Jumia steps in to assist Africa amid rising coronavirus numbers
Jumia will help various African governments distribute masks to hospitals.
Financial Inclusion
Fronted, 11:FS and Credit Kudos create ‘Covid Credit’ for self-employed
Covid Credit uses open banking data to help the self-employed get income relief.
ID Finance’s revenues hit $86.6m across Spain, Brazil and Mexico
“Despite macroeconomic volatility, the company plans to continue its growth,” says CEO.
Video: Top fintech stories this week – 20 March 2020
FinTech Futures’ weekly news round-up.
Video: Hot-seat with Steven Marshall, CCO of Crown Agents Bank
He reveals how a legacy institution can stay relevant and adapt in this digital wave.
Will regulators make an example of trading unicorn Robinhood?
“We don’t think they were set up to do it properly,” says class action lawyer.
Neobank for America’s middle-class One lands $17m Series A
The 40-person challenger has opened early access to its private beta.
Bank of England dips into US repo to lend banks $15bn
It’s the largest sum the central bank has issued since the financial crisis.
Iwoca launches lending platform to help banks and fintechs tap UK SMEs
The platform has already bagged Monese and Xero as a partners.
Underpinned helps companies pay freelancers with Banked
“The number of people choosing freelance work has grown rapidly,” says UnderPinned CEO.
Central banks free up US dollar liquidity amid coronavirus pandemic
The price on the US dollar liquidity swap arrangements will go down by 25 basis points.
Finovate Podcast: Episodes 21-30
The Finovate Podcast is a short, interview-based podcast featuring conversations from fintech’s elite innovators and influencers. For more than a decade, the global event series has brought together tens of thousands of people from across the fintech spectrum to see cutting-edge technologies. Now you can find out what goes on behind the scenes, as key influencers and […]
Amazon VP Maria Renz joins Californian fintech SoFi
For a time, Renz was Bezos’ first and only female adviser.
Revolut launches gold trading for Premium and Metal users
The neobank will apply a 0.25% markup, with no other fees.
Payments trends and the “first world unbanked”
Cash is the most inclusive financial instrument, and many firms seem to forget this fact.
Neyber sells up to biggest rival Salary Finance
The sale is “understood to have seen Neyber’s assets sold for a meagre sum”.
Standard Chartered launches Banking as a Service solution in Indonesia
The white-label service was incubated at SC Ventures.
Inclusion, innovation, and mobile money in Sub-Saharan Africa
“If our systems fail, a big part of the economy would fail,” says exec.
Credit Sesame launches new digital bank account Sesame Cash
A banking offering will engage customers beyond just improving credit.
HSBC posts 47.8% overall pay gap, nearly double industry average
HSBC’s female employees are earning nearly half of what their male counterparts are.
Greensill buys Aussie payday advance app Earnd
The acquisition marks Greensill’s move into payday finance.
Family finance app Jassby raises $5m, anticipates $20m round later this year
CEO says rounds will drive fintech closer towards 1 million users within a year.
Challenger bank Copper latest to tap America’s teens
Copper is yet to reveal its launch date but has opened a waiting list to teens.
Aruba’s banks switch to instant payments with equensWorldline
The digitisation of payments has been “a challenging project” for the island.
“If you want it, go get it!”
Nancy Butler at B-North, shares her experience in banking this international women’s day.
Dutch fintech TerraPay gets acquired & raises $9.6m
“Fintechs like TerraPay play a vital role in increasing financial inclusion in emerging markets.”
Exclusive interview: Sarah Porretta, MaPS – UK’s ten-year journey towards financial wellbeing
Fintech will have a significant role to play in the UK government’s plan for the nation to achieve financial wellbeing.
Webinar: Investing in UK’s financial wellbeing strategy – 5 agents for change
Innovative ways to make financial wellness happen.
The global unbanked shoppers
The gap between the population of the banked and unbanked is continuing to broaden.
India’s lending start-up SMEcorner bags $30m Series B
The round was led by a $10.5 million investment from Germany’s Paragon Partners.
BBVA joins $1.3m round for UK gig economy start-up Wollit
It’s one of the first to evolve out of BBVA’s ‘Venture Creation Partnership’ with Anthemis.
“Pale, male and stale” tag still dogs financial services industry
Three steps to break the cycle and achieve genuine diversity and inclusion.
Community spirit: Reminiscing on the halcyon days of the bank branch
“I had to find out how to best serve people and customers at a community level.”
Video: Top fintech stories this week – 14 February 2020
FinTech Future’s weekly news round-up.
Why we need to persuade governments to tokenise the world’s forests
Tokenisation is a new innovative mechanism for sustainable financing.
Varo Money enters final stage of becoming nationwide bank
Mobile banking firm Varo Money has gained approval from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).
Nigerian fintech start-up Aella raises $10m
This debt financing round is Aella’s second raise.
Majority launches digital banking products for immigrants
It’s relying on two drivers: physical meetup spaces and brand ambassadors.
Digital bank Stori raises $10m in Series A2 funding
Mexican challenger bank has also launched its credit card.
There is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach in the ongoing fight for greater diversity
We should never lose sight of the ‘why’ that lies behind the lack of diversity in British businesses.
