Visa Bets on Open Banking and Stablecoins
Future of Fintech - Edition #116 (25th-29th Apr)
This fintech tea is just fresh off the stove!
Get ready for regulators taking a stand, AI making its play in finance, and acquisitions happening faster than you can say "disruption." Buckle up, because the Fintechaverse is rewriting the financial rulebook at a breakneck pace! 🫖
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What’s on the fintech menu today?
📖 Today’s Must Read: Hitch a Ride on Flexibility with Klarna & Uber
🌟 Fintech Fiesta: The Week's Hot 10!
🌐 ‘Byte’ Buzz: Fintech highlights, sorted by segment!
🔗 Link Up: Your gateway to resourceful links!
Fin-teresting Stories in Fintech 📰
Hitch a Ride on Flexibility with Klarna & Uber
Ready to ditch the credit card shuffle for your next late-night Uber Eats craving? Klarna is bringing its one-click payment offering to Uber and Uber Eats in the US, Germany, and Sweden. This means you can ditch the credit card swipe and choose between:
Instant "Pay Now": Ditch the fumbling for cash or credit cards. Klarna's "Pay Now" option lets you settle your Uber or Uber Eats bill instantly with a single tap.
Flexible Monthly Payments (Germany & Sweden only): Klarna's offer extends to monthly payment plans. Bundle your rides and meals into one interest-free payment that aligns with your paycheck, keeping your finances organised and those pesky fees at bay.
But Uber isn't the only passenger on this BNPL ride.
We've been witnessing BNPL's impact on e-commerce, giving shoppers more control and boosting financial inclusion. But the trend goes way beyond online stores – it's equally transforming everyday transactions.
Curious to see which other partnerships are heating up the fintech scene? 🤝
Dive into our full blog, where we explore the BNPL boom and how it's reshaping how we pay for everything from groceries to getaways!
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Now serving Edition #116, where every headline offers insight that unlocks a world of endless possibilities!
The Week's Hot 10! ♨️🔟
Visa dominates newsstands:
⤷ Visa launched open banking in the US, using technology from recently acquired Swedish vendor Tink.
⤷ Visa launched an ‘Onchain Analytics Dashboard’ in collaboration with blockchain data provider Allium Labs to make stablecoin activity easier to understand.
The card craze is on:
⤷ Marqeta teamed with OakNorth to provide commercial cards in the UK, meeting rising demand from small and medium-sized businesses for enhanced banking solutions.
⤷ Sopra Banking Software partnered with Paymentology to enhance global card issuing services, integrating their expertise and solutions within SBP Digital Core for optimised and secure tools.
Payments at the forefront -
⤷ Swedish fintech Klarna teamed up with Uber to expand its Pay Now (US) and Pay Now and monthly payment (Sweden and Germany) methods across the ride-sharing and delivery platforms, Uber and Uber Eats.
⤷ Stripe reintroduced payments using stablecoins, particularly starting with USDC, after a six-year break.
Milestone moments -
⤷ UK challenger Allica Bank achieved its first full year of profitability, and, at the same time, surpassed the ~$628M (£500M) milestone in asset finance lending.
⤷ Brazilian financial services infrastructure provider QI Tech secured unicorn status following the extension of its Series B funding round.
Fintech sparking a global innovation -
⤷ The Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates introduced two new fintech regulations: Open Finance Regulation and Sandbox Conditions Regulation, aimed at fostering innovation.
⤷ African payments technology company Flutterwave partnered with payment processing specialist Acquired.com to streamline outward remittances in the EU and UK.
Now, for the ‘byte’-sized fintech buzz –
In the exciting world of Embedded Finance, fintechs, payment processors, and tech companies come together to revolutionise financial solutions.
Payment processing provider Episode Six and Singapore-licensed financial institution DCS Card Centre (DCS) announced a partnership that will enable fintech companies to issue their own branded credit cards through their customer interface.
FastSpring, a leading merchant of record for global SaaS and software firms, and EBANX, a global tech company focused on payments in emerging markets, partnered to improve user payment experience in Latin America using local method Pix.
Immerse yourself in the Open Finance world, where financial services seamlessly blend into daily life and platforms.
Standard Chartered unveiled its new Open Banking Marketplace, offering a single platform for clients to explore and test APIs in a sandbox environment, aligning with their business goals.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) announced plans to examine Big Tech firms' access to data and the potential benefits and risks of data sharing.
Uber is testing a feature that will allow users to pay for rides directly from their bank account using Stripe Link. This stems from Uber and Stripe's dynamic global partnership expansion in 2023, enabling users to effortlessly add bank accounts within the Uber app securely and instantly.
From sharing finances with loved ones to empowering underserved businesses, the Digital Finance realm was brewing with innovations to meet evolving needs.
The Reserve Bank of India released draft guidelines for digital lending service providers. These guidelines aim to oversee the aggregation of loan products by lending service providers (LSPs).
Danish challenger bank Lunar trials voice-enabled AI-powered chatbot with the CEO lending it a voice. This experiment is part of Lunar’s broader embrace of AI technology, aimed at boosting productivity and efficiency across the organisation.
In the ever-evolving realm of Fintech Infrastructure, the spotlight shines on building a fortress of security and efficiency.
National Bank of Iraq went live with Temenos core banking and payments. This will enable NBI to operate more efficiently and integrate seamlessly with other systems to develop new products faster and deliver an improved customer experience.
Mastercard launched Scam Protect, a suite of AI-enabled solutions that aim to prevent scams and fraud. Additionally, the company entered collaborations with organisations operating across the financial ecosystem to prevent scams, including Verizon, NatWest, and Global Anti-Scam Alliance.
In the Decentralised Finance space, a convergence of global expansion and regulatory innovation is reshaping the landscape:
US-based digital asset exchange Kraken acquired TradeStation Crypto to expand its regulatory licensing in the US. Kraken’s takeover of TradeStation Crypto, the digital asset-focused division of online brokerage TradeStation, expands the cryptocurrency exchange's regulatory licensing in the US.
The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) published its digital payments roadmap, with stablecoins, a retail central bank digital currency (CBDC), and tokenisation among its priorities.
The Green Finance landscape was lush with sustainable investments taking root and regulations set in place to ensure they flourish.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published finalised non-handbook guidance on its anti-greenwashing rule, which will take effect on May 31, 2024, and applies to all regulated firms in the UK.
BlackRock and Temasek's fund, Decarbonization Partners, surpassed its $1B fundraising goal, gathering $1.4B for its first fund, which aims to reduce carbon emissions.
And that's a wrap 👋
We hope you enjoyed this edition of the Weekly Fintech Brew!
As a reward for making it all the way here, enjoy a curated list of awesome fintech resources to keep your curiosity cup full to the brim. Cheers to continuous learning!
🔗 Link Up! –
A new payments paradigm Report - HSBC
Small Business Real-Time Payments Barometer: Healthcare Edition Report - PYMNTS
How the fintech world will solve new pain points in 2024 Blog - Marqeta
How do PSD3 and PSR impact the EU payments sector? Blog - Powens
Generative AI in Finance and Beyond Blog - WhiteSight
Stripe’s Economic Infrastructure Playbook Report - WhiteSight
Hungry for more fintech insights? Check out some of our other work at WhiteSight.
If you're someone who likes to read think pieces, you will likely love our monthly blog, Fintersections, where our team members analyse the convergence of fintech with the world.
Fintech research is in the WhiteSight DNA, so if you'd like to get in touch for features, sponsorships, and content marketing services, reach out to us at hello@whitesight.net.
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