Revolut loses CFO after just six months, brings in interim CFO from SLA
David MacLean joined Revolut from Metro Bank last July.
Financial Services/Finserv
Challenger bank Arro Money to shut down in April
The challenger bank’s operator wants to go in a “new direction”.
Scotiabank commits to helping Canada’s emerging AI start-ups
The bank will give start-ups and tech entrepreneurs access to funding and expansion opportunities.
Crypto start-up Bakkt lands $300m Series B from Microsoft and PayU
The fundraising was closed last Friday, the same day Bitcoin experienced a multi-month low.
Underpinned helps companies pay freelancers with Banked
“The number of people choosing freelance work has grown rapidly,” says UnderPinned CEO.
Open banking: A move towards greater or lesser transparency in banking?
Will it reduce or increase information asymmetry between consumers and finserv companies?
Yapeal awarded Switzerland’s first fintech licence
Challenger plans to reinvent retail banking in the country.
Amazon VP Maria Renz joins Californian fintech SoFi
For a time, Renz was Bezos’ first and only female adviser.
Mastercard and Samsung sign Pay on Demand partnership
The two firms aim to arm businesses in emerging markets.
Al Wifaq International Islamic Bank selects ICSFS Islamic system
Newly established Iraqi bank picks ICSFS over five other providers.
Over one million users migrate from Yes Bank’s to ICICI Bank’s UPIs
The collapse of Yes Bank is causing ripple effects for UPI partners.
Agora Services lands $2m in seed funding
The founder previously built French digital bank Fortuneo.
UK challenger ikigai to launch flat-fee investment account
“I think the pain points are quite similar across different income levels,” says co-founder.
Tandem launches AI personal finance adviser Ada
The AI assistant can predict cashflow, spending patterns and forecast balances.
Interior Savings Credit Union picks Fiserv DNA
Canadian credit union shifts to new system to drive “flexibility”.
What can we expect in the next decade?
From big data and cloud to developments in distributed ledger technology and more.
Accuity buys London fintech Apply Financial
The deal builds on Accuity’s account validation solutions for FIs.
EBA suspends EU banks’ stress tests over coronavirus impact
European regulator encourages flexibility in reaction to the virus.
Revolut launches gold trading for Premium and Metal users
The neobank will apply a 0.25% markup, with no other fees.
FCA issues coronavirus cryptocurrency scam warning
UK watchdog tells investors to be wary of deals too good to be true.
BandPay lands $2m to help musicians get paid
“This is a crucial investment,” says co-CEO.
Global fintech funding: 2018 still stands as the reigning year
As of February 2020, year-over-year deal counts were down by 22%.
Wirecard strikes again with Klarna payments partnership
Also this week, Wirecard teamed with Southeast Asian ride-sharing firm Grab.
Nets buys Polish payment provider PeP for $455m
PeP moves to Nets with expected net revenues of roughly $62 milllion for 2020.
Funding Circle plans to cut 125 jobs in Berlin and Amsterdam
P2P firm reacts to poor year in external markets by cutting back.
Kyriba Live 2020: Is it time to partner up with fintech firms?
The question is whether fintech firms will want to join Kyriba’s platform.
SpotOn raises $50 million in Series B featuring former Twitter CEO
Payments firm plans to extend product development.
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.
Western Union refunds $153m for scam victims
Western Union agreed to pay $586 million in monetary relief following a 2017 scandal.
Wirecard and Singapore’s Grab partner on payments
The partnership will begin in Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore.
CFPB files account fraud lawsuit against Fifth Third Bank
US regulator claims bank opened credit accounts without customers’ permission.
Credit Sesame launches new digital bank account Sesame Cash
A banking offering will engage customers beyond just improving credit.
Step aside China, it’s Southeast Asia’s turn in the spotlight
The region is full of promise and possibility for investors and entrepreneurs alike.
Do not fail fast, learn fast instead
Being advised to fail and do so at speed, as if that, somehow, was not a relative thing anyway.
Budget 2020: What’s the fintech impact?
FinTech Futures picks out the fintech tidbits in this week’s announcement.
FCA plans market changes to simplify mortgage switching
UK watchdog concerned that non-switching consumers are left out of pocket.
Rizq launches in UK as Sharia-compliant challenger bank
Rizq plans to benchmark itself as close as possible to existing challengers.
UK banks prop up SMEs with £7bn amid coronavirus outbreak
The banks are also deferring customers’ payments on loans and mortgages for up to three months.
