??? A Guide to Open Banking Ecosystems

Good morning crunchers,

Welcome to today's edition of our newsletter, where we'll be exploring the latest developments and trends in the world of fintech, with a particular focus on open banking ecosystems.

Join us as we delve into these topics and bring you the latest trends and developments in the world of fintech and beyond.

If you’re reading this and haven’t signed up yet, make sure you join 11,970 others by subscribing here.

Now let’s get started.

?? What’s New in Fintech & Payments

• Banks have borrowed nearly $153 billion from the Federal Reserve's Term Funding Program, taking advantage of the crisis lending programs.

• Fintech Saudi signed 12 MoUs and launched three initiatives to enhance the skills of fintech companies in the Kingdom at the Financial Sector Conference in Riyadh.

• The Reserve Bank of India and the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates signed an MoU to enhance the cooperation of financial services.

• Astra Tech has partnered with Mastercard to enhance its digital payments services in the MENA region by issuing Mastercard-branded physical and digital cards through its PayBy and Botim platforms.

• Tamara secured a receivables warehouse facility of up to $150 million from Goldman Sachs to finance the growing demand for BNPL products in the GCC.

• UBS is currently in talks to acquire Credit Suisse, with plans for the boards of both banks to meet separately over the coming weekend.

• SVB more than tripled its loans to insiders – officers, directors, principal shareholders, and related interests – to a record amount of $219 million in the final quarter of 2022.

?? The World of Web3

• Salesforce has released Salesforce Web3, a platform that enables its customers to establish loyalty programs based on tokens, using NFTs.

?? Crypto & Defi

• Founder of collapsed crypto exchange FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried, and other key employees used approximately $2.2 billion in customer funds for personal use.

• Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies continue to race into the new bull market, surpassing key price levels in the middle of a macroeconomic backdrop that could put crypto ahead of stocks.

• The former Age of Empires producer says that the blockchain gaming industry needs to exceed mainstream games with new features and experiences.

?? The State of Investment

• Fintech startup Rain has raised $116 million in funding to facilitate faster pay cycles for hourly workers, achieving a valuation of $250 million.

• Saudi Arabia's Finance Minister said that the Kingdom is open to "quickly" making investments in Iran now that diplomatic relations have been restored.

• Saudi Arabia-based NFT marketplace Nuqtah raised an undisclosed seed round led by Animoca Brands and with participation from Polygon and regional investors.

• UBS has agreed to buy Credit Suisse after increasing its offer to more than $2 billion.

?? A Guide to Open Banking Ecosystems

The Open Banking phenomenon has the potential to transform the relationship between financial systems and individuals globally. But customer-centricity is the key to creating a sustainable Open Banking ecosystem.

This means that we need to carefully plan and analyze the regulatory, entrepreneurial, and consumer environments, as well as the Fintech ecosystem in each country.

To provide insights into the progress of Open Banking across the world, a recent report by Open Banking Excellence – a leading open banking advisory firm – gathered over 150 data points per country, from both its own survey and partner sources, such as the World Bank and the IMF.

The report analyzed 50+ markets globally where Open Banking has been adopted and narrowed the scope down to 23 markets that are producing the beginnings of an ecosystem. The analysis focused on four macro-categories:

1. Regulatory
2. Entrepreneurial
3. Consumer
4. Fintech ecosystems

The findings is that use case diversity and delivering value propositions with market fit are critical components of Open Banking success.

This report is an essential guide for governments and regulators across the world who want to develop successful Open Banking ecosystems and keep pace with the evolving fintech landscape. It offers a detailed roadmap of best practices and pitfalls to avoid. For example, the report highlights the success of the UK and Australian Open Banking ecosystems in prioritizing consumer protection, competition, use case diversity, and collaboration between banks and fintech companies.

As Open Banking continues to evolve and gain momentum across the globe, what other critical factors do you think governments and regulators should consider to establish successful Open Banking ecosystems?

?? Report of the Week

State of Fintech 2023: While 2021 was a year of growth for fintech, 2022 saw a re-evaluation of many fintech companies by public investors, leading to a shift in valuation multiples. The F-Prime Fintech Index was down 72% in 2022, with six new additions and six delistings. This report by F-Prime predicts that tech-enabled versions of existing financial institutions will be distinguished from truly disruptive approaches to financial services. The report also highlights several interesting trends that F-Prime is tracking in 2023, such as the growth of neobanks, lenders, and wealth management firms, and the emergence of embedded fintech business models as the most disruptive. Download the full report here.

?? Book I'd like to Recommend

AI 2041: Ten Visions for Our Future by Chen Qiufan and Kai-Fu Lee

Check out more of my favorite reads here.

?? In Other News…

• Twitch: Emmett Shear, the CEO of Amazon's live streaming service Twitch, stepped down effective immediately, nearly 10 years after the company's acquisition.

• Tech: UNWTO launched a startup competition to provide support for women tourism tech entrepreneurs and innovators in the Middle East.

• Silicon Valley: Despite the risk management issues highlighted by SVB, the regulatory requirements for banks to maintain higher capital and liquidity resources since 2008 show that lending standards are far better than they were then.

• Careers: There's been a growing trend of taking career breaks, but many Middle Eastern employers still see it as a flaw.

?? The Podcast for Fintech Enthusiasts

In this episode, we have a special guest, TRAM ANH NGUYEN , Co-Founder of CFTE - Centre for Finance, Technology and Entrepreneurship . Tram Anh has an impressive professional background in the finance industry, having worked with renowned institutions like Standard Chartered Bank, Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein, and UBS, before founding CFTE. Listen to the full episode for valuable insights into the world of fintech and the importance of upskilling in the rapidly changing industry.

??? And that brings us to the end of today’s Crunch

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