EMEA Daily: New EU Cybercrime Rules, Tingo’s $900M Merger

In today’s top Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) news, the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union and the European member states approve legislation aimed at lowering the threat of cyber attacks.

Also, Nigerian agri-FinTech Tingo merges with MICT in a deal worth $900 million, Amazon offers a buy now, pay later option to customers in Egypt and British grocer Tesco tests the idea of setting up co-working spaces in one of its stores.

EU Agrees on New Cybersecurity Laws to Protect Financial Sector

The European Parliament, the Council of the European Union and the European member states have approved two key pieces of legislation aimed at tightening cybersecurity requirements for companies to reduce the threat of cyber attacks.

The votes by these bodies mark a provisional agreement on the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA), and even though the deal still needs to be approved in plenary session, that move is typically viewed as a formality once a political consensus is reached.

“The new legislation will make sure that banks, insurers and financial institutions in the European Union are better equipped to prevent, detect and resolve digital operational risks and disruptions,” said MEP Alfred Sant in a press release.

Nigerian FinTech Tingo Announces $900M Merger with MICT

Nigerian agri-FinTech company Tingo is preparing to merge with Nasdaq-listed financial services provider MICT in a deal that should generate $900 million in yearly revenue and help the companies expand throughout markets in Asia and Africa.

The companies say their merger will create an integrated FinTech platform offering that marries the wealth management, share trading and insurance capabilities of MICT to Tingo’s FinTech and one-stop-shop marketplace offering.

When the merger is complete, Tingo founder Dozy Mmobuosi will become chief executive officer of MICT, which is expected to be renamed Tingo Inc., while Darren Mercer, who had been CEO of MICT, will become the company’s executive vice chairman and Pacific-Asia CEO.

Amazon Offers BNPL Option to Shoppers in Egypt

Amazon is providing customers in Egypt with access to buy now, pay later (BNPL) services with the help of valU Consumer Finance.

According to media reports, valU will offer the payment method on amazon.eg to eligible customers, who will get the option to split the cost of their purchase into multiple payments.

As part of the deal, Amazon has agreed to acquire $10 million in the global depositary receipts of EFG Hermes, the investment bank that is valU’s parent company.

Tesco Tests in-Store Co-Working Space as Grocers Expand to Nonfood Categories

Tesco, the largest grocery chain in the U.K., said it is expanding on the idea of what it means to run a supermarket.

The grocer is testing an initiative to bring a 3,800-square-foot flexible working space into a store in South London’s New Malden area in conjunction with office space operator IWG. The space will be on the store’s upper mezzanine and will include 30 co-working spaces, 12 OpenDesks for workers who want more privacy, as well as a meeting room.

“We are pleased to be working with IWG to offer customers the chance to work more flexibly from their local Tesco,” Louise Goodland, head of strategic partnerships at Tesco, said in a statement. “We are always looking to serve our customers and communities better, and we will be interested to see how they respond to this new opportunity.”

Nigerian FinTech Unicorn Interswitch Raises $110M

Nigerian digital payments company Interswitch has raised $110 million to help it expand its services across Africa, thanks to investments from LeapFrog and Tana.

Launched in 2021 by Mitchell Elegbe, Interswitch offers electronic payments processing and switching services through its debit card brand Verve and Quickteller, a multichannel consumer and business payments platform.

Token.io Raises $40M To Drive Push for Account-to-Account Payments

U.K.-based open banking payments platform Token.io has raised $40 million in a Series C round that it will use to the shift from traditional payment methods like cards and wallets to open banking account-to-account (A2A) payments.

“In the next four years, the global value of open banking payments is expected to exceed $116 billion, with Europe accounting for 75% of all transactions,” Token.io CEO Todd Clyde said.