Crowdfund Insider, Posted August 17, 2023

Payoneer Singapore Private Limited, a subsidiary of Payoneer Global Inc. (NASDAQ: PAYO), the financial technology company empowering the world’s small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to transact, do business, and grow globally, has been “granted a Major Payment Institution License from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).”

The license will enable Payoneer Singapore “to enhance the breadth of its products and roll out several new services in Singapore, especially in the areas of account issuance, cross-border money transfer, domestic money transfer, e-money issuance, and merchant acquisition.”

Payoneer Singapore’s successful license approval “followed a rigorous application and review process, demonstrating the company’s compliance with regulations and standards set out by the MAS.”

#Payments

Finextra, Posted August 15, 2023

The Monetary Authority of Singapore has introduced a new regulatory framework intended to boost the stability of the nation’s certified stablecoins.

The new rulebook will apply to single-currency stablecoins (SCS) pegged to the Singapore Dollar or any G10 currency, that are issued in Singapore.

Issuers of such SCS will have to fulfil key requirements relating to value stability – including information relating to their composition, valuation, custody and audit – new capital requirements and redemption and disclosure rules.

The new rules have been designed to ensure an orderly wind-down of failing stablecoins schemes and full value returns to investors.

#MAS

Finextra, Posted August 16, 2023

The central banks of Singapore and Indonesia are planning to introduce the use of QR codes for cross-border payments between the two countries.

Both banks, Bank Indonesia (BI) and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), have stated they intend to introduce the technology into their payment systems before the end of the year.

The plan was originally announced in August 2022 and according to a BI deputy governor Filianingsih Hendarta, the project is halfway to completion with three-quarters of the beta testing completed.

Singapore has been a particular forerunner in this space. As far back as 2018, it rolled out what it claimed was the world’s first unified payments QR code.

Since then, Singapore has completed a cross-border pilot with Malaysia while Indonesia and Thailand have also linked their respective systems. 

#Payments

Starling Bank to expand in Asia Pacific

The Paypers, Posted August 14, 2023

UK-based digital challenger bank Starling has announced its plans to launch its Engine Banking-as-a-Service platform in the Asia Pacific market.

Following the announcement, an official of Starling mentioned that the Asian bank the financial institution is partnering with is set to use its software and suite of services in order to launch small and medium-sized accounts, rather than to provide customers with personal banking solutions. Starling Bank declined to offer information on the bank or the country where the collaboration will take place, respecting the confidentiality terms of the arrangement. 

Engine represents the Banking-as-a-Service platform that Startling launched in March 2022. It was designed as an all-in-one system that enables financial institutions and banks to develop their digital banking solutions (including saving, loans, mortgages, or checking accounts). Starling Bank will use its Engine core banking platform as a launchpad for its international expansion and development. The bank plans to license its technology and services to lenders, in order to give them the possibility to launch their own digital-only banking brands from scratch. 

#Digital Bank

Mastercard launches Mastercard Strive India

The Paypers, Posted August 15, 2023

Mastercard has announced the launch of Mastercard Strive India, aiming to enable small businesses in the country to succeed within the digital economy by 2025.

By collaborating with trade associations, non-profits, and government agencies, Mastercard Strive India will focus its efforts on supporting micro-enterprises, women-owned and led businesses, as well as agri-entrepreneurs. The main objective of this program seeks to reach India’s small businesses to encourage the adoption of new digital tools and enable access to markets and digital financial services.

Mastercard Strive India joins a portfolio of philanthropic programs by the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth aimed at helping small businesses worldwide thrive in the digital economy. Additional Strive programs include those in the US, the UK, Mexico, Czechia, Indonesia, and Malaysia.

#Mastercard

Bank INA augments digital banking in Indonesia with Mambu

The Paypers, Posted August 14, 2023

Bank INA has chosen Mambu’s cloud-native core banking platform as the technology foundation as it brings new digital banking services in Indonesia.

Bank INA, part of the Salim Group, will use Mambu as the technology foundation for its new digital banking services.

Mambu’s cloud-native platform enables banks and financial institutions to achieve rapid scalability and swiftly introduce new digital banking services in a matter of weeks. As an authentic SaaS banking platform born in the cloud, Mambu’s modular approach empowers banks to roll out innovative banking services customised to match the desires and requirements of their clients.

#Digital Bank

Altfi, Posted August 14, 2023

UK neobank Monzo is planning a move into the vast pensions market.

Monzo, which recently announced it has 7.5 million customers and is profitable on a monthly basis, is hiring an exec for its new pension business.

According to a job advert, Monzo is looking for a product manager to lead the launch and scaling of its pensions products.

The role – which pays £75,000-£100,000 – appears to be nested within Monzo’s newest team, its savings & investment division.

Monzo only currently offers cash savings accounts but has long been rumoured to be building out a fuller suite of wealth products. 

#Neobank

The Paypers, Posted August 10, 2023

Germany-based fintech company, The NAGA Group, has partnered with Rezolve AI ‘Brain’ aiming to enhance online payments as well as brokerage.

