S&P Global Market Intelligence rounds up financial technology companies' recent product launches, partnership announcements and fundraising activity, as well as regulatory developments in the financial technology space. For more fintech news, click here.
Top News
Mastercard Inc. announced Mastercard Installments, a buy-now, pay-later program that allows banks, lenders, fintechs and wallets to offer a variety of flexible installment options to consumers, such as a 0% interest, pay-in-four model. The program will first come to market in the U.S., Australia and the U.K. Mastercard is working with Barclays US, Fifth Third, FIS, Galileo, Huntington, Marqeta, SoFi and Synchrony in the U.S.
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PNC Bank integrated with Akoya LLC's Data Access Network, through which customers will be able to share account information with financial technology companies and data aggregators with enhanced security.
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Parafin Inc., a fintech startup for small businesses, raised $34 million in seed and series A financing, led by Ribbit Capital and Thrive Capital. The company is being built by several former employees of Robinhood Markets Inc. and also backed by some of Robinhood's early venture investors, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal.
Banking and lending
Brookline, Mass.-based Brookline Bank inked a multiyear contract with Prolific Banking Inc., making it the first bank client with Prolific Banking for the On-Ramp enrollment-as-a-service product that provides automated enrollment of cash management customers.
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Wells Fargo & Co. debuted Wells Fargo ReflectSM, the second card in the rollout of its new portfolio of consumer credit cards. The new card is a no-annual-fee, everyday value card that rewards cardholders for making regular on-time payments.
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Katapult Holdings Inc., through an integration with Salesforce Commerce Cloud, rolled out its e-commerce point-of-sale lease-purchase solution. Katapult's lease-purchase solution offers consumers without credit or developing credit a way to access durable goods products of the company's retail partners.
Payments
Euronet Worldwide Inc. business segment Ria Money Transfer and India-based payments company Paytm Payments Bank Ltd. partnered to allow customers to send money in real time through Ria's network to Paytm's mobile wallet.
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Payfare Inc. will offer additional real-time payment options to gig platforms and their workforces through an expansion of its partnership with Enid, Okla.-based Stride Bank NA. The companies will leverage The Clearing House Payments Company LLC's real-time payments system to deliver payments to U.S.-based gig economy workers.
Data and information management
Envestnet | Yodlee and Vienna, Va.-based Navy FCU signed a data access agreement, under which the credit union's members can more securely connect to and share their financial information with digital apps.
Trading and investing
Electronic trading platform MarketAxess Holdings Inc. launched a new trading channel that allows global investors to access the China Interbank Bond Market through the connection between the company and the China Foreign Exchange Trade System.
Marketing and analytics
Square Inc. and TikTok Inc. revealed an integration that will help sellers of all types and sizes reach new customers and grow their sales online, according to a news release. The partnership will allow sellers to send fans directly from TikTok videos advertisements and shopping tabs on the sellers' profiles to products available in their current Square online store.
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