Revolut connects to SEPA financial network
Happy Friday FinTech Fanatic,
As we discussed N26 in yesterday’s newsletter, today it’s competitor Revolut who grabbed the headlines.
First it announced in a statement on the own website a successful finalisation of a direct connection to Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA).
Being a participant in SEPA allows Revolut to clear its own euro transfers through SEPA Credit Transfer and SEPA Instant schemes, without the need to rely on partners anymore. Or, as they said in their own statement: ‘This demonstrates our maturity in the European market, as a direct participant’.
Like they're trying to underline that, AltFi reported about Revolut hunting for a new London headquarters, as it is still hiring. According to a report in React News, Revolut will stay in London but is looking further afield across the city.
Its current office includes the now notorious neon-letter signs saying “NEVER SETTLE†and “GET SHIT DONEâ€, with the ‘SH’ dimmed out. In some quarters the latter came to be associated with a high octane culture of performance alongside aspects of a toxic workplace culture, according to AltFi.
Meanwhile Jason Mikula announced in a post on LinkedIn Robinhood, best known for no-fee trading, is launching peer-to-peer payments. Starting May 17th, customers will be eligible to use Pay & Request, a service that will let people send each other money on Robinhood.
In reaction to an antitrust intervention by U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), Google has proposed letting developers offering apps through its U.K. Play mobile app store to have the option to use alternative payment processors for in-app transactions.
This is the result from a year-long study of the mobile ecosystem which identified substantial concerns with the market power of the duopoly of Google with Android and Apple with iOS.
This proposed adjustment by Google aims to give developers the freedom to offer a different billing system of their choosing, instead of being locked-in to Google’s billing system.
More options and transparency is generally a good thing.
Now on to the other FinTech news:
Airwallex lands in Canada. The launch will empower Canadian businesses to tap into Airwallex’s global payments and financial platform, offering a faster, more cost-effective and transparent alternative to traditional banks.
Take a look at the Türkiye Fintech Guide, prepared by the Presidency of the Republic of Türkiye Finance Office, which provides essentials of establishing a FinTech company and regulations. Download guide here
INSIGHTS
The Top 100 Cross-Border Payment Companies for 2023: Market Map, by FXC Intelligence recognises the leading companies in cross-border payments worldwide, including publicly traded companies, startups, and private companies. Check out here ?
The best fintechs turn risk into leverage. Check out this interesting article about managing risk in the FinTech industry by Matt Brown. Link here
Navigating Asia Pacifics identity fraud landscape. Identity theft statistics reveal that the chances of falling prey to digital fraud are much higher than one believes. A recent report found that at least one in four consumers in Asia Pacific have been victims of online fraud.?
French FinTech investment stats in Q1 2023: French FinTech investment reached $299m in Q1 2023, an 83% drop when compared to the same period last year. FinTech deal activity in France in Q1 reached 30 deals, a 57% drop from Q1 2022. Blockchain & Crypto was the most active French FinTech sector in Q1 2023 with seven deals, according to Fintech Global.?
FINTECH NEWS
US-based Filipinos can now easily pay amortisations in Philippines. Filipinos in the US can now directly settle their monthly amortisations in the Philippines for free after financial technology (fintech) company BayaniPay launched a new bills payment service.
Ex-Adyen senior tech and product leaders launch Solvimon, a next-generation billing platform. With Solvimon, the commercial teams of companies can easily offer flexible pricing, for financial teams, the platform also provides the possibility to efficiently and accurately invoice this on a large scale, without manual work.
ACI Worldwide rolls out cloud-based fraud protection services for FedNow migration. The company announced that its award-winning fraud protection services are now available as part of ACI’s Real-Time Payments Cloud for U.S. customers preparing for the July launch of FedNow.
Indian FinTech unicorn Razorpay sets up advisory board to support innovation or corporate governance. At Razorpay, they claim to be aware that they operate in an “equally dynamic†fintech environment. In order to adapt to this “ever-changing†world, it is imperative that they “are future-ready and agile.
领英推è
Square software turns Android devices into powerful payment technology. Square launched Tap to Pay on Android for sellers in Australia. The new technology empowers sellers to easily and securely accept contactless payments with nothing more than a compatible Android device, and at no additional cost.
BLOCKCHAIN
Argentina Approves Bitcoin Futures: Argentina’s National Securities Commission (CNV for its name in Spanish) approved a bitcoin futures contract to trade on the Matba Rofex exchange that lists futures and options. Link here
Crypto-friendly Januar secures Danish payments licence. The issuing of the license is a landmark for the fast-growing company and paves the way for onboarding clients across the full European Economic Area (EEA).?
PARTNERSHIPS?
Lune partners with Visa to help accelerate meaningful climate action. Lune joins the Visa Fintech Partner Connect Programme and will offer trusted, high-quality carbon projects to Visa’s global network of merchants, banks, and partners – working together with a goal to scale climate action.
Santander Bank collaborates with DailyPay to offer an on-demand pay benefit for its Commercial Banking clients in the U.S. Through DailyPay, Santander’s Commercial Banking clients can provide employees immediate access to their pay as they earn it.
Mastercard collaborates with India's M1xchange to roll out digital invoice discounting for farmers. Along with enabling easy access to credit and working capital, the solution will allow farmers and FPOs to directly connect with buyers, negotiate the best price for their produce, and get paid faster.
Techcombank taps Personetics to bolster users’ financial wellbeing with AI. Through this partnership, Techcombank will offer capabilities to analyse customers’ financial transactions, aggregate bank accounts, and provide valuable insights about unexpected payments, excessive spending, and insufficient account balances.
Open banking payments fintech Waave lands $4.7 million Seed round. Waave‘s flagship product Pay by Bank, aims to reinvent accepting and making payments in the lowest cost, simplest and most secure way possible.
Brazilian expense tracking startup Payfy raises USD $800K. Payfy, offers a centralized platform for business spending that caters to modern and progressive teams. Read more
Inclusive lending fintech Stratyfy raises $10M. “This funding will help us further invest in a product that we actually launched about a year ago, which we call UnBias,†Laura Kornhauser, co-founder and CEO said.
Composable checkout platform Rally lands $12m. The funding will help Rally further strengthen its team, penetrate enterprise and international markets, and expand integrations. Link here
MOVERS & SHAKERS
Qover hires Ed Ackerman as chief customer oficer. The CCO will be responsible for developing and implementing customer-centric strategies that enhance the overall customer experience.
Bitso's co-founder and CEO, Felipe Vallejo, has been elected as the new president of the Mexican Fintech Association. Vogel's appointment is seen as a positive development for the Mexican fintech sector, as Bitso has been one of the most successful and innovative fintech companies in the country and Vogel is regarded as an experienced and respected leader in the industry.
ClearBank has appointed Spiros Theodossiou as its new chief product officer. Theodossiou brings more than 20 years of experience to the role and will create and execute the company’s roadmap as it embarks on international expansion plans.
Telecom-as-a-service platform Gigs hires Rafael Plantier as head of financial services. “Rafael’s wealth of experience and deep domain knowledge will help us to cater to the needs of the fintech industry even more effectively," said Hermann Frank, co-founder, Gigs.
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Cheers,
Marcel van Oost