FinTech Futures: Top five news stories of the week – 26 July 2024
Our pick of the top fintech news stories this week includes Revolut, UniCredit, Modulr and more.
News
Corlytics hires new CTO, chief data officer and chief tech architect
Former AQMetrics exec Steve Barnes has been named as the group’s new chief technology officer.
Kosovo’s Cash Plus selects Profile Software’s Finuevo Suite for loan process management
Profile says Cash Plus was able to go live with its cloud-based solution in “an extremely short time period”.
Fortis buys NetSuite payments division of MerchantE
Fortis says it has a “robust pipeline of feature enhancements” prepared for the division.
Acrisure names NYSE vice chairman John Tuttle as new president
Tuttle has spent the last 17 years in leadership roles at the NYSE and its parent, Intercontinental Exchange.
UK challenger Zopa taps ClearScore’s D•One for open banking-powered credit assessments
Zopa will utilise D•One’s tech for “open banking connectivity and transaction categorisation intelligence”.
Financial transactions database TigerBeetle raises $24m Series A funding
TigerBeetle plans to invest in engineering as it looks to double the size of its team by the end of the year.
Simona Covaliu appointed new CRO of PayU GPO
Covaliu will lead PayU GPO’s security, compliance, privacy and risk units.
Revolut secures UK banking licence with restrictions, enters mobilisation stage
Revolut has been in pursuit of a UK banking licence since 2021, when it first lodged its application with the PRA.
Lithuania’s Finbee Verslui lands €35m investment from Pollen Street Capital
In 2023, the alternative lender financed over €27 million in small business loans.
Morgan Stanley buys stake in UK business payments start-up Sokin
Sokin says the deal will “accelerate its product growth plans and further global expansion”.
New wealthtech start-up Waltz launches US real estate investment platform
The start-up enables foreign investors to invest in and purchase US residential real estate.
HSBC India partners with Open Financial Technologies to launch FinConnect for business clients
HSBC first introduced FinConnect in Singapore through its partnership with SGFinDex in late 2020.
Video: Allica Bank at Money20/20 Europe – Compliance and the profit paradigm
Allica Bank’s Mitch Trehan discusses the key drivers behind the bank’s latest revenue growth.
FCA issues new guidelines to ensure cash access for consumers and small enterprises
Fourteen banks and building societies are set to implement the new cash access system.
Social trading app Shares set to exit UK market
Shares plans to close its UK app on 30 August as it looks to “focus on the French and EU markets”.
UniCredit set to acquire Aion Bank and BaaS provider Vodeno for €370 million
The deal includes the entire share capital of both companies and is expected to close in Q4 2024.
Kenya’s Diamond Trust Bank taps Network International for digital payment solutions
The bank will utilise Network International’s platform for debit, credit and prepaid card hosting and processing.
Rabobank taps Zafin to upgrade pricing, billing and invoicing capabilities
Zafin’s tech will provide a “consistent view of product, billing and invoicing information across all channels”.
Swiss wealth manager Julius Baer names Goldman Sachs exec Stefan Bollinger as new CEO
Bollinger succeeds interim CEO Nic Dreckmann, who has held the position since February this year.
What the FinTech? | S.5 Episode 12 | The emerging technologies driving innovation in payments
In this podcast episode, we chat with George Maddaloni, CTO of Operations at payments giant Mastercard.
UK money management app Plum raises £16.1m investment
The investment is comprised of a £13.4 million Series B and a £2.7 million Crowdcube campaign.
FCA lifts partner onboarding restrictions on UK fintech Modulr
Modulr can now resume onboarding A&D partners but must inform the FCA when doing so.
Bank of Clarke partners with Greenlight for family money management solution
Bank of Clarke becomes the first Virginia community bank to offer Greenlight’s service.
Egypt’s MNT-Halan raises $157.5 million, plots regional expansion
The international expansion will be aided by both M&As and partnerships.
Former Affirm VP Sibongile Ngako joins US fintech Brex as chief compliance officer
Ngako will lead the compliance programme at Brex and expand its risk-mitigating frameworks.
UK paytech RC365 acquires Money Lenders Licence to provide digital lending services in Hong Kong
RC365 purchased the licence from private investment and advisory firm HC Capital Group for HK 230,000.
BBVA and Telefónica Tech team for cybersecurity push, launch dedicated centre in Mexico
BBVA says its goal is to be “prepared to respond to all types of attacks”.
UAE’s myZoi launches financially inclusive digital wallet with “one-to-many” transfer capabilities
The digital wallet enables transfers to up to five people for the price of one.
Airwallex branches out into retail investment products with new Australian licence
The fintech is to leverage the AFSL licence, granted by ASIC, to expand Airwallex Yield.
Pennsylvania’s Sagent appoints Jaime Gow as new CFO
Gow will work out of Sagent’s major US tech hub in Dallas, Texas.
HKMA unveils latest additions to stablecoin issuer sandbox
The new sandbox aims to facilitate the “sustainable and responsible” development of HK’s “stablecoin ecosystem”.
US Federal Reserve fines digital bank Green Dot $44 million over “unfair and deceptive practices”
Green Dot has been anticipating the arrival of the consent order since February.
US fintech Coast bags $40m Series B for product, partnership and team expansion
The fintech will apply the funds to “accelerate its product and partnership development”.
B2B paytech Slope lands $65m equity and debt funding led by JP Morgan
Following the investment, Slope will join the JP Morgan Payments Partner Network.
CFPB proposes new rule to include payday advances under Truth in Lending Act
The fees associated with payday advances must be accompanied by the appropriate consumer disclosures.
Boku names former NatWest exec Rob Whittick as new CFO
Whittick most recently served for over four years as chief of staff of NatWest Group.
Cash App to exit UK as Block scales back international expansion plans
Block is currently focused on “growing within the US, not expanding into new markets”.
ICYMI fintech funding round-up: Dopay, Wamu, Mifundo, Papaya and more
A handy round-up of the recent funding endeavours of fintech companies across the globe.
Video: Nationwide at Money20/20 Europe – AI and multi-cloud architectures
Nationwide’s Otto Benz discusses the intriguing intersection between multi-cloud architectures and AI.
