Future of FinTech | Edition #49 – Dec 2022
Hola, FinTech enthusiasts!
Need help getting over those Monday blues? Cheer up because we are back with a refreshing FinTech cappuccino to refreshen your week! Devour the Future of FinTech newsletter with six exhilarating segments across the FinTech space.
As we wrap up 2022, this marks our last edition for the year. We wish you all a joyous holiday season 🎄. We will see you in the new year with our weekly updates, as usual. Keep your eyes out 👀 for a new Future of Fintech theme in 2023 – if you've got any guesses, leave a comment below!
Tall, Grande, Venti, Trenta – it all begins with choosing from the all-too-familiar cup sizes at your neighbourhood Starbucks. Only to be followed by a series of other decisions: A cold brew? A pink refresher? Perhaps a cheesecake frappuccino… or maybe even a matcha tea latte? With a menu featuring a delicious range of vibrant quenchers, Starbucks prides itself on bringing a little more joy to the everyday cup of coffee ☕. But the options don’t just end there – Starbucks has carefully crafted superior and seamless experiences for customers by embedding financial and lifestyle products that extend customer engagement, both before and beyond the purchase event at the store. Dive into the caffeinated adventure of Starbucks in FinTech with The Bank with a Bean Licence.
Edition #49 brings holiday gifts packed with fun toppings of FinTech news from around the globe.
Here's the TL;DR
Central Bank of Jordan has issued guidelines to regulate open finance services provided by banks operating within the kingdom.
Rollin the pin on payment innovation, Secure Trust Banks teamed up with Mastercard to equip customers with easy repayment options on retail finance loans. At the same time, pay33 partnered with Swan to launch a payment-enabled mobility card and app for users to facilitate e-mobility across Europe.
SoFi Bank rolled out its BNPL products for eligible members powered by the Mastercard Instalments program. E-commerce giant Meesho collaborated with LazyPay to integrate BNPL as a payment option for the e-commerce audience.
ebankIT teamed up with Salt Edge to bring full-scale open banking solutions for financial service providers. At the same time, PayPal integrated with MetaMask to enable users to buy and send Ethereum (ETH) tokens.
ZA Bank launched its currency exchange services with zero fees and real-time quotations. Western Union launched its digital banking app focused on international money transfers in Romania, while Revolut regained its title of ‘Europe’s most valued startup.’
For the longer read, let's get going
The Open Finance space was all about collaborations and regulatory moves last week.
Taking open banking to new highs, ebankIT teamed up with Salt Edge to bring the full scale of open banking solutions to Canada, EMEA and beyond. At the same time, Secure Trust Bank joined hands with Mastercard to offer customers a convenient and easy way to pay retail finance loans.
On the regulatory front, the Central Bank of Jordan issued instructions to regulate service providers in the open finance space, while celebrations were on the way for Waave as it secured Data Recipient (ADR) accreditation under Consumer Data Rights (CDR) in Australia.
The Digital Finance space was stirring as players made headlines through the week.
Getting started with partnerships –
Taking a fresh dip in BaaS waters, Deloitte has joined hands with AWS for a multi-year collaboration to develop solutions that can help institutions expedite the launch of digital banking services while modernising their legacy core banking stacks.
Reaching new geographies, Western Union rolled out its digital banking app for Romanian users. The offerings include a Visa debit card, current and savings accounts, and international money transfer services.
Revolut grabbed the headlines again as it topped the chart of ‘Europe’s most valuable start-up’ after Checkout.com internally slashed its valuation. Additionally, it sweetened its product offering as it added platinum and palladium for commodities trading on its app.
The Embedded Finance sphere danced to the tunes of partnerships as it welcomed new launches.
Diving right into it —
On the BNPL train, LazyPay teamed up with Meesho to plug-in seamless BNPL options for e-commerce shopping enthusiasts.
SoFi broke into the BNPL segment and rolled out a Pay-in-4 flexible instalment option powered by Mastercard.
Ibanera partnered with Cross River Bank to power its digital banking platform and payment capabilities.
The Decentralised Finance sphere warmed up the week with exciting developments across different categories.
Dipping its toes in the digital assets space, PayPal teamed up with MetaMask to integrate with the web3 wallet for buying and sending Ethereum (ETH) directly.
On the funding front, Amber raised a whopping $330M in a Series C round to survive the FTX fallout whilst narrowing its focus on serving institutional and high net-worth clients instead of retail consumers.
Preparing for crypto winter, Tether has planned to wind down its practice of lending out its stablecoins in 2023.
The Platform Finance space witnessed some interesting developments.
Starting with innovative launches —
Galileo rolled out Galileo Direct Deposit Switch, powered by Atomic, to enable its FinTech clients to offer customers to efficiently and quickly set up and update their paycheck direct deposit information.
ZA Bank launched a currency exchange service that charges zero handling fees and provides real-time quotations.
On the partnerships front, Glia partnered with Jack Henry to integrate its communication and collaboration capabilities into Jack Henry's digital banking platform.
The Green Finance grass got a little greener as the collaborative efforts of companies lightened up the week.
Getting started with partnerships —
Cerved joined hands with Greenomy to help Italian companies comply with the new EU sustainable finance regulations such as EU Taxonomy, CSRD and SFDR.
Topping up its targets, Barclays ramped up its sustainable financing goals to $1T by the end of 2030.
Last but not least, in green toppings, Climate Asset Management (formed by HSBC Asset Management and Pollination Group) raised a mighty $650M for its natural capital investment fund in its continuing efforts to invest in green projects.
Some other happenings in the FinTech universe 🪐
Here are a few more FinTech top-ups to keep your cravings satisfied –
SME financing platform Validus secured funding for its C-1 round.
Pocketnest raised an additional $2.6M in funding to develop its financial wellness platform.
Visa launched a grant for African Women Impact Fund (AWIF) to help women become fund managers and grow their businesses.
Walnut Insurance bagged about $2.9M in a seed financing round.
And that's a wrap 👋
We hope you enjoyed this edition of the Weekly FinTech Brew!
If you're hungry for more FinTech insights, check out some of our other work at WhiteSight.
Our latest publications include diving into Asset Tokenisation: The Next Frontier for Partnerships in Banking and exploring the Cloud-native Cores and Digital Banking Revolution.
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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