Digital Banking Weekly | 2021 #43
BLOG
REPORT
Every day, countless consumers around the world hop onto Google searching for a neobank to replace their traditional institution. Who's winning the war for people's attention, and how do all these digital players stack up? A new report breaks it down, country by country.
Fintech Meetup is digital banking’s next big event--it’s the easiest way to find new solutions, partners, and customers! Join 3,000+ industry professionals for 30,000+ online speed date meetings and meet fintechs, banks, neobanks, networks, investors, tech cos, credit unions, community banks, and more! Online, March 22-24. Ticket prices go up on Friday.
MVO - THE CARD COLLECTION
Mastercard extends its commitment to inclusivity by introducing a new accessible card standard for blind and partially sighted people, called the Touch Card.
PODCAST
NOW, ON TO THE SUMMARY OF LAST WEEK'S DIGITAL BANKING SPACE
NEWS HIGHLIGHT
Fintech startups have fired back against Starling Bank’s CEO after she branded open banking as a flop that’s too costly, “clunky” and said businesses struggle to make money from it.
Anne Boden made the statement to MPs on the Treasury Committee during a hearing earlier this week, claiming insufficient demand and lacklustre services have turned the open banking rollout into a failure. “Open banking has not been a success,” the neobank boss said.
Fintech startups, particularly ones either developing or using open banking services as part of their offering have now shot back against the Starling founder’s remarks.
INDUSTRY HIGHLIGHTS
⭐️ N26's monster $900 million funding round underlined the German startup's momentum in the digital banking market. Link here.
⭐️ In December 2018, just weeks before doubts about one of its most high-profile clients began to circulate widely, the auditor EY Germany decided to investigate Wirecard’s operations more closely. Link here.
⭐️ Monzo is reportedly in talks to raise £300 million at a valuation of £3 billion, a move that would spark a dramatic turnaround for the loss-making bank. Link here.
⭐️ Greenlight, the start-up that helped pioneer the FinTech category of debit cards and budgeting apps for kids, is now targeting parents. Link here.
⭐️ Chaired by former Starling and Monzo co-founder Paul Rippon, real estate lending startup GB Bank has picked up an additional £28 million in funding and been awarded a restricted banking license by UK regulators. Link here.
⭐️ Malaysia continues to be a prominent global Islamic Capital Market (ICM) hub, with Islamic assets under management (AUM) growing 2.7 times. Link here.
UNITED KINGDOM
Supermarket giant Tesco and neobank Zopa are working together on a new hire purchase car finance product. Link here.
After being the official banking partner of Team GB at the Olympics earlier this Summer, Starling Bank will embark on its second sporting sponsorship next year. Link here.
Savings and investment app Chip has struck a deal with banking-as-a-service provider ClearBank to provide users with FSCS-protected accounts and the ability to deposit and withdraw funds in real-time. Link here.
Aspiring new neobank Pennyworth has launched its app to UK consumers. The app has been in beta testing since early in 2021 after breaking cover in October last year and is now live both iOS and Android users with a goals-based saving functionality. Link here. Also the company launched its pioneering financial planning app for public access on the App Store and Google Play. Link here.
AppGallery, one of the top three app marketplaces globally, has announced the launch of Snoop in the UK, providing users with access to money management tools across different banks. Link here.
EUROPE
Saldo Finance UAB, a subsidiary of Finnish Saldo Finance Plc, has been granted ECB’s specialised banking licence in Lithuania. Saldo Finance Plc foresees remarkable expansion of operations. Link here.
Tinkoff Bank has launched a new service enabling clients of foreign banks to make transfers using their phone number. Link here.
Marqeta is thrilled to join the Temenos MarketPlace, a renowned ecosystem of fintech solutions for banks. Link here.
Banco Santander (through Santander Universities) and Oxentia Foundation are launching Santander X Global Challenge | Finance For All. Link here
While international travel restrictions are being lifted, bunq announces the launch of its new ‘Local Currency’ account, allowing users to easily receive, convert, hold and spend multiple currencies. Link here.