The collaboration will see the integration of Rezolve’s AI platform, ‘Brain’, into NAGA’s proprietary technology suite, including the NAGA Trader social trading app as well as NAGA Pay system. This partnership is aimed at redefining the experience for both current and new NAGA users, providing real-time personalised market analysis, enhancing trading proficiency as well as automating payments across various languages.

NAGA provides an online social trading platform, accessible via both web and app interfaces. The platform enables its users to invest in diverse ranges of assets such as currencies, stocks, ETF’s, commodities, and cryptocurrencies, all together using its own electronic payments solution. The addition of Rezolve’s ‘Brain’, with its AI algorithms, machine learning, and its natural language processing (NLP), is aimed at enhancing NAGA’s ability to offer its users a distinct AI experience.

#Open Banking 

Finextra, Posted August 16, 2023

A new funding vehicle for providing growth-stage capital to UK fintechs has launched with support from Barclays, London Stock Exchange Group, Mastercard, NatWest and Peel Hunt.

The Fintech Growth Fund was envisaged in the Kalifa Review of the UK’s fintech ecosystem, which identified a £2bn growth funding gap in the UK.

Aimed predominantly at financial technology companies between Series B and pre-IPO, the first deployment of capital into businesses is scheduled for Q4 2023. The fund will look to undertake, on average, four to eight investments per year, with investments between £10 million and £100 million. The fund will make minority investments and all investments will be for equity and equity-linked securities.

It is believed that the fund is aiming at raising £1 billion from institutional investors to support its mission, with initial seed investments coming from Barclays, London Stock Exchange Group, Mastercard and NatWest to get the new vehical operational

#Fintech

Crowdfund Insider, Posted August 16, 2023

As outlined in the Kalifa Review of UK Fintech, the UK Fintech Growth Partners has launched its Growth Stage Fintech Fund.

The Kalifa Review declared there was an annual growth stage funding shortfall for UK Fintechs of around £2 billion. A £1 billion fund was envisioned to act as a catalyst to spur investment and help develop the ecosystem.

The UK is one of the top Fintech hubs in the world, buttressed by its leading global financial center. Fintech has emerged as a key area of innovation for the country, and industry insiders and policymakers are keen to support and boost the growth of Fintech.

According to a public statement, the Fund will invest in private Fintech ventures mainly from Series B to pre-IPO to help them scale. The entity envisions four to eight investments each year ranging between £10 million and £100 million – all in equity or equity-linked securities.

The fund has garnered the backing of Barclays, NatWest, Mastercard, London Stock Exchange Group, and Peel Hunt,

Along with the money, the Fund is expected to provide strategic support to portfolio firms to help them become successful.

#Fintech

USA

Neobank Zolve Aims to Serve Expat Community, Bundles with Mobile Plan

Crowdfund Insider, Posted August 17, 2023

Zolve, a new Neobank aiming to serve expatriates, has launched its own mobile service called Zolve Connect.

Zolve states that expats attending university or working in the US can launch a phone plan from the Zolve App. The company believes that by binding financial services with a phone plan, Zolve can more effectively market and cater to the international community.

Zolve states that it has partnered with Gigs, a telecom-as-a-service platform that allows any company or brand to launch a customized mobile service.

Raghunandan G, founder and CEO of Zolve, explains that the process of accessing financial services or a SIM card in the US is time-consuming and complicated, but by combining a mobile plan with the Neobank service, they can add value for users while driving a reoccurring revenue stream.

#Neobank 

Over 50% of Credit Card Users Maintain Revolving Debt, Few Use Payment Plans but Fintechs Resonate

Crowdfund Insider, Posted August 17, 2023

Credt card debt is now over $1 trillion, having increased by $45 billion from April to June this year. This has led to some concerning as well as interesting trends, according to a report by JD Power.

In the Credit Card Satisfaction Survey, results indicate that 51% of credit card holders are maintaining revolving debt. The average interest on this debt is pegged at 14.8%.

When looking at just cardholders that are deemed “financially unhealthy,” this percentage of revolving debt jumps to 69%.

Unsurprisingly, these unhealthy cardholders do not believe these cards encourage good financial decisions.

Regarding payment plans, a fairly recent innovation for cardholders to handle card debt more like a loan – usage is “erratic,” varying from 9% to as high as 23%, with usage mainly by “financially healthy” or “over-extended” individuals.

#Fintech

Corserv, a Fintech Empowering Financial Institutions with Payment Programs, Teams Up with Peoples Bank

Crowdfund Insider, Posted August 17, 2023

Corserv, a company that empowers banks and fintechs with payment programs, has partnered with Ohio-based Peoples Bank in order “to implement a credit card program to serve their commercial, small business, nonprofit, local municipalities, and consumer customers.”

Peoples Bank is “a $8.8 billion full-service relationship bank headquartered in Marietta, Ohio with a total of 132 bank offices in Ohio, Kentucky, West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia.”

