In today’s top Europe, Middle East, and Africa news, the FinTech firm PayU has introduced credit payments in Romania; Voilà, a Berlin-based app that connects consumers with fine dining at home, closed on a $10 million funding round.
Plus, B2B accounts receivable automation and integrated payments company Billtrust has acquired financial software platform Order2Cash; Nigerian B2B payment digitization startup Duplo has raised $1.3 million in pre-seed funding, and CFOs in the European Union are trading paper for digital spending management tools.
FinTech PayU Rolls out Credit Payments in Romania
Online payments provider PayU debuted two credit solutions for Romanian shoppers Tuesday (Feb. 15), according to a company announcement.
PayU’s offers Romanian shoppers BNPL, which postpones payments for 30 days at no additional charge, and SLICE IT, in which payments are made in installments over three months.
Voilà Raises $10M to Expand Fine Dining at Home in Europe
Voilà, a German company that connects consumers with fine dining experiences at home, has closed on €8.8 million (about $10 million) in funding to accelerate its European expansion, EU-Startups.com reported Tuesday (Feb 15).
The company was founded last year by Julius Wiesenhütter and friends Florian Berg, chief operating officer, and Mostafa Nageeb, chief procurement officer. So far, it has delivered to more than 1,200 cities in Germany.
UBS: Don’t Count on US Crypto Regulations Anytime Soon
UBS, Switzerland’s largest bank, said in its own report that it expects U.S. lawmakers to take a while before passing cryptocurrency legislation.
“To fill in regulatory gaps and address financial stability concerns, the regulators would like Congress to develop legislation that regulates stablecoin issuers as banks,” UBS said in the report.
Finnish Smartphone Reseller Swappie Raises $124M
Swappie, a Finnish smartphone reseller aimed at offering people access to the “circular smartphone economy,” has raised $124 million in a Series C funding round.
Co-founded in 2016 by Sami Marttinen, its mission is to make the smartphone economy more accessible and environmentally friendly.
Blackstone Bets $23B on Last-Mile Logistics Firm Mileway
Alternative lender Blackstone Inc. said Tuesday (Feb. 15) it will back a $23.8 billion recapitalization of Mileway, a European warehouse operator and last-mile logistics company.
Blackstone, which calls itself the world’s largest commercial real estate owner, has worked with Mileway to give it Europe’s most expansive last-mile-logistics portfolio, with 1,700 last-mile assets, amounting to 14.7 million square meters in 10 countries.
Billtrust Acquires European B2B Financial Software Provider Order2Cash
B2B accounts receivable (AR) automation and integrated payments company Billtrust announced Tuesday (Feb. 15) it has acquired Netherlands-based B2B financial software platform Order2Cash.
The deal, Billtrust’s second acquisition in six months, is expected to give the company a stronger global presence with the ability to expand its Business Payment Network.
Nigerian B2B Payments Startup Duplo Raises $1.3M
Duplo, a Nigeria B2B payment digitization startup, has raised $1.3 million in pre-seed funding, and announced it will take part in accelerator Y Combinator’s winter batch, according to reports.
Founded last year by Tunde Akinnuwa and Yele Oyekola, Duplo allows B2B companies automate their payments, generate or pay invoices and offer credit to their business customers. The platform also includes a dashboard clients can use to attribute payment flows to certain customers, locations or retailers.
EU CFOs Ditching Paper to Embrace Digital Spend Management Tools
Ante Spittler, co-founder and CEO of Berlin-based FinTech Moss, recently closed a Series B funding round of €75 million ($86 million). The financing came down to delivering — “even overdeliver” — on milestones the company had defined in prior fundraising rounds, including growing more than 150% in the last quarter.
The corporate spend management platform has also expanded the platform OS, which started initially as a credit card for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), into an integrated accounts payable platform.
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NEW PYMNTS DATA: 70% OF BNPL USERS WOULD USE BANK INSTALLMENT OPTIONS, IF AVAILABLE
About: Seventy percent of BNPL users say they’d rather use installment plans offered by their banks — if only they were made available. PYMNTS’ Banking On Buy Now, Pay Later: Installment Payments And FIs’ Untapped Opportunity, surveyed more than 2,200 U.S. consumers to better understand how consumers view banks as BNPL providers in a sea of BNPL pure-plays.
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