FinTech Futures: Top five stories of the week – 15 September 2023
Here’s our pick of five of the top news stories from the world of finance and tech this week.
Adyen granted authorisation to launch banking services in the UK
Adyen secures UK banking authorisation
Dutch payments processor Adyen has received authorisation from the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to launch banking services in the UK.
The company had previously been operating in the UK under the FCA’s Temporary Permissions Regime, but the new authorisation will enable the deployment of its services in full force. This includes its embedded financial product suite, which includes bank accounts, virtual and physical cards, capital services and expense management tools, and is angled at platform businesses seeking to offer financial products to their SMB users.
It comes just weeks after Adyen lost €17.8 billion on its market capitalisation in a single day as a result of its disappointing half-year results for 2023.
Amplifi Capital secures £100m private securitisation warehouse with NatWest for lending platform expansion
London-based Amplifi Capital has agreed a private securitisation warehouse of up to £100 million with NatWest as it seeks to expand its personal lending platform Reevo Money.
The fintech firm specialises in near-prime consumer lending through its My Community Finance and Reevo Money brands, which were launched in 2018 and 2022, respectively.
Authorised by the FCA, the platform offers loan agreements to consumers “within minutes” with interest rates ranging from 22.7% to 50%.
Tasking its partner Lenvi to support the facility with backup servicing, the fintech says the agreement with the UK bank will “further bolster [its] mission to provide as many customers as possible with accessible credit” and “create a level playing field” in the realms of inclusive credit access across the UK.
Bonifii pilots paperless onboarding with Lone Star Credit Union
Bonifii completes PoC with Lone Star Credit Union
BonifiID, the new identity credential delivered by Denver-based credit union service organisation Bonifii, has successfully completed a proof of concept (PoC) to onboard new account holders for Lone Star Credit Union using a GlobaliD digital wallet, and is now looking to expand to other credit unions in the US.
The product seeks to overcome time-heavy onboarding processes and fraud risks while being intentionally designed to benefit communities with limited access to paper-based identity documents.
With the PoC successfully completed this week, Bonifii will seek to introduce the product to a wider audience of credit unions, ensuring legacy system compatibility through its partnership with the integration platform Janusea.
Recharge taps gaming payments with Startselect acquisition
Dutch paytech Recharge is seeking to tap the prospering global gaming market through the acquisition of the Startselect platform, which distributes prepaid cards that are predominantly focused on gaming brands.
While already hosting country-specific labels, including Beltegoed in the Netherlands, Guthaben in Germany and Mobiletopup in the UK, Recharge’s latest deal is poised to advance its position within the prepaid payments market, in conjunction with its recently announced expansion to the US and Canada.
The paytech says that it expects to complete two to three more acquisitions of this nature within the next 12 months, and claims to be on track to generate €750 million in annual sales next year.
Swan’s European expansion fuelled by €37m Lakestar-led Series B
BaaS fintech Swan raises €37m Series B
French fintech Swan has raised €37 million in a Lakestar-led Series B funding round as it seeks to expand its Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) technology across Europe.
The Series B also saw participation from existing investors Accel, Creandum, Bpifrance and start-up studio eFounders, and succeeds the fintech’s €16 million Series A of October 2021.
Currently providing white-label embedded finance solutions to companies looking to embed banking features, including accounts, cards and IBANs, into their user experience and workflows, Swan intends to apply the funding to develop new financial solutions tailored to larger organisations.
