SAMA greenlights beta launch of STC Bank
The approval by the Saudi Central Bank will see the company transition from STC Pay to STC Bank.
FinTech
Ripple set to launch USD-backed stablecoin this year
The offering will make its debut initially on the XRPL and Ethereum blockchains with ERC20 token standards.
FinTech Founders Video: retaining female talent and building strategies for success
Three fintech founders discuss how companies can attract and retain the industry’s top female talent.
FinTech Futures: Top five news stories of the week – 5 April 2024
Our pick of the top fintech news stories this week includes Nuvei, Westpac, iCapital and more.
India’s Electronica Finance Limited lands $48m in Series B round
The round was led by UK-based LeapFrog Investments and supported by Aavishkaar Capital.
ClearBank rings in first full year of profitability
The London-based fintech says it is now gearing up for an EU-wide launch “later this year”.
Is your head in the cloud when it comes to core banking?
Being cloud native and supporting multi-tenancy are key considerations when looking at a new core banking solution.
Canada’s Brim Financial lands $85m in Series C funding round
The company plans to use the new cash injection to fuel its US expansion plans.
BIS unveils Project Agorá to explore the tokenisation of cross-border payments
Project Agorá will see seven central banks work in partnership with several private sector participants.
UK’s FCA and Bank of England launch consultation for Digital Securities Sandbox
Responses to the consultation are being accepted until 29 May, ahead of applications for the DSS opening this summer.
State of play: core banking
Investment in core banking technology will continue to be the utmost priority for the industry.
Debt financing platform Scayl emerges from stealth with €100m backing
The Swedish start-up says the financing will “immediately” be made available to fintech lenders through its platform.
Tradeshift names Raphael Bres as new chief product and technology officer
Bres rejoins Tradeshift following a two-year stint at commission management platform Spiff.
Can’t touch this
Touchpoints with customers are not a good thing. Stop counting them. Stop wanting them.
First Abu Dhabi Bank partners Microsoft to develop new AI-powered banking capabilities
Banking-as-a-Service and Risk-as-a-Service have been cited as two “potential areas of collaboration”.
Banking Technology Magazine April 2024 issue out now
Core story: GOLD GETTERS – The Olympics and fintech make the perfect team.
What the FinTech? | S.5 Episode 5 | Blockchain, CBDCs and programmable payments
In this episode of the podcast, we’re joined by Gilbert Verdian, CEO of Quant.
iCapital set to acquire investment data firm Mirador
The deal is due to expand iCapital’s data management and reporting capabilities.
MAS unveils new Cosmic platform to help banks defend against terrorism financing and money laundering
Cosmic was co-developed by MAS and six banks – Citibank, DBS, HSBC, OCBC, UOB, and Standard Chartered.
Aussie automotive fintech AutoSettle names Jason Van as new CEO
The new CEO has been tasked with leading the start-up’s “next phase of growth and innovation”.
Singapore’s Grab set to discontinue GrabPay Card from 1 June
The company stopped accepting applications for new cards on 1 April.
Japan’s Rakuten Group plans to consolidate its fintech and banking businesses
Rakuten is discussing plans to integrate all its fintech units, including Rakuten Bank, into one unified entity.
FinTech Founders Video: guiding growth with coaching, mentoring and sponsoring initiatives
Three industry experts highlight the importance of coaching, mentoring and sponsoring initiatives in fintech.
Nuvei snapped up by Advent International in $6.3bn deal
The Canadian paytech expects the acquisition to close by “late 2024 or the first quarter of 2025”.
Human connection in the age of AI
Even in the age of an AI arms race, we can still reclaim what is uniquely human: our empathy.
US wealthtech NewRetirement lands $20m in Series A funding
NewRetirement says it will use the funds to scale its enterprise financial planning product.
FinTech Futures: Top five news stories of the week – 29 March 2024
Our pick of the top fintech news stories this week includes Robinhood, Mastercard, Visa, Ant Group and more.
ICYMI fintech funding round-up: ZayZoon, Koin, FacePhi, Belong and more
A handy round-up of the recent funding endeavours of fintech companies across the globe.
Discover Financial Services exec Michael Rhodes to take the lead at Ally Financial as new CEO
Ally Financial has been on the hunt for a new CEO since the departure of Jeffrey Brown in January.
Risk management specialist Abrigo snaps up TPG Software for investment accounting tech
The acquisition will boost the growth of Abrigo’s existing suite of technical accounting solutions.
Is a phone charging cable the new bank card?
Have smartphones completely replaced the need for physical bank cards?
GFT Technologies promotes Marco Santos to group CEO
Santos will replace current group CEO Marika Lulay, who is due to leave the company at the end of the year.
Bolt appoints interim CEO as Maju Kuruvilla departs
Kuruvilla served as Bolt’s CEO for over two years following founder Ryan Breslow’s transition to chairman.
Missouri’s Central Bank taps Personetics for AI-powered money management solution
The bank is looking to expand its digital financial wellness offerings for its retail customers.
US merchants reach landmark settlement with Visa and Mastercard to lower swipe fees
The settlement will see credit interchange rates lowered and capped for the next five years.
New core banking system, Vilja, comes to the UK from Sweden
Vilja is entering the UK market via a partnership with local mortgage origination platform, Mast.
ieDigital, Connect FSS and Abaka to integrate under single identity with Rami Cassis named new CEO
The companies have until now operated as three separate divisions led by CEO Jerry Young, who is set to retire.
If Mary has three apples…
Always measure opportunity cost. What are you not doing while you are doing what you are doing?
Tide names former SVP George Schmidt as new regional CEO for UK and Europe
Schmidt will be responsible for leading Tide’s recently announced expansion into the German market.
Bulgaria’s Paynetics acquires UK neobank Novus
Founded in 2020, Novus is the UK’s first B-Corp certified digital bank.
