In today’s FinTech news, Coinbase drops acquisition talks with 2TM, while Fiserv and Affirm team for installment payments. Plus, Galileo and Mastercard are working to drive financial opportunities for unbanked and underserved populations in the Caribbean and Latin America.
M&A Talks Fall Apart for Coinbase’s Acquisition of 2TM
Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase shut down merger and acquisition talks with Brazil’s cryptocurrency brokerage firm 2TM. Coinbase had been talking with 2TM to acquire a majority or minority stake in the $2.1 billion company, Latin America’s second tech unicorn. No reason was given for the end of the negotiations, which began last year.
Fiserv to Offer Merchant Clients Affirm’s BNPL Service
Buy now, pay later (BNPL) platform Affirm is talking with payment provider Fiserv to drive the installment service for Fiserv’s enterprise merchant clients. Affirm is the first BNPL firm integrated with Fiserv’s Carat operating system. The collaboration means that Fiserv’s merchant clients can integrate Affirm’s Adaptive Checkout function and enable customers to divide payments conveniently across time.
Galileo and Mastercard Accelerating Digital Transformation in Latin America and the Caribbean
SoFi subsidiary Galileo Financial Technologies is partnering with Mastercard to advance initiatives for digital acceleration in the Caribbean and Latin America and drive financial opportunities for unbanked and underserved populations. Galileo is a Preferred Technology Partner and fast issuer processor within the Mastercard Partner Network, Mastercard Engage, in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Lithuanian FinTech kevin Nets $65M for A2A Infrastructure
Lithuanian account-to-account (A2A) payment infrastructure firm kevin is using its $65 million Series A funding round to further its technology to replace card transactions. The startup was seeded with $10 million in December and has since expanded its workforce to 170, which it expects to double by next year.
PayPal Ventures Invests in Latam SMB Platform Xepelin
B2B Latin American payments and financial services firm Xepelin secured $111 million in a Series B funding round with participation from PayPal Ventures. The fresh capital will go toward scaling operations, employing new talent and growing across new countries in the Latin American region. The company aims to be the “Digital CFO” for B2B.