Sector Updates

Blackmoon Financial Group has raised $2.5m in equity funding to expand its marketplace for balance sheet loan investment. The funding comes from A&NN Group, Flint Capital and Target Global.

Singapore-based remittances startup Toast has picked up $1.5m in a pre-Series A round led by Aetius Capital. The round also saw contribution from US VC 1776 and financial services firm Pepper Group.

Peer-to-peer currency exchange marketplace CurrencyFair has closed €8m in a new round of funding. The capital comes from existing backers Octopus Ventures and Frontline Ventures.

Capital One is acquiring price tracking startup Paribus in an undisclosed deal. The deal follows the banks’ previous acquisition of startups including Bundle, Level Money and Adaptive Path.

MasterCard is making it easier for Chinese users to pay for tuition and other costs in the US through a new partnership with online payments service Plastiq.

The US government is preparing to auction off 2,7000 bitcoins with a value of $1.6m.

Swiss insurtech startup Anivo is striking a partnership with the state railway company (SBB) that will bring as many as 35,0000 railway workers onto the platform.

CloudPay is partnering with Indian enterprise software maker Ramco Systems to bring cloud-based payroll systems to more multinational organisations.

CUneXus, a consumer lending automation solution, has raised $5m in a Series A round.

Alipay, the online and mobile payments service operated by Alibaba subsidiary Ant Financial, is expanding into Europe.