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REPORT

• Crypto Banking Report 2024 .

Read more .

?? NEWS HIGHLIGHT

• TabaPay to Acquire the Assets of Synapse Financial Technologies, Inc .

TabaPay, Inc., the leading instant money movement platform for the FinTech industry, announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire the assets and affiliates of Synapse Financial Technologies, Inc. The agreement follows the filing by Synapse of a voluntary bankruptcy petition under Chapter 11.

With the addition of the Synapse assets, TabaPay will offer an unprecedented array of financial services for FinTech firms and financial institutions, pending approval by the bankruptcy court.

Prior to the acquisition, the two businesses provided complementary financial technology services, with both companies ranking on Deloitte’s 2023 Fast 500 with Synapse posting 650%+ growth over a five-year period.

Read more .

?? ARTICLE

• 46 months in a row remittance volume in Mexico has grown. The $63B that Mexicans abroad sent home last year is 70% more than pre-pandemic levels and almost 3x the amount they were sending ten years ago .

Read more .

• How does a Bank transform into an AI-first financial institution ?

In the rapidly evolving landscape of finance, banks are facing the imperative to become AI-first institutions. To achieve this, they must adopt a comprehensive strategy that touches upon all aspects of their operations.

Read more .

??INSIGHTS

• Driving technological innovation into banking: partnering over building or buying ?

Read more .

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

?? DIGITAL BANKING HIGHLIGHTS

?? HSBC-backed FinTech Monese plots break-up amid mounting losses

?? What a week it was for Nubank.

?? Banco de la República de Colombia launches new central securities deposity .

?? Mastercard launches mobile virtual card app to simplify travel and business expenses .

?? REGIONAL HIGHLIGHTS

UK ????

What a week it was for Revolut. They truly ?????? (????)???? ????????. Here are the Top 10 BIG News Updates from Revolut last week.

Monzo boss aims guns at HSBC and Barclays saying "consider" yourselves "challenged". The London-headquartered FinTech is currently having another crack at the US market after its previous effort was kiboshed after failing to land a US license.

Zopa eyes IPO after hitting FY profitability. The bank has made no secret of its desire to go public ever since it notched up its first profitable month in April 2022 and has flagged profitability as a key pre-requisite for a market float.

HSBC’s Zing has less than 20% of Wise’s monthly downloads but CEO insists it’s ‘bang on plan’. That’s despite recent reports indicating a muted start for the app, lagging far behind FinTechs Wise and Revolut in terms of monthly downloads in January and February.

Modernising the trains and rails of UK payments . Amidst the prospect of significant technological change in payments, Sarah Breeden sets out how the Bank of England seeks to deliver trust and support innovation.

NatWest boosts cross-border payments with StoneX. This partnership will support cross-border payments and expand local payment reach in an additional set of 10 currencies, providing access to customers in markets the bank had not previously serviced.

EUROPE ????

Germany’s Largest Federal Bank LBBW Forms Crypto Partnership With Bitpanda. Over the coming months, LBBW and Bitpanda will be working together to offer LBBW corporate clients a regulated platform for the custody and procurement of crypto assets .

Revolut Ireland chief Maurice Murphy confirmed they currently have 2.8m users in Ireland , Revolut is close to launching mortgages in Lithuania - with Ireland following shortly after, and make a bold statement: ‘We are far better than AIB, Bank of Ireland and PTSB’

Revolut announced Two important milestones in Spain. Barcelona has been chosen as the first location to open an inaugural Revolut Tech Hub. Revolut already has over 750 employees in Spain.

Revolut, which has 3.5 million clients in Romania out of the 40 million globally , announced it launched the refinancing facility in the country, which is also a Global Premiere.

Currence announced a big update to the iDEAL payment system: Starting today, consumers can create their very own iDEAL account + Speedy Checkout.

Climate FinTech Fils partners with digital banking tech provider Aion. "This partnership with Aion represents a pivotal step forward in our mission to help banks embed ESG values at the core of financial services," said Nameer Khan, CEO of Fils.

Temenos rejects Hindenburg claims after probe completed. The allegations were based on a report Hindenburg conducted in February involving 25 former Temenos executives .

