Аsia
Grab-led digital bank GXBank is approved to operate by BNM
The Paypers, Posted September 6, 2023
Digital bank GX Bank Berhad (GXBank), led by superapp Grab has received approval from the Minister of Finance and Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) to commence operations.
The first out of five digital bank licence applicants to be approved, GXBank successfully completed an operational readiness review and has been enabled to start its activity, effective 1 September 2023. Based on the information detailed in the announcement, GXBank is set to leverage technology and innovation to address the needs of the unserved and underserved individuals, alongside those of micro and small medium enterprises (MSMEs). Furthermore, the digital-only bank is set to support customers’ needs through varied channels, including a bank app and 24/7 customer support via multiple platforms.
#Digital bank
Indian Bank partners with OneCard to launch co-branded credit cards
The Paypers, Posted September 4, 2023
Indian Bank has partnered with India-based mobile-oriented credit card company OneCard to launch contactless, co-branded metal cards.
This credit card offering is accompanied by a dedicated mobile application that empowers cardholders to manage various aspects of their transactions and financial affairs. The mobile app enables users to monitor real-time transactions, oversee expenses, convert payments into equated monthly instalments (EMIs), redeem rewards, handle repayments, devise monthly budgets, adjust credit limits, and facilitate payments.
One notable feature of this international metal credit card is its provision for customised benefits, such as lifetime validity and the waiver of joining and annual fees.
Representatives from Indian Bank emphasised the bank’s commitment to leveraging technological advancements to provide customers with a seamless, digitally-centric experience. They explained that the bank is entering into partnerships with different fintechs to offer state-of-the-art technology to its customers. The goal is to implement innovation and technology into its offerings, be responsive to each customer’s unique needs through all channels of choice and provide value to the stakeholders.
#Payments
Malaysia’s SEC Welcomes Initial 3 Firms to Digital Innovation Fund
Crowdfund insider, Posted September 4, 2023
The Securities Commission Malaysia this week has announced the first group of award recipients for its Digital Innovation Fund. The Digital Innovation Fund was established to co-fund innovative projects that demonstrate the use of technology to allow new and competitive propositions in the Malaysian capital market. It aims to encourage technology investments by smaller capital market players and the development of industry-wide solutions impacting capital raising and investment activities.
The first recipient is MULA Advisory. This company is a financial fitness instructor who helps Malaysians measure, plan, and manage their finances. It was created by Malacca Securities, a Malaysian company with more than 60 years of experience.
Capsphere is a peer-to-peer asset-based financing platform. Using its online investment platform, the firm matches Malaysian SMEs who need funding with potential investors.
#Fintech
70% of Asia-Pacific Banks’ In-House Digital Transformation Projects Fail – Backbase
Crowdfund insider, Posted September 1, 2023
About 70% of digital transformation projects carried out by mid- to large-sized banks in the Asia-Pacific region have failed due to costly and lengthy in-house efforts, according to a report released by engagement banking fintech firm Backbase.
The APAC-focused IDC InfoBrief, dubbed “Accelerating Customer-Centric Transformation by Balancing Build and Buy – A Collaborative Approach Towards Sustainable Digital Banking Architecture,” draws insights from 125 banks and 316 CIOs in the region.
It finds that despite 65% of banks opting to build their platforms in-house, 80% of these platforms, with budgets over $10 million, face underperformance and have not yielded the desired ROE in their digital initiatives.
Ashish Kakar, Research Director, Financial Insights, IDC Asia/Pacific, highlighted the complexities involved in supporting legacy and modern systems, managing and orchestrating extensive data layers, channels, and features as the reasons for in-house implementation failure.
#Fintech
Europe
UK startup Perenna secures banking licence from the FCA and PRA
Finextra, Posted September 7, 2023
Mortgage lender Perenna has become the first UK startup to receive an unrestricted banking licence in 2023.
Perenna secured a restricted banking licence last year and raised a £25 million Series A from Silverstripe IAG.
Full FCA and PRA approval will enable the firm to introduce its long-term fixed rate mortgage products to the UK, a market typically dominated by variable and short-term fixed rate packages.
Perenna’s flagship product will shield customers from rising interest rates by providing certainty in their mortgage rate for 20 or 30 years with an Early Repayment Charge (ERC) period of just five years.
Perenna’s proposition is created by a funding model which relies on issuing covered bonds to investors seeking long-term stable income, such as pension funds and insurance companies.
#Startup
Zopa raises £75 million to accelerate growth
Finextra, Posted September 8, 2023
Digital bank Zopa has raised £75 million ($95m) in Tier 2 capital to further accelerate its growth. The fundraise brings Zopa’s total capital raised to £530 million, with £150 million raised in 2023.
The bank has not yet announced plans to go public after postponing a planned IPO at the end of 2022.
