Revolut Bank to become ‘branch’ in Portugal

Good morning,

Yesterday, we mentioned the release of Stripe’s new Enhanced Issuer Network , which was shortly followed by another announcement from Stripe.

The Payments giant announced support for Tap to Pay on Android , enabling businesses in six countries to accept contactless in-person payments using a compatible phone or tablet without the need for traditional point-of-sale hardware.

Last year, Stripe was first to become Apple’s payment partner for ‘Tap to Pay on iPhone’, and with this move Stripe is currently the only payments company providing Tap to Pay on Android, according to TechCrunch .

Stripe’s Tap to Pay on Android supports transactions made with mobile payments like Google Pay, as well as Mastercard, Visa, and American Express debit and credit cards.

Curious to see which competitors will follow Stripe’s trail in support for Tap to Pay on Android. Who do you put money on??? Share your thoughts, by leaving them in the comments below??

Before we go on to the other FinTech news, there’s also some news from the digital banking front as Revolut claims it is set to become a branch in Portugal in the coming months.

Besides sharing the ambition to become the third largest financial entity in the number of users, another incentive for Revolut in the Portuguese operation is to “integrate” with Multibanco services, as these services are perceived as very important by customers in Portugal.

Reportedly, Revolut is in the process of being licensed by the Bank of Portugal.

Thanks for reading this far, I wish you a great day and please enjoy the FinTech news I’ve listed for you.

NEWS HIGHLIGHT

Enfuce awarded contract by the State Treasury of Finland and Kela. Enfuce will deliver a prepaid disbursement card service that allows the State Treasury and Kela together with Enfuce to provide a secure, reliable, and easy-to-use prepaid payment solution in situations where account payments are not an option.

INSIGHTS

Banks losing ground to FinTechs in Asia’s cross border payments space. In Asia, FinTech companies are witnessing strong growth in the cross-border payment area, recording rates often three or four times those of incumbents.

Embedded payments revenue to surpass $59 billion globally by 2027. A new Juniper Research study predicts growth of integrated payments will erode the dominance of cards within eCommerce. This will be driven by rising consumer enthusiasm for alternative payment methods.

How proxy addressing is reshaping real-time payments in Asia Pacific. The advent of proxy-enabled national real-time payment (RTP) systems has become an integral part of Asia Pacific’s digital financial services market landscape in recent years.

Euronext makes €5.5bn indicative offer for Allfunds . Allfunds says the unsolicited bid is for its entire issued and outstanding share capital at a price of €8.75 share, made up of €5.69 in cash and 0.04059 new Euronext shares.

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FINTECH NEWS

Computop debuts three new Linux-based payment terminals. The Linux-based devices from Swiss partner, PayTec , expand the existing range with three options for the most typical use cases in retail .

FTX NEWS

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried hit with four new criminal charges. A source familar with the new counts said that SBF, as he is popularly known, could face an additional 40 years in prison if convicted in the case, where he is accused of “multiple schemes to defraud.”

BLOCKCHAIN

Huobi Global and OKX to apply for licences in Hong Kong. As part of a new regulatory package that will be implemented in June 2023, these two exchanges will be able to operate in HK after they become registered with the HK SFC .

M&As

SPAC Bridgetown mulling merger with FinTech firm Hyphen . Sources told that the merged entity could be valued at several hundred million dollars. PIPEs, or private investments in public equity, anchored by institutional investors, could be a part of a deal , they said, adding that talks are still going on and a final decision is yet to be made.

Nuvei successfully closes Paya Holdings acquisition. The deal will enhance Nuvei’s scaling capabilities by expanding the company’s reach to new verticals thanks to Paya’s extended network.

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PARTNERSHIPS

Mastercard partners Immersve to let people in Australia and New Zealand use cryptocurrency directly from their Web3 wallet to make digital, physical and metaverse purchases wherever Mastercard is accepted.?

Bibby Financial Services and Coface ally to secure Irish SME funding. The aim of the alliance is to highlight the benefits of secure funding solutions which can support the cashflow needs of a business.

HDFC Bank partners with Ascenda , A suite of new best-in-class rewards propositions, powered by Ascenda, will enable HDFC Bank to deepen engagement with its large premium base of customers.

Arvest Bank launches new lending product powered by Thought Machine . Through this partnership , Arvest says it has built and deployed a new equipment finance lending product – initially rolled out in October – in less than nine months.

KCB Bank Kenya taps Sopra Banking Software for digital transformation. The partnership has enabled the bank to offer differentiated value propositions covering payments, savings and lending on digital channels, delivering a seamless banking experience to customers.

Monoova powers PayTo early adopter Wagepay . Monoova’s API-driven payments platform allows tech-enabled businesses such as Wagepay to automate how they receive, manage and pay funds.

Finastra partners with Integro Technologies for frictionless trade finance. Banks will now be able to combine Integro’s SmartLender solution’s advanced exposure risk capabilities with Finastra’s Trade Innovation solution’s front-to-back capabilities for frictionless trade and supply chain finance.

Freedom Bank implements Visa B2B connect in Kazakhstan. Connecting to the Visa B2B Connect platform will strengthen Kazakhstani business and build an ecosystem of financial services for legal entities.

Ingenico and Binance begin piloting crypto payments in French stores. The first solution — in which merchants are paid in crypto — is being piloted at two companies in France and will then be deployed in European countries where Binance is regulated.

#DONEDEAL

Car finance FinTech Carmoola has raised ￡103.5m. Carmoola aims to bring its customers a new fintech-forward product in the form of “neo car finance”; and plans to use the funds to scale the businesses and support growing demand by expanding its team.?

Finch lands $40M to connect disparate HR systems with a single API. Finch’s mission is to democratize access to the infrastructure that underpins the employment sector, unlocking much-needed innovations and creating tremendous economic value for both employers and employees.

German FinTech finway lands €9.2m in Series A. German finance operating system for SMBs company will use the investment to advance the development of its software solution.?

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Nordigen execs join GoCardless leadership team. Global leader in bank payment solutions, has appointed three executives from open banking provider Nordigen, which it acquired last year, to its leadership team.

Squared Financial to push ahead in emerging markets by naming Vusi Thembekwayo Chairman of the Supervisory Board Committee. Squared Financial will expand on the ground with a particular focus on Sub-Saharan Africa.

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Cheers,

Marcel van Oost

Connecting the dots in FinTech

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