Airwallex Posts Triple-Digit 2024 Growth in Singapore, Reveals 2025 SME Trends
Weekly news up to Monday, 14th of April 2025
👀 NEWS HIGHLIGHT
BNY’s treasury services business was one of the first in the organisation to implement the new platforms operating model, aimed at grouping like-activities together into platforms that create scale in adaptable and reusable ways across the company.
Fabian Khoshbakht, head of treasury services for Asia Pacific (APAC) and global head of client insight and innovation for treasury services explained that under the new model, treasury services is less siloed.
NOW, ON TO THE SUMMARY OF LAST WEEK'S NEWS
🔦 DIGITAL BANKING HIGHLIGHTS
⭐️ Albanian banks apply to join SEPA credit transfer scheme.
⭐️ OPay’s valuation climbs to $2.75B despite slowdown in venture funding.
⭐️ Ualá joins Google Wallet for contactless payments via phone or smartwatch.
⭐️ Salt Bank has reached half a million customers.
Explore Latin America’s FinTech growth. Join my weekly newsletter to stay informed—don’t miss a beat!
🌎 REGIONAL HIGHLIGHTS
UK 🇬🇧
Yapily and Allica Bank join forces to bring the power of open banking’s seamless, secure top-ups to UK SME current accounts. By leveraging Yapily’s open banking technology, Allica Bank is now building on its mission to give established businesses the banking they deserve by enabling them to top up their accounts even faster.
EUROPE 🇪🇺
The Bank of Lithuania (BoL) imposed a fine of 3.5m Euro on UAB Revolut Bank for violations of money laundering prevention requirements. BoL concluded the scheduled inspection of the bank, during which it identified violations and shortcomings in the monitoring of business relationships and operations.
auxmoney successfully issues 6th ABS bond, "Fortuna Consumer Loan ABS 2025-1", totaling €425 million. Despite tough market conditions, the deal saw strong investor demand. At least 50% of the loan portfolio meets social bond criteria, and the issuance is STS-certified and listed on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange.
Weavr integrates B4B Payments, boosting European payment flexibility. B4B Payments allows Weavr to strengthen its position within its current markets, allows the company to expand into key European markets outside the Eurozone, and validates a model for expansion that can follow the customer beyond Europe.
Nets and BluOr Bank enter issuing and processing agreement to allow the latter to utilise its payment card issuing services and improve the customer banking experience. Through this move, Nets is set to process the bank’s customers' card transactions, with plans to deliver increased security when conducting transactions and withdrawing funds.
CaixaBank taps Salesforce to enhance AI capabilities. CaixaBank will leverage Salesforce's AI tools, including its Agentforce AI agents, to provide specialised support to customers across the bank's apps, chatbots, call centres, and branches.
USA 🇺🇸
Bank of America: More than 90% of its employees now use AI. By answering employees' questions, the assistant, Erica for Employees, has reduced calls to the IT help desk by more than half, the bank said. The bank has also quietly rolled out generative AI in different areas to help advisors and relationship bankers.
Stripe is not becoming a bank. Some wondered if Stripe would now be considered a bank. The short answer is: No. What is true is that this marks the first time that Stripe has applied for a banking license. This does not mean it will be accepting deposits, but will process its own payments if approved.
BaaS platform Solid has filed for bankruptcy after years of controversy. What is known so far: Linked to banks like Evolve, CBW, and Lewis & Clark, the company faced a lawsuit from its own investors, FTV Capital, accusing it of inflating revenue during its Series B round. The case was settled with Solid buying back FTV’s stake at a 56% discount. Read the full story
Signature Bank signs with Q2. The partnership with Q2 enables the bank to offer a cohesive experience across all digital channels and provide robust services to both commercial and retail customers. Read more
Cash App owner Block pays $𝟰𝟬 𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻 fine to New York over compliance failures. Block will pay a $40 million civil fine and hire an independent monitor to settle charges by New York's financial services regulator that it failed to adequately police and stop money laundering on its Cash App mobile payment service.
LATAM
Nubank launches NuScore. The tool allows customers to understand the factors impacting their credit score within the bank. It includes behavioral insights, such as credit card usage, savings habits, and debt levels. Nubank aims to provide financial education and help users improve their credit profiles over time.
ASIA
Airwallex reports triple-digit full year revenue growth in Singapore for 2024, unveils SME trends shaping business outlook in 2025. FY2024 revenue more than doubled, growing 153% year-on-year (YoY), fueled by strong transaction volumes and a standout Q4. In early 2025, it announced its launch in New Zealand and acquired Vietnam-based CTIN Pay.
7 in 10 Hong Kongers pick digital banks for crypto trading on convenience, regulatory concerns. In a survey of 300 retail customers, Hong Kong’s ZA Bank found that 69% of respondents cited the convenience of trading directly with bank deposits without the need for additional fiat transfers as a key attraction.
AFRICA
Kenya’s digital bank Umba secures $5m debt financing. This latest funding round is expected to accelerate growth while strengthening its financial position. According to the co-founder and CEO, the funding will allow Umba to expand its market reach.