FinTech Futures: Top five news stories of the week – 20 September 2024
Here’s our pick of five of the top news stories from the world of fintech this week, featuring JP Morgan, CSI, Revolut and more.
JP Morgan reportedly in talks to replace Goldman Sachs as Apple’s credit card partner
Apple reportedly in talks with JP Morgan over credit cards
JP Morgan Chase is reportedly in talks to replace Goldman Sachs as Apple’s credit card partner, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal citing sources familiar with the matter.
The Wall Street Journal reports that discussions between the US bank and the tech giant commenced at the beginning of this year and that talks have been progressing over recent weeks.
However, the report says that a finalised agreement could still be months away.
Reports emerged at the end of last year suggesting that Apple had proposed ending its credit card and savings account partnership with the bank, according to sources at The Wall Street Journal and CNBC.
US fintech software provider CSI acquires Velocity Solutions
US fintech solutions provider CSI has acquired Velocity Solutions for an undisclosed sum as it looks to further expand its product offerings to “support financial institutions’ most significant sources of revenue”.
Established in 1995, Velocity specialises in providing account and deposit acquisition, customer engagement and retention solutions as well as software for serving consumer liquidity through overdraft management.
CSI says its acquisition of Velocity “complements” its previous purchase of loan origination system Hawthorn River announced last December.
CSI CEO and president David Culbertson confirms that Velocity will now be integrated into the company’s existing financial services suite, adding that it is “eager to identify more opportunities” in differentiated financial software and technology solutions in the future.
Revolut reportedly applies for EMI licence with UAE central bank
Revolut reportedly seeks EMI licence in UAE
UK challenger Revolut has reportedly submitted an application to the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) for an electronic money institution (EMI) licence, according to a report by Bloomberg citing sources familiar with the matter.
If granted, the EMI licence will enable Revolut to extend remittance services to consumers in the country and expand its presence in the Middle East region.
Bloomberg reports that the fintech’s ambition is to eventually apply for a full banking licence in the UAE after it finally secured a banking licence with restrictions in its native UK back in July.
Revolut first established an office in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) in 2022, where it is currently in the market for a number of new hires, including a head of product engineering with “experience building and leading a significant software engineering team(s) within a scaling organisation”, as per the opening posted to LinkedIn last week.
Florida’s EverBank inks $261m deal to acquire Sterling Bank
EverBank Financial Corp, a bank holding company headquartered in Florida, US and parent company of EverBank, has entered into a stock purchase agreement to acquire Sterling Bank and Trust from Michigan-based Sterling Bancorp in a deal worth $261 million.
Once the deal closes, expected by Q1 2025, Sterling Bank will be merged into EverBank, with its branches becoming EverBank financial centres and its employees becoming EverBank associates.
The purchase includes Sterling Bank’s $900 million loan book, $2 billion in deposits, and 25 branches primarily in the San Francisco Bay and Los Angeles metropolitan areas, along with a branch in New York.
However, not included in the deal is Sterling Bank’s Michigan branch, with Sterling saying it will “shortly commence efforts to close the Michigan branch at the time of completion of the sale transaction in accordance with applicable law”. Sterling Bank will also voluntarily delist its common stock from the Nasdaq, where it has been trading publicly since 1996.
Ex-TSB chief Paul Pester joins UK wealthtech start-up Firenze as chair
Mike Toole (L) and Paul Pester (R)
UK-based embedded finance platform Firenze has named former TSB Bank CEO Paul Pester as chair of its newly formed board.
Pester is to be joined on the board by former Barclays exec Samantha Bamert and Artorius co-founder Mike Toole, who have been named as non-executive directors.
Launched in January, Firenze aims to democratise access to Lombard loans for customers in the UK through an embedded solution for wealth managers, brokers and investment platforms.
Historically reserved for private banks’ super wealthy clients, Lombard lending enables investors to secure loans without having to sell investments by leveraging assets such as stocks, bonds and other securities as collateral.
