FinTech Futures: Top five news stories of the week – 15 November 2024
Our pick of the top fintech news stories this week includes Klarna, Ualá, Visa and more.
Digital
Gate City Bank goes live with Alkami’s full suite of digital banking solutions
The selection includes Positive Pay for ACH reporting and new account opening capabilities.
Brian Harkin named new head of tech and innovation at Centrus
Harkin moves from London-based fintech Kynec, where he has been serving as CTO since 2022.
Guide: Charting the course – understanding payment trends in the financial sector in 2024
Insights from extensive research on how UK consumers prefer to pay and the payment options currently offered by 200 financial services providers.
Bank of Valletta taps Profile Software for investment management solution
Malta’s largest and oldest fiancial institution will deploy Profile Software’s Axia Suite.
Video: Experian at Money20/20 USA 2024 – Combining GenAI and rich data to drive innovation
Experian’s Scott Brown discusses how the company is utilising GenAI to deliver innovative new solutions.
Jeremy Nicholds steps down as CEO of UK paytech Judopay
Judopay was acquired by Italian banking group Banca Sella’s open finance subsidiary, Fabrick, last year.
Argentinian fintech Ualá lands $300m Series E funding round at $2.75bn valuation
The company claims that its app now has 8 million users across Argentina, Colombia, and Mexico.
LSEG taps IDVerse for AI-powered ID verification solutions
LSEG will deploy IDVerse’s Zero Bias AI offering alongside its Deepfake Defender AI solution.
Canadian fintech Neo Financial raises $258m in mix of equity and debt funding
The round comprised $78.9 million in equity and $179.3 million in debt.
Zand Bank partners Alibaba Cloud and Ant Digital Technologies to drive GenAI adoption in UAE
The partnership seeks to “accelerate the applications of generative AI, blockchain and payment technology”.
Agicap lands €45m Series C led by AXA Venture Partners
The new funding builds upon Agicap’s $100 million Series B, led by GreenOaks Capital in 2021.
Polish fintech Conotoxia eyes EU banking licence, plans to transform into joint-stock company
Conotoxia says it will aim to complete the transformation “as soon as possible”.
BCP to invest $650m in cloud modernisation drive with Microsoft and Kyndryl
BCP will use Microsoft Azure to create a hybrid computing environment in collaboration with Kyndryl.
What the FinTech? | S.5 Episode 20 | The future of fraud prevention – live at Money20/20 USA
In this podcast episode recorded live at Money20/20 USA, we’re joined by Ricardo Amper, founder and CEO of Incode.
Japan’s SmartBank secures $27m in mix of equity funding and debt financing
SmartBank says it is “actively recruiting” for roles in marketing, compliance, data analysis, and engineering.
Saudi fintech Lean Technologies secures $67.5m Series B funding
The new round of funding follows Lean’s $33 million Series A in 2022.
Travelex launches “major refresh” of 600 ATMs with NCR Atleos
The Travelex ATM network is to be replaced with NCR SelfServ and NCR Vision.
Ecobank teams up with Nium to enable cross-border payments across 35 African markets
The partnership will embed Nium’s real-time payments infrastructure into Ecobank’s banking operations.
Italian payments app Satispay raises €60m, plots 2025 launch of investment services
The paytech unicorn has now raised over €500 million in total funding to date.
SIX Group agrees £194m deal to acquire UK’s Aquis Exchange
The deal will see each Aquis shareholder receive 727 pence in cash per share.
Video: WorkWave at Money20/20 USA 2024 – Driving growth for field services companies
Jacob Olins, VP of Fintech at WorkWave, discusses how the company is utilising innovations in fintech and payments.
Video: Codat at Money20/20 USA 2024 – Innovation in B2B payments
Codat’s Joey Rault and JP Morgan’s Jesse Schwarz discuss the evolving B2B payments landscape at Money20/20 USA.
Interview: Jason Cao on Huawei’s fintech frontier and digital transformation innovation
Cao details the best strategies for digital amid a “highly challenging time” for the global banking industry.
Two US credit unions go live with Mahalo Banking’s Thoughtful Banking platform
Rocky Mountain Credit Union and UnitedOne Credit Union have gone live with the platform.
UK SME lender Iwoca bags £200m debt funding package from Citi and Waterfall Asset Management
Iwoca plans to double its Flexi-Loan limit to £1 million for medium-sized businesses.
UBS pilots new blockchain-based system for cross-border payments
The system settles international transactions using smart contracts on a private blockchain network.
Banking Technology Magazine November 2024 issue out now
Cover story: GOING GREEN – Why sustainable finance is vital.
ICYMI fintech funding round-up: Groov, Fundcraft, VibePay, and more
A handy round-up of the recent funding endeavours of fintech companies across the globe.
Visa backs four new African fintech start-ups as part of $1bn continental commitment
OkHi, Workpay, Oze and Orda.Africa have all received investment from Visa.
Ohio’s Kemba Credit Union taps Alkami for digital banking platform
The credit union has gone live with Alkami’s platform to enhance engagement, personalisation, and fraud prevention.
Marygold & Co UK selects Griffin to embed savings accounts into money management app
The app will launch for individuals and small businesses in the UK “later this year”.
Scottish paytech BR-DGE names Chun Ong as new COO
Ong moves from Dubai-based fintech Tarabut Gateway, where he was COO for under a year.
NatWest teams up with Capco to deliver new ISO 20022-compliant Bankline Direct Digital solution
The host-to-host solution is poised to assist corporates and financial institutions in complying with ISO 20022.
Video: Form3 at Money20/20 USA 2024 – The evolution of instant payments
FinTech Futures chats with Dave Scola, CEO of Form3, about instant payments trends in the US.
Video: DailyPay at Money20/20 USA 2024 – The growing demand for earned wage access
FinTech Futures chats with Stacy Greiner, CEO of DailyPay, about the future of earned wage access.
Sibos 2024: The future of global transactions with KoreFusion – video interview
KoreFusion’s Jan Smith discusses the latest technologies that are transforming cross-border transactions.
What the FinTech? | S.5 Episode 19 | Driving growth and customer satisfaction in digital banking
In this podcast episode, we chat with Clare Gambardella, Chief Customer Officer at Zopa Bank.
White paper: How AI is propelling innovation in financial services
This free white paper examines key AI use cases in financial services and explores the challenges of AI implementation.
FTC takes action against US neobank Dave for allegedly “using misleading marketing”
In a statement, Dave says it intends to “vigorously defend ourselves”.
