Why Shopify CEO Tobias Lutke Invested in Neo, One of Canada's Largest Fintech 🇨🇦
We're also covering Klarna's IPO filing 🇸🇪, Ualá's 300 million round 🇦🇷, Singapore FinFluencers crack down 🇸🇬, Nuvei's delisting 🇨🇦, a dating site becoming a wedding lender 🇮🇳 and much more!
🇨🇦 Why Shopify CEO Tobias Lütke Invested in Neo, One of Canada's Largest Fintech
Shopify CEO Tobias Lütke invested in Canadian neobank Neo Financial's $362 million CAD (257 million USD) Series D last week. The round, which includes $112 million CAD in equity and $250 million CAD in debt, was led by an undisclosed Chinese investor and also drew investments from Canadian tech heavyweights Stewart Butterfield, co-founder of Slack, and David Baszucki, CEO of Roblox.
So, why would Lütke, best known for the Ottawa-based e-commerce giant Shopify, back a neobank focused on Canadian consumers, with no merchants offering? The answer may lie in his broader vision for Canadian innovation.
At a conference earlier this year, Lütke criticized Canada’s tendency to aim low, calling for startups to “go for gold” instead of settling for bronze. Neo’s ambition to disrupt Canada’s banking status quo aligns with this philosophy. In Lütke’s words: “Neo’s growth is proof that it’s possible to build world-class products here in Canada.” By backing Neo, he’s signaling his belief that the company represents the kind of ambitious, world-class innovation Canada needs more of.
Neo CEO Andrew Chau, in a recent LinkedIn post, described the funding as more than just capital, expressing his gratitude for the support of Canadian visionaries like Tobias Lütke. While Chau didn’t mention any plans for international expansion, he hinted at upcoming innovations such as “AI-enhanced budgeting tools.”
Neo has rapidly grown into Canada’s second-largest fintech challenger, trailing only Wealthsimple. Neo’s rise, however, have been incredibly fast, considering it was founded in 2019, while Wealthsimple got started in 2014.
This velocity could be attributed to the fundraising abilities of Neo co-founders Andrew Chau and Jeff Adamson, who’ve raise a total of 650 million CAD (462 million USD) so far for Neo. The two Canadians already had built and exited another start-up, SkipTheDishes, sold to UK-based meal delivery giant Just Eat for 110 million CAD (83 million USD) in 2016.
Though Neo is still far from achieving the global success of companies like Shopify or Slack, its ambitious vision, coupled with the pedigree of its founders and investors, makes it a fintech worth watching.
Source: Global Fintech Insider
🇸🇪 Klarna Just Filed Its Offering Documents to IPO in the U.S.
Klarna has confidentially filed its offering documents with the SEC, the first step to become a publicly traded company on a U.S. exchange. It will be interesting to see how public markets value the Swedish buy now, pay later (BNPL) giant, whose valuations has been extremely volatile so far. It was valued at $46 billion USD in 2021, and then, at only $6.7 billion USD in 2022. Klarna recently returned to profitability and, while its IPO pricing will be determined by its upcoming roadshow, the fintech was reportedly looking to go public at a 20 billion USD valuation earlier this year. Klarna’s decision to neglect European exchanges in favour of New York reflect the growing importance of the US market in Karna’s business. Spotify, which went public in 2018, followed a similar path.
Source: CityAM
🇦🇷 Ualá Raises $300M to Revolutionize Banking in Latin America
Ualá, an Argentine fintech offering payments, credit, investments, and dollar accounts, raised 300 million USD in a Series E round led by Allianz X, valuing it at $2.75 billion. With 8 million users, including 6 million in Argentina alone, Ualá aims to become the country’s largest bank while expanding in Mexico and Colombia. CEO Pierpaolo Barbieri emphasized plans for growth, including acquisitions and new business lines. The round saw participation from new investors, including Bill Ackman and Alan Howard, alongside existing backers like George Soros and Tencent. Argentina President Javier Milei attended the announcement, underscoring Ualá’s regional significance.
Source: Bloomberg
🇨🇦 Payment Processor Nuvei Completes $6.3B Privatization, Opens 300 Global Roles
Montreal-based payment provider Nuvei, which counts Canadian actor Ryan Reynolds among its shareholders, has completed its $6.3 billion USD deal to go private. The deal’s financing come from Advent International, Novacap, and CDPQ. CEO and founder Philip Fayer, who remains one of the company’s largest shareholders, emphasized that the move allows Nuvei to focus on its long-term strategy without public market pressures. “Freed from public market distractions, we can truly focus on what matters most—flawless execution of our long-term strategy,” Fayer wrote on LinkedIn. The company plans to implement a Value Creation Plan, including hiring 300 new team members globally, as it plans to accelerate its growth. Nuvei shares will be de-listed from the TSX and the Nasdaq by the end of November.
