F|T: The FinTech Times – UK law enforcement can now seize crypto before an arrest
Plus: Zafin’s founder headlines latest slew of #CDNtech CEO turnover.
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UK Law Enforcement Agencies Can Now Seize Crypto More Easily as New Rules Take Effect
New powers that will help law enforcement agencies seize crypto used for crime came into effect on Friday, the U.K Home Office said in a press release.
As a result of these new rules, police in the country will no longer be required to make an arrest before seizing crypto holdings, the Home Office announced. The new rules came after the U.K. Parliament passed a crime bill last year, which laid the foundations for crypto to be seized more quickly.
“This will make it easier to take assets which are known to have been criminally obtained, even if sophisticated criminals are able to protect their anonymity or are based overseas,” Friday’s press release said.
(CoinDesk)
Zafin founder and CEO joins latest slew of #CDNtech executive turnover
After over 20 years at the helm, Zafin founder Al Karim Somji is joining a growing list of executive turnover in Canadian tech after being acquired in February.
Charbel Safadi, who previously served as the banking platform’s group president, will take over as CEO immediately, while Somji will continue to serve as a “substantial stakeholder” and member on the company’s board.
(BetaKit)
SoftBank-backed TabaPay is buying the assets of a16z-backed Synapse, after it filed for bankruptcy
After a tumultuous year, banking-as-a-service (BaaS) startup Synapse has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and its assets will be acquired by TabaPay, according to the two companies.
The deal is pending bankruptcy court approval.
In announcing the acquisition, TabaPay pointed out that Synapse made Deloitte’s 2023 Fast 500, posting 650%+ growth over a five-year period. However, it had two large-scale layoffs in the past year, blaming slowing growth.
Interac acquires “key employees,” exclusive Canadian rights to payments personalizer Vouchr
Canadian payment services provider Interac has acquired the exclusive rights to use Toronto-based Vouchr’s payments personalization platform in Canada, which it will use to integrate personalized notifications, rewards, and merchant offerings into its product suite.
An Interac spokesperson also told BetaKit that Interac has brought in several key Vouchr employees to integrate the technology as part of the deal. Vouchr co-founder and CEO Robert Balahura, who now holds a position in Interac’s product team to further develop the Vouchr platform, told BetaKit that Vouchr will continue its operations in the United States and internationally.
(BetaKit)
Two SEC Lawyers Resign After Agency Censured for Abuse of Power in Crypto Case
Two Securities and Exchange Commission lawyers resigned after a federal judge sanctioned and sharply rebuked the Wall Street regulator for “gross abuse” of power in a crypto case.
The pair were lead attorneys on a case against Digital Licensing Inc., a crypto platform known as DEBT Box.
The regulator’s lawsuit against DEBT Box was marred by false statements and misrepresentations, as well as a lack of evidence, according to Robert Shelby, the federal district court judge in Salt Lake City who is hearing the case.
FreshBooks expands Stripe partnership with new embedded payments offering
Toronto-based accounting software company FreshBooks is launching FreshBooks Payments, a new offering alongside American payments processor Stripe.
The company said FreshBooks Payments helps businesses onboard easier, improve cash flow, and help business owners invoice, track, and collect payments in one place. Businesses can send a Stripe payment link to their clients alongside invoices that, once paid, will be automatically recorded in FreshBooks.
(BetaKit)
Binance sued in Canada for securities law violations
Cryptocurrency exchange Binance has been slapped with a new class-action lawsuit in Canada, with plaintiffs alleging that the firm has violated local securities laws.
Ontario’s Superior Court of Justice published a certification motion on April 19 for a class-action lawsuit against Binance alleging that it sold crypto derivative products to retail investors without registration.
“It is noteworthy here that cryptocurrency derivatives traders include a great many retail investors,” the certification motion reads, adding that more than 50% of Canadian crypto owners have at least $5,000 in the market, according to the Ontario Securities Commission.
Exclusive: Brazilian BaaS QI Tech hits $1B valuation
Brazilian Banking as a Service company QI Tech is valued at over $1 billion after extending its Series B funding to $210 million, it tells Axios exclusively.
Regulatory pressure and a broader fintech slowdown have brutalized the Banking as a Service sector stateside. The story seems to be playing out differently in Brazil.
This is the second Brazilian BaaS company to buck the slowdown. Pismo was acquired by Visa last year in a $1 billion deal.
(Axios)
BetaKit launches new program for Innovation Leaders
We are pleased to announce BetaKit Innovation Leaders, a new program designed to provide Canada’s top innovation organizations with exclusive programming and insights.
BetaKit Innovation Leaders will benefit from exclusive programming streams, tailored insights, and increased visibility of their work across the ecosystem through our partner offerings. Most importantly, their investment will help expand our coverage of Canadian tech and innovation, benefitting our readers and the sector at large.
(BetaKit)
Luko alumni raise €25m from Balderton and Ribbit Capital as B2B fintech reigns
Two former Luko employees have raised €25m in funding for their automated financial management startup Payflows.
Payflows aims to let finance teams keep track of all these processes in one easily customisable system. Rather than pushing entirely new infrastructure on CFOs, Payflows’ platform is deployed on top of companies’ existing accounting systems known as enterprise resource planning systems.
(Sifted)
Changemakers: Did the SEC just help Manifest Climate scale?
Greenhouse gas levels are at an all-time high, more than a million species face extinction, and we currently use more of the earth’s resources than we can renew.
If that’s not enough to keep you up at night, the Securities and Exchange Commission in the US just made climate reporting mandatory for public companies, following repeated commitments from Ottawa to introduce mandatory climate-related reporting requirements for Canadian companies as well.
To regulators, these changes present an opportunity to advance global climate goals and mitigate investor risk.
(BetaKit)
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Feature image courtesy Reinaldo Sture via Unsplash.
