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Finstar Financial Group

Swift and Visa have moved to strengthen the connectivity between their networks in a move designed to streamline international B2B payments.

Unveiled at Sibos in Toronto, the partnership sees Visa deploy Swift Pre-validation for upfront checks of its B2B Connect payments, catching potential errors before payments are even initiated. The networks also plan to work together to increase end-to-end transaction visibility by using high-speed Swift gpi capabilities and tracking data. By teaming up, the two giants […]

Google to open major fintech centre in India’s new smart city

Google is to open its global fintech operation centre in India’s first “greenfield smart city”, as it invests $10bn in India’s digitisation fund.The announcement was made by Google CEO Sundar Pichai after meeting Indian PM Narendra Modi in Washington on Friday last week.The operation centre will be located in Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City), […]

The outlook for banking sector M&A in 2023

Alan Bainbridge and Albert Weatherill highlight key trends across the banking sector and share their insights on the forces shaping deal activity. There continues to be longstanding speculation in the market about when a next big round of consolidation in the banking sector might occur. Will it be 2023? That seems unlikely, particularly “mergers of equals”, for […]

Investment in B2B fintech set to continue to outpace B2C fintech in 2023, experts say

Investment in B2B fintech in Europe to date has reached $18.5bn in 2022, which outstrips the $7.5bn invested in B2C fintech in 2022- and experts believe this gap could grow even further next year. The days of fintech being synonymous with sexy neobanks or the latest hyped investment app appear to be in retreat, at least from an […]

The Fintech 250: The most promising fintech companies of 2022

The Fintech 250 is CB Insights’ annual list of the 250 most promising private fintech companies in the world. This year’s winners are shaping the future of B2B and B2C financial services, from payments and banking to investing and insurance.ne number CB Insights has unveiled the winners of the fifth annual Fintech 250 — a […]

State of Digital Lending Q1’22 Report

Global digital lending startups saw 150+ deals for the fifth straight quarter, while funding dipped slightly. Global digital lending funding ticked down just 4% quarter-over-quarter — holding strong despite the broader downturn across the venture market. In State of Digital Lending Q1’22 Report, we dig into global investment trends to spotlight takeaways including: The region […]

Like so many others, I find my heart broken by the conflict in Ukraine

«Like so many others, I find my heart broken by the conflict in Ukraine. As a Boyko, it is no surprise that my family are from Ukraine and most are Ukrainian citizens – my sister, uncles, and cousins. I worry for the safety of all Ukrainians in this dreadful situation.  I have the honor to have […]

Central banks convene on CBDCs

Seven central banks have issued a set of reports intended to build a global consensus for the design and development of a retail digital currency. Building on an initial report outlining foundational principles for CBDCs published in 2020, the group formed by Bank of Canada, Bank of England, Bank of Japan, European Central Bank, Federal […]

Indonesia’s Xendit becomes Southeast Asia’s latest Unicorn

Digital payments infrastructure provider Xendit has nabbed a $150 million Series C that elevates the company to a short list of Southeast Asia unicorns.Businesses from small kiosks (warungs) to SMBs and large players like Transferwise and Grab use Indonesian-based Xendit’s API-based technology to process payments, run marketplaces, disburse payroll, and detect fraud. The firm, which […]