G2A co-founder launches banking challenger Zen in 32 countries
Zen’s offering is split into consumer-facing and business-facing.
Business-to-Consumer/B2C
Facebook’s Libra could launch as early as January 2021
Novi’s digital wallet is “ready from a product perspective”.
Finleap invests in German app aggregating student finance products
German tuition is largely free, making aid for living costs scarce.
Lanistar comes under UK advertising watchdog’s microscope
The regulator says it “received complaints about ads for Lanistar”.
Credit Karma secures $7.1bn Intuit acquisition, sells tax ops to Square
Square enjoyed a 4% jump in stock market value following the announcement.
Virgin Money profits dive 77% as it braces for bad loans
Before impairment charges, Virgin Money’s underlying profit stood at £625m.
San Fran alternative lender Oportun applies for banking charter
Oportun currently has licences in 12 states.
South African BaaS provider Ukheshe to acquire local fintech Oltio
Oltio is a smaller South African firm which hosts QR code payments for Mastercard.
HMBradley lands $18.25m Series A led by Chime investor Acrew Capital
To date, the fintech claims it has surpassed $90 million in customer deposits.
Western Union snaps up 15% stake in Saudi telco’s payments arm
Currently Western Union provides stc pay with money transfer services.
Google Pay unveils integrated banking challenger Plex
Plex will sit in the wider, revamped Google Pay app.
FCA issues Lanistar warning as tech partners disavow connection
UK payments-as-a-service fintech Modulr is among them.
Latvian loan investment marketplace Mintos crowdfunds €6m
Mintos currently hosts 68 lending companies.
UK challenger Finndon lands e-money licence
The start-up plans to launch in 2021.
One of Turkey’s largest fintechs Papara gears up for expansion
It launched in 2016 and became cash flow positive in 2017.
App for US landlords NestEgg lands $7m Series A
Alongside its fresh capital injection, the start-up has also launched NestEgg Pay.
How real are real-time payments?
Incumbents and fintechs face the same challenges when scaling real-time payments.
MSU Federal Credit Union built its own app in 2009 – where is it now?
MSU holds around $5.5 billion in assets and is America’s 48th largest credit union.
Lawyers turned payment processors serve world’s richest consumers
“We’ve already broken even,” says CEO.
PayNearby turning India’s small-time retailers into ATMs and bank branches
“I wanted to take high-end tech to the bottom of the pyramid,” says CEO.
Mastercard to help Canada build its new real-time payments rails
RTR marks a big step in modernising Canada’s payments system.
Uber plans return to financial services with hires “across the board”
The firm is “not ready to announce anything yet”.
Chinese regulator continues to clamp down on dominant fintech players
The CBIRC’s Liang Tao warned fintech lenders at a conference in Beijing this week.
South Korean payments provider Danal to accept crypto
The payments provider will accept digital currencies via ICON’s blockchain ecosystem.
Banco Santander’s VC arm invests in Spanish proptech Clikalia
Clikalia’s IPO ambitions were likely a big part of Santander’s decision to invest now.
Sber talks Big Tech strategy two years on from Yandex rebuff
“People think we just bought a load of start-ups and slapped our name on them,” says CTO.
ING subsidiary Payvision accused of pushing €131.2m in fraudulent payments
ING acknowledges the claim, but cannot comment further at this time.
HSBC launches Global Money account in US to rival fintechs
The bank’s aim behind the new service is to create “one global account”.
WhatsApp Pay finally gets green light from Indian regulators
The launch has been delayed for years since its beta testing in 2018.
Three UK fintechs raise over $100m in funding this month
Starling, Curve and GoCardless are raising rounds in excess of $100m.
Barclays gets 198 applications for Black founder tech accelerator
“I recognised there was more that we could do, and my employer completely backed me.”
UK challenger Witty builds out tech stack with Oracle
The start-up already has some 25 employees.
Santander launches money manager with Tel Aviv fintech Personetics
Santander claims its UK app has 4 million monthly active users at present.
Ziglu hires Monzo’s James Sullivan as chief legal officer
James Sullivan worked as Monzo’s head of legal for one year and nine months.
Indian start-up Payzello combines debit, credit and forex into one card
Payzello was founded by 26-year old college dropout, Pruthiraj Rath.
Ex-Volt exec joins newly branded Aussie lendtech Nano
Nano is targeting the low-risk end of the market.
Chime’s app goes down for a day as users complain of rejected purchases
“We are currently experiencing intermittent outages,” Chime said.
TradingView makes UK switch as COVID-19 boosts global users
TradingView has landed six funding rounds totalling $40.8 million.
Boutique wealth manager CWPW launches in UK
CMPW is taking a “hybrid” approach, of both AI and human interaction.
Snoop closes £10m on Seedrs
The Snoop app launched in April.
