Telia and OP Financial test facial recognition payment
The pair installed Finnish firm Pivo’s technology in an ice cream truck.
Business-to-Consumer/B2C
How Laybuy seeks to attract global Gen Z market
Laybuy asks for no interest and brands itself as “ethical”.
MoneyGram hits back at consumers and investors
The paytech company says it “can’t make everybody happy”.
Top fintech stories this week – 23 August 2019
Catch up on FinTech Futures’ top five fintech stories of the week – all in one place!
booyah! bank blasts off in US
It’s backed by FDIC member, Surety Bank.
Money Dashboard raises record £4.6m crowdfund
The Scottish fintech hit its initial £1.5 million target in 45 minutes.
New US banking service launches for international students
The account is designed to make life easier for new arrivals.
N26 officially launches in the US
The challenger bank has also introduced a new sub-accounts feature.
Barclays customers suffer most internet banking incidents
There were 21 operational and security incidents within a year.
Swiss fintech start-up Numbrs reaches unicorn status
Numbrs raised $40 million, pushing it over $1 billion in value.
Student lender MPOWER secures $100m from Goldman Sachs
Goldman Sach’s total loan financing capital for MPOWER is $200 million.
Bank of America announces “record-breaking” P2P app payments
The bank received 163 million transactions in less than nine months.
Paysafecard and G2 Esports extend collaboration
More than 400 million people worldwide had watched an e-sports event by 2018.
Nordic challenger bank Lunar Way raises €26 million
With its fresh new licence, Lunar Way is now the newest bank of the Nordics.
JRNI closes $6m Series C extension and appoints new CTO
The new capital will go to US acceleration and European markets.
Natwest, Tesco, RBS and Nationwide experience banking IT outage
Customers couldn’t access credit card information with monthly bills imminent.
WhatsApp talks to Indonesian fintechs for mobile payments launch
WhatsApp is waiting for regulatory approval in India for a similar service.
Standard Chartered and SAP Ariba partner to serve APAC
Collaboration aims to accelerate digitisation of the entire supply chain.
Barclays launches accessory shop for Pingit customers
Wearable payments devices include watches, jewellery, wristbands and key fobs.
Alterna Bank partners with nCino
The agreement marks nCino’s first Canadian credit union customer
Line and Nomura launch online brokerage in Japan
Nomura’s CEO steps away from its “uncool” offering to attract a younger, digital-savvy clientele.
Banco Galicia chooses Strands for mobile banking
Strands technology will become “a tool for financial education”
Retail banks must be team players
Industry players question collaboration for fear of surrendering their competitive edge.
Japan’s Line Pay integrates China’s WeChat Pay
The global alliance will boost Japan’s revenue from inbound Chinese tourists.
US neobank Zenus gets licence
Zenus will allow anyone in the world to open an account.
Monzo offers new short-term loans
Loans will be loans between £200 and £15,000.
Secured cards: public relations ploy or financial health builder?
They can be a critical tool for financially vulnerable people.
N26 sets sights on future IPO
“Our goal is to do for finance what Spotify did for music.”
Swedish fintech Northmill launches new saving service
Customers can lower their interest rates in a matter of minutes
Reshaping the banking experience
It’s time to stop looking at digital as the only key to client satisfaction.
WeChat Pay and Alipay partner QFPay raises $20m
The latest funding round brings QFPay’s total to $36.5 million.
Scalable Capital attracts further €25m growth funding
Blackrock has increased its initial investment.
Banking platform for freelancers Joust raises $2.6m
The neobank allows workers to get paid faster.
Walmart announce application for cryptocurrency
Shoppers’ money would gain interest in a makeshift bank account.
Monarch creates first recurring crypto payments system
The solution will enable the likes of Netflix and Hulu to accept crypto.
Envestnet’s CEO admits lawsuit sets them back
The $100m lawsuit has significantly disrupted “several clients and prospects”.
PayPal helps entrepreneurs with MetLife and Village Capital
The alliance will reach out to more than 100 fintech health entrepreneurs.
NatWest launches voice tech for banking pilot
It’s testing exclusively with Google smart speakers for this pilot.
UK regulations push SVB further towards automation
SVB exec comments on Brexit and the UK’s supportive fintech environment.
Verrency and Coinify announces new virtual currency partnership
Libra brought virtual currencies into mainstream.
