Capital markets

Fueling its market expansion, U.K. earned wage access startup Wagestream has raised £20 million (about $25 million) in a Series B fundraiser from several VC firms.

The Main Street Lending Program is off to a slow start, while the PPP is extended five weeks to distribute the remaining $130 billion in loans; the European regulator is softening its stance to allow more deals.

VCs and lenders rely on business data such as transaction records to inform funding decisions for fintechs or small businesses, but bias and uneven representation in management still result in gender and racial disparity.

Checkout.com’s $150 million funding round triples the e-commerce company’s valuation to $5.5 billion, and it follows an even larger $600 million bet on Stripe this spring.

APEXX Global has completed a Series A fundraiser, bringing in $8 million from existing and new U.K. and Scandinavian investors to expand its payments platform.

The Federal Housing Administration's move to insure loans with forbearance could help support homeownership opportunities constrained by the coronavirus if one change was made to it, trade groups said.

Groups representing community banks and credit unions generally support the new percentage-based goals set by the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

The mobile bank raised $241 million in its Series D round of funding, and expects to receive approval from regulators to become a nationally chartered bank this summer.

Starling Bank has raised £40 million (about $49 million) in its latest fundraiser as it steps up its support for small businesses, bringing its 2020 total to £100 million (about $123 million).

Sony has invested in digital transaction security firm MagicCube, citing it as the Sony Innovation Fund's first investment outside of Japan.