Revolut chair is expected to hold talks with PRA as licence impasse drags on
Terrific Thursday fellow FinTech Fanatic,
Let’s start with some Revolut news, as their chairman is expected to meet financial watchdogs this week in an effort to resolve an impasse over its application for a UK banking licence.
Sky News understands that Martin Gilbert, the former boss of fund manager Standard Life Aberdeen, is due to hold talks with officials from the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) as the application process drags on.
The talks come weeks after the Telegraph reported that regulators were preparing to reject Revolut's application altogether.
Another remarkable story was brought by AltFi, as they reported Hindenburg Research, a short seller based in Manhattan, published a detailed investigation into Tingo Group, a FinTech and agri-FinTech firm, claiming that that company is a scam with “fabricated” financials.?
While Hindenburg Research is a short seller and a formal investigation is yet to be launched, they have built street credibility for their research around Adani Group and more recently, Block, formerly known as Square.
Hindenburg asserts that Tingo Group’s CEO, Dozy Mmobuosi, has fabricated his bio, the company's financials, and the launch of an airline division, among other accusations.
According to AltFi Tingo Group held a “special meeting of Tingo Group stockholders,” on Wednesday, and put out the following comment:
"Tingo Group, a profitable and fast growing FinTech and agri-FinTech company, categorically refutes all the allegations and misinformation outlined in a report published by Hindenburg Research earlier today."
As said, a formal investigation is yet to be launched but I’m curious how this will continue.
Thanks for reading this far and now on to other exciting FinTech news I listed for you today:
A sneak preview of the INNOPAY Open Banking Monitor Q1 2023: The old guard is embracing new opportunities: In this preview, Innopay highlights three key findings that have been observed since the last Open Banking Monitor (OBM) update. Check out the complete report through this link
INSIGHTS
Challenger banks hunt for acquisitions as rising interest rates reveal opportunities. Higher rates have increased the funding costs for all banks, but particularly non-banks who do not take deposits. Deposits are the cheapest form of funding available to banks. Read more
FT Partners released the latest FinTech Deal Activity Insights from the month of May. Download the complete report, with more stats and figures, through this link.?
Peer-to-peer (P2P) apps are as popular as ever. Three-quarters of Marqeta's survey respondents (75%) shared that they have used a peer-to-peer payment app in the last 12 months, approximately the same number of consumers who stated they had in 2022 (76%).
FINTECH NEWS?
Chipper Cash’s latest layoffs affect COO, Kenya’s country director. Chipper Cash laid off at least ten staff members in the company’s third round of layoffs in under one year.The vice president of marketing, Alicia Levine, was part of those affected by last week’s layoffs.
Aspire achieves profitability, eyes broader APAC and team expansion. Looking forwrad, Aspire is eyeing expansion plans in Southeast Asia and broader APAC. The fintech is also looking to grow its team of over 400 as it is actively hiring for 50+ open positions.
London-based fintech Unlimit sets shop in Kenya. The development is part of an ongoing aggressive expansion drive by the firm which has spelt out its mission as that of advancing the payment landscape in Africa and empowering businesses with cutting-edge payment solutions.?
NZ fintech Aera unveils savings account. Future first homeowners can now access competitive and flexible savings products through Aera. More than 500 New Zealanders have registered their interest with the banking alternative at launch.
Circle Singapore obtained Major Payment Institution (MPI) license. The license allows Circle Singapore to offer digital payment token services, alongside cross-border money transfer services and domestic money transfer services in the city-state via its various products and services, including the Circle Account.?
Lunar opens up infrastructure to enable instant payments in the Nordics. Strong demand from both national and international payment players drives Lunar to open up its Nordic payment infrastructure to partners. Link here
Bond Investing Gets the Robo-adviser treatment. Wealthfront is offering an automatic portfolio just for bonds in response to surging interest in fixed income.?
DIGITAL BANKING NEWS
C6 Bank is now pivoting to serve high-income customers more closely. The bank will initially launch these in Porto Alegre, Rio de Janeiro, Brasília, and Belo Horizonte, intending to establish more than ten offices within a year. Read more
领英推荐
BLOCKCHAIN
Lanistar secures landmark launch as Crypto Feature goes live in Brazil amidst Nubank Nucoin announcement. Lanistar has recently unveiled its latest feature for the Brazilian market with its new app update, which enables users to engage in cryptocurrency trading. Link here
M&A’s
Méliuz enters into a definitive agreement with banco BV for the transfer of 100% of Bankly. The transaction may be carried out directly or through a subsidiary of banco BV and the completion of the sale and transfer of Bankly and Acessopar is subject to the implementation of conditions precedent agreed between the parties.?
Awacash acquires microfinance banking license from CBN. This accomplishment underscores Awacash’s strong commitment to enhancing the banking experience specifically tailored for creators and freelancers.
PARTNERSHIPS
Hawk AI and Scorechain partner to Introduce an end-to-end transaction monitoring solution for enhanced compliance. The integrated solution offers streamlined transaction monitoring and enhanced compliance capabilities, empowering businesses to navigate the digital landscape with confidence and efficiency.
Allica Bank and ClearBank team up to boost banking for UK SMEs. ClearBank provides Allica with client money accounts and access to UK payment schemes, including Faster Payments (FPS), CHAPS and Bacs. Link here
Worldpay from FIS teams up with Volt to bring power of Open Banking to merchants. The collaboration will bring the power of open banking to merchants and give them the ability to take payment through open banking from consumers.
Banxware and Rabobank make short-term financing more accessible. The partnership will introduce the option to apply for a loan within the digital environments that entrepreneurs use every day, such as e-commerce platforms, bookkeeping software and purchasing- and logistical platforms.
Teya teams with Liberis for merchant financing. The partnership will allow Teya to further support their customers by offering pre-approved revenue-based finance through a simple application journey. Link here?
Jifiti launches embedded lending platform with FIS. The collaboration will bring to market an end-to-end embedded solution for banks and financial institutions to deliver services to merchants like advanced Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) programs.
Finastra integrates with S&P Global Market Intelligence for corporate and syndicated lending. The collaboration aims to help reduce risk, improve automation, and fast-track transaction processing for clients that use Finastra and S&P Global Market Intelligence’s solutions by removing the manual re-keying element of transactions throughout the lending and trade lifecycles.
#DONEDEALS
Keeta, raised $17 million in funding from a group of investors led by former Google CEO Eric Schmidt. The money may go through three or four “stops” at various banks before reaching the intended party. Read more
Payrails raises $14.4m. The firm will use the capital to accelerate its product roadmap and increase go-to-market capacity. Link here
Griffin raises $13.5m Series A for its licensed banking software. Banking licence-wielding Griffin counts some of Europe’s most high profile fintech angel investors on its cap table.?
Dutch fintech LoopingOne raises €2 million in seed funding. With the investment the company will accelerate the development of its groundbreaking agnostic KYC/B and multi-party payments product for marketplaces and online platforms. Read more
MOVERS & SHAKERS
Fintech Valor PayTech hires Todd Harris and Bryna Pinks. Their responsibilities will include expanding the company's presence across the payments industry and building and growing partner relationships for Valor PayTech's products, services, and solutions.
Looking to work with me in any of the following areas?
Cheers,
Marcel van Oost
Blogger
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