Denmark’s Saxo Bank up for sale. The group, which offers digital trading and investment services, invited investment bankers in recent weeks to pitch for an advisory role to help it consider options.

USA ????

Goldman Sachs traders help profits jump 28%. Wall Street bank beats estimates by almost $1bn as investment banking and trading arms report strong results.

Backbase Enters Strategic Relationship With EverBank to Enhance Commercial and Treasury Services. This strategic relationship signifies EverBank’s commitment to advancing its commercial and treasury banking sectors , aligning with its growth objectives.

BofA evolves AI-powered assistant toward deeper digital integration. As use of Bank of America’s virtual assistant Erica balloons, the bank is continually fine-tuning and feeding the tool new information to better respond to customer inquiries.

Wells Fargo chooses TradeSun to digitise trade finance. TradeSun’s trade-focused AI will help deliver Wells Fargo’s goals by automating manual processes that will increase capacity to drive new business .

Bankjoy + Pinwheel Partnership Gives Banks and Credit Unions Easy Access to the Industry's Most Advanced Digital Deposit Switching Solution , Pinwheel Prime.

Mercury, announced its expansion into consumer banking with the launch of Mercury Personal, a powerful personal banking experience designed with the best of today’s technology to help builders in tech optimize their money.

Revolut Changes Partner Bank in the US and began informing its customers about changing its card issuer and bank partner from Metropolitan Commercial Bank (MCB) to Community Federal Savings Bank (CFSB).

CANADA ????

Canada set for open banking legislation. Having initially promised to enact regulation by the beginning of 2023 , the government has now used the federal budget to say it will introduce two pieces of legislation this year for open, or "consumer-driven", banking.

LATAM

British digital bank Revolut receives banking license in Mexico. When Revolut starts operating in the country, international transfers should be one of the first services offered.

Nubank Holding raises investment in the Mexican market to over $1,4 billion dollars. The investment aims to support the portfolio expansion of Nubank Mexico and strengthen our presence in all segments of the Mexican financial market ”, highlighted Iván Canales, General Director of Nu Mexico.

The President of Banco do Brasil and Revolut emphasized the importance of addressing consumer issues in the most pleasant manner possible for them whether they are in the remote areas or in the Brazilian metropolises.

Revolut expects strong growth prospects in Mexico ???? where it aims to dedicate/invest more than $100 million this year. This is what the firm's top local executive told Reuters , as it looks to take advantage of historic remittance flows.

ASIA

GoTyme, the digital banking arm of the Gokongwei Group of Companies, has cried foul over an online news portal’s report that the two-year-old company had incurred P3 billion in losses in 2023.

AUSTRALIA ????

ASIC's Sanlam blitz sparks calls for 'shadow licence' reform. Compliance experts are calling for an opaque feature of Australia's financial services sector to be reformed after the corporate regulator launched a crackdown on one of the country's biggest 'licence for hire' firms.

Judo Bank shakes off startup tag as lending book surges past $10 billion. The business-banking specialist says the milestone achievement represents an average growth rate of 135 per cent a year since April 2019 when the bank secured its licence from the APRA.

Digital Asset Neobank Keytom Launches In The UAE. The Dubai-based start-up enables its customers to monitor their funds through a unified interface accessible via both a mobile application and web browsers.

OCEANIA

New Zealand consults on digital cash. The central bank says the currency would be "digital cash", backed by the government and sitting alongside notes and coins.

AFRICA

Tuum Announces Expansion into the Middle East and the Creation of a Regional HQ at ADGM. This Middle East expansion is further strengthened by the establishment of a new regional office at the ADGM, positioning Tuum at the heart of the Middle East’s financial and FinTech ecosystem.

MOVERS AND SHAKERS

Neobank Current named Scot Parnell its first CFO. The news comes as the company strives to hit profitability by mid-2025 .

Green Dot names Renata Caine GM, BaaS. She will oversee the company’s BaaS business with a focus on building and supporting embedded finance that fuels retention , engagement and growth for Green Dot’s growing list of world-class BaaS partners.

Mox appoints Igor Lau chief customer officer. With responsibilities spanning customer experience design, brand proposition development, partnerships, marketing, and analytics , Igor will elevate the future of customer engagement at Mox.