Digital Banking: | 2023 #34
Weekly news up to Monday, 21th of August 2023
REPORT
This pilot study explored two process components to analyze impacts and identify benefits:
1. Issuance of CBDCs to financial institutions and their customers to lay the architectural foundation for a CBDC-based cross-border payments ecosystem
2. Peer-to-peer remittances to demonstrate the benefits of using a tokenized form of the US dollar and Philippine Peso (PHP) to the end customer.
Previously, banks had a prime position on the main streets. Now, that’s wavering. In the future they may not even have a position in the phone app.
Financial services are becoming so deeply embedded in our technology and in industries that they are reaching near invisibility.
The death of traditional banking has been a longtime favorite subject for commentators, and for just cause.
👀 NEWS HIGHLIGHT
The initiative is designed to give India's credit market a more digital-based infrastructure and to mitigate the processing friction in the credit market that has resulted from the data needed to make credit assessments being spread across several siloed systems as opposed to one digital database.
📊 INFOGRAPHIC
While traditional giants like Intesa Sanpaolo, Unicredit, and CDP dominate, holding 50% of market share, digital banking is emerging as a powerful industry force.
Traditional banks are adapting, launching their own digital brands to compete with digital-only players, thereby enhancing the industry's resilience and lowering customer acquisition costs.
📰 ARTICLE
Britain’s digital lenders have steamed ahead of their high street rivals on customer satisfaction this year, with Monzo and Starling topping the rankings and Virgin and HSBC languishing in last place.
In its official ranking of banking account satisfaction, the Competition and Markets Authority found that challenger fintech banks had ranked at the top in provision of both retail and current accounts.
Zopa Bank had an impressive 2022: it hit £2bn in savings, launched a range of new products, hit profitability and rounded it all off by being crowned Bank Of The Year 2022 at the AltFi Awards.
Fuelled by this strong growth trajectory and having managed to reach profitability less than two years after winning its banking licence, Zopa rode into 2023 on a high.
💡INSIGHTS
Nu added 4.6 million customers in Q2’23 and 18.4 million year-over-year (YoY), reaching a total of 83.7 million customers globally by June 30th, 2023. This represents a 28% growth YoY, which underscores Nu's position as one of the largest and fastest-growing digital financial services platforms worldwide and the fifth-largest financial institution in Latin America by number of customers.
NOW, ON TO THE SUMMARY OF LAST WEEK'S NEWS
🔦 DIGITAL BANKING HIGHLIGHTS
⭐️ Goldman Sachs CEO, David Solomon’s most loyal deputy is tested by mutinous partners.
⭐️ Zolve has teamed up with Gigs to launch its own branded mobile phone plan service.
⭐️ NCR Corporation to run Kiwibank ATM fleet.
⭐️ Cebuana Lhuillier Bank partners with Temenos.
⭐️ Monzo denies refusing Truss an account over politics.
🌎 REGIONAL HIGHLIGHTS
UK 🇬🇧
The Bank of England's core payments systems were hit by an unexpected outage. The issue was resolved by the end of the working day, with all CHAPS payments submitted "settling normally".
The Co-operative Bank has made a £464m deal to buy Sainsbury’s Bank’s mortgage portfolio. The acquisition will see the transfer of around 3,500 customers with balances of about £479m to the Co-op Bank in its first purchase.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is launching an inquiry to see whether MPs and other ‘politically exposed persons’ (PEPs) have been impacted by ‘debanking’.
The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has been handed new powers to enforce the provision of cash by banks.
USA 🇺🇸
Citizens Bank of Edmond has launched a digital-first unit built for military service members.
The prudential regulator is considering whether US fintech giant Stripe and 10x Banking are illegally marketing “banking-as-a-service” offerings.
Federal Reserve Board issues enforcement action with Farmington State Bank, and its holding company, FBH Corporation.
Goldman Sachs is exploring a sale of the investment advisory business it acquired four years ago, marking a further retreat from efforts to be a major bank to mass-market customers.
LATAM
Nubank launches home insurance, expanding protection portfolio. Nubank Lar Seguro, developed in partnership with Chubb, will serve homeowners and renters in Brazil.
Dock announced that Tenpo is now a customer of the Brazilian company.
Mono, in partnership with Visa, has launched its first business card in Colombia. This card is distinctive in that it does not require credit checks; it is directly linked to the available balance in the client's Mono account.
ASIA
Toss Bank reported its first monthly profit of approximately 1 billion won ($755,000) in July. Toss Bank traditionally discloses its net profits and losses only on a quarterly basis.
AmBank and Huawei sign MOU for sustainability financing and business solutions. Through the strategic partnership, AmBank will provide financing and merchant business solutions to all Huawei dealers.
DBS Bank has wrapped up it acquisition of Citi Consumer Taiwan, positioning itself as the largest foreign bank by assets in that market.
Atome Financial and HSBC Singapore have renewed and expanded their debt facility agreement. The new agreement includes the Philippines market and new consumer financing products.
AUSTRALIA 🇦🇺
ANZ is to establish a major tech hub in Brisbane as part of the bank’s plan to acquire Suncorp Bank.
MIDDLE EAST
Sabeer Nelli announces the expansion of ZilBank to Bahrain, endorsing it as the perfect launchpad for his Middle Eastern venture.
AFRICA
PayShap has expanded to more banks, with Capitec and Discovery Bank being the latest to add the system to their platforms.
Nedbank is committed to prioritizing its product development to suit the needs of its personal and small business clients.
MOVERS AND SHAKERS
Barclays announces the appointment of Lee Counselman as a Managing Director within the Technology Investment Banking business.
Discover Financial said Roger Hochschild would step down as chief executive officer and a member of the board.
10x Banking is delighted to announce the appointment of Okan Ozaltin as its new Chief Product Officer (CPO).
If you are a fintech startup and have over 100 questions send me an email, maybe I can answer a few.