Аsia
MAS announces additional $100 mil funding for FIs pursuing AI, quantum projects
The Edge Singapore, Posted July 18, 2024
Singapore’s central bank and regulator is getting serious about AI and quantum computing — and it is putting money where its mouth is. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) says it will provide an additional $100 million in funding support to help financial institutions (FIs) in their pursuit of artificial intelligence (AI) and quantum projects and capabilities.
Leong Sing Chiong, deputy managing director of the markets and development group at MAS, says this sum will come from MAS’s Financial Sector Development Fund. “We are earmarking additional funds to support both quantum and AI initiatives,” says Leong at a July 18 media biefing.
The $100 million falls under MAS’s Financial Sector Technology and Innovation Grant Scheme (FTSI 3.0), launched in 2023, which had an initial commitment sum of $150 million. FTSI 3.0 aims to fund FIs and their projects in the space of AI, regulatory tech and environmental, social and governance fintech.
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OneCard joins forces with Razorpay
The Paypers, Posted July 19, 2024
India-based credit card fintech OneCard has entered a collaboration with Razorpayto optimise the Indian credit card market through improved repayments.
In a bid to support its expansion strategy, OneCard partnered with Razorpay, with the two companies working towards maintaining an enhanced and secure credit card bill repayment experience for customers. Through this, the India-based firm intends to increase its credit card bill repayment success rates and customer retention levels, whilst expanding its profitability.
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Sumsub announces strategic partnerships in Southeast Asia
The Paypers, Posted July 10, 2024
Global full-cycle verification platform Sumsub has announced a series of strategic collaborations in Southeast Asia.
These partnerships include Nexus Technologies based in the Philippines, PT Secure Pasifik Teknologi in Indonesia, and Spectrum Edge in Malaysia. The collaboration aims to enhance fraud prevention measures in the region’s business landscape in the context of increasing online activities and related fraud incidents.
According to the official press release, Southeast Asia’s digital economy growth has also attracted an increase in fraudulent activities, impacting financial losses and eroding consumer trust. Specifically, countries such as the Philippines, Indonesia, and Malaysia have reported significant rises in fraud cases, including notable increases in deepfake incidents in recent years. Governments in these countries have responded by tightening regulations in KYC and AML sectors.
Through these partnerships, Sumsub aims to expand access to its verification solutions across key markets in Southeast Asia. This initiative enables local businesses to leverage Sumsub’s technology to meet compliance standards effectively and combat evolving fraud and identity theft challenges.
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Europe
Finextra, Posted July 18, 2024
The Bank of England says a ‘global payments issue’ dealyed high value payments, including house purchases, processed through the national real-time gross settlement system Chaps.
Chaps is used for processing large time-sensitive payments used for football player purchases, art deals and home completions and last went down for six hours in August last year. The daily value of payments through the system is over £300 billion per day.
The ‘global payments issue’ cited by the bank is believed to be related to problems with connecting to the Swift financial messaging network.
“We are mindful of the impact this is likely to have and are working closely with a third party supplier, industry and other authorities to resolve the issue as promptly as possible,” says the central bank.
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Cash App Exiting UK to Increase Focus on US
PYMNTS, Posted July 18, 2024
Cash App says it will exit the British market as it focuses on the U.S.
The mobile payments service announced Thursday (July 19) that it was shutting down Cash App UK on Sept. 15 after six years.
“We do not make decisions like this lightly, as we know they impact our customers, our partners, and our team members who have helped us build to where we are today,” Cash App wrote in an announcement on its website.
“In recent months, we have outlined our strategic approach for Cash App, which prioritizes our focus on the United States, and deprioritized global expansion. All of our operations remain unaffected by this decision. More information can be found in our shareholder letter,” the company added.
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Monzo to launch bank account for children
Finextra, Posted July 17, 2024
UK digital bank Monzo has unveiled a new account package for children between the ages of six and 15.
Monzo has opened a waitlist for the new account which lets children set savings goals, organise money with savings Pots, access in-app education and pick a brightly-coloured neon Monzo card.
Parents have the child’s account linked to their own, and can choose to be notified when their child spends. Parents can also set spending limits and use customisable controls to turn cash withdrawals and online payments on or off
Monzo chief TS Anil says: “This is such an important step on our mission to make money work for everyone, as we welcome a new generation that we’re excited to support from the start of their financial journey and through the many years to come.”
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UK fintech investment down 37% in H1 2024
Finextra, Posted July 10, 2024
The ongoing deline in fintech investment continues in the first half of 2024 but shows signs of bottoming out, acccording to new figures from Innovate Finance.
The total capital invested into fintech globally reached $15.9 billion in H1 2024, a decrease of 19% compared to H2 2023 when total investment amounted to $19.5 billion.
The capital invested in fintech in the first half of 2024 was spread across 1,566 deals compared to 1,661 deals in H2 2023. There was a shift towards earlier stage deals and the average deal size was $10.2 million, reflecting a return to early-stage investments.
Overall, the US received the most investment in H1 2024, bringing in $7.3 billion in fintech capital across 599 deals, with the UK firmly in second place with $2 billion and 183 deals, rounded off by India with $837 million and 78 deals, China with $589 million invested across 30 deals and Germany with $462 million invested across 37 deals.
