Is Southeast Europe fertile ground for digital banking challengers?
While the popularity of neobanks has surged in Western Europe, the Southeast remains relatively free of competition.
Savings
Dominican Republic’s first neobank launches on Temenos Banking Cloud
Qik’s CEO says they chose Temenos owing to its “successful track record” across Latin America.
US neobank HMBradley picks Thought Machine for core banking tech
HMBradley will utilise the vendor’s cloud-native core banking platform Vault Core to power its services.
Payroll and benefits start-up Catch shutting down
Accounts will be closed on 6 April 2023, with customers instructed to withdraw all funds before that deadline.
US student debt fintech Candidly raises $20.5m in Series B funding
The funding round was led by Altos Ventures, with existing investor Cercano Management also participating.
US challenger Varo Bank reportedly raising funds at reduced valuation
Fintech Business Weekly reports the firm is raising $50m at a $1.8bn valuation, a 28% decline in value.
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.
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.
NatWest Group snaps up UK fintech Cushon for £144m
The acquisition will enable NatWest to offer its commercial customers a suite of financial wellbeing products.
ICYMI fintech funding round-up: Fierce, Wisor AI, Cenoa & Habitto
Our weekly In Case You Missed It (ICYMI) funding round-up for you to get the latest funding news.
Inter&Co acquires real estate investment start-up YellowFi
Inter&Co provides financial services through its ‘super-app’ to more than 25 million users.
UK challenger Zopa lands £75m funding to fuel growth
Zopa says the deal “cements and markedly enhances” its unicorn valuation.
DekaBank taps Metaco for digital asset custody platform Harmonize
The platform will enable DekaBank to offer custody services for cryptocurrencies and digital securities.
New savings app for homeowners in the UK: Sprive
Sprive’s AI mortgage assistant, available through a mobile app, helps customers pay off their mortgage faster.
Malaysian fintech HelloGold winds down core business
CEO and co-founder Robin Lee tells Fintech News Malaysia the firm is “pivoting to a B2B model”.
US fintech Marygold & Co names Timothy Rooney as new president
Rooney will be tasked with ensuring the successful launch of the firm’s new financial services app.
Several major US banks reportedly team up on new digital wallet project
Seven banks are working on an e-wallet linked to consumers’ debit and credit cards, The Wall Street Journal reports.
FNZ acquires wealthtech start-up YieldX
YieldX’s fixed income portfolio management technology will be integrated into FNZ’s wealth platform.
Australia’s Alex Bank lands regulatory ADI licence
The bank says it was granted the licence just 18 months after it received a restricted ADI licence.
Top five fintechs and neobanks of 2022
FinTech Futures takes a look back at some of the year’s top new fintechs and neobanks.
UAE’s National Bonds taps Azentio for digital Islamic banking solution
Azentio says its iMAL platform will enable National Bonds to roll out Islamic products and services faster.
North America fintech funding round-up: Syncfy, Totem and more
Our weekly fintech round-up for you to get the latest funding news from across North America.
Saudi financial super-app Tweeq lands central bank e-money licence
Tweeq leverages Paymentology’s Banking.Live platform and hopes to launch its app soon.
Intuit snaps up credit building start-up SeedFi
The deal will see SeedFi become part of Intuit’s Credit Karma business.
Hodge Bank taps LexisNexis to streamline customer onboarding
The Cardiff-based lending and savings provider will deploy LexisNexis’ RiskNarrative platform.
Al Rajhi Bank Malaysia launches digital bank Rize
Rize offers a mobile banking app for Malaysian customers.
Weathering the storm: how savings providers can utilise tech to support their customers through the cost of living crisis
Putting in place the transformational changes needed to keep up with customer needs and expectations.
Atom Bank lands £30m funding to boost lending and fuel growth
The new cash means the Durham-based challenger bank has now raised £105 million over 2022.
UBS partners iProov for automated customer biometric ID onboarding
With face verification tech, UBS key4 customers can onboard remotely in five minutes, iProov says.
Dubai-based fintech Leap aims to improve youth financial literacy
The Dubai-based start-up wants to improve youth financial literacy, targeting the under-18s.
Financial wellbeing platform Brightside raises $33m in Series B funding
The firm says it will use the fresh funding to enhance its platform and fuel its growth.
TIAA agrees to sell its banking arm to suite of investors
The firm says the move will allow it to “refocus” on its retirement business.
New fintech start-up in the US for homeowners – Saivy
Saivy’s mobile app is in development and the start-up is currently accepting subscribers to its waitlist.
Nottingham Building Society hires first chief technology and transformation officer
Paul Howley joins from Yorkshire Building Society, where he was interim chief operating officer.
Wells Fargo partners Google Cloud for AI virtual assistant, Fargo
Fargo will leverage Google Cloud’s conversational AI platform Dialogflow to offer personalised banking tips.
FinTech Futures: Top five stories of the week – 21 October 2022
Here’s our pick of five of the top news stories from the world of finance and tech this week.
Apple and Goldman Sachs to launch savings account for Apple Card
The savings account will allow Apple Card users to deposit their “Daily Cash” rewards automatically.
Cleo names Anita Woods as new VP of product
In her new role, Woods will be responsible for leading Cleo’s product strategy.
Tink and Snoop team up to help UK customers navigate cost-of-living crisis
“This partnership is designed to help everyone get on top of their finances,” the two firms say.
Sibos 2022: “Skyscanner for money” – money as subscription service
In the future, we’ll all have our own “Skyscanner for money” working for us, believes VC Innovations’ Lisa Moyle.
