Aussie central bank reveals participants and use cases for CBDC pilot
The selected industry players will participate in use case proposals over the coming months, the central bank says.
Partnerships
MFS Africa partners Western Union to broaden financial inclusion
The service will see funds from across the globe move through payment rails operated by MFS Africa.
Tudi taps ThetaRay for transaction monitoring solution
Through the partnership, ThetaRay will provide Tudi its Sonar transaction monitoring solution.
Centre for Finance, Innovation and Technology launches to boost UK fintech
CFIT will bring together “coalitions of experts” across finance, technology, academia and policy.
Nationwide taps Board to upgrade financial planning capabilities
Board will “replace and transform” Nationwide’s financial planning processes and systems.
Climate tech firm Doconomy acquires financial wellbeing fintech Dreams
Doconomy will fold Dreams’ behavioural science platform into its environmental impact measurement tools.
Westpac pens five-year cloud deal with AWS to boost digital transformation
Westpac aims to leverage AWS’ tech to accelerate its digital transformation.
Should digital banking platforms be fraud prevention solutions by design?
Banks should look to use technology to not only curb financial crime but to gain a competitive advantage.
Nexi to acquire 80% of Sabadell’s merchant acquiring business for €280m
The all-cash deal worth €280 million values the business at €350 million.
US fintech Finch lands $40m in Series B funding
The round was co-led by General Catalyst and Menlo Ventures.
Shanghai Commercial Bank taps Salt Edge for PSD2 compliance solution
With the partnership, the bank says it will be able to offer customers a secure connection to external apps.
Shawbrook Bank taps Pegasystems for automated underwriting solution
Pega claims its low-code platform will save Shawbrook underwriters 1,500 hours a month.
Santander Bank picks SigFig to modernise client investment experience
Via the partnership, the pair have developed Santander PathFinder, an automated investment management tool.
US president Joe Biden nominates former Mastercard CEO to lead World Bank
Ajay Banga has been nominated to lead the World Bank following the resignation of David Malpass.
Clarency taps Form3 for access to Swift network
With the partnership, Clarency’s global customers will be able to send and receive payments on the Swift network.
Watch out for the core crash
There is more turmoil to come in the core banking space.
Arvest Bank launches new lending product powered by Thought Machine
Arvest claims it is the first US bank to offer lending capabilities on Thought Machine’s core.
OpenWallet Foundation launches to boost digital wallet interoperability
The OWF intends to provide the “software engine” that organisations can use to develop digital wallets.
Stripe unveils Tap to Pay for Android devices
Tap to Pay allows businesses to accept contactless payments using an NFC-enabled Android device.
KCB Bank Kenya taps Sopra Banking Software for digital transformation
Sopra Banking Software will design, build and support the bank’s savings and lending products.
Enfuce wins State Treasury of Finland contract to modernise prepaid cards
The five-year contract was signed on 15 February 2023.
European paytech Lyra taps Napier for transaction monitoring
Lyra will utilise Napier’s transaction monitoring solution to ensure its compliance with regulatory requirements.
Aussie paytech DataMesh lands $30m Series A led by NAB Ventures
Additional investors in the Series A round were Deutsche Bank and 1835i Ventures.
Riyad Bank taps SunTec for e-invoicing integration with Saudi tax office
The integration allows banks to share standardised e-invoices with Saudi tax office Fatoora.
Chetwood’s SmartSave Bank partners cash deposit platform Flagstone
Under the new partnership, SmartSave’s fixed rate accounts will be made available to Flagstone clients.
Singapore and India link up PayNow and UPI for real-time cross-border payments
The MAS and RBI will use a scalable cloud-based infrastructure to manage future increases in remittance volumes.
European Commission launches blockchain regulatory sandbox
While blockchain is known for crypto, the Commission says the tech has a “wider utility” beyond financial services.
Icelandic neobank Indó taps Lucinity for AML protection
With the partnership, Indó will have access to Lucinity’s transaction monitoring and case manager solutions.
Bank of Russia to launch digital ruble pilot in April
Olga Skorobogatova, first deputy chair of the central bank, announced the news.
State of play: neobanks
Neobanks as a sector are now approaching their teenage years and quickly maturing.
Extended deadline announced for Banking Tech Awards USA 2023 nominations
The new deadline for nominations is now Friday, 24 February 2023. Apply today!
Bank of Japan to launch CBDC pilot programme in April
The pilot will test the technical feasibility of a CBDC and leverage the “skills and insights” of private industry.
PPRO extends payments infrastructure to South Korea
This integration “opens up a gateway” for PPRO’s global partners to reach South Korean consumers, PPRO says.
Solving the cybersecurity puzzle
FinTech Futures speaks to City University of London’s Raj Muttukrishnan and Crossword’s Stuart Jubb.
Global fintech investment drops 31% in 2022 from record 2021 high
Despite the drop, it was still the third-best year for fintech investment ever.
Citizens Financial Group taps Paymentus for bill pay and money movement services
Through the partnership, Citizens will deploy Paymentus Bill Center and Paymentus Loan Payments.
Ecuador’s first digital bank goes live with Temenos core
Diners Club Ecuador has gone live on Temenos’ cloud-native banking platform with AWS.
Unity Small Finance Bank taps M2P for core banking upgrade
The Indian bank will deploy M2P’s Turing CBS offering.
UK fintech Deko hires Joseph Tucker as new CFO
Tucker joins from NewDay, which acquired Deko in January 2020.
NewDay taps Checkout.com to streamline debit card payments
The partnership, which is already live, gives NewDay access to Checkout.com’s full suite of payment products.