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USA
Chase stops customers using credit cards to make BNPL instalment payments
Finextra, Posted July 18, 2024
Chase customers will soon be banned from using their credit cards to pay for third-part BNPL instalment plans.
The US bank informed credit cardholders on their latest statements:
“Effective October 10, 2024, you will not be able to use Chase credit cards to pay for third-party Buy Now Pay Later (“BNPL”) instalment plans. Payments to these instalment plans (e.g., Klarna, AfterPay, etc.) using your Chase credit card will be declined.
“If your Chase credit card is used for any of these recurring BNPL plans, please update the payment method with your BNPL provider to avoid any missed payments or late fees (if applicable).”
The bank offers its own BNPL feature, Chase Pay Over Time, which lets users break up credit card purchases into instalments.
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Klarna lines up banks for 2025 IPO – FT
Finextra, Posted July 17, 2024
Swedish BNPL outfit Klarna is lining up potential financial advisors for a US initial public offering that could happen in the first half of next year, according to the Financial Times.
Wall Street giants Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Chase and Morgan Stanley are all in the hunt to advise on the listing, says the FT, citing sources.
Having taken the crown of Europe’s most valuable startup with a $46 billion tag in 2021, Klarna was valued at just $6.7 billion in a 2022 funding round amid a wider tech rout.
However, in February the company posted encouraging financial results, dramatically narrowing losses, with the US its largest market by revenue.
CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski has previously said it was “very likely” that Klarna will launch a stock market listing in the US “quite soon”, while Bloomberg has reported that the company is pressing ahead with plans at a valuation of $20 billion.
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Apple reaches deal with EC on NFC payments access
Finextra, Posted July 11, 2024
Apple has staved off massive European Commission fines by agreeing to open up the NFC chip technology that enables iPhone users to make contactless payments to third-party providers.
The EC says it has made the commitments offered by Apple legally binding under EU antitrust rules, resolving an antitrust case and avoiding a fine that could run into the billions of dollars.
The 10-year commitment is largely based on an offer made by Apple in January which sees the US tech giant allow third-party mobile wallet and payment service providers to access and interoperate the NFC functionality on iOS devices through a set of APIs free of charge, without having to use Apple Pay or Apple Wallet.
Apple will create the necessary APIs to allow equivalent access to the NFC components in the Host Card Emulation (HCE) mode, a technology issued to securely store payment credentials and complete transactions, without relying on an in-device secure element.
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Goldman Sachs leads $36 million funding round in Canoe Intelligence
Finextra, Posted July 11, 2024
Golgdman Sachs has led a $36 million Series C funding round in alternative investment data platform Canoe Intelligence.
Existing investors F-Prime Capital and Eight Roads also participated in the funding round, which marks a a more than 3x increase in company valuation since its $25 million Series B financing in 2023.
Canoe applies artificial intelligence and machine learning to automatically collect and categorise alternative investment documents from investor portals and email inboxes. The technology then extracts, validates, and delivers clean data to downstream systems, eliminating the need for manual data entry. Annually, Canoe processes more than 25 million documents for a diverse client base of 325 institutional investors.
Jade Mandel, managing director in Growth Equity at Goldman Sachs Alternatives, comments: “Canoe creates meaningful value for its clients, streamlining and synthesizing data for greater efficiency and accuracy. As inflows to alternative investments continue to grow, Canoe is uniquely positioned to capitalize on the trend. We see significant potential in Canoe and are excited to invest in their future. We are glad to support their mission to streamline alternative investment data globally.”
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Crowdfund insider, Posted July 16, 2024
The House Financial Services Committee has scheduled a hearing entitled “AI Innovation Explored: Insights into AI Applications in Financial Services and Housing.” The hearing, which is for the full committee, will take place on Tuesday, July 23rd.
The Hearing may reflect the recent position paper released by the Donald Trump campaign, which is more supportive of the emerging technology. The GOP platform states:
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
We will repeal Joe Biden’s dangerous Executive Order that hinders AI Innovation, and imposes Radical Leftwing ideas on the development of this technology. In its place, Republicans support AI Development rooted in Free Speech and Human Flourishing.
AI is already in use at many financial services firms. While the witnesses scheduled to testify are not yet available, this hearing should be of interest to Fintechs and traditional financial services firms.
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Mastercard, Raistone release new whitepaper
The Paypers Posted July 17, 2024
In collaboration with Mastercard, Raistone has published a whitepaper highlighting how many SMEs turn to Account Receivable Finance (ARF) to improve working capital.
As part of the whitepaper, financial professionals from both Raistone and Mastercard discussed how many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) choose to utilise ARF to optimise working capital in the current credit market. The research underlines that small business owners tend to increasingly leverage digital solutions that use their invoices to receive capital and achieve their expansion objectives. In addition, even business owners who have the ability to receive bank loans are inclined to access flexible working capital finance solutions, which can allow them to grow their operations without loading their balance sheets with debt.
