Venture funding

The investment money’s flowing into fintech that’s flexible and broad enough to build a bridge between issuers and merchants. For PayU’s investment wing, that’s a $500 million blanket covering cross-border commerce, open tools and markets in dire need of a digital revolution.

In his first extensive interview since taking the job this year, Javier Rodriguez Soler talks about banking as a service, how to keep customers happy and where he sees AI and other tech innovations heading.

Global cross-border payments network Thunes has completed a $10 million financing round led through global venture firm GGV Capital to boost its financial services efforts in emerging markets.

Aging tech systems have become a "pain point" in financial services, and VC firms have backed newcomers trying to push aside traditional vendors and win over banks and credit unions.

Expected to close this week, the deal would value the company at an amount similar to the $4.3 billion valuation of its 2017 funding round.

Built Technologies will use the money to invest in research and development while it builds out its client base.

Uber’s getting a half billion dollar investment from PayPal at a time when the ride-sharing app is prepping a $100 billion IPO and can least afford speed bumps in its user experience and payment process.

The restaurant food delivery market is booming, as it caters to America’s growing desire to get on-demand meals for a dine-at-home lifestyle. This trend is influencing how restaurant orders are placed and paid for.

With Wirecard's value tumbling since a Financial Times report two months ago alleging an accounting scandal in its Asian operations — and a followup Wednesday reporting that half of its revenue comes from "three opaque partner companies" — the German payments processor received a lift from a €900 million ($1 billion U.S.) investment from Japan's SoftBank.

Citcon has completed a Series B funding round that included a $5 million strategic investment from East West Bank. The cross-border QR code payments processor will also be adding Catherine Zhou, executive vice president and head of consumer banking and digital banking at East West Bank, to its board of directors.

Following its own economic downturn that required bailouts by Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain’s governors hit on an economic recovery plan that includes turning the tiny nation into a global payments hub.

The startup now has five bank partners and equity financing from four investment entities.

Large investment houses see an opportunity to improve financial conditions for contract workers, accelerate evolution away from cash to digital payments, expand the smartphone as a commerce device and streamline user experience.

PayPal has joined a funding round for startup Cambridge Blockchain, reportedly the first investment the online payments giant has made in distributed ledger technology.

As N26 schedules its launch for midyear, it will face off against other startups and mobile-only spinoffs from incumbent financial institutions.

Jumia Technologies AG said Mastercard Inc. has agreed to invest 50 million euros ($56 million) in a private placement ahead of the Africa-focused online retailer’s planned initial public offering in New York.

Restaurant point of sale and back-office management provider Toast raised $250 million in a Series E funding round, valuing the company at $2.7 billion, and is adding David Yuan from TCV to its board of directors.

Marqeta, which launched in 2010 with a payments platform to support payments through mobile and virtual channels, reportedly has attracted $250 million in a new funding round, which would bring its total funding amount to more than $350 million.

Advent International and Bain Capital have made quite a team in payments industry deals.

As growth slows in key markets, Starbucks Corp. is funding a new investment arm with $100 million to identify and tap into companies that are developing new technology and products related to food and retail.