Fintech in 5 - The end of the Apple-Goldman Partnership

Hey 👋,

I hope you're having a great week.

We're into week 48 of 2023 and the week has been very calm, especially after the tumultuous last couple of weeks.

This week also marks the beginning of December. That means Christmas decorations are officially accepted and you can blast Maria Carey’s All I Want for Christmas Is You on repeat all day long (not that it stopped retailers from doing it before).

Let's dive in 👇🎄 

This Week’s Highlights

💰 Fundraising

📰 Must Knows

⭐ Bonus Story

📚 Weekend Reading

This Week's Highlights

💰 Fundraising

11 deals were reported in Europe in the past week, raising a total of €87.9 million. France and the UK each had three deals, while Italy, Belgium, Spain, Poland, and Luxembourg had one deal each.

👑 This week, Indy, the French bookkeeping and accounting software for freelancers and independent workers, took the crown. The company successfully raised €40 million in their Series C funding round led by BlackFin Capital Partners. Originally an automated accounting platform, Indy has expanded its services to become an all-in-one platform for freelancers and independent workers. With this latest funding, they aim to accelerate their efforts towards this vision.

TechCrunch

📰 Must-Know :

🇺🇸 Apple Pulls the Plug on Goldman Credit-Card Partnership

• According to the WSJ, Apple is ending its credit-card partnership with Goldman Sachs. This includes terminating the contract for the consumer partnership, which encompasses the credit card launched in 2019 and the savings account introduced this year.

• Goldman's unsuccessful attempt to diversify into consumer lending, marked by losses and challenges, led to the decision to offload the partnership. There have been discussions about potentially transferring it to American Express or Synchrony Financial.

• This setback impacts Apple's services business, while for Goldman, it represents a step back from diversification attempts. Goldman is now focusing on core clients and terminating other credit-card partnerships, including the one with General Motors.

WSJ

🇬🇧 Allianz is Suing Revolut for Breach of Contract

• Allianz is suing Revolut for £10.4m (US$13.1m) due to an alleged breach of contract, caliming that Revolut shifted customers to a different insurance provider, thereby terminating their agreement signed in April 2022.

• The breach includes claims that Revolut failed to provide necessary data for premium calculations, continued to supply reports even after terminating the contract, and modified the travel insurance product without Allianz's written approval.

Fintech Magazine

🇸🇪 Klarna Announces Partnership With Cathay Pacific

• Klarna collaborates with Cathay Pacific to enhance payment options for travellers in six European countries, offering flexibility and convenience.

• Cathay Pacific customers in the UK, Spain, France, Italy, and the Netherlands can use Klarna's Pay in 3 for three interest-free instalments, while German travellers can split flight costs over 6 to 24 months with interest.

• Klarna's series of recent collaborations and developments include partnerships with Airbnb and Walmart Canada, and FCA authorization for regulated credit and payment services in the UK.

The Paypers

⭐ Bonus Story

🇺🇸 Amazon Announces Q, an AI Chatbot for Businesses

• Amazon unveils Q, a chatbot designed for workplace use, challenging Microsoft and Google in productivity software.

• Q's functionalities include aiding AWS understanding, troubleshooting, providing code changes, connecting to enterprise systems, and retrieving information from various platforms like Microsoft 365, Dropbox, Salesforce, and AWS' S3 data storage service.

• The chatbot will offer a free preview with subsequent tiers costing $20 to $25 per person per month for business users, competing with similar tools like Copilot and Duet AI.

CNBC

📚 Weekend Reading

Future of Payments Review

The Future of Payments Review by HM Treasury was released this week.

If you’re interested in what the future holds for the Fintech industry, I highly recommend you glance through it.

The most interesting parts ?

• The Key Themes

• KPMG’s Analysis

To read through it : click here

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Have a great rest of your week,

Benjamin