FinTech Futures: Top five news stories of the week – 11 October 2024
Here’s our pick of five of the top news stories from the world of fintech this week, featuring Monese, TSB Bank, Temenos and more.
Zepz secures $267m Series F led by Accel
Zepz lands $267m Series F
Zepz, an international money transfer service group, has bagged $267 million in a Series F equity round spearheaded by global venture capital firm Accel.
The round was supported by existing backers Leapfrog and TCV, while the International Financial Corporation (IFC) has pledged a “potential investment” of up to $20 million.
Currently powering cross-border payment brands Sendwave and WorldRemit, Zepz says it will use the funds to “fuel entry into new markets and support the expansion of new products such as Zepz Wallet”.
Temenos appoints Barb Morgan as new chief product and technology officer
Swiss banking tech vendor Temenos has named Barb Morgan as its new chief product and technology officer (CPTO), effective immediately.
Morgan has been tasked with expanding the company’s global reach through cloud, data analytics and AI-driven solutions.
She succeeds Prema Varadhan, who is stepping down after 25 years at Temenos, and will join the company’s executive committee.
RTGS.global co-founder Nick Ogden resigns
RTGS.global co-founder resigns
RTGS.global, a UK-based fintech specialising in cross-border settlement, has lost its second co-founder, Nick Ogden, only two months after the departure of Andrew Smith.
Discussing his co-founder’s resignation, Smith tells FinTech Futures that the pair “had a vision of what we wanted to achieve with RTGS.global”, but that over the course of the last 18 months, “this wasn’t the direction the investors and board wanted to go”.
He confirms that he and Ogden, who previously founded ClearBank together in 2016, are “now working on new things”, with the project currently in stealth mode.
UK challenger Monese to be acquired by fellow fintech Pockit
UK fintech Pockit has snapped up Monese, a mobile banking services provider, with the goal of building a fintech platform tailored to serve “financially underserved and lower-middle-income consumers across the UK and Europe”.
The deal, pending FCA approval, comes hot on the heels of HSBC reportedly writing off its $5.8 million stake in Monese, not long after Kinnevik also devalued its 21% share.
Pockit has announced that it, along with shareholders led by Puma Growth Partners, will commit £15 million in equity capital into the venture.
TSB Bank fined £10.9m by FCA over handling of customers facing financial difficulty
TSB fined £10.9m by FCA
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has fined TSB Bank £10,910,500 for “failing to ensure customers who were in arrears were treated fairly” and lacking “suitable systems and controls to secure fair outcomes”.
The review by the regulator found that training provided by the bank “did not fully support its staff in understanding customers’ circumstances” as part of its insufficient approach to managing customers in arrears between June 2014 and March 2020.
Additionally, it found that some staff were “potentially encouraged by incentive schemes” to prioritise the number of repayment plans made over thoroughly assessing each customer’s situation.
