Western Alliance Bank splashes $1bn on mortgage firm AmeriHome
Arizona bank diversifies its book by branching into mortgages.
Banking
US fintech for gamers Zytara signs payments partnership with i2c
The deal follows Zytara’s launching of its own stablecoin.
Tyme lands $110m in Series B funding, plans Asia-Pacific expansion
TymeBank looks to expand beyond its South African headquarters.
Penta Bank raises €7.5m in extended Series B funding round
German challenger bank brings total raised this round to €30 million.
BBVA deploys Google Cloud security analytics platform
Spanish bank is first in Europe to implement Google Cloud’s Chronicle
HSBC explores options for loss-making US arm as profits dip 34%
Asia delivered HSBC a $13 billion adjusted profit before tax in 2020.
US corporate card provider Brex applies for banking licence in Utah
SVB’s former chief digital officer Bruce Wallace will head up Brex Bank.
A seven-year-old tells us what we (should) already know about banking
Your customers aren’t seven-year-olds, but they probably want a lot of the same things.
Barclays to close Pingit after 10 years’ service
Long-serving payments app to be shut down by major UK bank.
AI fintech Earnix becomes Israel’s latest unicorn with “pre-IPO” round
The fintech’s $75 million raise marks its first funding round since 2017.
Russian challenger Tinkoff launches “one-stop shop” checkout product
“Some of our services can be activated within a day.”
TransferWise rebrands as Wise to push platform capabilities
It’s dropping the first part of its name in a bid to underpin its expansion as a platform player.
Aviva breaks into cash savings market with help of German fintech Raisin
Savings accounts via partner banks offer interest rates of up to 0.64% AER.
Bank of Queensland splashes $1bn to challenge Big Four with ME Bank purchase
Australian lender seeks to make up ground on country’s largest lender.
Alpha Bank finalises €10.8bn loan portfolio sale
US fund Davidson Kempner takes on largest portfolio sale of its kind in Greece.
Indian challenger Open buys Optobizz, banks another 800,000 SMEs
By the end of this year, Open wants to turn 1.8m into 5m customers.
Oraan CEO: Women in finance weren’t welcomed in Pakistan
Oraan’s research found that savings – particularly for women – just wasn’t tapped into.
Vanquis signs credit building partnership with Loqbox
Loqbox to help Vanquis customers unable to get credit cards.
Capital Group hires Marta Zarraga as new CIO
Zarraga has 25 years of industry experience at firms like Aviva, Vodafone and BT.
NBA star Russel Westbrook leads $63m investment in Varo Bank
Westbrook also joins the bank as an advisor on communities of colour.
UK Black-owned challenger Atmen to launch in March
The start-up is now looking to raise £5 million from institutional investors.
Banking Tech Awards 2020 Winner: UBS – Best Use of Cloud
How UBS’s innovative hub helped 60,000 work remotely with virtually no downtime during the pandemic.
Video: Top fintech stories this week – 19 February 2021
FinTech Futures’ weekly news round-up.
ICYMI funding round-up: FlexxPay, Raqamyah, and JustUs
A trio of funding rounds that may have passed you by last week.
Newly licensed UK bank Cashplus is raising £50m
It intends to raise the funds from growth investment firms.
Banesco Panamá plans digital revamp with Backbase
Panamanian lender to integrate new products and solutions online.
ANZ New Zealand inks open banking deal with Bud
The bank is adopting Bud’s aggregation and categorisation tech.
Saudi Arabia plans new SME bank to underpin local funding
The new bank brings “all financing solutions under one umbrella”.
What the Fintech? | S.2 Episode 4 | TMRW never dies: digital banking in the ASEAN
Featuring Stuart Smith, head of regional engagement and UX design at UOB’s TMRW Digital Bank.
Sopra Steria invests in Parisian fintech Particeep
Banking software firm picks up minority stake in SaaS fintech.
Norwegian web browser Opera launches fintech “Dify” in beta
Opera made two fintech-focused acquisitions last year.
Marqeta files for IPO with SEC targeting $10bn valuation
The fintech’s current valuation sits at $4.3 billion.
Jamaica Co-operative Credit Union League picks ERI for core banking
25-member group to replace legacy tech with ERI’s Olympic.
Baptist Health Federal Credit Union picks Finastra system
Healthcare-supporting FCU revamps digital channels.
FinTech Futures presents Dock – a virtual roundtable experience
Take part in Dock on 18-19 May to discuss the industry’s pertinent problems and find the solutions.
FDIC appoints Neocova’s Sultan Meghji as first chief innovation officer
The US agency is aiming to boost innovation among banks and credit unions.
Yolt Technology Services lands UK PSD2 licence
The fintech will no longer rely on ING’s licence.
Banking Tech Awards 2020 Winners Supplement out now
Showcasing the most impactful and innovative projects, products, services and people in fintech in 2020.
HSBC France sale to land this month, AnaCap goes back up against Cerberus
The French unit moved to the shelf back in September 2019.
Personetics raises $75m from Warburg Pincus
Data analytics and customer engagement firm plans expansion with new funding.
