👀 NEWS HIGHLIGHT
Starling Bank has signalled that it is edging closer to a stock market listing in London after higher interest rates propelled the digital-only lender to its third year of profits.
John Mountain, the interim chief executive, said a potential flotation of the business was being “extensively discussed” with the group’s shareholders as it posted a 55 per cent jump in annual pre-tax profits to £301.1 million in the 12 months to March 31.
📊 INFOGRAPHIC
💡INSIGHTS
NOW, ON TO THE SUMMARY OF LAST WEEK'S NEWS
🔦 DIGITAL BANKING HIGHLIGHTS
⭐️ Merge receives in-principle approvval of EMI licence in France.
⭐️ BVNK introduces US dollar payments via Swift.
⭐️ Garanti BBVA rolls out crypto wallet.
⭐️ Julo plans neobanking push, eyes full profitability by year end.
🌎 REGIONAL HIGHLIGHTS
UK 🇬🇧
Revolut has introduced Wealth Protection, an extra layer of identity verification designed to prevent thieves from accessing customer savings within the Revolut app.
Revolut's new Global HQ will open in London in the former Thomson Reuters building in May 2025. Revolut will move its headquarters to one of Canary Wharf’s most prominent buildings as it presses ahead with expansion plans despite its failure so far to win a full banking licence in the UK.
Tandem Bank reports stronger earnings as customers switch to eco-focused bank. Companies often favour underlying profits as a measure because they exclude the impact of one-off costs, such as technology or upgrades following a company acquisition.
Equals Money, a payments solutions provider, declared its expansion into Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) during the Money20/20 Europe event. With this new offering, Equals Money customers gain the capability to furnish payment and card products to their clientele without undergoing the prolonged process of acquiring regulatory licenses.
Ozone API and Tuum join forces. This integration will streamline end-to-end business processes by leveraging a pre-integrated ecosystem of best-in-class solutions.
Starling Bank announced its third full year of profitability, driven by strong growth in revenue, deposits, and active customers.
‘Consider yourselves challenged’: Monzo CEO takes aim at legacy banks. Speaking at London Tech Week, a triumphant Anil said that despite the hundreds of years of experience from traditional banking giants.
EUROPE 🇪🇺
Neobank Bunq has upped its security measures after an investigation by broadcaster NOS and the NRC newspaper found dozens of people had lost millions of euros to scammers from their Bunq accounts.
Dutch SME lender BridgeFund migrates to Mambu core system. BridgeFund chose Mambu as its cloud banking platform to free up resources and focus on innovation rather than maintaining legacy infrastructure.
German banks to shut down their PayPal competitor Paydirekt. The plans to stop Paydirekt come immediately before the launch of Wero, the payment wallet of the bank-backed EPI.
Tomorrow migrates from Solaris to FinTech lemon.markets. With this collaboration, we are also simplifying our investment setup by consolidating our services.
Italy's competition watchdog said it had closed a probe into Intesa Sanpaolo, opens new tab and its digital bank unit Isybank because they had taken the required action to avoid unfair commercial practices.
USA 🇺🇸
Apple announced "Tap to Cash" at it's annual WWDC event. Tap to Pay is more or less what it sounds like, letting users pay for things by tapping together a pair of iPhones.
How does a neobank make money? According to stats by Research And Markets, the global neobanking market is projected to hit $333.4 billion by 2026, at an annual growth rate of 47.1%.
BNY Mellon rebrands as BNY. To improve familiarity with who we are and what we do, we are updating our logo and simplifying our company umbrella brand to BNY.
Cash use persists in US beyond pandemic. Consumers remained committed to cash use last year, even as the share of card payments rose and online payments increased, according to an annual Federal Reserve study.
LATAM
Nubank Ultravioleta enters the travel segment with the launch of Global Account for customers. This new service, initially available to its high-income Ultravioleta segment customers, aims to offer lower fees and overseas internet service.
Nubank reaches 2 million active insurance policies in Brazil. The simple online contracting process and transparent policy conditions make Nubank's insurance a reliable and convenient choice for those seeking financial protection and peace-of-mind.
Brazil's Largest Bank Itaú Opens Bitcoin and Crypto Trading to All Users. The bank opted to build its custody solution for clients' wallets rather than using third parties. Each user gets a separate wallet to ensure asset segregation.
ASIA
Tyme Group Expands Its Customer Base To 12.4 Million Across SA And The Philippines. The group consistently onboards around 450,000 new customers monthly, with 250,000 joining GoTymeBank in the Philippines,and 200,000 opting for TymeBank in South Africa.
Japan’s Seven Bank to Install ATMs in 7-Eleven Stores Across Malaysia. Seven Bank holds a 50.1% majority stake, while 7-Eleven Services Sdn. Bhd., and two local investment firms, HQZ Credit Sdn. Bhd. and SMRT Holdings Berhad, own the remaining shares.
Neobanking platform Jupiter has received Prepaid Payment Instruments (wallet license) from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), according to a notification by the apex banking body.
AFRICA
TymeBank, a South African digital bank backed by China’s Tencent Holdings, is raising $150 million to build scale as it prepares for an Initial Public Offering, co-founder and CEO Coenraad Jonker said.
MOVERS AND SHAKERS
N26 appoints Peter Kleinschmidt to supervisory board. N26 announced the appointment of Peter Kleinschmidt to the Supervisory Board of N26 AG following its 2024 Annual General Meeting.