Future of Fintech | Edition #64 – April 2023
Summary of news from 4th to 10th April
Time for some Tuesday Tea, Fintech Fanatics! 👋
We've brewed up a steaming hot batch of updates in our newest issue of the Future of Fintech newsletter, a blend that is a daring fusion that spans six delectable fintech domains. Grab your cuppa – it's time to pour yourself a fresh, hot-off-the-press serving of Fintech Brew!💡
Last week's fintech bulletin captivated audiences far and wide, as news poured in from the bustling hubs of the UK and the US, while Japan and Australia also added their unique flavour to the mix of regions covered. The DeFi sector emerged as the star of the show, with numerous financial institutions banding together and embracing the concept of decentralised solutions and digital currencies>>>
Now serving #Edition 64 – here with a delectable slice of fintech bliss to satisfy your insatiable appetite for all things innovative and finance-related!
Here's the TL;DR
Opening the scene for the week, MoneyHub announced its APIs are now available through the Amazon Web Services (AWS) marketplace, allowing more customers to use consent-driven data to improve their customers’ financial lives. Pacific West Bank and banking-as-a-service platform Unit also announced a strategic partnership that will enable companies to embed banking services into their products.
Expanding into new markets, European neobank Bunq made the news for its plans to expand to the US with the formal filing for a banking licence with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), aiming to target 5 million European expatriates and businesses in the region. At the same time, Orange Bank announced its migration to Mambu’s cloud banking platform, expanding their partnership to France.
Scaling new heights and making waves with unprecedented achievements, while Japan’s Rakuten Bank grabbed headlines for surpassing ~$68B (¥9T) in total deposit balance, embedded banking provider ClearBank saw its net income more than double last year to a record ~$63M (£58.3M) which helped to further narrow its losses by 65%.
Bringing blockchain to the scene, Lloyds Bank struck a deal with Swedish firm Enigio to digitise trade finance documentation. Through the relationship, the bank intends to explore further opportunities to feature trace:original documents within wider trade finance products, such as documentary collections and credits. Furthermore, in The Land of the Midnight Sun, Swiss networking technology provider Anapaya partnered with Finastra to provide Swiss banks with access to the Secure Swiss Finance Network (SSFN).
While on the topic of blockchain, ANZ Bank was in the news for completing a pilot test using an Australian CBDC for carbon credit trading, conducted in conjunction with the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) and the Digital Finance Cooperative Research Centre (DFCRC). The purpose of the pilot was to explore the tokenisation of real-world, nature-based assets, beginning with Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs). Another initiative with the aim of taking care of our planet was initiated by Brazil’s C6 Bank, which introduced new Carbon Extract banking tool to calculate the estimated carbon footprint for each card transaction (debit and credit) and Pix made for legal entities.
For the longer read, let's get going –
The Open Finance sphere was infused with launch-related events and noteworthy partnerships and regulatory affairs to help accelerate the open banking revolution.
Skript launched its latest product, Subskript, a powerful API-based solution that provides businesses with a secure and reliable way to access their bank data feed directly into their own system.
France-based Powens and Spain’s Unnax announced their official agreement to join forces and create a European Open Finance champion, leveraging a strategic opportunity to strengthen Open Finance leadership in Europe and beyond.
The Digital Finance space witnessed an upsurge in digital service providers gearing up to deliver simple and seamless experiences.
Douugh was in the news for its plans to incorporate ChatGPT into its "micro-investing" platform to enable its users to educate themselves about finance.
Tandem Bank acquired money-sharing app Loop Money with the aim to provide its customers with a unique way of borrowing and lending, while also supporting the transition to a low-carbon economy.
The Embedded Finance arena was brimming with strategic moves aimed at boosting trust, relevance, and scalability.
Multi-lender point-of-sale financing platform ChargeAfter expanded its network of lenders through a partnership with Canada's B2B BNPL provider Tabit to provide merchants in Canada with more financing options for their business customers at the point of sale.
Cardstream Group announced the arrival of its significant new white-label PayFac-as-a-Service to the market. The full-function platform has been designed to deliver Acquirers with a comprehensive Third Party Payment Facilitator programme, as well as a pathway for those looking to become a Payment Facilitator.
The Fintech Infrastructure segment observed many firms collaborating and launching modernised offerings to make financial services simpler, faster and safer for consumers and businesses.
Vietnam’s joint stock commercial bank An Binh Bank (ABBANK) partnered with digital banking software provider Backbase to enable omnichannel banking, increase ease in customer acquisition, retention, cross-sell, hyper-personalisation, and improve customer servicing.
Experian selected Amazon Web Services (AWS) as its preferred cloud provider to power its multi-year information technology (IT) modernisation initiative. Experian will also expand its use of AWS’s comprehensive set of cloud services to build customised programs and provide real-time financial services to consumers and business customers.
The Green Finance pastures were green with sustainability initiatives as industry players came together to support their respective ESG goals.
Citi launched new Sustainable Time Deposit solution designed to assist US institutional clients when investing excess cash while supporting their sustainability goals. The solution will deliver competitive yields and supports projects identified under Citi’s green and social bond frameworks, expanding the program launched in Europe, the Middle East and Asia last year.
Leading provider of AI-driven compliance solutions Behavox released its Large Language Model (LLM), tailored for various sectors within the financial services domain, including buy-side, sell-side, commodities, crypto, and private equity.
The DeFi realm was alive with a frenzied hum of novel innovations and comprehensive solutions aimed at fortifying processes.
Azimut Investments tokenised units in an asset-backed securities fund, AZ RAIF 1, using the Allfunds Blockchain as the project’s first stage to assess the efficiencies in transferring fund units between investors and Azimut Funds. BNP Paribas Securities Services acted as the service provider and integrated Allfunds’ solution with its legacy systems.
The Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates (CBUAE) launched the first phase of its CBDC implementation initiative, partnering with R3 and G42 Cloud to develop the technology and infrastructure. The CBDC initiative will look at a range of use cases across domestic and cross-border use.
Some other happenings in the fintech universe 🪐
Some more bite-sized headlines to go along with your fintech tea:
InsuranceDekho acquihired Sequoia-backed SME insurance platform Verak to strengthen its presence in the SME insurance vertical and micro-business insurance schemes.
FinFit and Salary Finance US merged to create a workplace financial platform serving over 10 million US workers.
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 –
Fintech Ecosystem Ripples: Analysing the Echoes of SVB's Collapse
J.P. Morgan's Fintech Frontier: Collaboration, Diversification, and Innovation
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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