record of driving strategic growth, operational excellence, and innovation.