The news comes after the bank predicted it would achieve full profitability in 2023, and brought Peter Donlon onboard as chief technology officer and Kate Erb as chief operating officer.
Jaidev Janardana, CEO at Zopa Bank said: “Today’s financing is a clear market validation of Zopa Bank’s financial performance, pointing to strong investor confidence in its growth and in its ability to deliver strong financial performance despite the economic uncertainty.
#Fintech
Paysafe and Eightcap offer embedded wallet solution
The Paypers, Posted September 7, 2023
Payment platform Paysafe has strengthened its partnership with retail trading provider Eightcap with the launch of an embedded trading wallet solution.
The strategic collaboration looks to provide Eightcap and Paysafe’s shared partners and merchants with a joint embedded finance solution set to be rolled out in the EU later in 2023.
Paysafe – Eightcap partnership and capabilities of the embedded trading wallet
The announcement details that Eightcap and Paysafe first established a payments partnership back in 2016, with Paysafe providing an extensive array of payment options for Eightcap global traders, including digital wallets of the likes of Skrill and NETELLER, as well as varied local payment methods. Expanding on this collaboration, the newly launched embedded trading wallet leverages Paysafe’s digital wallet infrastructure and Eightcap’s trading technology. The solution enables partners to provide a white-label, plug-and-play trading, and payment wallet for their retail traders, making it increasingly easy and convenient for them to engage in trading activities from wherever they’re situated.
#Payments
Temenos launches Generative AI solution for personalised banking
The Paypers, Posted September 7, 2023
Switzerland-based banking software company Temenos has rolled out a secure solution for banks using Generative AI to automatically classify customers’ banking transactions.
A specialist in Explainable AI, Temenos has deployed Generative AI and Large Language Models (LLM) in banking with a solution for transaction classification. These two technologies can better understand language, video, audio, images, and code to generate new outputs of different modalities. Hence, the rise of Generative AI promises to unleash a wave of innovation and personalisation, transforming how organisations interact with customers.
Temenos’ new Generative AI solution enables banks to classify and label customer transactions from free text narrative automatically and with a high degree of accuracy in different languages. Fast and accurate classification of transactions is important for many banking use cases, from next best product, cashflow prediction, customer budget advice, peer grouping, customer attrition analysis, and many others.
#Fintech
Monzo launches new tool to protect customers from impersonation scams
The Paypers, Posted September 6, 2023
Digital bank Monzo has gone live with a new tool to help customers avoid falling victim to impersonation scams.
The new, first-of-its-kind tool sits inside the app and aims to provide customers with an “additional layer of comfort and security” by verifying whether a call ‘from Monzo’ really is from Monzo.
Impersonation scams can often take the form of very sophisticated fraud attempts where criminals try to convince individuals that they are from an organisation, such as a bank, to get information or even payments from somebody.
Monzo’s solution? A running ‘call status’ that shows whether someone from the Monzo team is talking to you.
So any time a customer gets a call from a person claiming to be Monzo — something the bank says it doesn’t do without arranging it in advance in the app and carrying out security checks — they can go to the privacy and security section of the Monzo app and check whether someone from the team has called them.
#Fintech
UK’s Metro Bank Introduces Vulnerable Customer Online Hub
Crowdfund insider, Posted September 6, 2023
Metro Bank has created dedicated online hubs both to support brokers who may be “working with a vulnerable client, and customers going through a period of vulnerability themselves.”
The Bank has launched “a dedicated Vulnerable Customer page on its intermediary website to help brokers understand how to identify a vulnerable customer and a Mortgage Payment Support page for customers to visit if they are worried about their finances.”
Brokers can make Metro Bank aware of “a potentially vulnerable client by including this information within the application notes.” Metro Bank will then “call the customer directly to discuss ways they can support and manage any concerns.”
#Fintech
Coinbase Enables Seamless Crypto Purchases for Germany, UK Clients via PayPal
Crowdfund insider, Posted September 6, 2023
Users in Germany and the UK can now link their PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) account directly to Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) in order to buy cryptocurrencies, “providing a hassle-free, trusted, and secure purchasing and withdrawal option.”
Coinbase now offers their German and UK users a quick and hassle-free method “to buy crypto, using their debit cards and bank accounts linked to PayPal.”
Acquiring crypto should be “as straightforward as making a regular purchase.”
However, traditional financial mechanisms, “such as wire transfers, can sometimes prove tedious and time-consuming.” Coinbase says that it understands “the desire for quick, more seamless methods to purchase crypto.” Via Coinbase you can now easily buy crypto “through PayPal with just a few clicks.”
#Fintech
USA
Visa expands stablecoin settlement capabilities to merchant acquirers
Finextra, Posted September 5, 2023
Visa is expanding its stablecoin settlement capabilities to the Solana blockchain and is also working with merchant acquirers Worldpay and Nuvei.
