Former Starling Bank exec Helen Bierton to lead everyday banking for Lloyds
Bierton is to head the group’s everyday banking services across all of its divisions.
Europe
Circle secures conditional DASP registration in France, appoints new country head
Circle has appointed Coralie Billmann as head of French operations, subject to regulatory approval.
Monese aims to secure fresh funding after recording £30.5m annual loss for 2022
Monese says its services could be “adversely and potentially severely affected” if new funding isn’t found.
HSBC reportedly enters race to buy Tesco’s banking business
Sky News first reported Tesco Bank’s interest in exploring a sale in February last year.
JP Morgan and Viva Wallet reportedly collide over board appointments
JP Morgan acquired a 48.5% stake in Viva Wallet in December 2022 for $800 million.
HSBC unveils new international payments app Zing in the UK
Zing is a multi-currency app and debit card that UK residents will be able to use in more than 200 countries.
HSBC completes sale of French retail banking business to CCF
Following the completion of the deal, My Money Group has renamed itself as CCF Group.
OakNorth names Lord Adair Turner as new chairman
The bank plans to leverage Turner’s “extensive track record in financial services” to boost its growth plans.
UK fintech Cushon appoints Ellen Louw as new chief financial officer
Louw’s previous experience includes holding senior finance roles at WorldRemit and American Express.
ICYMI fintech funding round-up: Fiat Republic, Hakbah, Payble and Spare
A handy round-up of the recent funding endeavours of fintech companies across the globe.
Hinckley & Rugby Building Society appoints Barry Carter as new CEO
Carter, who has served as COO at the building society since July 2022, will replace outgoing CEO Colin Fyfe.
UK neolender Updraft secures £272m in mix of debt and equity funding
The start-up previously raised £108 million in debt and equity funding last December.
Dutch neobank Bunq launches self-built GenAI platform for customers
Dubbed Finn, the platform allows users to ask advanced questions or seek advice about their finances.
Award wins signal success for Polish newcomer VeloBank
Poland-based challenger VeloBank won both the Team of the Year and Newcomer Banking Brand at Banking Tech Awards 2023.
UK fintech Pockit names Garreth Griffith as new COO
With a career spanning more than 25 years, Griffith joins Pockit from Habito, where he also served as COO.
Ireland’s Davy Capital Markets taps Torstone for its post-trade platform
The deployment builds on an agreement between the two companies in August last year.
DfT director Dan Moore joins PSR as head of strategy and intelligence
Moore forms the third addition to the PSR’s executive team this year.
Video: Five Degrees at the Banking Tech Awards 2023 – digital banking innovation
We chat with Bjorn Holmthorsson, Managing Director at Five Degrees, and Jamie Burink, Business Head at Fyndoo.
UK’s PSR proposes cross-border interchange fee cap
The PSR is proposing a cap of 0.2% for debit transactions and 0.3% for credit transactions made online.
French fintech Unlimitd boosts financing capacity to €100m as ACP takes majority stake
Founded in July 2021 by Julien Zerbib, Unlimitd provides revenue-based financing to digital companies.
Søren Westh Lonning joins B2B spend management platform Pleo as CFO
Reports suggest the appointment of a CFO may be laying the groundwork for a potential IPO in the near future.
First Bank taps Backbase for engagement banking platform
First Bank’s Bala Nibhanupudi says it’s “the final step in our years-long digital transformation journey”.
Dutch commercial bank NIBC taps Fenergo for KYC tech
The bank plans to streamline the onboarding of new clients with enhanced KYC processes.
Europe fintech funding round-up: Aria, AbbeyCross, Salv and more
A handy round-up of the recent funding endeavours of fintech companies across Europe.
ABN Amro to acquire Dutch neobroker Bux for undisclosed sum
ABN Amro hopes the deal will help it gain a foothold in the retail investment space.
ClearBank names former Barclays and Starling exec Megan Cooper as new chief product officer
Cooper joins ClearBank from Barclays UK, where she served as CPO for its consumer banking platform.
E-invoicing in Europe 2024: a country by country policy overview
Delving into the mandates, legal changes and harmonisation efforts in B2B and B2G e-invoicing in Europe.
Meniga bags €15m Series D funding to fuel new growth strategy
The round takes the company’s total funding raised up to €55 million since its inception in 2009.
LemFi taps ClearBank for agency banking services
The partnership aims to provide African migrants in the UK with “an alternative to traditional banking”.
CaixaBank forms GenAI task force with backing from Microsoft, Accenture and Banco BPI
The Valencia-based bank has dedicated a 100-strong team to explore new use cases for the technology.
UK fintech Ebury acquires Prime Financial Markets to make African debut
The deal will see the London-based fintech open a local office in South Africa.
Former Marqeta SVP Jeff Parker joins Paymentology as new CEO
Parker stepped down from his position as SVP and managing director at Marqeta last month.
Banco Santander migrates corporate and investment banking business to the cloud
Santander intends to complete its group-wide migration to the cloud by the end of next year.
Marsden Building Society taps Jade ThirdEye for AML tech
The firm will deploy Jade ThirdEye’s Transaction Monitoring and Customer Screening solution.
Hungary’s OTP Bank taps iGCB for core banking revamp
OTP Bank has selected the vendor’s Intellect Digital Core (IDC) offering and lending platform.
SumUp bags €285m in latest funding round to fuel expansion plans
Led by Sixth Street Growth, the round also saw participation from existing investors.
UK’s FCA proposes new rules to protect access to cash
The regulator says designated banks and building societies need to assess the gaps in access to cash.
UK regulators issue joint proposals to tackle risk of financial instability posed by CTP dependency
The regulators are accepting feedback and expect to publish final requirements by H2 2024.
Funding Circle appoints Coconut co-founder Adam Goodall as VP of product
Goodall joins Funding Circle from Coconut, a UK-based bookkeeping start-up he co-founded in 2016.
Germany’s Scalable Capital secures $65m in Series E extension
The raise follows on from the company’s $180 million Series E round in June 2021.
