Today In Payments: MineralTree Raises $50M, Buys Two Companies; Robinhood Raises $460M

In today’s top news, MineralTree raised $50 million and acquired two companies, and Robinhood raised $460 million. Plus, FIS and The Clearing House have partnered to provide instant settlements to small banks and credit unions.

MineralTree Raises $50M, Buys Two Companies

MineralTree Inc., the Massachusetts-based accounts payable (AP) automation software provider, on Thursday (Sept. 24) announced a $50 million Series D investment round and the purchase of two companies: Inspyrus, a Silicon Valley FinTech that specializes in AP, and Regal Software, the Atlanta-based provider of B2B disbursement software.

Robinhood Raises $460M One Month After Raising $200M

Trading FinTech Robinhood Markets Inc. has grown the size of its newest investment round to $660 million. The new funding is an outcropping of the Series G round unveiled in August for the firm, which is said to have helped millennials become interested in trading.

FIS, TCH Partner To Connect Small Banks, CUs To RTP

FIS has partnered with The Clearing House (TCH), the operator of the nation’s payments system infrastructure, to provide instant settlements to small and mid-sized banks and credit unions (CUs) and their customers.

Mastercard Expands Digital Card Program To Include Instant Access, eWallet

Mastercard has expanded its Digital-First Card Program in North America, partnering with payment processors PTS, Fiserv, CoreCard, FIS, i2c, Galileo, Marqet and TSYS to provide them with digital guidelines that will enable customers to get near-instant access to card information and the peace of mind to make secure transactions, among other benefits.

PayPal’s Rainey: CFOs Must Focus On Customers (Not Just Cash Flow) Amid Great Digital Shift

Amid the myriad challenges of 2020 — the pandemic, the wildfires, the hurricanes, the social unrest — companies of all sizes have refocused their businesses to serve their end customers in new ways. John Rainey, chief financial officer and executive vice president of global customer operations at PayPal, tells Karen Webster that CFOs have likewise learned the value of looking beyond the pure money flows to the impact of digital on the customer experience.

Closing The Paper Check To Instant Cash Flow Gap For America’s SMBs

Instant settlement helps Main Street merchants close the gap between a sale and a bank account deposit, but what about small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) that don’t operate storefronts and are paid by check? Lisa McFarland, executive vice president and chief product officer at Ingo Money, tells Karen Webster how banks and FinTechs are using digital tools to close a cash flow gap that could extend for weeks.

Darden Restaurants Says Digital Accounted For More Than Half Of Off-Premise Sales

In its quarterly earnings report, Olive Garden parent firm Darden Restaurants reported that over half of its combined off-premise sales at its three largest brands during fiscal Q1 were completely digital.