Capital markets

Kasisto, a provider of chatbots to banks, announced Thursday a $9.2 million Series A funding round led by Propel Venture Partners with participation from Mastercard and Commerce Ventures.

Disruptors have chased banks for years with the promise of easier and more social payments and other services, but only recently have they started wielding a weapon that should have incumbents worried, says investor Adam Dell.

Swedish mobile point of sale company iZettle has raised about $80 million in funding, in part from U.S. investors.

Luminate Capital Partners has made an investment in Financial Information Technologies (Fintech), a company that sells data management, payment and software to the spirits industry.

Samsung has launched a $150 million venture capital investment fund to expand its partnerships and collaborations with fintech startups.

Clarity Money, an artificial intelligence-driven payment concierge, launched on Wednesday, a move its founders hope will provide consumers with an advanced financial health tool.

The blockchain startup Axoni has raised $18 million in a Series A funding round led by Wells Fargo and Euclid Opportunities, the fintech investment business of the interdealer brokerage ICAP.

A Danish company called Cardlay has closed a $4 million funding round to deploy its white label card management solution to banks.

To launch its payments platform, Digitzs used crowdfunding as an alternative to the traditional venture capital. Its founder explains how it made that happen.

The growth of China’s fintech scene is providing a less developed financial market with much-needed updates. But those improvements also serve as a stepping stone to bring Chinese fintech players to Western markets.