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REPORT

Banks continue to partner with fintechs this year, with the aim of expanding their payment offerings in an increasingly competitive space .

As fintechs' offerings mature, we see the biggest banks open up to partnering with them across payments product lines.

Here are the key partnerships in Q2 by FX Intelligence??

European banks are putting "AI" in 30% of their job ads.

AI-related hires currently account for over 30 percent of the open job ads at some of the largest European banks like ING Groep, Barclays and NatWest, according to the AI Talent Report for Banks by Evident.

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?? NEWS HIGHLIGHT

Zilch opens new technology hub in Poland.

This strategic move establishes a European Centre for Excellence which will serve as a pivotal facility dedicated to accelerating the development and implementation of new innovative features and technologies.

??INSIGHTS

Last week we saw 10 FinTech deals in Europe for a total of 145m€ raised with 3 deals in Germany, 2 in the UK, Sweden, and The Netherlands, and 1 in Spain .

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

?? FINTECH HIGHLIGHTS

?? Freetrade's valuation dropped 65% ahead of its upcoming June crowdfunding campaign.

?? Tide to help 200,000 women launch new businesses by 2027 .

?? Reward chosen for Visa issuer loyalty programmes across Europe .

?? Allica Bank doubles deposits to ￡2bn as rising rates boost savings .

PAYMENTS

Market Pay acquires Novelpay to fuel its growth as a pan-European payments platform.

Nelly raises €15 million to fully digitise medical admin and payments .

Score & Secure Payment (SSP) has partnered with Tink to improve its payments solutions across Europe.

BoomFi raises $3.8 million to make its next-generation payments solution common place .

BR-DGE has today launched a partnership with Hands In, the innovative payments solution that enables customers to split the cost of purchases at the checkout .

OPEN BANKING

SEPAexpress has partnered with Volt to add further open banking payments to its product portfolio alongside its already established Direct Debit offering.

Volt becomes an approved Shopify open banking partner.

CRYPTO

Binance cancels registration for inactive business in the UK and continues to withdraw from major markets amid the ongoing pushback from global regulators.

Binance is leaving the Netherlands, after failing to persuade the Dutch regulator to issue a virtual asset service provider (VASP) license .

Bit2me gets a bit to itself as the crypto exchange raises €14 million to 'drive forward in Latin America .

Bitstamp secures registration as a cryptoasset service provider by FCA.

INVESTMENT

Blackboxstocks invests $8.5 million in first step towards merger with Evtec .

illimity Bank secures €50 million via EIF to help finance Italian SMEs . The move aims to foster the continued growth of green and digital transformation industries across Italy.

Trezy announced that it has raised €3M in a seed round of funding. The company says it will use the investment to support the growth of its customer base and grow its teams in the Netherlands, France, and the UK.

Backbase announced its acquisition of Nucoro. The acquisition will allow Backbase to incorporate Nucoro's headless platform capabilities directly into the Backbase Engagement Banking platform .

Bitpanda has launched Bitpanda Cash Plus, a new feature that offers investors industry leading yields on their cash deposits .

ID Finance has launched a crowdfunding campaign, offering existing shareholders and clients as well as European retail investors the opportunity to participate in its recently closed €30 million equity round .

Wayflyer has renewed a $300 million debt line with J.P. Morgan, a step it said underscores the security of its finance base as clients focus more on the source of revenue-based lenders' funds after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank.

Keytrade Bank has announced its partnership with Infosys Finacle Suite for the modernisation of its core banking system .

Zepz is looking to expand its business through mergers and acquisitions , the company’s CEO Mark Lenhard, said.

GREEN FINANCE

Klarna unveils new tools enabling consumers to shop more consciously and take climate action .

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Zopa beefs up executive team with IPO-experienced CTO, Peter Donlon.