Offa taps Finova to power new Sharia-compliant property lending platform
The move comes as part of a £1 million investment by Offa to upgrade its IT systems.
UK
UK open banking fintech Kikapay winds down
Douglas Pinteau and Dermot Coakley of WSM Marks Bloom LLP were instated as joint liquidators on 16 January.
Amplifi Capital lands £22.5m funding to fuel Reevo Money expansion
Reevo Money was launched by Amplifi Capital in 2022 and is the firm’s second customer-facing brand.
Kriya announces new £50m funding facility from Viola Group
Kriya aims to use the facility to enhance its offerings for B2B retailers.
UK fintech Paysme winds down operations
Founder Derek Stewart says Paysme is “not in a sufficiently strong financial position to grow to the next milestone”.
UK challenger Tandem appoints former JP Morgan exec Maria Khan as director of product and digital
The bank says Khan will work to develop and cultivate “green digital banking solutions”.
YouLend secures £4bn private securitisation deal with JP Morgan
The deal will enable YouLend to provide additional revenue-based financing to SMEs.
Power in simplicity: confirmation of payee provider SurePay wins at Banking Tech Awards
Making life difficult for fraudsters but easier for business is the real success story, says SurePay.
Griffin begins hunt for new COO with Maria Campbell set to depart
Campbell is due to depart the company this quarter to take “some personal time out”.
Dutch challenger Bunq prepares for UK relaunch as it reports first full year of profitability
Following a reported net profit of €53.1 million in 2023, Bunq has now applied for a UK EMI licence.
UK’s PRA fines HSBC £57m for “historic depositor protection failings”
The PRA says the fine is the second-largest issued by the regulator to date.
GFT cultivates core banking capabilities with acquisition of Colombia’s Sophos Solutions
The acquisition will see GFT take on all of Sophos’ partners and 1,700 of its employees.
Lloyds to cut 1,600 jobs across branch network amid growing customer preference for digital banking
The group says it will also be introducing over 830 new roles within its relationship growth team.
UK to continue work on digital pound, but “no final decision has been made” on a potential launch
HM Treasury and the BoE have responded to a public consultation initially launched last February.
ICYMI fintech funding round-up: Safty, Ozone API, WealthKernel and Karty
A handy round-up of the recent funding endeavours of fintech companies across the globe.
UK fintech ieDigital snaps up AI tech provider Abaka
The fintech’s takeover of Abaka comes only four months after it also acquired US CUSO Connect FSS.
Abrdn announces £150m cost-cutting drive with 500 jobs on the chopping block
The cuts are expected to impact group functions and support services across its middle management.
Duco names Michael Chin as new CEO as Christian Nentwich steps down
Chin previously served as CEO of Broadway Technology prior to its acquisition by Bloomberg last October.
Former Adyen exec Jan-Pieter Lips joins UK’s DNA Payments as CEO
The London-headquartered firm has tasked its new CEO with leading its next period of growth.
Demystify Podcast: Lettspay and Griffin – demystifying working with a challenger bank
Our guests on the Demystify podcast this week are Adam Moulson, Griffin’s COO, and Garrett Foxon, CEO of Lettspay.
Business spend management platform Payhawk lands UK EMI licence
The fintech unicorn previously gained an EMI licence from the central bank of Lithuania in July.
ICYMI fintech funding round-up: Prometeo, Zeal, Detected and Finbridge Global
A handy round-up of the recent funding endeavours of fintech companies across the globe.
Sainsbury’s set to wind down banking business
The UK retailer has also confirmed the departure of Jim Brown, Sainsbury’s Bank’s CEO of almost five years.
Hong Kong’s Allied Banking Corporation extends Finastra partnership with core upgrade
The group is migrating from Finastra’s Equation core to its cloud-based Essence solution.
DirectID founder James Varga departs after 13 years
Varga says he has made the “pivotal decision to move on” from the Scottish risk and decisioning firm.
The ai Corporation names CCO Piers Horak as new CEO
Horak succeeds Dr Mark Goldspink in the role after over 10 years with the UK-based paytech.
Encompass Corporation snaps up CoorpID and Blacksmith KYC from ING
Encompass is to acquire 100% of both ING companies for an undisclosed sum.
How fintech is expanding the borders of financial inclusion
FinTech Futures takes a look at FS firms that are catering to vulnerable people or people with disabilities.
UK car finance fintech Carmoola lands £15.5m in equity funding
The start-up previously secured a £95m debt facility from NatWest and an £8.5m Series A round in February 2023.
10x Banking raises $45m to fuel expansion efforts
The raise marks 10x’s first funding round since its Series C in June 2021, when it bagged $187 million.
ClearBank names Paul Staples as new group head of embedded banking
Staples has previously served as global head of HSBC’s BaaS and embedded finance proposition.
European fintech funding round-up: Unbox, Rivero, ProjectPay & Ryft
Our weekly fintech round-up for you to get the latest funding news from across Europe.
UK digital identity firm Yoti secures £20m in debt funding
The latest funding follows a £10 million investment by Lloyds Banking Group in March 2023.
Global fintech investment plummeted 48% in 2023, according to new data by Innovate Finance
The total global investment flowing into fintech reached $51.2 billion in 2023 across 3,973 deals.
Former Barclays managing director Simon Bladon joins PayPal as UK CEO
Bladon will also serve as vice president of global entity management for the payments giant.
UK fintech funding fell 63% in 2023, new Tracxn report finds
It is the second year fintech funding has fallen in the UK, down 70% on 2021 figures.
UK fintech Chetwood Financial appoints Julian Hynd as new COO
Hynd previously spearheaded the commercial transformation of UK-based Redwood Bank.
Barclays’ bid to cut costs saw 5,000 jobs axed in 2023
A Barclays spokesperson confirms the cuts were part of the bank’s “ongoing efficiency programme”.
Demystify Podcast: Griffin, a brand new UK bank, with David Jarvis, co-founder and CEO
Griffin’s CEO and co-founder, David Jarvis, demystifies the complex layers of the UK challenger bank’s proposition.
UK fintech start-up Zilo lands £25m in Series A funding
The funding was led by FISV and Portage, with participation from State Street and Citi.
