Digital Banking Weekly | 2021 #13
A big thank you to Fintech Meetup for making this newsletter accessible to everyone. Check out their event below.
Fintech Meetup cuts straight to the most important part of an event: building connections. Sign up and meet with 1,000+ other knowledgeable & influential industry professionals.
👉 I can’t wait to see you there.
ARTICLE
In 2021, we are seeing new neobanks targeting underserved communities. Geographic lines have been blurred in a truly digital landscape, so neobanks and challengers will focus on affinity-based communities.
👉 Read my latest article here.
PODCAST
This week’s podcast recommendation belongs to 11:FS podcast: Fintech Insider.
Adam Davis and Sarah Kocianski are joined by some great guests to talk about some of the most interesting stories of the last 7 days.
👉 Listen here.
INTERVIEW
Irwan Tisnabudi, Head of Digital Banking at P.T. Bank BTPN, talks about digitally-savvy customers in Indonesia and how it’s an environment ripe for disruption.
👉 Read more here.
NOW, ON TO THE SUMMARY OF LAST WEEK'S DIGITAL BANKING SPACE
NEWS HIGHLIGHTS
The $5.5 billion fintech company Revolut, which is also one of Europe’s largest startups, is eyeing India as its new market.
👉 Read more here.
👉 Watch the video here.
INDUSTRY HIGHLIGHTS
⭐️ FF presents The Fintech Rap Battle – Monzo vs Starling. Link here.
⭐️ During 2020, net profit at the Top 10 banks in the UAE dropped by 41 percent on average compared with 2019. Link here.
⭐️ Swift's physical international banking conference, Sibos, will be a digital-only event for the second year in a row. Link here.
⭐️ China is fast expanding trials for the usage of the Digital Renminbi amongst both key financial institutions and at an increasing number of online and offline consumer sites. Link here.
⭐️ Gen Z is interested in personal finance and investing, but they lack confidence and want more financial education. Link here.
⭐️ Marqeta, Inc, has been selected by Mastercard to join its Fintech Express program. Link here.
UNITED KINGDOM
Monzo Bank has seen the departure of another top-level executive, with its chief finance officer stepping down after two years. Link here.
Tide has accused the UK's banks of dragging their feet on Open Banking. Link here.
EUROPE
Penta is launching a new venture, called Relio, targeting Swiss SMEs. Link here.
Elliot Goykhman, the founder of ZELF, shares his thoughts on sustainability in finance, and how to spot the difference between real solutions and marketing ploys. Link here.
On March 30, CASH26 arrived in Greece, whereby N26 customers will be able to use 110 partner Bazaar stores as ATMs for cash withdrawal and deposit. Link here.
HUBUC, has partnered with fintech Currencycloud to support HUBUC’s business customers with seamless cross-border payments. Link here.
Kontist announced another funding round. Link here.
US
Moven and Nashville-based StrategyCorps recently announced a partnership. Link here.
Goldman Sachs is close to offering its first investment vehicles for Bitcoin Inc. and other digital assets to clients of its private wealth management group. Link here.
Spiral, an "ethical banking app" that makes it easy for users to give to charities, has raised $14 million in a funding round led by Team8. Link here.
Walgreens is launching its own mobile and online bank account in partnership with InComm Payments and MetaBank. Link here.
First Boulevard announced Terrence J, as Strategic Advisor, Financial Education of the digital neobank. Link here.
Novo announced that the company has opened an office in Miami. Link here.
Stilt Inc. is aiming to give recent immigrants to the country a chance at gaining funding and credit history. Link here.
NOW Money, a UAE-based provider of digital banking accounts for migrant workers, has secured $7 million in a funding round led by Anthemis Exponential Ventures. Link here.
Revolut confirms that Revolut Business is now live in the United States. Link here.
U.S. Bank is the first to offer a new artificial intelligence-powered savings feature. Link here.
ASIA
StashFin raised $40 million in a Series B equity round. Link here.
Viva Republica (Toss) will be launching public administration services in collaboration with the government to provide information on COVID-19 vaccination and fines for violating traffic rules. Link here.
LATAM
Oyster Financial, Inc., an aspiring neobank based out of Mexico City, has launched its credit offering for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Link here.
AUSTRALIA
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has given the National Australia Bank (NAB) the green light to acquire 86 400. Link here.
The demise of Australia’s first licensed neobank, Xinja, was a “successful failure”. Link here.
Neobank Up Banking is taking innovation to a whole new level by partnering up with TikTok to create the first-ever gamified TikTok effect in Australia. Link here.
Westpac Banking Corp has added another component to its banking-as-a-service (BaaS) strategy. Link here.
MIDDLE EAST
The בנק ישראל Bank of Israel is actively taking steps to improve not only the efficiency and adoption of digital banking but to increase competition within the region’s financial landscape. Link here.
Finch Capital has acquired the Turkish operations of Wirecard, creating a new entity – NOMU Pay – in its stead. Link here.
SadaPay has raised $7.2 million as it awaits regulatory approval for a live rollout. Link here.
This ends my weekly digital banking newsletter. Thank you for reading to the end! If you liked it, I invite you to like, share and/or leave a comment below. You may also subscribe here.
Let me know if there are any questions or news/insights worth mentioning in next week's newsletter. Until the next!
Regards,
Marcel van Oost