Challenger Banks Snapshot
September started with a bang in the fintech ecosystem! If you missed the most important fintech news, here is my quick round-up of last week's best.
Challenger bank N26 is in hot water with advertising watchdogs in Ireland after it received two complaints from members of the public over an outdoor marketing campaign for using the word “bullsh*t”.
On a more positive note, N26 launched its new ad campaign called “Love for” - appealing to millenials and Gen Z, who love the bank in quirky ways, like a woman wearing a clear space helmet with the tag “Loved for Transparency – no hidden fees”.
Revolut is fully prepared for a no-deal Brexit with a new European entity and carries on with its European expansion opening a new customer operations centre in Portugal, generating over 300 jobs.
Discovery Bank - which has over 22,000 signed up customers - has pushed back its launch date, with the promise to deliver a “robust and brilliant bank”.
Monese partnered up with fintech Raisin - with a new feature that will allow customers to access Raisin’s cross-border deposits marketplace.
More good news for Raisin after acquiring startup Fairr, eyeing the European pensions market, Raisin has taken over MHB-Bank as sole owner becoming the first fintech in Germany to buy a bank.
In the UK, the future seems uncertain for Metro Bank as hedge funds are ramping up the pressure for chairman Vernon Hill to name his exit date. Metro is now the ninth most-shorted company on the London Stock Exchange.
An eventful week for Starling opening its first UK offfice and launching a portal with “SME lenders” to offer third-party loans.
Tandem Bank officially launches the first edition of ‘Savetember’, a month-long national campaign tackling the UK savings crisis head-on. It also hired AI vet Noam Zeigerson as chief data officer this week.
Good news for Chime, the online-only bank now has 5 million customer accounts, after passing the 4 million mark in June and attracting lots of VC capital.
Challenger bank Varo Money partnered with Bancorp Bank to gain access to the regulated banking system and be able to offer insured deposits. It also announced its new offering of “No Fee Overdraft”, allowing customers to overdraft their bank account up to USD $50.
Online lending marketplace Namaste Credit launched its Neobanking solutions for MSMEs, becoming a full-fledged "Digital-Only Bank" with a foundational SaaS play.
US challenger bank NorthOne has launched its mobile-first small business banking platform in collaboration with digital-first Radius Bank, a virtual bank focused on providing clients with banking solutions to better financial health.
San Francisco fintech startup Brex partnered up with Magento aiming to bring a better credit experience. Now, Magento customers can now avail rewards incentives and experience faster application process.
In Australia the fintech sector is heating up with Aussie fintech Douugh expanding its financial wealth platform to the U.S and smart bank 86 400 hoping to be a real competitor with the traditional Aussie banks, after getting granted its full banking licence from the regulator last month.
Banking software company Tenemos announced that it has agreed to acquire Kony Inc, the fast growing US #1 digital banking SaaS company.
German blockchain startup Bitwala has launched a banking application with an integrated Bitcoin wallet. Now, the residents of 30 European countries can open an account in a few minutes.
Never too early to start
In the US, 70% of parents said they give a weekly allowance to their children, so debit cards for kids are becoming a thing. Eyeing this opportunity, fintech app Greenlight created the feature Parent’s Wallet. Once the bank account is signed up on its app, Greenlight sends physical Mastercards to the family. And for international students in the US banking got easier with the introduction of the North Loop banking app which differs from other banking products as users do not need a US social security number to apply.
Meanwhile in emerging markets
South African banking sector heats up with new banks circling small businesses. ThymeBank is fine-tuning its offering for small businesses, while Bank Zero provides low bank fees and protection against fraudsters for SME enterprises.
In Latin America the unbanked sector is estimated at US$ 34 billion, so fintech companies are having exponential growth. Brazil’s NuBank already has 8.5 million customers while in Mexico and Argentina, digital banks albo and Ualá are growing quickly too. The fintech ecosystem is on the rise in the region!
In Asia, Singapore-based neobank Arival has surpassed its GBP 700,000 crowdfunding target on Crowdcube reaching a pre-money valuation of GBP 12 million.
