Zodia Custody names Julian Sawyer as its new CEO
Sawyer has previously served as CEO of cryptocurrency exchange Bitstamp, and was co-founder of Starling Bank.
FinTech
Jack Ma to cede control of Chinese fintech Ant Group
After the restructuring, “no shareholder, alone or jointly with other parties, will have control over Ant Group”, the firm says.
Axis Bank taps Open to launch digital current accounts for businesses
Axis Bank says its new product will help save customers time and effort with a fully digital authentication process.
ACI Worldwide mulls potential sale
The payments software firm is working with financial advisors as it gauges interest levels, sources tell Bloomberg.
Indian neobank Jupiter lands $12m in venture debt financing
Jupiter says the funds will go towards scaling up the neobank’s suite of lending products.
Digital resilience being taxed by tools? Time for a DevSecOps platform strategy
Firms’ DevOps practices are underperforming at precisely the time they must up their game on resilience.
Crypto API provider Wyre reportedly shuttering
The news comes after Wyre was set to be acquired by e-commerce checkout fintech Bolt in April last year for $1.5bn.
KreditBee extends Series D funding round with additional $100m
The news follows KreditBee’s $80 million fundraise as part of its Series D funding round last month.
Silvergate reveals depleted deposits, significant layoffs, and impairment charges
Silvergate Capital’s share value dropped by over 40% in response to the financial results.
Taiwan’s challenger Next Bank launches on Temenos core banking tech
Digital-only Next Bank is backed by Taiwan’s largest telecom operator, Chunghwa Telecom.
Exclusive global launch of Leda Glyptis’ book, “Bankers Like Us: Dispatches from an Industry in Transition”
An evening of unveiling Leda Glyptis’ book, Bankers Like Us, not to be missed!
FinTech Futures: Top five stories of the week – 6 January 2023
Here’s our pick of five of the top news stories from the world of finance and tech this week.
Blockchain compliance firm Securrency appoints Nadine Chakar CEO
Nadine Chakar replaces Sucurrency founder and CEO Dan Doney, who moves to the CTO role.
Australian fintech Grapple secures $35m in funding
Sydney’s Grapple landed $35 million in a warehouse debt facility from Global Credit Investments (GCI).
Saudi Central Bank debuts open banking lab to boost innovation
The Open Banking Lab will provide a technical testing environment to ensure compatibility with the country’s Open Banking Framework.
How the cloud helps companies reach their ESG goals while embracing a global outlook
Cloud-based core banking can help banks get leaner and greener.
IDC report: New data sources and innovative AI redefining the business of lending
How technology advancements and new data sources, including alternative data, are pushing the boundaries of borrowing.
Akulaku secures $200m from Japan’s Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group
The funding will support Akulaku’s anticipated growth as it looks to provide banking services across Southeast Asia.
BharatPe CEO Suhail Sameer steps down
In a statement, BharatPe says that Sameer will “transition” from CEO to strategic advisor on 7 January 2023.
Japan’s Smartpay launches open banking digital payments service
Smartpay claims it is the first digital consumer finance firm to utilise Japan’s open banking system.
Guide: Life in 3D – using alternative data to power credit risk decisioning
Alternative data has the power to assist in achieving growth and expanding your business.
eBook: Back to the future – 8 features of fast and future-proof BNPL technology
Discover what tools you need to get ahead and stay ahead as BNPL grows its market share.
eBook: SME lending – the road to real-time approvals
Accelerate your SME lending with quick credit approvals.
Guide: Simplified AI – level up your risk decisioning
How to simplify your artificial intelligence (AI) decisioning journey and move beyond the hype in under 60 days.
Finnish crypto firm Coinmotion lands Bank of Spain authorisation
The Bank of Spain has initiated registration for crypto providers as it seeks to clamp down on money laundering.
GoLogiq and GammaRey merge to focus on millennial wealth management
The combined firm has plans to focus on the burgeoning market of wealth management aimed at Gen Z and millennials.
Bankers like us: there’s no stopping us now
Yes yes yes: I wrote a book! It is written, ready, and will be in your hands in the next few weeks.
DLT in 2023: out of the blocks
What does 2023 have in store for distributed ledger technology (DLT)?
Indian fintech start-up SarvaGram bags $35m Series C funding
Founded in 2018, SarvaGram last raised $10 million in a Series B funding round in 2021.
Challenger bank N26 sees changes in leadership structure
N26’s CFO and interim COO Jan Kemper has jointly agreed with the bank to step down from his role.
The Clearing House appoints David Watson as CEO
Watson joins The Clearing House from Swift, and will take up the new role from 1 February 2023.
Swift names Stephen Grainger as chief executive for Americas and UK
Grainger brings 20 years of banking and payments experience to his new role.
Welcome.Place, Enfuce, Epassi, Visa partner for refugee prepaid card pilot
The goal is to provide a service that assists 50,000 Ukrainian and other refugees by the end of 2023.
CFPB orders Servicio UniTeller to refund fees and pay penalty
The CFPB says between 2013 and 2021, the firm “failed to comply” with many electronic money transfer requirements.
The regulatory landscape and predictions for 2023
Being able to quickly respond to changing regulatory requirements is more important than ever.
Reasons to be hopeful for 2023
Perhaps, the universe has a plan hiding in plain sight. The glimmers of hope that are just around the corner…
Coinbase lands virtual asset provider licence from Central Bank of Ireland
Coinbase’s Ireland operations will also now be headed up by Cormac Dinan, its new country director.
Money View secures $75m Series E funding at $900m valuation
The round was led by Apis Partners, and saw participation from Tiger Global, Winter Capital and Evolvence.
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.
Twig acquires banking services provider Vybe
With Vybe’s acquisition, Twig plans to expand its Gen Z market footprint.