Source: Global Fintech Insider
🇸🇬 Singapore Ban FinFluencers From Sharing Stock Picks
Unlike Canada or the US, where sharing stock picks is generally permitted unless targeted at specific investors, Singapore will prohibit FinFluencers from recommending or expressing opinions on investment products unless licensed under the Financial Advisers Act. MAS board member Alvin Tan clarified that paid or regular recommendations (even if unpaid) constitute financial advice requiring a license. Educational content remains exempt, but the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Commercial Affairs Department will enforce strict penalties for unlicensed financial advice.
Source: Fintech Singapore
🇮🇳 Matrimony.com Gets Into the Wedding Loans Business to Tap India’s $72B Marriage Market
Matrimonial dating sites operator Matrimony.com has launched WeddingLoan.com, a fintech platform offering tailored wedding loans in partnership with IDFC, Tata Capital, and L&T Finance. Mayank Jha, head of Wedding Loan at Matrimony.com, emphasized the platform's goal of solving issues like high interest rates and hidden charges by focusing on borrowers’ needs. In India, weddings are large, multi-day events that can cost a pretty penny. The Indian wedding industry is expected to generate ₹6 lakh crore ($72 billion USD) during the current Indian wedding season, which runs from November 12 to December 16.
Source: YourStory
🇺🇸 Coinbase Taps Utopia Labs to Integrate Stablecoin Payments into Coinbase Wallet
Coinbase has acqui-hired the team from Utopia Labs, a stablecoin and payments startup, to enhance its stablecoin payments offerings. The team, including Kaito Cunningham, Alexander Wu, Jason Chong, and Anthony Tat, will focus on integrating stablecoin payment solutions directly into Coinbase Wallet, with an emphasis on cross-border transactions. Shan Aggarwal, Coinbase’s head of corporate development, highlighted the growing demand for stablecoin payments. Utopia Labs, which raised $23 million from investors including Coinbase and Paradigm, will wind down its operations following the deal.
Source: Axios
🇸🇦 Saudi Fintech Lean Secures $67.5M to Expand Its Open Banking Services Across MENA
Saudi fintech company Lean Technologies has raised US$67.5 million in a Series B funding round led by General Catalyst, bringing its total funding to over US$100 million. The Riyadh-based company specializes in providing open banking infrastructure via APIs that allow businesses to embed banking services like pay-by-bank transfers into their platforms. Lean's services are gaining traction across the MENA region. The new funding will help Lean expand its operations and continue driving open banking adoption across MENA, as Saudi Arabia’s embrace of open banking continues to pay dividends.
Source: Fintech Magazine
🇫🇷 French LendTech Youdge Launches in Canada
Youdge, a French fintech specializing in matching consumers with online lenders, has expanded into Canada. In a Linkedin post, CEO David Chemla announced the move, highlighting the hiring of Frédéric Roy, former Head of Monetization at Hardbacon, as Country Manager for the Canadian market. This news hits close to home, since I hired Frédéric at Hardbacon in 2021, and that was one of the best decision I made. In large part thanks to his ability to close deals, Hardbacon’s sales grew from basically zero in 2021 to more than half a million CAD in 2023.
Source: Global Fintech Insider
Upcoming Fintech Events
🌐 The OpenFinity 2024 Expo will take place online on November 20-21 (free), with speakers such as Jane Barratt, Chief Advocacy Officer at MX and Roy Kao, board member at Open Finance Network Canada.
🇬🇧 Fintech Connect will be held in London on December 4-5 ($325), with speakers such as Zahra Gill, Financial Crime Strategy Lead at Starling Bank (!!!) and Anirudh Narla, Head of Product - Global Payments, Anti-Fraud & Wallet at Hopper.
🇺🇸 The Bank Automation Summit will be held in Austin on March 3-4, 2025 ($632.50), with speakers such as Michael Lehmbeck, CTO at BankUnited and Koren Picariello, head of generative AI strategy for Morgan Stanley Wealth Management.
Have some fintech news you think I should include in the Global Fintech Insider newsletter or heard some rumours you’d like me to look into? Drop me an email at: jrbrault@protonmail.com