FinTech Futures: Top five stories of the week – 7 April 2023
Here’s our pick of five of the top news stories from the world of finance and tech this week.
News
IG Group names Adam Wheelwright as new CTO
Wheelwright was previously the CIO of the UK Health Security Agency.
ICYMI fintech funding round-up: Finanzguru, Spendflo & more
A handy round-up of the recent funding endeavours of fintech companies across the globe.
UK’s Payment Systems Regulator unveils annual plan and budget
The UK’s Payment Systems Regulator has published its key aims, activities and budget for the next year.
French private bank Milleis completes core banking tech revamp with ERI
Milleis, which stems from Barclays’ wealth management business in France, embarked on the project in 2018.
FDIC looks to sell SVB and Signature Bank securities portfolios
The FDIC says the two portfolios are worth around $27 billion (Signature Bank) and $87 billion (SVB).
Navan acquires Indian travel expense management firm Tripeur
The agreement marks Navan’s fifth acquisition in the last two years.
Tarabut Gateway appoints Chun Ong as new chief operating officer
Ong joins from UK digital mortgage lender Molo, where he spent three years as COO.
European paytech Viva Wallet names Dimitris Mavroyiannis as group COO
Mavroyiannis joins from Greece’s Piraeus Bank, where he led the operations and technology arms of the business.
PostFinance partners Sygnum for digital asset banking services
PostFinance customers can now access regulated, bank-grade cryptocurrency services.
Malaysian fintech Soft Space raises $31.5m in Series B1 funding round
The Malaysian payments platform plans to boost its global expansion and further develop its tech.
UTP Group set to acquire Wellet’s Spanish business
Launched in 2021, Wellet is a card payment app that uses similar technology to UTP Group’s Tapeeno.
Lloyds Bank partners Enigio to boost trade finance digitisation
Enigio’s solution creates digital documents that can be used where an ‘original’ document is required.
Tandem Bank acquires money app Loop for undisclosed sum
Loop will continue to operate as a standalone brand and app following the acquisition.
US Bank partners Kyriba for real-time business payments solution
US Bank and Kyriba clients can now send instant payments to vendors, customers and employees.
South Africa’s Peach Payments lands $31m Series A funding
With the new investment, Peach Payments plans to expand across new markets in Africa.
UAE central bank partners R3 and G42 Cloud for CBDC implementation initiative
The CBDC initiative will look at a range of use cases across domestic and cross-border use.
Pakistan’s Samba Bank extends Temenos partnership with Transact core banking upgrade
Samba Bank says its partnership with Temenos and NdcTech has enabled it to “future-proof” its growth.
TerraPay secures $100m in debt and equity funding to fuel global expansion
With the new funding, TerraPay plans to expand its services in Latin America and the MENA region.
UK government delays plan to sell NatWest shares by two years
Rather than offload a 15% stake in the group this year, HM Treasury has pushed the date back to August 2025.
Liechtenstein’s VP Bank expands digital asset capabilities with Metaco
VP Bank has extended its digital asset services into financial assets using Metaco’s Harmonize platform.
Nigeria’s Access Bank partners MFS Africa for outward remittances
The partnership will enable people and businesses in Africa to receive real-time payments from Nigeria.
Rathbones acquires wealth management arm of Investec in £839m deal
The new combined UK entity will have around £100 billion in funds under management.
DMI Finance bags $400m equity funding led by MUFG
Also taking part in the round was existing investor Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank.
Railsr appoints new CEO, CFO and COO following rescue sale
Railsr board chair Rick Haythornthwaite says the new appointments bring “renewed energy” to rebuild the firm.
Dutch challenger Bunq applies for US banking licence
The banking charter from the FDIC would allow the neobank to offer its services across the country.
Quantexa raises $129m Series E funding at $1.8bn valuation
The company will use the new capital to expand its global presence and hire more engineering staff.
SoFi acquires Wyndham Capital Mortgage in all-cash deal
The acquisition includes both “talent and technology” and is designed to help SoFi scale.
EU drafts crypto transfer rules to fight money laundering
Under the new rules, cryptoasset transfers will have to include information on their source and beneficiary.
Cartoon: Pivot
A new cartoon illustrating how consumer fintechs are having to constantly pivot to find product market fit.
US saving and investing app Acorns acquires UK’s GoHenry
Together, both firms will now serve over 6 million customers globally.
US OCC names Prashant Bhardwaj to lead new fintech office
Bhardwaj will lead a team analysing trends in fintech including digital assets and bank-fintech partnerships.
PPRO appoints Motie Bring as chief commercial officer
In his previous role, Bring served as CCO at paytech Nuvei.
Paysafe names Nicole Carroll as new chief strategy and innovation officer
Carroll, who was previously chief product officer at Experian, has more than three decades of industry experience.
Compliance regtech Fourthline secures €50m in fresh funding
Finch Capital increased its stake in the company after having led Fourthline’s previous funding round.
India’s PhonePe calls off acquisition of BNPL firm ZestMoney
PhonePe was in talks to acquire ZestMoney for around $200 million to $300 million according to reports.
Liberty Bank launches on Alkami’s digital banking platform
Liberty Bank says the move to Alkami’s platform is a “crucial step” in its complete tech stack overhaul.
Dutch heavyweight ING taps Salt Edge for SME open banking solutions
The partnership will see use cases developed for SME segments from various industries.
European Payments Council names Giorgio Andreoli as director general
Andreoli says he will be working closely with EPC members to build “the future of payments in Europe”.
Banking Technology Magazine April 2023 issue out now
Cover story: TRANSFORMATION INTERVENTION – It’s never too late to recalibrate.
