Barclays to close Pingit after 10 years’ service
Long-serving payments app to be shut down by major UK bank.
Digital
Russian challenger Tinkoff launches “one-stop shop” checkout product
“Some of our services can be activated within a day.”
TransferWise rebrands as Wise to push platform capabilities
It’s dropping the first part of its name in a bid to underpin its expansion as a platform player.
Aviva breaks into cash savings market with help of German fintech Raisin
Savings accounts via partner banks offer interest rates of up to 0.64% AER.
Fintech funding deals globally 15-21 February 2021
Featuring Public, Webull, Blockchain, GoCardless, and Personetics.
Fintech funding round-up: SeedFi, Libeo, Ember and Finch Capital
A round-up of some of the recent investments in fintech, paytech and tax tech firms.
Indian challenger Open buys Optobizz, banks another 800,000 SMEs
By the end of this year, Open wants to turn 1.8m into 5m customers.
Oraan CEO: Women in finance weren’t welcomed in Pakistan
Oraan’s research found that savings – particularly for women – just wasn’t tapped into.
Netflix bags Uber’s product head Ebi Atawodi as payments director
Atawodi spent more than six years at Uber.
NBA star Russel Westbrook leads $63m investment in Varo Bank
Westbrook also joins the bank as an advisor on communities of colour.
UK Black-owned challenger Atmen to launch in March
The start-up is now looking to raise £5 million from institutional investors.
Banking Tech Awards 2020 Winner: UBS – Best Use of Cloud
How UBS’s innovative hub helped 60,000 work remotely with virtually no downtime during the pandemic.
Video: Top fintech stories this week – 19 February 2021
FinTech Futures’ weekly news round-up.
ICYMI funding round-up: FlexxPay, Raqamyah, and JustUs
A trio of funding rounds that may have passed you by last week.
Newly licensed UK bank Cashplus is raising £50m
It intends to raise the funds from growth investment firms.
Stripe valuation rises to $115bn according to investors
The $115 billion figure is more than threefold its $36 billion valuation.
Banesco Panamá plans digital revamp with Backbase
Panamanian lender to integrate new products and solutions online.
Saudi Arabia plans new SME bank to underpin local funding
The new bank brings “all financing solutions under one umbrella”.
Low-code fintech OutSystems bags $9.5bn valuation in $150m raise
It claims to tackle the shortage of developers across 22 industries.
What the Fintech? | S.2 Episode 4 | TMRW never dies: digital banking in the ASEAN
Featuring Stuart Smith, head of regional engagement and UX design at UOB’s TMRW Digital Bank.
Norwegian web browser Opera launches fintech “Dify” in beta
Opera made two fintech-focused acquisitions last year.
Baptist Health Federal Credit Union picks Finastra system
Healthcare-supporting FCU revamps digital channels.
FinTech Futures presents Dock – a virtual roundtable experience
Take part in Dock on 18-19 May to discuss the industry’s pertinent problems and find the solutions.
Dutch unicorn Mollie expands to UK for post-Brexit opportunities
Molllie says it wants to help merchants with European growth post-Brexit.
Yolt Technology Services lands UK PSD2 licence
The fintech will no longer rely on ING’s licence.
Banking Tech Awards 2020 Winners Supplement out now
Showcasing the most impactful and innovative projects, products, services and people in fintech in 2020.
UK government unveils digital identity plans based on wallet tech
The government likens a digital identity wallet to a bank card authorising a payment.
Personetics raises $75m from Warburg Pincus
Data analytics and customer engagement firm plans expansion with new funding.
Neobank hopeful 11Onze to offer Catalans a non-Spanish alternative
The start-up intends to be a true representation of the country’s 7.6m population.
Aussie challenger Cape bags ex-Funding Circle CRO Rahul Pakrashi
Pakrashi says his wants “to get back” to his roots at Cape.
Swedish neobank Northmill raises $30m to power European expansion
The first stop along the way is a new product launch in Norway.
Three things banks must do to thrive in 2021
It is the banks who invest now and execute effectively, that will come out on top.
The US market: are EU-based challengers coming to rustle up some feathers?
A deep dive and step-by-step comparison of US banks’ and EU challengers’ capabilities.
Robinhood backer Tiger Global leads $200m investment in rival Public.com
Public.com – as on 1 February – decided to stop making profits from payment for order flows.
MoneyLion set to go public via $2.9bn Spac deal
The fintech anticipates year-over-year growth of around 88%.
Introducing “it’s a matter of comms”
Welcome to #itsamatterofcomms! A new bi-weekly vlog!
Fintech funding deals globally 8-14 February 2021
Featuring Fraction, BharatPe, Agibank, Monzo, and Coinsquare.
US Faster Payments Council report shows state of US payments
It provides a true illustration and understanding of how funds move on the networks.
Monzo appoints Carol Kobuke Nelson as new US president and CEO
Nelson spent 23 years at Bank of America.
Is 2021 the year to inspire better banking?
Sanat Rao says the time is right to invest in back-end systems change.