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LatAm
Brazil’s Matera raises $100m from Warburg Pincus for US push
Finextra, Posted July 18, 2024
Matera, a Brazilian fintech that has become a significant part of the country’s Pix instant payments ecosystem, is targeting North America after securing $100 million in investment from Warburg Pincus.
Matera provides core banking, instant payment, and QR code payment technology to more than 250 banks, credit unions and financial institutions globally, including two of the top three banks in the world and over one-third of all banks in Brazil.
The company has benefited from the huge popularity of Pix, the instant payments platform launched in late 2020 by Brazil’s central bank. Pix already accounts for over 40% of all electronic transactions in the country, and Matera alone processes over five billion a year, nearly half initiated by scanning a QR Code.
This has helped the startup grow 4x since 2020, achieving $77 million in revenue for 2023, while maintaining a strong profitability profile.
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Kaszek, Andreessen Back Argentina Fintech Tapi in $22 Million Round
Bloomberg, Posted July 12, 2024
Argentine financial technology startup Tapi raised $22 million in venture funding in a Series A round led by Kaszek as the company expands its operations in Mexico, co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Tomas Mindlin said.
Tapi serves as a processor for payments on large Latin American consumer platforms such as Mercado Pago and cryptocurrency exchange Lemon. The company expects to process around $400 million in payments this year across the five countries in which it operates, quadruple its activity in 2023. Tapi lets fintech companies process recurring payments, such as monthly bills.
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Nu Asset Management, Nubank’s Investment Fund Manager, Announces New ETFs
Crowdfund insider, Posted July 18, 2024
In another step towards contributing to the development of the ETF market in Brazil, Nu Asset Management (Nubank’s investment fund manager) announces two new solutions: the Nu Ibov Smart Low Volatility B3 (LVOL11) and the Nu Ibov Smart High Beta B3 (HIGH11).
The two ETFs will start trading on Tuesday (July 16) on B3, the Brazilian Stock Exchange, and follow indexes “developed jointly by the two institutions.”
These two new funds will allow investment “in low-volatility stocks (LVOL11) or in securities that enhance returns during market upswings, albeit with higher historical risk (HIGH11).”
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Mexico: OCN Raies $86 Million Series A
Crowdfund insider, Posted July 15, 2024
Gig worker FintechOCN has raised $86 million in Series A funding, which included debt and equity capital, according to a note distributed by the company.
The round was led by Caravela Capital (Brazil), Collide Capital (US), and Great North Ventures (US). i80 Group (US) provided the debt capital.
The company said the new money would be used to expand its services, including in the US.
OCN says that gig workers are often overlooked by traditional financial services firms. The company supports individuals who work for delivery platforms like DiDi and Lyft. The company provides a rental model for ride-share drivers
Mairon Sandoval, CEO and co-founder of OCN, said the funding will help them improve upon their tech stack and operational capacity in Latin America and the US.
Edward Goldstein, Managing Director of i80 Group, said OCN has the discipline and a profitable model they want to support.
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Open Payment Technologies Launches Digital Wallet App Kuady
Crowdfund insider, Posted July 15, 2024
his week, Open Payment Technologies launched Kuady, a digital wallet app. Designed to accelerate financial inclusion and transform how merchants and users manage their money, Kuady launched in Peru and Chile – giving global organizations access to these markets with seamless cross-border transactions – with further LatAm countries being added monthly. Expansion into Africa and Europe is planned to follow.
Operating under an Electronic Money Transmission Services license granted by the Isle of Man Financial Services Authority, Kuady will act as a payment service processor for merchants and offer an e-wallet app for customers. It provides chargeback protection and features to boost customer acquisition, retention, and activation. The digital wallet provides merchants with instant payouts for their customers. This feature provides a solution for individuals who struggle to access their funds and offers its users deposit options such as cards, online bank transfers, and cash.
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Minka, GMoney, and Globokas expand instant payments in Peru
The Paypers, Posted July 11, 2024
Colombia-based fintech Minka has partnered with Peru-based fintechs GMoney and Globokas to expand its instant payment ecosystem in Peru.
This new alliance is created to impact a market that currently moves more than USD 390 billion a year according to a report from the Central Reserve Bank of Peru.
The solution will allow different Peruvian companies to initiate and complete payments in real time through the four main payment systems: Interbank Transfers (CCE), PLIN, YAPE, and BIM.
Officials from Minka said their vision is to lead the Peruvian market in Open Banking services by offering a comprehensive API for fintechs and companies that wish to offer real-time payment and collection services to their users.
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CMF publishes regulations on the SFA within the Fintec Law
The Paypers, Posted July 9, 2024
The Financial Market Commission has announced the publication of a rule that is aimed at regulating the Open Finance System within the framework of the Fintec Law.
Following this announcement, the regulation represents a milestone for the Chilean financial market, as well as a central stage in the implementation procedure of the Fintec Law (No. 21,521), which was approved in early 2023. Its main objective is to promote competition, optimisation, and inclusion in the financial system.
The law, which is expected to come into force 24 months from today, regulates the general operation of the Open Finance System. This will allow people, individuals, and companies to share their information in the financial system, as well as access improved conditions or new products and solutions that meet the needs, preferences, and demands of clients and partners.
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