This FinTech vertical is recession-proof 💸; "Fake it till you make it", or the craziest FinTech fraud since FTX 😳; Crypto crime is on the rise as the industry falters 📈

FinTech is Eating the World, 16 January

Hey Everyone,

Happy Monday! I hope you managed to relax over the weekend because today’s issue is a bomb 💣 We’re going to look at the FinTech vertical that is recession-proof (you just can’t ignore it!), "fake it till you make it", or the craziest FinTech fraud since FTX (it’s literally nuts! 🥜), and crypto crime that is on the rise as the industry falters (& why is it good). Let’s jump straight into the awesome stuff.

This Fintech vertical is recession-proof 💸

Zoom out 🌍 Despite all the uncertainty and macroeconomic challenges in the world, technology continues to disrupt legacy industries. In fact, this FinTech vertical is seemingly not only recession-proof but also is heating up as the next big thing.

More on this 👉 If you were guessing what this could be, I’m almost 100% sure that you didn’t get it right. But it’s pretty simple - it’s Buy Now, Pay Later. But not just another Klarna or Affirm - it’s B2B BNPL. Let’s take a look.

Following the money 💸 If you follow the money, you will end up in Germany where a Berlin-based FinTech startup Mondu has just added $13 million to its Series A round. The investment was led by Valar Ventures, with participation from FinTech Collective bringing the startup’s Series A to a total of $56M. That’s pretty solid given the current funding environment 👏

Mondu’s B2B Buy Now, Pay Later solution for online checkouts lets users offer their customers their preferred payment methods and flexible terms without risk or additional costs.

Follow the growth 📈 If you follow the growth, you will end up in the United Kingdom where a London-based FinTech Divido saw a 50% jump in gross merchandise volume (GMV) for 2022. That’s impressive 👏

Founded in 2015, Divido is a global white-label software platform for retailers, lenders, and payment intermediaries that want to offer point-of-purchase finance to consumers powering the likes of BMW, BNP, and Shopify. The fact that Divido last raised funding only in June 2021 (!) when it closed $30M Series B, perfectly illustrates how solid its performance is.

So, what does this mean? 🤔 In short, BNPL is dead, long live (B2B) BNPL! In other words, B2B BNPL is not only recession-proof but also is heating up as the next big thing. Here’s why (+3 bonus reads on a killer BNPL strategy):