Zempler Teams up With Wise to Launch International Payments
Weekly news up to Monday, 31st of March 2025
👀 NEWS HIGHLIGHT
Revolut is launching its major offensive to steal customers from traditional banks. The neobank is finalizing the launch of a payroll account in Spain, the first product of its kind to be offered in all the countries where it is present.
It offers a return of 2.25% for one year (and six months for existing customers), plus a subscription to the bank's metal package.
📰 ARTICLE OF THE WEEK
What Are Banks’ And FinTechs’ Real Customer Acquisition Costs?
Cornerstone Advisors breaks it down for you:
NOW, ON TO THE SUMMARY OF LAST WEEK'S NEWS
🔦 DIGITAL BANKING HIGHLIGHTS
⭐️ Kaspi.kz acquires Rabobank's Türkiye operations.
⭐️ Fana Sparebank Enters Five-Year Partnership with Tietoevry Banking.
⭐️ Zempler partners with Wise to roll out international payment service.
⭐️ Revolut ATMs in Hungary? Foreign FinTechs urged to share costs.
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🌎 REGIONAL HIGHLIGHTS
UK 🇬🇧
Tuum and Fiinu reactivate core banking agreement to power white-label expansion. Fiinu will leverage Tuum environment, allowing them to resume development without restarting from scratch. This significantly shortens implementation cycles and reduces onboarding friction for new institutional partners.
USA 🇺🇸
PayPal surpasses $30B in global small business lending. The firm has extended more than 1.4 million loans and cash advances to more than 420,000 business accounts globally since 2013, filling a critical gap for small businesses looking for capital to maintain a healthy cashflow and grow.
Mercury has raised $300 million in a Series C funding round, valuing the company at $3.5 billion. The new capital will support Mercury’s continued investment in building unified financial products for businesses. The company plans to explore strategic acquisitions, expand its product offering, and grow its team.
Alkami and Greenlight partner to bring youth banking to financial services. Through this collaboration, Alkami’s clients can now offer their account holders access to Greenlight, a debit card and finance mobile app experience that enables kids and teens to earn, save, and spend money wisely.
Introducing Robinhood Strategies, Robinhood Banking, and Robinhood Cortex. With exclusive benefits for Robinhood Gold members, these products help customers access financial services such as private wealth management and private banking, which were once thought out of reach to many.
Republic Bank selects DNA from Fiserv to enhance the company’s banking system capabilities and drive operational efficiencies to realize their digital transformation goals. Continue reading
Cleo AI to pay $17 million to settle US FTC charges it deceived consumers. The FTC said almost no one received anything close to the maximum $250 and $500 that Cleo advertised for customers of its Cleo Plus and Cleo Builder subscription services, with some advances totaling just $20.
LATAM
FinTech Valiu launches interest-bearing account for SMEs. This account allows businesses to earn daily interest on their capital with no fixed terms or commission fees, and offers an annual return rate of 5.79%. Funds can be withdrawn at any time, offering liquidity without penalties.
Itaú Unibanco partners with Wise Platform to strengthen its cross-border payments experience for customers. This new solution allows Itaú customers in Brazil to make international payments or send money with the same ease and simplicity as with Pix, any time, every day of the week.
Nubank launches ‘Caixinha Turbo’ with a yield of 110% of CDI, but has conditions. This is a type of bank deposit receipt that allows daily withdrawals. However, there are conditions to access the higher yield: clients must deposit R$900 monthly into their account, and they can invest up to R$5,000 in the product.
ASIA
Accounts of UBS clients partly debited twice. Certain debits on clients' accounts are currently being displayed twice. Clients have been informed accordingly, UBS stated. The cause has been identified and the incorrect bookings will be corrected.
OneStack raises Series A round from Pentathlon Ventures, 100Unicorns and Venture Catalysts, amongst others. With the new funding, OneStack aims to expand its presence into South and East India, targeting an additional 200+ banks to achieve a 20% pan-India market share.
AUSTRALIA 🇦🇺
Bankwest introduces ‘Just Enough Bank’, with the platform promising to deliver uncomplicated and genuinely useful experiences for customers, aligning with Bankwest’s national growth ambitions. The campaign targets busy Australians who are seeking a simple, user-friendly banking experience.
Revolut launches local EUR accounts for Australians. This new offering allows customers to establish local EUR accounts, facilitating swift payments and aiming to include more currencies in the future. The accounts enable them to operate across various markets. Meanwhile, Revolut has launched its first salary account in Spain, offering up to 2.27% annual return for users who deposit a minimum of €1,200 per month.
AFRICA
Discovery Bank launches AI tech that allows clients to see spending habits on WhatsApp. Customers can track their exact monthly coffee spend, receive tailored insights into their spending and savings habits and get suggestions to optimise their budget, maximise product features, and unlock rewards.
Zenith Bank expands digital, physical infrastructure amid FinTech disruption. This expansion comes as the bank intensifies efforts to compete with fast-growing FinTech disruptors. These terminals have become an important source of commission-based revenue for traditional banks.
MOVERS AND SHAKERS
BofA hires Chris Norman to lead Americas Technology M&A. Norman most recently the head of West Coast technology M&A for Wells Fargo, and is set to join BofA after a period of gardening leave. He’ll be based in Palo Alto, California, and report to Ivan Farman and Eamon Brabazon, the firm’s global co-heads of M&A.
Nubank announces new IR and market intelligence director Guilherme Souto. The new director will play a key role in shaping Nubank's investor relations strategy and providing valuable insights to support the company's growth and expansion. Click here to learn more