FinTech Futures: Top five news stories of the week – 25 October 2024
Here’s our pick of five of the top news stories from the world of fintech this week, featuring Socure, Zip, Afin Bank and more.
FCA debuts AI Lab to promote safe use of AI in UK financial sector
FCA debuts new AI Lab
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has launched its new AI Lab designed to facilitate the “safe and responsible use of AI in UK financial markets, driving growth, competitiveness and innovation in the sector”.
Developed in partnership with the Digital Regulation Cooperation Forum (DRCF), chief data, information and intelligence officer Jessica Rusu says the lab’s four main components will “help firms overcome challenges they face in building and implementing AI solutions”.
AI Sprint will discuss safe adoption in financial services starting 2025, with AI Input Zone for feedback, AI Spotlight for real-world applications, and Supercharged Sandbox for TechSprints.
Socure inks $136m deal to acquire AI-powered risk decisioning platform Effectiv
US digital identity verification and fraud prevention platform Socure is set to acquire Effectiv, a San Francisco-based start-up specialising in risk decisioning, for $136 million.
Expected to close next month, the deal will see Effectiv’s AI-powered orchestration and decisions platform integrated with Socure’s digital ID tech, enabling Socure to offer real-time payments fraud and anti-money laundering (AML) transaction monitoring as part of a new suite of transaction-level solutions.
The acquisition will see the entire Effectiv team join Socure.
Procurement fintech Zip raises $190m Series D at $2.2bn valuation
Zip raises $190m Series D at $2.2bn valuation
Zip, a US-based fintech specialising in AI-driven procurement orchestration, has raised $190 million in a Series D funding round led by venture capital firm Bond.
Supported by Y Combinator, CRV, DST Global, Adams Street and Alkeon, the round saw Zip’s valuation increase 47% on a previous $1.5 billion recording made during the fintech’s $100 million Series C last year.
Zip will use the funding to advance research and development for its existing procure-to-pay (P2P) product line, expand its footprint in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), and establish a new Zip AI Lab.
Afin Bank lands AwR banking licence, plots 2025 launch of mortgage offering for UK’s African diaspora
UK start-up Afin Bank has been handed an authorised with restrictions (AwR) banking licence by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and is now in the mobilisation stage ahead of the 2025 launch of its mortgage and savings services designed for Africans living in the UK.
Backed by a £60 million commitment from WAICA Reinsurance Corporation, the loan offering will include residential and buy-to-let (BTL) mortgages, and will sit alongside a suite of savings products.
In a statement, Afin cites the 1.5 million African nationals currently living in the UK as the target audience of its market debut. The lender adds that as it grows, its offering “is likely to appeal to borrowers from other under-served diaspora communities”.
CFPB orders Apple and Goldman Sachs to pay combined $89m over “Apple Card failures”
The CFPB has taken action against Apple and Goldman Sachs
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has ordered Apple and Goldman Sachs to pay nearly $90 million in combined penalties and customer refunds over alleged “customer service breakdowns and misrepresentations that impacted hundreds of thousands of Apple Card users”.
In a statement made on Wednesday, the CFPB claims it found that “Apple failed to send tens of thousands of consumer disputes of Apple Card transactions to Goldman Sachs, and when Apple did send disputes to Goldman Sachs, the bank did not follow numerous federal requirements for investigating the disputes”.
Additionally, the CFPB claims it found that “Apple and Goldman Sachs misled consumers about interest-free payment plans for Apple devices”, while also claiming that Goldman Sachs “also misled consumers about the application of some refunds, which led to consumers paying additional interest charges”.
CFPB director Rohit Chopra says the US regulator is ordering Apple to pay a $25 million penalty, while Goldman Sachs has been ordered to pay “at least $19.8 million in redress to affected consumers and a $45 million penalty”.
