Revolut's Instant Card Transfers: A 'Visa'-ble Game-Changer for Businesses
Future of Fintech - Edition #132 (27th Aug-2nd Sept)
Partnerships are popping up left, right, and centre; acquisitions are the new black; and everyone's racing to conquer new markets. It's a financial revolution, and we're here to show you how it's changing the game.
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What’s on the fintech menu today?
📖 Today’s Must Read: GFF 2024: 10 Breakthroughs for Faster, Safer, Smarter Payments
🌟 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 📰
GFF 2024: 10 Breakthroughs for Faster, Safer, Smarter Payments
The much-awaited Global Fintech Festival 2024 was a blast, and India's fintech scene stole the show! Here's a quick look at the top 10 payment product launches that had everyone buzzing:
UPI Power-Up: RBI Governor's announcements unveiled Bharat BillPay for B2B transactions and UPI Circle for delegated payments, while NPCI launched UPI-ICD for cash deposits at ATMs via UPI. Talk about making payments even more convenient! 💪
Security & Speed Get an Upgrade: Mastercard's biometric Payment Passkey Service and PhonePe's lightning-fast PG Bolt are making transactions safer and faster than ever before.🔒
Omnichannel & In-Store Innovation: Worldline's 'One Commerce' platform is blurring the lines between online and offline payments, while Pine Labs Mini is making in-store payments a breeze. 🛍️
Streamlining the Backend: PayU's 'Push Provisioning' and Cashfree Payments' Secure ID are streamlining processes and boosting security for merchants and banks alike. 🏦
Expanding Beyond Consumer Payments: Open's Bharat BillPay for Business is simplifying B2B transactions, while Zoho Payments is making it easy for businesses to accept money online.
This year's GFF was a testament to India's fintech prowess. 🇮🇳 From UPI innovations to cutting-edge security, India is rewriting the payments rulebook. Curious about what other groundbreaking innovations stole the show at GFF 2024? Keep an eye out for our comprehensive analysis of GFF 2024's most significant announcements 🔜!
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Hot off the digital press, Edition #132 dives deep into fintech, exploring the many trends shaping its ever-evolving landscape.
The Week's Hot 10!♨️🔟
Focusing On Cross-Border Commerce
⤷ Revolut, in partnership with Visa, launched instant card transfers for UK and EEA business customers, enabling real-time transfers in over 50 currencies across 78 countries.
⤷ Stripe expanded its market and AI-powered payments in Asia, introducing tools like Radar Assistant to combat fraud in cross-border commerce.
Powering Payments via Partnerships
⤷ IKEA partnered with Adyen to streamline its payment processes and enhance customer experiences across both online and in-store channels.
⤷ Numeral partnered with HSBC Innovation Banking UK to embed advanced payment and account services for fintechs, insuretechs, and marketplaces.
Central Banks Lead the Way
⤷ The Hong Kong Monetary Authority and the Digital Policy Office (DPO) established a CDI-CDEG linkage to augment data sharing for SMEs and boost the digital economy.
⤷ The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to launch the Unified Lending Interface (ULI) nationwide, aiming to transform India’s lending sector.
Expanding Markets & Services
⤷ Mastercard globally launched its Payment Passkey Service, piloting in India with major payment players, to enhance online shopping security.
⤷ Business bank Allica acquired bridging lender Tuscan Capital from Quilam Capital, representing Allica’s foray into the bridging finance market.
DeFi's Global Reach -
⤷ Ant Digital Technologies and Ant International joined the Hong Kong Monetary Authority's Project Ensemble Sandbox, focusing on green finance and trade finance themes.
⤷ Mercado Libre launched a dollar-pegged stablecoin called MELI for its Mercado Pago digital bank users in Brazil.
Now, for the ‘byte’-sized fintech buzz –
Embedded Finance is transforming the way we interact with money, making it more accessible, convenient, and personalised.
Embedded finance platform Liberis and BNPL provider Sezzle partnered to promote Sezzle Capital and offer small to medium-sized businesses in the US funding without giving up equity.
Ride-hailing company Lyft introduced earned wage access for drivers and a new service for pet owners, expanding its offerings. The earned wage access is part of new features for the Lyft Direct debit card and banking app, powered by Payfare.
Open Finance is paving the way for a more connected financial ecosystem, where seamless data sharing and real-time payments are becoming the norm.
Swedish investment platform SAVR integrated Brite Payments' instant payments offering to enable customers to make larger direct money transfers into their accounts more quickly and with improved security.
Bank of New Zealand (BNZ) adopted the Payments NZ Account Information API v2.1 standards to enable secure sharing of financial data with approved providers once open banking is fully operational.
The Digital Finance scene is alive with innovation, streamlining business and opening doors to financial services for everyone.
The Information and Decision Support Center (IDSC) of the Egyptian Cabinet announced that Egypt is set to launch its first digital bank in the fourth quarter of 2024. The final launch is anticipated once the second phase of the licensing process is completed.
SME fintech OPEN launched Bharat Billpay for Business in partnership with NPCI Bharat Billpay Limited (NBBL). This service streamlines B2B transactions, allowing businesses to manage and pay invoices through an interoperable network.
The Fintech Infrastructure landscape was abuzz with activity as companies sought to enhance their digital services and expand their capabilities through strategic partnerships and acquisitions.
Australia’s MyState Bank tapped Backbase to revamp its digital services. Through the partnership, the bank aims to “simplify money management with an easier, more user-friendly, and secure platform for customers”.
Shift4, a US-based payment processing provider, announced the acquisition of Canadian fintech Givex for an undisclosed amount. This acquisition aims to add blue-chip merchants at a low customer acquisition cost while enhancing benefits for Shift4's existing customers.
Central banks around the globe are making a splash in the world of DeFi, taking proactive steps to explore the potential of digital assets and CBDCs.
The Qatar Central Bank, alongside the Qatar Financial Centre Authority and Qatar Financial Centre Regulatory Authority (QFCRA), launched the QFC Digital Assets Framework - a comprehensive and innovative regime for the creation and regulation of digital assets in the QFC.
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) launched the Project Ensemble Sandbox. The initiative will allow financial institutions to experiment with the use of its wholesale central bank digital currencies (CBDC).
From sustainable loans to climate-focused bonds, Green Finance initiatives are sprouting up all over the world:
Climate Fintech Zero revealed partners including Mastercard, Marqeta, and Plaid ahead of its launch and plans to apply for a UK bank licence for sustainable lending products.
International Finance Corporation subscribed $50M in Jordan's first locally issued sustainability bond by Jordan Ahli Bank (JAB) to help boost climate finance for SMEs, support women-owned and women-led entities, and create thousands of jobs.
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! –
Why embedded finance has moved up the priority list for UK B2B SaaS products Report - Weavr
I want to pay that way - how consumers and small businesses around the world make and collect payments Report - Xero
The Rise of Credit Union Service Organizations (CUSOs) Blog - Sensedia
Beyond Barriers: Embedded Lending Helps SMEs Thrive Blog - WhiteSight
The State of Open Finance (H1 2024) 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.
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