“More than 60 musicians, actors and other personalities collectively offered about $87 million in the firm’s latest round of funding, MoonPay said in a press release Wednesday. Late last year, the startup raised $555 million in a Series A round led by Tiger Global Management and Coatue Management that valued the company at $3.4 billion…MoonPay describes itself as a sort of PayPal for the crypto economy, enabling transactions between individuals and crypto firms, such as purveyors on nonfungible tokens, or NFTs. It’s designed to allow users to buy and sell digital assets and NFTs via credit and debit cards; Apple, Google or Samsung Pay; or bank accounts.”

“Bolt Financial Inc., a payments-focused financial technology company, is acquiring crypto-services startup Wyre Payments Inc., according to people familiar with the matter. The acquisition is valued at around $1.5 billion, according to the people. That would make it the largest merger in the crypto sector that didn’t involve a blank-check company , or so-called SPAC, according to data from research firm Dealogic. In May 2021, Galaxy Digital Holdings Ltd. agreed to acquire BitGo Inc. for $1.2 billion .”

“Fiserv, Inc. (NASDAQ: FISV), a leading global provider of payments and financial services technology solutions, today announced the completion of its acquisition of Finxact.”

“Mastercard (NYSE: MA) has completed its acquisition of Dynamic Yield from McDonald’s. Dynamic Yield—a state-of-the-art personalization platform and decision engine company—strengthens Mastercard’s suite of consumer engagement and loyalty services that help brands deliver more effective and trusted customer experiences across channels.”

“Klarna, a leading global retail bank, payments, and shopping service today announced the completion of its acquisition of PriceRunner, the leading comparison shopping service in the Nordic region with operations in Sweden, Denmark, Norway and the United Kingdom.”

“Cross River Bank closed a $620 million capital raise Wednesday, a round that values the Fort Lee, New Jersey-based bank at over $3 billion, said Hillel Olivestone, the bank’s head of corporate development.”

“Worldline [Euronext: WLN], a global leader in the payments industry, today announces the completion of the acquisition of a controlling stake in the commercial acquiring business of ANZ and the creation of a 51%-49% joint-venture controlled by Worldline to operate and develop commercial acquiring services in Australia with ANZ Bank, one of the largest banks in Asia-Pacific and Australia’s 3rd largest acquirer with a c. 20% share of transaction volumes processed in Australia.”

“Startup Blockchain.com said it raised new funding that values the company at about $14 billion, more than doubling its worth in a sign that cryptocurrency firms still enjoy the favor of investors in turbulent venture capital markets. The financing round, which vaults Blockchain.com into the ranks of the most valuable crypto companies, was led by Lightspeed Venture Partners with major participation from Baillie Gifford & Co , Blockchain.com said. Representatives for Lightspeed and Baillie Gifford didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.”

“Dapio , the U.K.-based cashless payment solutions provider for businesses, today announced that it has raised $3.4 million to fuel the launch of its ‘Tap to Pay’ solution for Android users in the U.K. and Europe. African payments giant Flutterwave co-led the growth round with Techstars. Daniel Gould, venture partner at Asymmetry Ventures, and PactVC participated.”

“Fintech startup Modern Treasury has brought on two Silicon Valley heavyweights as new partners in a bid to expand its business into the enterprise. The venture arms of Salesforce and Silicon Valley Bank each put about $25 million into the San Francisco-based startup, which makes software to help companies manage cash flow and bank payments.”

“Pine Labs’ solutions are used by merchants from across industries such as electronics, food and beverage, fashion, pharmacy, telecom and airlines, but these are mostly offline players. The company is also planning to ramp up its online platform, both by organic and inorganic means.”

“Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase Global (COIN) is in talks to acquire 2TM, owner of Mercado Bitcoin, Brazil’s largest crypto exchange, the Estadão newspaper reported Sunday. According to the report, which did not cite sources, negotiations between Coinbase and 2TM have been taking place since last year and an agreement could be announced in late April.”

“Zepto , an Australian real-time account-to-account (A2A) merchant payments platform, said Monday it has raised a $25 million AUD Series A (about 18.8 million USD) co-led by AirTree Ventures and Decade Partners. The instant payment platform lets merchants make, manage and receive secure payments by connecting directly from the payer’s bank to a merchant’s bank.”

“Mitek (NASDAQ: MITK), a global leader in digital identity (ID) verification and fraud prevention, today announced the acquisition of UK’s leading KYC (know your customer) technology pioneers, HooYu. The acquisition helps to ensure businesses know the true identity of their customers by linking biometric verification with real-time bureau and sanction database checks.”

“Cymbio, a leading marketplace and drop ship automation platform, announced today an investment from PayPal Ventures, the venture capital arm of the global payments company. This latest development comes just months after Cymbio closed a $20M Series B round.”