Santander Consumer Finance has created ‘Simplifi’, an initiative that was conceived with the aim of contributing to the promotion of financial education in Spain. Link here.
US
American Express has launched a digital checking account for businesses and issued its first ever debit card as part of the package. Link here.
Just five weeks after launching, Chase said its current account is now immediately available for all new customers to sign-up from the app store. Link here.
B9 Inc., a fintech startup, recently launched a full suite of app-based financial services, creating a platform to serve customers who are underserved by traditional banks and are seeking an alternative payroll solution. Link here.
Wells Fargo has rebuilt its mobile app, complete with a new AI-powered virtual assistant called Fargo. Link here.
Temenos, the banking software company, announced that M1 Finance, the Finance Super App, has selected The Temenos Banking Cloud. Link here.
Brian Barnes, the CEO of fintech M1 Finance, has bought Virginia-based The First National Bank of Buhl. Link here.
Mastercard and Bakkt announced a multifaceted partnership to make it easier for merchants, banks and fintechs in the U.S. to embrace and offer a broad set of cryptocurrency solutions and services. Link here.
Button Finance, Inc., a fintech mortgage lender focused on home equity, announced that it has closed a $2 million seed raise. Link here.
ASIA
PT Bank INA Perdana Tbk (Bank INA), part of Indonesian conglomerate the Salim Group, has selected Mambu’s Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) cloud banking platform as the foundation for its new digital banking services. Link here.
Singaporean embedded finance company Nium has launched in the US and extended its range of Banking-as-a-Service products to include cryptocurrency buying. Link here.
LATAM
Two months after rumours began to swirl around a possible US IPO, Brazilian neobanking giant Nubank has filed its listing paperwork. Currently, details of its F-1 filing are private, but the confirmed existence of the document means that a listing is coming, possibly even this year. Link here. After the SEC completes the review of the draft IPO, the company is expected to go public in the U.S. by the beginning of 2022. Link here.
C6 Yellow, C6 Bank's new account for children and young people, has just hit the market with a campaign created by Tech and Soul. Link here.
Inswitch, a fintech with global reach, and SíHay, have entered into an alliance to help digitalize the distribution network of Grupo Modelo, thus eliminating the use of cash and promoting their clients' financial inclusion. Link here.
AUSTRALIA
Volt Bank has become the first Australian neobank to become accredited as a data recipient under the consumer data right (CDR) scheme. Link here.
Money management fintech Parpera has raised $1.3 million as it ramps up to launch its Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) enabled offering. Link here.
AFRICA
Temenos, the banking software company, announced that Barko, a leading microfinance company, plans to enter the retail banking market in South Africa with a new digital bank built on Temenos Transact and powered by The Temenos Banking Cloud. Link here.
PaySika, a financial technology startup developing mobile and web-based banking solutions for French-speaking African countries, announced that it has secured a $348,000 (€300,000) pre-seed investment from angel investors in the French, London, and Nigerian tech startup space. Link here.
The Stellar Development Foundation (SDF) announced that Flutterwave, a global payments technology company, has launched two new remittance corridors between Europe and Africa on the Stellar network. Link here.
In a country-first for Malawi, mobile money service provider TNM Mpamba launched a Mastercard debit card, enabling its customers – even those without bank accounts – to make safe and seamless in-person and online digital payments on the Mastercard network. Link here.
MIDDLE EAST
BlueSnap, a global payment technology company committed to helping B2B and B2C businesses accept and optimize digital payments around the world, has received licensing and bank approval for local acquiring in Israel. Link here.
MOVERS AND SHAKERS:
US challenger bank Daylight, formerly known as Be Money, has lost its head of product as Ethan Teng announces his departure. Link here.
OPPORTUNITIES:
Cashplus Bank is to create 150 jobs in the North West after it chose the region as a starting point for a new business development strategy. Link here.