EMEA Daily: Wirex Credit Launches in UK and Expands Crypto Collateral Options; Insurance Claims Payments Go Digital in Emerging Markets

Today in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Wirex launches its credit solution in the U.K., healthcare startup Cera raises $320 million, and PYMNTS spoke to the CEO of South Africa-based FinTech Stitch.

UK Home Healthcare Company Cera Raises $320M to Expand Services

Digital-first home healthcare provider Cera has raised $320 million in equity and debt funding, which will allow the London-based company to expand its tech-enabled health services from 15,000 to 100,000 at-home patients per day.

Existing investor Kairos HQ led Cera’s fundraising effort, which included participation from Vanderbilt University Endowment, Jane Street Capital, Guinness Asset Management, Oltre Impact, Evolve Healthcare Partners alongside Schroders Capital and several others, Tech Funding News reported Thursday (Aug. 4).

The fresh capital allows Cera to free up beds in NHS hospitals across the region and boost the U.K.’s care capacity by the equivalent of more than 50 hospitals, according to the report.

It will also be used to expand the company’s investment in nursing, telehealth and prescription delivery services both in the U.K. and globally, offering multiple healthcare services per household.

Wirex Credit Launches in UK and Expands Crypto Collateral Options

The cryptocurrency payments system Wirex has expanded the Wirex Credit program to new regions and developed additional features, the company announced Thursday (Aug. 4).

Wirex crypto-backed credit lines are now available to U.K. users, and the platform has added WXT as a token to be used as collateral.

Launched last month on the Wirex app, Wirex Credit allows users to borrow crypto-backed credit lines of up to $100,000. The service is available to users in Europe and Asia and with Thursday’s announcement, for U.K. customers as well.

Read more: Wirex Credit Intros Crypto-Backed Loans

Now customers can use WXT as collateral in addition to the other tokens already supported, BTC and ETH.

The company has announced that it plans to expand the range of assets that can be used as collateral in the coming weeks. The platform also intends to introduce cross-collateral borrowing, allowing users to combine different assets in their portfolio when taking out a loan.

Insurance Claims Payments Go Digital in Emerging Markets

Money moves from a consumer to a business, and often there’s a use case in which that needs to move back out, whether as refunds, withdrawals and disbursements, said Kiaan Pillay, co-founder and CEO of South Africa-based FinTech firm Stitch.

To help simplify that two-way payment process for businesses and enable faster payments to customers, vendors, suppliers and employees, the firm recently launched Stitch Payouts, a product Pillay said can particularly accelerate the digitization of insurance sectors across the African region, starting in South Africa.

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