Peoples Bank is moving from “an Agent Bank program to Corserv’s program where they now own the credit card profits and losses and are able to make credit decisions using its relationship knowledge of applicants as a factor in approving credit.”

Corserv’s comprehensive program “enables Peoples Bank to offer 14 different credit card products, including commercial and business cards, traditional rewards cards, a low rate card, a high-rewards world card and secured cards for those building their credit.”

Peoples Bank expects credit cards “to be a great performing product in the bank, given that Corserv’s bank partners averaged a 7.7% Return on Assets (ROA) last year from its credit card programs.”

Peoples Bank commercial and business customers “will now have increased control c

#Fintech

Fintech Nymbus, Citizens Bank of Edmond Introduce Roger, a Digital-First Bank

Crowdfund Insider, Posted August 17, 2023

Veteran-led Citizens Bank of Edmond publicly launched Roger, the only digital-first bank tailored to service members, “under the leadership of President and CEO Jill Castilla.”

Established in 1901 with $375 million in assets, Citizens Bank of Edmond is renowned “for its community-focused banking and lending services.”

Inspired by her own experience, Castilla, “a U.S. Army and Oklahoma National Guard veteran, spouse of an Army retiree, and a Blue Star mother, sought to identify ways to support service members and their families from day one.”

Castilla added:

“When I enlisted at 19, I had little access to my bank accounts and financial tools. Working with Nymbus, we set out to make the transition into service easy with a digital-first approach for account set-up and management. America’s service members are strong, courageous and deserve a financial partner that will work alongside them as they build their future wealth.

In this move, Citizens Bank of Edmond has “forged a strategic partnership with Nymbus, the frontrunner in next-generation digital banking solutions.”

#Digital Bank

Mastercard launches CBDC partner programme

Finextra, Posted August 71, 2023

Mastercard has put together a central bank digital currency partner programme comprised of firms from across the ecosystem, including Ripple and Consensys.

The vast majority of central banks are engaged in some form of work on CBDCs, and four retail versions are already in full live circulation, according to the Bank for International Settlements.

In 2020, Mastercard built a virtual testing platform to help central banks assess and explore national digital currencies. Since then the firm has worked with several central banks on pilots.

However, Jesse McWaters, who leads global regulatory advocacy at Mastercard, says that there are questions about the role of the private sector in CBDC issuance, security, privacy and interoperability.

These include how a CBDC works with other commonly used payment mechanisms, what specific challenges they would solve and whether they’re even the right tool for the job.

#CBDC

Crowdfund Insider, Posted August 17, 2023

Klar, S.A. de C.V., the Mexico City-based digital financial services platform, announced that it has secured a $100 million credit facility from Victory Park Capital (VPC), a global alternative investment firm specializing in private credit.

The financial support from VPC will aim to “propel Klar during a moment of transformative growth for the company, as it expands product offers that provide Mexicans with enhanced access to reliable, simple and transparent credit cards.”

Stefan Möller, CEO of Klar, said:

“We are dedicated to democratizing access to credit in Mexico because we believe that a more inclusive and efficient financial system means more for everyone: more opportunities, more customer satisfaction and ultimately, more prosperity. There is no shortage of quality financial products, but they serve a limited population. We are changing that paradigm. More credit for more people — that is our premise.”

The credit facility with VPC comes “at a crucial time for the Mexican financial sector. Klar is experiencing exponential growth and has taken a leadership position in the past year, providing millions of Mexicans with accessible credit lines and financial products.”

Since its launch in 2019, Klar has quickly “gained a loyal customer base thanks to its focus on technology and user experience.”

#Fintech

Brazil’s Matera buy Cinnecta to bring AI to instant payments

Finextra, Posted August 16, 2023

Brazil’s Matera is bringing AI to instant payments after acquiring local outfit Cinnecta. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

A major fintech player in the Brazilian market, with operations in the US, Matera has become a significant part of the country’s Pix instant payments ecosystem, working with several major banks. Over 300 million Pix payments are processed per month using Matera’s technology, 60 million of which are initiated by QR codes.

The firm will now tap Cinnecta’s AI capabilities to develop products and services tailored to financial institutions, credit card companies and consumers. The partnership aims to boost clients’ sales capabilities by delivering intelligent, actionable insights.

#Payments

Big names join Brazil’s CBDC pilot phase

Finextra, Posted August 16, 2023

Brazil’s central bank has picked 16 proposals – from firms including Nubank, Microsoft, Visa and SETL – for the pilot phase of its Drex CBDC project.

Brazil has been working on a digital real project for several years ahead of a planned 2024 launch. Last week, the central bank gave the currency a name – Drex.

Now it is gearing up for the first pilot phase, which will test privacy and programmability functionalities through the implementation of a specific use case – a delivery versus payment (DvP) protocol for a federal government bond between customers from different institutions, in addition to the services that make up this transaction.

The bank says that this use case allows testing to focus on privacy, as it promotes the exchange of information between the various platform participants, and also tests the programmability of the offered services and their interoperability.

#Fintech