Blockchain trade finance firm Marco Polo reportedly enters insolvency
According to The Irish Times, the firm’s liabilities have outstripped its assets by €2.5 million ($2.6m).
Banking
Griffin secures UK banking licence with restrictions from PRA
Griffin will now be able to operate as a bank in the UK with deposit-taking restrictions.
ChatGPT and generative AI – what does banking have to do with it?
Ready or not, the generative AI genie is out of the bottle and there is no going back.
Executive panel: key banking cybersecurity developments for 2023
Ten executives from top firms, including Wells Fargo, Microsoft, TransUnion, and RBC, share their expert views.
PayTech Awards nominations close in two weeks!
The deadline for nominations is Friday 17 March, so don’t leave it too late!
US challenger Varo Bank reportedly raising funds at reduced valuation
Fintech Business Weekly reports the firm is raising $50m at a $1.8bn valuation, a 28% decline in value.
Africa’s Ecobank Group names Jeremy Awori as CEO
Awori brings more than 25 years of banking industry experience to the leadership role, Ecobank says.
Budgeting app Buddy taps Klarna Kosma for automatic expense tracking
The partnership has resulted in 52% more monthly active users for Buddy, Klarna Kosma says.
The B-word
I have never known a technology to divide opinion as much as blockchain.
FinTech Futures: Top five stories of the week – 3 March 2023
Here’s our pick of five of the top news stories from the world of finance and tech this week.
German challenger N26 loses its chief risk officer
Thomas Grosse has quit the firm citing personal reasons. A successor has yet to be named.
TrueNorth appoints Doug Woolridge as new chief growth officer
Woolridge joins from EPAM Systems and brings over 25 years of experience to his new role.
Intesa Sanpaolo partners IBM to upgrade its IT infrastructure
Intesa Sanpaolo will utilise the IBM z16 platform to bolster its cybersecurity operations.
ICYMI fintech funding round-up: Archway, Finway, iLex and more
A handy round-up of all the latest funding endeavours by fintech companies across the world.
Aussie central bank reveals participants and use cases for CBDC pilot
The selected industry players will participate in use case proposals over the coming months, the central bank says.
Transforming transformation
According to McKinsey, 70% of digital transformation projects fail. So what is going wrong?
Canadian insurance and investment fintech Equisoft lands $125m in funding
The funding saw participation from new investors Investissement Québec and the government of Québec.
Quantifind bags $23m in funding to help firms combat financial crime
Quantifind’s SaaS solutions help banks and financial institutions tackle money laundering and fraud.
Thought Machine plans to boost headcount by 20% in 2023
Thought Machine intends to hire across India, Japan and South Africa for the first time.
I ain’t talkin’ to some junior
Some people seek to establish their assumptions as facts and resort to a telling off as a power move.
Centre for Finance, Innovation and Technology launches to boost UK fintech
CFIT will bring together “coalitions of experts” across finance, technology, academia and policy.
Power to the people: How Zenus Bank aims to democratise access to banking
FinTech Futures sits down for a chat with Mushegh Tovmasyan, founder of Zenus Bank.
Nationwide taps Board to upgrade financial planning capabilities
Board will “replace and transform” Nationwide’s financial planning processes and systems.
Climate tech firm Doconomy acquires financial wellbeing fintech Dreams
Doconomy will fold Dreams’ behavioural science platform into its environmental impact measurement tools.
Westpac pens five-year cloud deal with AWS to boost digital transformation
Westpac aims to leverage AWS’ tech to accelerate its digital transformation.
Should digital banking platforms be fraud prevention solutions by design?
Banks should look to use technology to not only curb financial crime but to gain a competitive advantage.
Banking Technology Magazine March 2023 issue out now
Cover story: FACE OFF – Confrontation can be a good thing.
Nexi to acquire 80% of Sabadell’s merchant acquiring business for €280m
The all-cash deal worth €280 million values the business at €350 million.
What the FinTech? | S.4 Episode 3 | Generative AI in banking
In this episode, we’re joined by Miguel Navarro to discuss how generative AI could impact financial services.
Shanghai Commercial Bank taps Salt Edge for PSD2 compliance solution
With the partnership, the bank says it will be able to offer customers a secure connection to external apps.
Digital transformations: the case for change and why they fail
We need a more human-centric approach to transformational change.
Panamax expands global reach with Acute Informatics acquisition
Panamax’s CEO says the acquisition of India-based Acute is a “strategic move to expand our horizons”.
Wells Fargo launches digital financial planning platform LifeSync
LifeSync, available from March, will sit within the Wells Fargo mobile app.
Swiss fintech Radicant parts ways with CEO Anders Bally
The fintech’s board dismissed Bally over differences in approach to “leadership and communications”.
Varo Bank appoints Wook Chung as chief product officer
Chung most recently served as vice president of product, design and engineering at SoFi.
Northern Ireland renaissance: how US companies sparked Northern Ireland’s global fintech hub
Northern Ireland is the world’s top region for both new software development and fintech inward investment projects.
FinTech Futures: Top five stories of the week – 24 February 2023
Here’s our pick of five of the top news stories from the world of finance and tech this week.
Santander Bank picks SigFig to modernise client investment experience
Via the partnership, the pair have developed Santander PathFinder, an automated investment management tool.
Wells Fargo lays off hundreds of its mortgage bankers
The job cuts were made in response to “significant decreases” in mortgage volumes, Wells Fargo says.
US president Joe Biden nominates former Mastercard CEO to lead World Bank
Ajay Banga has been nominated to lead the World Bank following the resignation of David Malpass.
