Digital Banking | 2022 #31
Weekly news up to Monday, August 1st, 2022
REPORT
Embedded finance is on the march. Over the past few years, banking has spread beyond banks and progressively integrated into many other non-financial customer journeys.
👉 Read the full Publicis Sapient report here.
REPORT
Platformable has released the Q3 2022 open banking trends report which describes how the global open banking and open finance ecosystems unfolded during Q2 2022.
👉Download the full Platformable report by Phuong Pham and Spencer Perkins here.
👀 NEWS HIGHLIGHT
Ageras Group announced that it acquired Kontist, a Berlin-based neo-bank focused on the complex accounting and banking needs of Germany’s growing populations of microbusinesses and self-employed workers.
“This acquisition is a critical step in Ageras’ growth,” said Ageras Co-founder and CEO Rico Andersen.
👉Read the full article here.
😎 SPONSORED CONTENT
2022 is set to be a pivotal year in the adoption and regulation of cryptocurrencies. So as regulators, policymakers, and the media pay more attention to the financial crime risks associated with crypto, what can compliance teams do to ensure their AML programs are best-in-class? Our new guide addresses this question.
👉 Download your free copy today.
📰 ARTICLE
Banks today urgently need a new core platform, but building one is time-consuming, expensive, and uncertain. It may help to think strategically and pursue a two-track process.
👉 Read the full McKinsey & Company article here.
👨💻 BLOG
Nubank's rise to fame says a lot about the potential of fintech in LATAM.
💬 INTERVIEW
Neobank Dave virtually invented the overdraft feeless trend in banking. Everyone offers it now in the summer of ’22, from competitor neo banking veteran Chime to Bank of America.
Co-founder and CEO Jason Wilk explained that the uncertainty and market forces are dragging all tech down in the same bucket, innovators and all.
👉Read the full article here.
💬 INTERVIEW
“Open banking? It’s both threat and opportunity”.
AltFi sits down with Mark Barnett, Mastercard’s Europe President, to discuss crypto, open banking and what one of the world’s largest financial services incumbents thinks of fintech.
👉Read the full AltFi interview here.
💡INSIGHTS
In Brazil last year, more bank accounts were opened through digital channels than at physical branches for the first time.
That's according to an annual study on banking technology released on July 21 by the Brazilian Banking Federation and conducted by Deloitte. The researchers found that digital bank account openings reached 10.8 million last year, up 66% in relation to the previous year.
👉Read the full article here.
NOW, ON TO THE SUMMARY OF LAST WEEK'S NEWS
🔦 DIGITAL BANKING HIGHLIGHTS
⭐️ UNOAsia has secured US$ 11 million in a pre-Series A funding round led by Creador Private Equity. Link here.
⭐️ Revolut’s Quest to become a financial SuperApp. Link here. Revolut has launched personalized cards in the US for its Standard plan users. Link here.
⭐️ The Competition and Markets Authority calls out Monzo for breaching banking rules. Link here.
⭐️Current Account Switch Service numbers are up on the last two years, with Starling Bank and Monzo featuring in the top five most switched to banks for the first quarter of 2022. Link here.
⭐️Super Apps: How banks can seize the coming opportunity: Interesting reporting by Insider Intelligence. Link here.
⭐️Visa payments volume in Q3 136% above pre-pandemic levels. Link here.
🌎 REGIONAL HIGHLIGHTS
UK 🇬🇧
Tred launches new carbon-tracking banking app. Link here.
Bevan Money, a new bank specially dedicated to supporting public sector workers – both past and present – is gearing up to launch in the UK in 2023. Link here.
The UK arm of HSBC is set to stop collecting data on the gender of customers of some of its products in order to be more inclusive towards non-binary and trans people. Link here.
Plaid launches VRP to save UK businesses up to £1.5bn. Link here.
Zopa’s 2021 results show flat losses of £41.6m as neobanking pivot pays off. Link here.
Tandem announces that it has joined the Raisin UK online savings marketplace. Link here.
Virgin Money unveils BNPL credit card. Link here.
EUROPE 🇪🇺
11Onze has teamed up with insurance company Tuio, to offer a unique market proposal – 11Onze Segurs. Link here.
Solarisbank has recently announced that the company has changed its name to ‘Solaris’. Link here.
Temenos has amplified their partnership with Wipro to support banks of all sizes speed up their modernisation journeys and expand go-to-market strategies in regions such as the UK, US, and Australia. Link here.
W1TTY, a fintech app launched at the end of 2021, says it has seen 500,000 downloads in just seven months. Link here.
Tietoevry, has announced that it is mulling over the option of separating and listing the Tietoevry Banking unit, as part of a wider strategic review. Link here.
Tatra banka has launched its latest green banking feature for its online banking brand Blue Planet to its over 600,000 customers. Link here.
USA 🇺🇸
Treasure Financial announced that it partnered with Grasshopper Bank. Link here.
Sionic and MX announced they have entered a multi-year partnership to bring simple and safe Pay-by-Bank services to consumers in the U.S. Link here.
Movement Bank selects NuPoint Core Platform to provide reliable core banking services. Link here.
Umba has acquired a majority share of Daraja, a Kenyan deposit-taking microfinance bank. Link here.
Oxygen announced that they have been tapped by Brex to provide their small business customers a smooth transition as Brex has decided to focus on serving startups and scaled companies. Link here.
Lloyds Banking Group has identified another 66 branches for closure over the next few months. Link here.
Metro Bank has seen its losses narrow over the last quarter after dealing with underperformance for several years. Link here.
LATAM
Nubank (NU) said it has reached the 1 million crypto users mark in less than a month since its service for buying and selling that asset class was extended to all customers at the end of June. Link here.
Santander (SAN) plans to offer crypto trading to its clients in Brazil in the coming months. Link here.
ASIA
Bank Islam Malaysia Berhad has launched a new fully cloud-native digital banking app called Be U. Link here.
Sequoia has made its first investment in Pakistan, joining a growing list of high profile investors who have backed young firms in the South Asian market in the past one year. Link here.
AUSTRALIA 🇦🇺
Up bank launches Maybuy, the automated payments plan. Link here.
Wagestream partners with fintech Blossom to offer employees targeted 3% p.a. returns. Link here.
AFRICA
Oromia Bank selects CR2’s BankWorld to advance their digital banking transformation strategy in Ethiopia. Link here.
Paysend announces a partnership with Damane Cash to enable money transfers to Morocco. Link here.
MOVERS AND SHAKERS
Atom Bank has appointed Rebecca Cartwright as its chief risk officer. Link here.
Former ANZ Fiji CEO Robert Bell has been appointed to the HFC Bank Board of Directors where he will serve as an independent member and join six other directors. Link here.
OPPORTUNITIES
Commonwealth Bank of Australia has opened a technology hub in Melbourne that will house more than 400 software developers, cloud engineers and cyber specialists. Link here.