Is Southeast Europe fertile ground for digital banking challengers?
While the popularity of neobanks has surged in Western Europe, the Southeast remains relatively free of competition.
Consumer/Personal Finance
Saudi BNPL firm Tamara lands $150m debt facility from Goldman Sachs
The receivables warehouse facility will help Tamara finance the accelerating demand for its flagship BNPL product.
South Africa rolls out PayShap, a new real-time digital payments service
With PayShap, consumers will have access to instant, real-time payments across participating banks.
Loyalty matters… enter embedded banking
Many big brands are now looking at embedded banking as a way to boost customer loyalty.
UK Spring Budget 2023: the fintech sector reacts
FinTech Futures hears from UK business leaders on how the Spring Budget impacts the fintech sector.
Consumer finance firm JIVF taps OpenWay for credit products platform
This is the first OpenWay installation of its Way4 platform on Oracle Cloud in Southeast Asia.
What the FinTech? | S.4 Episode 4 | The rise of CBDCs
In this episode of the podcast, we’re joined by Nicholas Soo of HSBC to discuss the future of CBDCs.
US fintech Credit Karma launches new Net Worth product
Credit Karma’s users will be given a full picture of their financial status to help them plan their future.
FinTech Futures: Top five stories of the week – 10 March 2023
Here’s our pick of five of the top news stories from the world of finance and tech this week.
UK fintech Railsr sold to consortium of VC firms
The consortium consists of D Squared Capital, Moneta VC and Ventura Capital.
US neobank HMBradley picks Thought Machine for core banking tech
HMBradley will utilise the vendor’s cloud-native core banking platform Vault Core to power its services.
UAE’s Mashreq Bank taps i2c for digital payment capabilities
Through the partnership, Mashreq will leverage i2c’s SaaS platform to offer digital payments.
US student debt fintech Candidly raises $20.5m in Series B funding
The funding round was led by Altos Ventures, with existing investor Cercano Management also participating.
UK lender Abound secures £500m in equity and debt financing
The company plans to grow its loan book and boost its staff headcount.
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.
Aussie BNPL firm Zip reportedly set to retreat from 10 international markets
Zip expects “significant” amounts of cash to roll in due to these exits, with positive cashflow expected by 2024.
Dogs Trust taps Currensea to launch debit cards and boost donations
Customers will be able to make donations to the charity by rounding up spending from the card.
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.
Canadian insurance and investment fintech Equisoft lands $125m in funding
The funding saw participation from new investors Investissement Québec and the government of Québec.
BNPL giant Klarna posts £1bn loss for 2022
Despite the loss, the firm says it is edging towards profitability thanks to growth in its gross merchandise volume.
Tudi taps ThetaRay for transaction monitoring solution
Through the partnership, ThetaRay will provide Tudi its Sonar transaction monitoring solution.
Revolut records first full year of profitability, plots global expansion
In its long-awaited annual report, Revolut says it recorded £26.3 million in profit for 2021.
Climate tech firm Doconomy acquires financial wellbeing fintech Dreams
Doconomy will fold Dreams’ behavioural science platform into its environmental impact measurement tools.
Remitly to wind down digital banking app Passbook
All Passbook accounts will be closed on 1 May 2023.
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.
Wells Fargo launches digital financial planning platform LifeSync
LifeSync, available from March, will sit within the Wells Fargo mobile app.
FinTech Futures Jobs: Four boundaries you should implement at work right now
Explore thousands of open roles on the Fintech Futures Job Board today.
Buy now, worry about it later: the future of BNPL
Buy now, pay later – is there a more apt fintech application for our times than BNPL?
UK car finance fintech Carmoola secures £95m debt facility from NatWest
The firm has also bagged £8.5 million in a Series A funding round led by QED Investors.
Chetwood’s SmartSave Bank partners cash deposit platform Flagstone
Under the new partnership, SmartSave’s fixed rate accounts will be made available to Flagstone clients.
Tesco reportedly exploring sale of banking business
According to Sky News, Tesco is launching a review of its UK banking activities.
Zopa acquires DivideBuy in “BNPL 2.0” push
Zopa’s “BNPL 2.0” offering will allow consumers to spread the cost of purchases worth between £250 and £30,000.
Citizens Financial Group taps Paymentus for bill pay and money movement services
Through the partnership, Citizens will deploy Paymentus Bill Center and Paymentus Loan Payments.
UK fintech Deko hires Joseph Tucker as new CFO
Tucker joins from NewDay, which acquired Deko in January 2020.
UK government lays out plans for BNPL legislation
The UK government is looking to bring BNPL into the regulatory sphere “in a proportionate way”.
New “cross-border neobank” in India: moneyHOP
FinTech Futures sits down for a chat with Mayank Goyal, founder and CEO of moneyHOP.
India’s PhonePe nets additional $100m in ongoing fundraise
The new capital infusion follows a $350 million fundraise from General Atlantic last month.
Laurentian Bank launches new credit card programme with Brim Financial
Laurentian Bank says the new credit card programme will “enhance the overall experience” of its customers.
NatWest Group snaps up UK fintech Cushon for £144m
The acquisition will enable NatWest to offer its commercial customers a suite of financial wellbeing products.
