FinTech Futures: Top five news stories of the week – 27 September 2024
Here’s our pick of five of the top news stories from the world of fintech this week, featuring Visa, Solaris, Chetwood Financial and more.
BNP Paribas to acquire HSBC’s private banking division in Germany
BNP Paribas to acquire HSBC’s German wealth management operations
BNP Paribas has inked an agreement to purchase HSBC’s private banking operations in Germany.
The proposed transaction will see the segment merge with BNP Paribas’ regional wealth management division, in a move expected to close in H2 2025.
The Paris-headquartered banking group describes Germany as a “key geography” with “strong growth potential for wealth management activities”.
It will aim to realise this growth potential with a “comprehensive service offering”, including investment and corporate banking, and asset management services.
Fibabanka debuts first BaaS platform in Türkiye with GetirFinans
Digital bank Fibabanka has launched what it claims to be Türkiye’s first Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) platform, with tech start-up GetirFinans named as the solution’s first taker.
The platform provides non-banking businesses in the country with the infrastructure needed to offer tailored financial services to their customers.
The solution has now made its debut with GetirFinans, the new financial services offering of on-demand delivery services platform Getir.
Integrated within the Getir app, GetirFinans users will be able to access a range of banking services, including account management, card issuance and payment options powered by Fibabanka’s digital infrastructure and supported by over 500 APIs.
US Department of Justice files civil antitrust lawsuit against Visa
US DOJ files civil antitrust lawsuit against Visa
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has filed a civil antitrust lawsuit against Visa over allegations of “monopolisation and other unlawful conduct in debit network markets in violation of Sections 1 and 2 of the Sherman Act”.
The DOJ alleges that Visa’s “systematic efforts to limit competition for debit transactions have resulted in billions of dollars in additional fees imposed on American consumers and businesses and slowed innovation in the debit payments ecosystem”.
According to the DOJ, over 60% of debit transactions in the US are processed through Visa’s debit network, which it claims allows the firm “to charge over $7 billion in fees each year for processing those transactions”.
Solaris to “discontinue major parts” of EMI business
German embedded finance platform Solaris says it has made the “difficult decision” to “discontinue major parts” of its Electronic Money Institution (EMI) business formerly known as Contis, which holds an EMI licence in Lithuania.
“As part of this reorganisation, the Solaris Management Board has taken the difficult decision to discontinue major parts of the EMI (formerly Contis) operations, which regrettably will bring redundancies across the EMI team,” Solaris says.
The company cites the move as part of a broader “reorganisation”, through which it intends to become a “stronger, more resilient and agile organisation”.
Chetwood Financial’s co-founder and CEO Andy Mielczarek to step down
Andy Mielczarek to depart Chetwood Financial (Image: LinkedIn)
Andy Mielczarek, co-founder and CEO of Chetwood Financial, has announced that he will be stepping down from his role after nearly a decade leading the company.
Chetwood confirms that Mielczarek will depart at the end of September, taking “some time out before deciding on his next move”.
Mielczarek adds that now is a “logical time for a change in leadership to inject fresh life into the business and guide it through the next stage of its journey”.
The UK-based challenger bank previously announced its venture into the buy-to-let mortgage market with its acquisition of specialist lender CHL Mortgages in May.
Former JN Bank CEO Paul Noble has been unveiled as Mielczarek’s successor.