Through live pilots with issuers and acquirers, Visa has already moved millions of the USDC stablecoin between its partners over the Solana and Ethereum blockchain networks to settle fiat-denominated payments authorised over VisaNet.
“By leveraging stablecoins like USDC and global blockchain networks like Solana and Ethereum, we’re helping to improve the speed of cross-border settlement and providing a modern option for our clients to easily send or receive funds from Visa’s treasury,” says Cuy Sheffield, head of crypto, Visa.
The payments giant has been working with issuers on stablecoins since 2021 and is now looking into settlement options to send funds onchain to acquirers like Worldpay and Nuvei to help speed up settlement times for their merchants.
#Visa
SAP Fioneer partners with Mastercard
The Paypers, Posted September 8, 2023
Financial services software solutions and platforms provider SAP Fioneer has announced a partnership with Mastercard to embed commercial payments and services into its platforms.
As part of this collaboration, SAP Fioneer’s financial services customers worldwide are to be enabled to deliver embedded payments and lending as part of their business and commercial banking proposition.
As per the information detailed in the announcement, commercial payments remain largely fragmented, with disconnected systems and processes creating a barrier between goods and services purchasing and the financial services that underpin business-to-business (B2B) transactions. Looking to address this, SAP Fioneer and Mastercard are combining their respective capabilities and reach to explore opportunities that assist banks and fintechs in delivering an embedded payment and lending experience for their customers that meets the growing demand for convenience, speed to market, and agility.
#Mastercard
X (Twitter) scores licence to launch payments
Altfi, Posted September 8, 2023
Elon Musk’s journey to make X, formerly Twitter, the ultimate super app continues as it secures a licence to integrate payments into its platform.
Rhode Island regulators granted X a currency transmitter licence, which is legally required for companies that want to conduct financial activities on behalf of users sending and receiving money.
The licence allows the social media platform to custody, transfer and exchange digital currencies and brings X to a total of seven currency transmitter licences across the US — Michigan, Missouri, New Hampshire, Arizona, Maryland and Georgia make up the rest.
Last November Musk told employees that he eventually wants the platform to offer a whole range of bank-related products, including debit cards, loans and, archaically, cheques.
#Payments
Mastercard, Fintech Saudi to Support Digitalization of Financial Services
Crowdfund insider, Posted September 7, 2023
Mastercard (NYSE: MA) and Fintech Saudi have announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding during Seamless Saudi Arabia 2023 “to advance the growth and development of the Saudi Arabia fintech industry.”
The announcement marks another step “towards powering an inclusive digital economy and advancing entrepreneurship in the Saudi Arabia.”
In line with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 objectives and ongoing efforts to create a thriving Small and Midsize Enterprise (SME) sector, the partnership has “been launched to create an enabling environment for the Kingdom’s burgeoning fintech community to grow and fulfil its potential.”
Utilizing Mastercard’s expertise, advisory and solutions, fintechs across the country will be supported to scale and grow their businesses, “taking advantage of new opportunities.”
Ultimately, the Mastercard and Fintech Saudi partnership aims “to facilitate meaningful collaboration and bolster the Kingdom’s rapidly growing fintech space by accelerating its digital transformation and empowering homegrown and Saudi-based entities to go to market faster.”
#Mastercard
Cloud Banking Fintech nCino Reports Steady Business, Revenue Growth
Crowdfund insider, Posted September 4, 2023
nCino, Inc. (NASDAQ: NCNO), which claims to be a pioneer in cloud banking for the global financial services industry, announced financial results for the second quarter of fiscal year 2024, ended July 31, 2023.
Pierre Naudé, Chairman and CEO of nCino, said:
“We are very pleased with our second quarter results and in particular, the strong rebound in sales activity we saw across the business. Our profitability again exceeded expectations even as we continue to strategically invest in expanding our platform and solutions. With the liquidity crisis in the U.S. banking industry largely behind us, and financial institutions around the world focused on improving their operational efficiency and customer experience, we look for the momentum we saw in the second quarter to continue for the balance of the year and beyond.”
#Digital Dollar
LatAm
Nubank to launch personal loans in Mexico
The Paypers, Posted September 6, 2023
Brazil-based financial services platform Nubank has announced the launch of personal loans in Mexico, aiming to strengthen its footprint in the region.
As with all Nu products, the launch is set to follow a phased rollout process, beginning in the days to come with a group of employees who are to start testing the process, following which the offering will be expanded to the general market.
After the rollout, Mexicans will be enabled with access to simple, transparent, and flexible loans through the Nu app. The application process will be digital in its entirety and can be completed in less than a 5-minute timeframe. Customers will be provided with a maximum offer, and they can adjust the amount and payment schedule to meet their needs, with a complete simulation. What is more, users will be able to make early payments at any time, free of additional fees or penalties of any kind.
#Fintech
