Indian SaaS fintech Mintoak bags $20m in Series A funding
PayPal Ventures led the funding round, with new and existing investors also participating.
News
First Abu Dhabi Bank hires Michel Longhini to lead global private banking
Longhini joins from Edmond de Rothschild where he was CEO of private banking.
Singapore and India link up PayNow and UPI for real-time cross-border payments
The MAS and RBI will use a scalable cloud-based infrastructure to manage future increases in remittance volumes.
Dutch challenger Bunq becomes first EU neobank to report a quarterly profit
Bunq reported a pre-tax profit of €2.3 million over Q4 2022.
European Commission launches blockchain regulatory sandbox
While blockchain is known for crypto, the Commission says the tech has a “wider utility” beyond financial services.
Icelandic neobank Indó taps Lucinity for AML protection
With the partnership, Indó will have access to Lucinity’s transaction monitoring and case manager solutions.
Bank of Russia to launch digital ruble pilot in April
Olga Skorobogatova, first deputy chair of the central bank, announced the news.
Pliant raises $28m in Series A funding
Founded in 2020 and based in Berlin, Pliant offers a B2B credit card platform.
Extended deadline announced for Banking Tech Awards USA 2023 nominations
The new deadline for nominations is now Friday, 24 February 2023. Apply today!
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.
Video: Highlights from the exclusive global launch of Leda Glyptis’ book, Bankers Like Us
Take a look at the highlights from Leda Glyptis’ global book launch.
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.
