The Future of Banking newsletter powered by Marcel van Oost

REPORT

Digital Brands can be seen all over the world as they reach significant popularity from 2015 onwards.

Incumbent Banks started setting up their own new, digital businesses to face the challenge.

?? Download the full C-Innovation report here.

REPORT

Starling Bank reported its first full year of profitability.

The digital bank swung to a pre-tax profit of ï¿¡32.1 million for the financial year ending 31 March 2022 from a pre-tax loss of ï¿¡31.5 million for the period to 31 March 2021. Revenue for the same period to 31 March 2022 was ï¿¡188 million.

?? Read the full Starling Bank report here.

?? NEWS HIGHLIGHT

Revolut has been hit by a slew of resignations from its UK risk and compliance chiefs in recent weeks amid heightened tensions with regulators and delays to the firm’s banking license.

Five Revolut executives have handed in their resignation including UK chief risk officer, Victoria Stubbs; UK Head of Regulatory Compliance, Justine Wootton, and UK Money Laundering Reporting Officer Mathew Seneviratne, a source close to Revolut told City A.M.

??Read the full City AM article here.

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?? ?? BLOG

Varo’s layoffs extended their runway by just nine days.

Varo, the first US neobank to win a de novo charter, has laid off about 10% of its staff in a bid to extend its runway.

?? Read the full Jason Mikula article here

?? ?? BLOG

A week in the life of a Product Manager at Monzo:

I’m Shnay, a Senior Product Manager (PM) at Monzo for the Customer Support Experience Squad. We’re responsible for the help and support experience in the app, which includes self-serve journeys, transaction help, and the help tab.?

??Read the full blog post by Shnay Chohan here.

?? ARTICLE

How Embedded Finance & BaaS are Transforming India ????.

While COVID has thrown traditional banking operations in disarray but it has also established new FinTechs in the financial services business.

With the Central bank’s push toward digitalization, we can safely assume that this trend will inevitably make fintech proliferate deeper into the incumbent bank’s market.

??Read the full PayNet article here.

?? INTERVIEW

The current interest rate hike is something that “continues to be necessary for the adjustment of expectations” of inflation, Andre Gailey, CEO of Banco Itaú in Uruguay, tells Bloomberg Línea in an interview.

The Brazilian bank’s CEO and wholesale banking director in Uruguay talk about its Tech Nucleus, dedicated to serving technology companies and fintechs, and how more interest rate hikes are likely.

??Read the full Blomberg Linea article here.

??INSIGHTS

Run by Alibaba affiliate Ant Group, it is the largest globally by user numbers, although is primarily limited to those based in or from China.?

However, far less well known is the company’s cross-border payments solution Alipay+, despite its significant – and growing – global reach.

?? Read the full Forbes article by Daniel Webber here.

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

?? DIGITAL BANKING HIGHLIGHTS

?? Neon has raised $80 million for its first Credit Rights Investment Fund focused on credit cards. Link here.

?? During Huawei Intelligent Finance Summit 2022 — Huawei, launched the Digital Banking 2.0 solution leveraging Temenos open platform. Link here.

?? U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Chad E. Meacham announced that Ping Express U.S. LLC pleaded guilty to failure to maintain an effective anti-money laundering program. Link here.

?? Telda receives final approval from The Central Bank of Egypt to launch Telda card and app. Link here.

?? REGIONAL HIGHLIGHTS

UK ????

Revolut launches latest celeb collaboration with YouTubers the Sidemen. Link here.

Starling pulls its Irish bank application as international focus shifts. Link here.

Finastra and HSBC announced that they are working together to distribute HSBC’s FX services via Finastra’s FusionFabric.cloud platform under a Banking as a Service (BaaS) experience. Link here.

Check out the 15-slide pitch deck Griffin, a banking-as-a-service FinTech, used to raise $15.5 million in fresh funds. Link here.

Atom Bank looks poised to achieve its first year of annual profit this year following a number of encouraging financial indicators. Link here.

Bloom has raised $6.5 million in a seed funding round. Link here.

FNZ has acquired New Access, a specialized private banking technology firm. Link here.

Iwoca is increasing the maximum size of its flexible loan product up from ï¿¡200,000 to ï¿¡500,000. Link here.

The UK treasury unveils plans to regulate stablecoins as part of the new Financial Services and Markets Bill. Link here.

Emma announced the release of commission-free stock trading to more than 1m+ customers in the UK, after successfully testing with more than 30,000 users who registered on the waiting list. Link here.

EUROPE ????

BNP Paribas is entering the crypto custody space via a partnership with Swiss digital asset safekeeping firm Metaco, according to three people with knowledge of the deal. Link here.

Universo has selected Mambu, the SaaS cloud banking platform, to bring more accessible and modern financial services to the market. Link here.

InvestCloud announced it is supporting Rabobank. Link here.

Visa alongside Spanish Fintech Pecunpay, has announced the launch of Visa Direct, a new solution that will allow Pecunpay customers to send and receive money instantly. Link here.

USA ????

Mahalo Banking completed a $20 million funding round. Link here.

Liberty Bank selects SavvyMoney as part of its digital transformation. Link here.

Glia announced a strategic partnership with Access Softek, an omnichannel digital banking provider. Link here.

Southland Credit Union announced it will now offer cryptocurrency buying and selling services to its members. Link here.

Varo has laid off 75 employees as part of an effort, the neobank said, to move toward profitability. Link here.

Maxwell announced the launch of Maxwell’s Spanish mortgage solution. Link here.

LATAM

The macroeconomic scenario has become more challenging for Brazilian banks in this second half of the year in the face of increasingly consensual forecasts of a US recession. Link here.

Nubank, Latin America's largest fintech, is growing faster than expected in Mexico, Chief Executive David Velez said in an interview. Link here.

Mexico’s Credijusto (Now Covalto), Argentina’s Ualá and Brazilian Creditas acquired banking licenses as a way to raise funds. Link here.

Mono aims to be ‘first-bankingless bank’ for Latin America’s small businesses. Link here.

Nubank has just announced Pix no Crédito, a feature that will give its customers greater freedom.?Link here.

ASIA

Niyo has raised $30 million from private equity firm Multiples Alternate Asset Management. Link here.

The central banks of five major Southeast Asian countries are working to link up their QR code-based payments systems. Link here.

Union Bank of India announced the launch of Metaverse Virtual Lounge & Open Banking Sandbox environment at an event held in Mumbai. Link here.

Jangra’s Corporation has launched a new international cross-border payment and digital banking platform named KwikPaisa. Link here.

CWallet offers a multi-functional fintech solution for the MENA's expat population. Link here.

ING announced that it will leave the retail banking market in the Philippines before the end of 2022. Link here.

OneConnect Financial Technology announced the launch of OneCosmo, a one-stop omni-platform for all-in-one digital banking solutions jointly developed with Brazil-based technology company Pismo. Link here.

AUSTRALIA ????

Ubank takes the reins of neobank 86 400, reveals a new look and products. Link here.

ANZ has agreed to buy Suncorp Group’s banking arm for A$4.9 billion. Link here.

Up Bank has opened expressions of interest for owner-occupiers looking to refinance their home loan. Link here.

AFRICA

The Central Bank of Nigeria has granted an Approval In Principle license to RoutePay Fintech to provide digital payment products and services in Nigeria, to ensure financial inclusion. Link here.?