Digital Banking | 2022 #47
Weekly news up to Monday, November 21st, 2022
REPORT
Over 40 new challenger banks emerged in the last year globally despite economic meltdown.
In particular, data acquired by Finbold indicates that as of October 2022, Europe was home to 97 challenger banks, the highest number worldwide, representing a growth of 27.63% from 76 recorded in October 2021.
👉 Read the full Finbold article here.
REPORT
The fifth edition of the Optima Consultancy Mobile Banking App Review (Germany) 2022 is released, in partnership with Visa, with app developers focus on friction-free design refreshes, faster load times and keeping up with the ever-increasing feature list.
👉 Read the full article by Mark O'Keefe here.
👀 NEWS HIGHLIGHT
Nirvana Money, a fintech startup founded by former PayPal and Intuit CEO Bill Harris, has shut down less than a month after its launch.
Based in Miami, the startup has at least 50 employees, according to LinkedIn. Last May, Harris boasted that he would have 200 staffers onboard by the end of 2022.
👉 Read the full Finextra article here.
📊 INFOGRAPHIC
Nubank posted another quarter of record-breaking revenues in Q3, helping the Brazilian neobank reverse widening losses to turn a profit.
👉 Read the full Insider Intelligence article here.
📰 ARTICLE
Revolut’s growing pains: is the fintech ready to become a bank?
Cultural and operational issues might be standing in the way of co-founder Nik Storonsky’s ambitions, insiders say.
👉 Read the full Financial Times article by Laura Noonan, and Siddharth Venkataramakrishnan here.
💡INSIGHTS
In 2021, from a total of $621 billion of invested private-market capital generally under the venture aegis, some $131.5 billion across 4,969 deals went to FinTech startups.
👉 Read the full C-Innovation article by Charlotte Ford and Javier Guevara Torres here.
NOW, ON TO THE SUMMARY OF LAST WEEK'S NEWS
🔦 DIGITAL BANKING HIGHLIGHTS
⭐️ Revolut races past 25m retail customers. Link here.
⭐️ The Digital Banking in the Middle East report. Link here.
⭐️ US Department of the Treasury called for greater regulation of fintech-bank partnerships in order to prevent abuses and protect consumers. Link here.
⭐️ Leap launches money management app for kids and teens in the UAE. Link here.
⭐️ Check out Frollo’s report on the State of Open Banking in Australia🇦🇺. Link here.
🌎 REGIONAL HIGHLIGHTS
UK 🇬🇧
Starling Bank to scrap £2 fees on extra personal, joint and business accounts. Link here.
Young Brits are turning to TikTok for financial information, with many of them believing that influencers on the app provide better advice than traditional media. Link here.
Railsr partners with Featurespace to fight fraud. Link here.
Kuda launches in the UK with tell.money’s open banking compliance tech. Link here.
Revolut teamed up with RTÉ’s Late Late Toy Show Appeal for the second year to enable viewers to donate through the app. Link here.
EUROPE 🇪🇺
Klarpay opens dedicated USD and GBP accounts. Link here.
Mastercard and Treezor expand strategic partnership. Link here.
Mastercard extends inclusive card options across Europe. Link here.
USA 🇺🇸
Daylight secured $15 million in a round led by Anthemis Group. Link here.
US banks launch digital asset settlement platform PoC. Link here.
Treasury Prime announced a partnership with Plaid. Link here.
Varo Bank will offer Zelle® in its mobile banking app. Link here.
CANADA
RBC partners Visa to offer cardholders BNPL option. Link here.
LATAM
Nubank exceeds expectations with $7.8M Q3 net profit as loan portfolio swells. Link here. Nubank now accepts new business customers that don’t have a personal account. Link here.
Banco Afirme launched Billú, its digital bank. Link here.
Studies by global firms show that Mexicans are using both types of financial institution, seeking neobanks for credit cards and loans, but are also maintaining an account with a traditional bank. Link here.
ASIA
Five ASEAN central banks sign MoU for regional payment connectivity. Link here.
AUSTRALIA 🇦🇺
Banked announced the closure of a $15 million Series A extension round, which brings their total investment to over $50 million to date. Link here.
Bridgit expands broker offering through new partnership with award-winning aggregator Finsure. Link here.
MIDDLE EAST
Wio Bank and ADGM join hands to improve banking for SMEs. Link here.
Invest Bank selected Temenos to take its digital and core banking to the cloud, in partnership with NdcTech. Link here.
Spare and Eazy Financial Services to launch open banking in Bahrain. Link here.
If you are a fintech startup and have over 100 questions send me an email, maybe I can answer a few.