Flagstone Notches £11m In Funding; Hong Kong Awards Virtual Banking Licenses

Welcome to The Axis, your late look at payments news from around the world. Coverage includes the Czech Republic-based Twisto’s €14 million raise. In addition, U.K. cash deposit platform developer Flagstone took in £11m in funding, and another four firms have reportedly received banking licenses from the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) in Asia.

Credit-based mobile payments app Twisto raised €14 million through existing and new investors in a Series B round, LendTech reported. The investment is said to help the company reach 2 million customers over the next five years in Eastern and Central Europe. As it stands, the company claims that it has been used by more than half a million clients in Poland and the Czech Republic as of its rollout. It began to offer Apple Pay in the Czech Republic in February after expanding to Poland in the middle of last year. The company has said to have taken on €15 million in debt as well as €21 million of equity.

In other news, U.K. cash deposit platform developer Flagstone notched £11m in funding from investors such as VentureFounders and Kindred Capital, according to reports. The company, which was started in 2013, offers individuals, along with their wealth managers, charities and SME corporates, access to deposit accounts. Flagstone Co‐Founder and Co‐Managing Partner Simon Merchant said, according to reports, “With £11m of growth capital we are now well‐positioned to expand our business and provide more clients with a simple way to maximise the interest income on their cash and at the same time become an increasingly valuable funding partner to our banks.”

In Asia, another four firms have reportedly received virtual banking licenses from the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), Asia Times reported. Ant SME Services (Hong Kong) Limited, Insight Fintech HK Ltd, Infinium Ltd, and Ping An OneConnect Company Ltd. are said to encompass the new license owners. It is reported that they plan to roll out their services in six to nine months. Earlier this year, the HKMA awarded three virtual money licenses in March to Livi VB Ltd, ZhongAn Virtual Finance Ltd. and SC Digital Solutions Ltd while granting one additional one to Welab Digital Ltd. in April.