Banca Sella Adopts TQ Braille for Accessible Banking Services

REPORT

Check out Revolut's Consumer Security and Financial Crime report, which highlights prevalent fraud types , Revolut's efforts to combat fraud and protect customers, and tips for customer self-protection. It also includes an analysis of fraud origin and a focus on the rise of ticket scams in recent months, driven by seasonal events.

?? NEWS HIGHLIGHT

• Revolut is close to getting an Australian bank licence.

Can it crack fortress Australia ???? and the ‘big four’?

It’s just got a banking licence in the UK which means an Australian licence now looks like a sure thing.

Yet even before this inevitable milestone, Revolut is making serious inroads in the local market; it’s signed up 670,00 customers already in Australia and has transaction volumes annualised at an estimated $1bn.

Read more

?? PODCAST

What really happened at Synapse according to Founder Sankaet Pathak in Lex Sokolin's podcast: They discuss what happened at Synapse, the issues around its bank partner Evolve and others, and the overall lessons from the BaaS space. Tune in now

NOW, ON TO THE SUMMARY OF LAST WEEK'S?NEWS

?? DIGITAL BANKING HIGHLIGHTS

?? Monzo staff to sell shares as valuation soars again to ￡4.5bn .

?? Banca Sella adopts TQ Braille for accessible banking services .

?? Multitude Bank acquires 9.9% stake in Norway-based LEA Bank ASA .

?? New HSBC boss ‘ready to cut jobs of senior bankers to save $300m’ .

Stay Updated on the Go. Join my new Telegram channel for daily updates and real-time breaking news. Stay informed and connect with industry enthusiasts —subscribe now!

?? REGIONAL HIGHLIGHTS

UK ????

Tensions rise between banks and tech companies over online fraud liability in the UK. Now that the mandatory fraud compensation is being rolled out in the U.K., questions are being asked about whether financial firms are facing the brunt of the cost for helping fraud victims. More on that here

Coreless banking provider XYB to help modernise core banking with IBM. Together, they offer a componentized core banking platform on IBM Cloud for Financial Services?, designed to accelerate digital transformation while prioritizing security , providing banks with an agile and scalable solution for core modernization.

Revolut said it prevented nearly $????.?? ?????????????? ???? ???????????? ???????????? for customers via enhanced fraud protection measures in the past three months. “The company’s proactive approach has seen it significantly enhance its crypto-specific security measures recently , which has led to an increase in the amount of potential fraud it has prevented,” Revolut stated on Tuesday.

Ozone API implements new Open Banking standards V4.0. This update makes Ozone API the first to deliver fully compliant APIs, aiming to simplify the transition process for both financial institutions and third-party providers (TPPs) in the UK. Read more

ASK Global partners with Yaspa to bring Open Banking to PINTO machines in the UK. This collaboration will see Yaspa integrated into ASK Global's PINTO machines , which are widely used in some of the UK's largest and most popular land-based casinos and betting shops.

Pockit, a financial services business for the “unbanked”, has acquired Monese, an HSBC-backed rival, creating a combined business serving three million customers. The acquisition follows Monese's failed funding attempt and 2022 pre-tax losses of ￡30.5m, despite revenues rising to ￡27.7m. The terms of the deal were not disclosed .

COGO partners with green bank, Tandem, to help customers lower their carbon footprint. Through the integration with Cogo’s services, Tandem will also open up the app to all consumers in the UK, irrespective of whether they are Tandem customers or not.

EUROPE ????

Commerzbank would lose clients in UniCredit merger, German lender's CEO says. Bettina Orlopp stated that a tie-up with the Italian bank would result in customer losses. In her first interview since becoming CEO of Commerzbank, Orlopp was downbeat on the prospects for big bank mergers .

Monzo Bank pumps €4m into new Irish unit. The news follows Monzo CEO TS Anil’s announcement that the company is establishing its EU base in Ireland, which will serve as its gateway to European markets. Click here to learn more

INDEXO launches new fully-fledged banking experience for Latvians, powered by Mambu’s cloud banking platform. Leveraging Mambu’s core banking platform, powered by Microsoft Azure and integrated by Fintecor, INDEXO Bank now has a scalable, cloud-native foundation for deploying financial offerings.

USA ????

Navigating data privacy in financial services. David Ritter, CEO of Privacy Lock, and Robert Zondag, partner at Wipfli, discuss the intersection of AI technology and data privacy regulations, the growing number of data privacy laws, and more in this engaging interview. Click here to learn more

MoneyLion adopted a new solution from Plaid that allows consumers to link their bank accounts and get pre-qualified for loans. When consumers share this information, lenders gain cash flow underwriting insights that enable them to offer credit options that are tailored to the consumer and are more competitive, Plaid said in a blog post.

Chimney joins the Jack Henry digital banking platform. The collaboration will help financial institutions empower their homeowners with actionable advice about their home value, home equity, borrowing power, and more. Read the full piece

Grasshopper Bancorp, Inc. and Auto Club Trust, FSB announce definitive merger agreement. The transaction has been unanimously approved by the boards of directors of each company and, subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approval, is expected to close in the first half of 2025.

Treasury Prime & ComplyCo to help banks address regulatory challenges. The integration will enable banks to improve their oversight capabilities and will support FinTechs in scaling their operations responsibly, reinforcing the overall integrity of the financial ecosystem.

Venmo announced a new, highly requested feature that allows users to schedule one-time or recurring payments or requests with friends and family on Venmo . Users can use the new feature to set up one-time or recurring payments monthly, weekly, or bi-weekly in advance.

LATAM

Mexican FinTech Stori has announced the launch of Stori Inversión+, a new fixed-term investment product offering an annual return rate of up to 15.50% . This product is aimed at individuals seeking financial stability and secure growth, allowing users to invest from as little as 100 pesos.

Revolut officially announced that they are in the process of applying for a banking license in Colombia, following its entry into Brazil last year and the acquisition of a banking license in Mexico in April. Country Manager, Diego Caicedo , explains Revolut's plans for Colombia in this insightful interview with Forbes.?

ASIA

tbi bank Opened Its Own Technology Hub in Türkiye. With this strategic move, the bank aims to not only accelerate the development and integration of innovative services into its products, but also expand its access to international talent .

MOVERS AND SHAKERS

Trustly appoints Adam Miller as group CFO to drive ambitious growth. Adam’s expertise will further strengthen Trustly’s leadership as the company continues to scale and expand its market presence. Continue reading

Atom Bank appoints Ayshea Robertson as Chief People Officer. She will work with the Executive Committee and People Experience team to deliver a high quality employee journey , and will oversee Atom’s recruitment strategy, ensuring it attracts and retains the highest calibre of talent.