Tom Blomfield exits Monzo and opens up about mental health
“COVID-19 just exacerbated things,” says Blomfield.
Consumer/Personal Finance
FinTech Futures Jobs: new year, new job – five tech companies that are hiring now
Featuring CGI, Cleo AI, Freetrade, Market Finance, and Monzo.
Pyypl’s regulation-first approach to MENA starts to pay off
“The options today are mobile money or banks,” says CEO.
New York cash advance app Brigit reveals $35m Series A
Brigit’s CEO is a former Deutsche Bank and Infosys executive.
Prospective UK challenger Perenna lands $10m ahead of Q3 launch
The fintech lodged its banking licence in the last quarter of 2020.
UK fintech Just lands court backing to undercut bailiff industry
Currently, Just’s virtual offering is in beta.
Ant sets up working group to overcome Chinese regulatory requirements
Companies like Ant have until November 2021 to register a new financial holding.
Goldman Sachs mulls acquisitions to bulk up Marcus
Goldman’s CEO intends to make Marcus a pillar of the US bank’s growth.
Vietnamese “super app” hopeful MoMo lands $100m Series D
The fintech’s registered users doubled to 23 million in 2020.
Polish consumer protection regulator investigates CD Projekt over Cyberpunk 2077
The UOKiK can fine the studio up to 10% of its annual revenue if it finds fault with its refund policy.
PAYMYNT Financial buys crypto e-wallet LettucePay
LettucePay operates on top of Stellar Network, an open source blockchain platform.
BBVA shutters Simple after paying $117m for it in 2014
The bank is cutting out standalone entities which no longer make sense to operate solo.
SoFi set to go public via merger with Palihapitiya’s fourth Spac
The IPO will value SoFi at $8.65 billion.
Customer service start-up Glia lands $78m to help banks and credit unions
The round was led by Shopify and Checkout.com backer Insight Partners.
Webinar: Deep dive on ServiceNow’s purpose built product for finserv operations
How to improve customer and employee experiences. Featuring a demo of The Now Platform from ServiceNow.
N26 finally lands licence to operate in Brazil
The country’s central bank has granted it a SCD licence.
Israeli remittance fintech Rewire targets one million customers by end of 2021
Rewire currently boasts more than 200,000 European accounts.
2020 review: Top 10 fintech and bank M&A deals
Despite COVID-19, the financial sector has still enjoyed some notable M&A deals.
Personalisation: the Gen Z banking imperative
This generational cohort represents a lucrative target market for financial services institutions.
FCA fines Barclays £26m over poor treatment of customers in financial difficulty
Barclays did not dispute the FCA’s findings and agreed to settle the case.
US state regulator says Robinhood is “aggressively marketing” to novices
The regulator calls out Robinhood’s approach of “gamifying” trading.
London BNPL fintech Zilch latest to enter UK market with $30m
Zilch claims to be the only BNPL player to combine open banking with soft credit checks.
Aussie neobank Xinja crumbles under unfeasible interest rates
The neobank landed a full banking licence last year.
Mozper lands $3.55m to launch kid debit card in Mexico
In August, Mozper – with the help of partner Visa – launched its closed beta with 500 families.
Financial assistant app Cleo raises $44 million
Cleo has four million Gen-Z and millennial users; and recorded a 400% revenue growth in the last year.
GoHenry latest in kid’s banking sector to land funding of $40m
Over 2019, parents on its app paid £98m in pocket money to their children.
Revolut hot on Starling’s heels, breaks even in November
“We’re doing much better compared to pre-Covid times,” says CEO.
The perennial BNPL crown
Blind allegiance has seen the BNPL sector explode in 2020.
Singapore issues digital bank licences to Grab, Ant & Sea
The regulator has issued four licences, rather than five.
Pockit raises over £500k in its debut crowdfunding
Pockit points to international expansion plans.
UK fintech Updraft raises £16m to refinance borrowers’ credit debt
The fintech focuses on spend-linked borrowings.
Banking for good
As the new kids on the fintech block start to mature, I do hope they support the broader community.
Web Summit 2020: A fintech summary
Stripe is looking at products around digital identity.
Libra and Facebook exec joins rental insurtech LeaseLock
The fintech removes the need for renters to pay a deposit for a rental property.
Ziglu lands £6m in Seedrs crowdfunding campaign
Last month, Monzo’s former legal head James Sullivan joined Ziglu.
Savings: the new battleground between challenger and incumbent banks
Reputation is taking a backseat when it comes to choosing where savers keep their money.
ECB issues Big Tech warning as it promises digital euro
European suppliers are essential in the building of technology on which a digital euro will operate.
Banking Tech Awards 2020 hosted online by Tom Ward
Join comedian Tom Ward for the 2020 Banking Tech Awards. Broadcast online on 10 Dec, 3:30pm GMT and is free to attend.
G2A co-founder launches banking challenger Zen in 32 countries
Zen’s offering is split into consumer-facing and business-facing.
Finleap invests in German app aggregating student finance products
German tuition is largely free, making aid for living costs scarce.
