Bank of Russia to launch digital ruble pilot in April
Olga Skorobogatova, first deputy chair of the central bank, announced the news.
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Pliant raises $28m in Series A funding
Founded in 2020 and based in Berlin, Pliant offers a B2B credit card platform.
Tesco reportedly exploring sale of banking business
According to Sky News, Tesco is launching a review of its UK banking activities.
African paytech Chipper Cash sheds around a third of its workforce
More than 100 employees at the firm have been affected, Techweez reports.
Lithuania’s central bank reportedly investigating Railsr over AML failures
The Telegraph reports that Railsr’s Lithuanian subsidiary is being investigated by the country’s central bank.
Santander reportedly in discussions to purchase Abrdn’s private equity unit
A deal could be made in the next few months with the unit valued at around £250m, Sky News reports.
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.
FSB to study DeFi’s potential stability risks and vulnerabilities
The FSB states that “specific features” of DeFi may see some of its vulnerabilities “play out differently”.
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.
Cartoon: What recession?
A new cartoon illustrating how private market valuations have been impacted in the current environment.
Payoneer lands UK e-money licence from FCA
Payoneer secured the EMI via its subsidiary Payoneer Payment Services UK.
WealthKernel names Michael Rigby as new chief compliance officer
Rigby joins from Investec Wealth and Investment and brings over 30 years’ worth of experience to the role.
North America fintech funding round-up: Vexi, Comun, ModernFi & more
A round-up of the latest funding endeavours of fintech start-ups from across North America.
FinTech Futures: Top five stories of the week – 17 February 2023
Here’s our pick of five of the top news stories from the world of finance and tech this week.
Financial market data provider Quodd acquires Xignite
The combined business will serve more than 2,200 companies.
ICYMI fintech funding round-up: Ledge, AdalFi and Power
Our weekly fintech round-up for you to get the latest funding news from around the world.
UK fintech funding round-up: Omnio, Landytech & Sikoia
A handy round-up of the recent funding endeavours of fintech companies across the UK.
AI regtech WorkFusion names Arthur Mueller VP of financial crime
Mueller joins from Rabobank North America where he served as AML and sanctions officer for more than six years.
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.
Zopa acquires DivideBuy in “BNPL 2.0” push
Zopa’s “BNPL 2.0” offering will allow consumers to spread the cost of purchases worth between £250 and £30,000.
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.
Saudi fintech Hala acquires UAE paytech Paymennt.com
Maher Loubieh, co-founder of Hala, says Paymennt’s product was a “clear fit” with their own strategy.
UK fintech Deko hires Joseph Tucker as new CFO
Tucker joins from NewDay, which acquired Deko in January 2020.
Dubai’s VARA outlines new virtual asset framework
VARA says the new framework will offer “regulatory certainty”, giving market participants greater clarity.
African ID verification platform Smile Identity nabs $20m Series B
The latest funding round brings Smile Identity’s total capital raised to date to $31 million.
UK government lays out plans for BNPL legislation
The UK government is looking to bring BNPL into the regulatory sphere “in a proportionate way”.
Finastra reportedly looking to sell banking business
Finastra is understood to be exploring the sale of its banking portfolio for as much as $7 billion.
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.
Aussie fintech Shift lands $18m in Series C funding
Shift provides a credit and payments platform for Australian businesses.
FCA clamps down on unregistered crypto ATM operators in Leeds
The FCA will review evidence gathered during the visits and consider further potential enforcement action.
New app Tapeeno turns Android phones into card readers
Tapeeno “significantly” reduces the funding delay most businesses experience, the firms claim.
Dragonfly makes C-level hires as firm expands partnerships and portfolio
Alongside the senior appointments, the firm says it has also expanded its development and product teams.
Digital asset infrastructure provider Taurus lands $65m Series B
Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Pictet Group and Arab Bank Switzerland all participated in the round.
India’s PhonePe nets additional $100m in ongoing fundraise
The new capital infusion follows a $350 million fundraise from General Atlantic last month.
Laurentian Bank launches new credit card programme with Brim Financial
Laurentian Bank says the new credit card programme will “enhance the overall experience” of its customers.
TISA signs for Flexcube core banking system & applies for banking licence
The project will be delivered by Oracle FS’s implementation partner, Profinch.
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.
PayPal reportedly halts work on stablecoin offering
PayPal is hoping to get a clearer understanding of the evolving regulatory landscape, Bloomberg reports.