--> NOTE: This article was featured in my weekly newsletter on September 9th 2019. You want to be the first to read the news overview next week? Sign up for my Weekly Challenger Banks Newsletter here
Is weekly not enough for you? And do you want to be in the loop with the latest FinTech news every weekday? You should sign up for my Daily Fintech Snapshot here
And last but not least: follow me on Twitter!
Regards,
Marcel van Oost
What’s Driving The Digital Banking Boom In Latin America
https://news.crunchbase.com/news/whats-driving-the-digital-banking-boom-in-latin-america/
Disruptive Aussie fintech Douugh expands in the U.S., exports its financial wealth platform
https://anthillonline.com/disruptive-aussie-fintech-douugh-expands-in-the-u-s/ DONE
Challenger bank N26 was called out by the advertising watchdog for using the word 'bulls**t'
https://fora.ie/n26-asai-bullshit-ad-4796518-Sep2019/# done
https://www.moneyweb.co.za/news/companies-and-deals/slow-start-for-discovery-bank/ DONe
Neobank Yelo raises funding from Matrix Partners, Omidyar, others
European banking app Monese partners with deposits marketplace Raisin
https://techcrunch.com/2019/09/03/monese-raisin/ DONE
Online lender Namaste Credite launches digital-only bank
Fintech Varo Money to Launch First Mobile-Only National Bank in 2020
Branchless bank Chime adds another million customers this summer
Tandem appoints AI vet Noam Zeigerson chef data officer
https://www.finextra.com/pressarticle/79682/tandem-appoints-ai-vet-noam-zeigerson-chef-data-officer DONE
NorthOne joins forces with Radius Bank for small business mobile banking
Neobank Arival raises GBP 1,2 mln to serve corporate sector
Tandem Launches ‘Savetember’ in Response to UK Savings Crisis
Starling opens new UK office
Starling is launching a web portal in September, but there’s a catch
Bitwala launches bitcoin banking application in 30 countries
OakNorth appoints two senior hires as it boosts lending
https://www.altfi.com/article/5681_oaknorth-appoints-two-senior-hires-as-it-boosts-lending DONE
Radius Bank Teams Up With Mobile Fist API Banking Platform NorthOne For Small Business Checking Account
‘Challenger’ bank N26 appeals to transparency wishes of millennials and Gen Z
Digital bank 86 400 reveals details of its transaction and savings account
https://www.finder.com.au/digital-bank-86-400-reveals-details-of-its-transaction-and-savings-account DONE
Brex Partners with Magento, Aims to Bring Better Credit Experience
https://w7news.com/brex-partners-with-magento-aims-to-bring-better-credit-experience/ DONE
Revolut to open new operations centre in Portugal creating 330 jobs
https://www.siliconrepublic.com/companies/revolut-customer-operations-centre-porto DONE
How Revolut is prepared for Brexit (Updated)
https://blog.revolut.com/how-we-protected-our-customers-from-brexit/amp/ DONE
Debit Cards For Kids — It’s A Thing
https://www.pymnts.com/news/payment-methods/2019/debit-cards-for-kids-its-a-thing/
New banks circle small businesses
https://mg.co.za/article/2019-08-27-new-banks-circle-small-businesses DONE
Digital Banking Group Varo Money Launches No Fee Overdraft Feature
Temenos to acquire Kony, US #1 digital banking SaaS company, to accelerate Temenos Infinity, the revolutionary cloud-native, cloud-agnostic digital front office product and its US strategy
Raisin has acquired specialist startup Fairr as it eyes the European pensions market
https://www.businessinsider.nl/raisin-acquires-pension-fintech-fairr-2019-8?international=true&r=US DONE
Joint forces: MHB-Bank becomes Raisin Bank – Focus on Banking-as-a-Service for Fintechs
https://www.raisin.com/press/mhb-bank-becomes-raisin-bank/ DONE
Hedge funds ramping up bets against Metro Bank as shareholders pile on pressure for chairman Vernon Hill to name his exit date
New app makes banking easier for international students in the US
https://www.studyinternational.com/news/bank-account-app-international-students/
Scaling CAMSPay
5 年Jerome Princy