Hey there, fintech fanatics!
Guess what time it is? It's that thrilling moment of the week when we dish out the freshest and most scorching slices of fintech brilliance, served straight from the innovation oven! This week, the fintech frenzy is lighting up the vibrant landscapes of LATAM and reaching for the stars in the UK! So, grab your cuppa and let's dive headfirst into a world of innovation and all things fintech! ☕
Before we delve into fintech headlines, let's applaud Adyen's journey to create a full-stack banking-as-a-service platform, soaring to new heights >>
Adyen: From Payments Dynamo to Full-Stack Banking Powerhouse
In the thrilling world of payments, Dutch dynamo Adyen is rewriting the rules and transforming into a full-stack banking-as-a-service juggernaut. Recently bestowed with the coveted UK banking authorization, courtesy of the Prudential Regulation Authority and the Financial Conduct Authority, Adyen is planting its flag firmly in the British financial landscape. But that's just the beginning.
This green light not only ensures Adyen's continued UK presence but also guarantees top-tier service for businesses, even in the post-Brexit era. Adyen is taking things up a notch with its embedded financial product suite. Imagine offering bank accounts, virtual or physical cards, and cash advances seamlessly through your payment platform - that's Adyen's game plan!
By crafting this integrated financial ecosystem, Adyen is evolving into a global financial technology giant, offering end-to-end payment prowess, data-driven insights, and financial services that empower businesses on a global scale.
Adyen isn't alone in this journey. Its rival, Stripe, is treading a similar path. Both these payment giants are playing their trump card: Embedded Finance.
Curious how these financial titans are leveraging the power of Embedded Finance to shape the future of payments and beyond? At Whitesight, we've plunged into the depths of Adyen's strategy. Take a look at Adyen’s Embedded Finance Playbook if you crave a profound glimpse into their innovative business ethos.
Get ready to relish the sizzling concoction of Future of Fintech - Edition #86, bubbling with the latest and most electrifying developments!
Here's the TL;DR
Boosting fintechaverse through collaboration 一 Cloud Finance and Salt Edge teamed up to boost business finance management via open banking. At the same time, NatWest adopted Icon Solutions' 'low code' payments framework for its payment modernization drive.
The bigwigs marked their presence last week as BNY Mellon teamed with Trustly on open banking payments solution "Bankify", while SAP Fioneer partnered with Mastercard on embedded payments and lending.
Fintech flexes its muscles globally 一 Nubank launched personal loans in Mexico to bolster its footprint. Not only that, but GXBank also received approval from Bank Negara Malaysia to commence operations.
Fully focusing on improving payments, Affirm and Booking.com teamed to offer enhanced payment options for travellers and customers. Also, APEXX partnered with Klarna to offer flexible payments globally.
In the DeFi land, JPMorgan explored a new blockchain-based deposit token for payments and settlements, and Visa expanded stablecoin pilot programs with Worldpay, Solana and Nuvei.
For the longer read, let's get going –
Take a thrilling plunge into the universe of Open Finance, where visionary trailblazers unite, orchestrating a symphony of cutting-edge technologies to craft the open banking revolution.
Ntropy partnered with Yapily to elevate financial data standardization and enrichment across Europe. The partnership will enable Yapily’s customers to access Ntropy’s financial data and enrichment API to fully leverage the power of open banking data.
tell.money teamed with crypto banking platform Colossos to expand the latter’s open banking capabilities, with the integration of Colossos' platform with tell.money's PSD2 dedicated interface tell.gateway.
Embark into the dynamic cosmos of Digital Finance, where digital visionaries carve their paths to milestones and target achievements!
TymeBank said its business in the Philippines has the potential to be almost twice the size of its local banking operations, having already achieved a growth rate of over 200,000 new customers monthly. The neobank only launched in the Philippines in October 2022 under the GoTyme brand.
C6 Bank reported a 52% reduction in H1 2023 adjusted losses, down to $57.3M from $118.9M in H1 2022. In the release of the published results on its website, the bank said that the numbers point to a “solid improvement in operations”.
Monzo launched a ‘call status’ tool to protect customers from impersonation scams. The tool sits inside the app and aims to provide customers with an “additional layer of comfort and security” by verifying whether a call ‘from Monzo’ really is from Monzo.
In Embedded Finance last week, collaborations took centre stage as players across industries lit up the embedding game to cater to diverse user needs.
Embedded insurance specialist Cover Genius partnered with Chilean low-cost carrier SKY Airline. As part of the arrangement, Cover Genius will offer ‘comprehensive’ travel protection to SKY Airline’s Brazilian customers via the airline’s ticket booking pathway.
Wamo, the digital business account provider for SMEs, teamed with Modulr as its new Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) provider. Following the integration, the company intends to reignite its EU and UK presence with additional features and services to strengthen its business account offering for SMEs.
In the ever-changing world of Fintech Infrastructure, major players joined forces with fierce determination, poised to lead a payments revolution.
J.P. Morgan Payments and Network International, a digital commerce company focused on the Middle East and Africa, teamed up to bolster the bank’s acquiring services. The partnership will allow J.P. Morgan Payments to expand and complement its existing payment offerings in the Middle East and Africa.
Indian supply chain finance platform KredX joined forces with Mastercard to streamline B2B digital payments. The collaboration will integrate Mastercard’s commercial card service with the KredX platform, eliminating complexities associated with B2B payments made via cards.
Step into the world of Green Finance, where industry giants are pioneering revolutionary initiatives, leading the charge for a greener and more sustainable future.
Branded payments provider Blackhawk Network (BHN) partnered with Visa to launch its global environmental sustainability initiative. With this, Blackhawk Network aims to move its network-branded prepaid products distributed by third-party retail networks from plastic to paper-based materials.
Sustainability fintech firm Cogo launched its Business Carbon Manager app in the UK, following its success in Australia. The app aims to assist UK SMEs in measuring, comprehending and mitigating their carbon emissions.
Get set for a thrilling DeFi ride! While the US DeFi scene faced scrutiny, Asia powered up the ecosystem.
Hong Kong crypto exchange HashKey signed an MOU with fintech firm OneDegree for crypto exchange insurance. The insurance policy will extend its coverage to encompass both hot wallets and cold storage addresses, bolstering security measures for users.
The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission took enforcement actions against 3 DeFi companies – Opyn Inc., ZeroEx Inc., and Deridex Inc. – indicating potential future actions within the DeFi sector. The regulator ordered the firms to cease and desist from violating CFTC rules and required them to pay civil penalties of $250,000, $200,000, and $100,000, respectively.
Some other happenings in the fintech universe 🪐
Craving for some more quick fintech nibbles to savour alongside your tea? Get ready to dig into a delectable spread of tantalizing headlines!
Atlanta-based fintech company Momnt raised $15M to grow its lending and financing platform.
College-focused platform Firstcard raised $4.7M in seed funding to expand its tech infrastructure, intensify marketing activities on college campuses, and enhance its feature set.
Moove, a Nigerian mobility fintech startup, announced a new funding round of $76M to support the company’s global expansion.
Stockholm-based fintechTreyd raised $12M in an extension of Series A funding to grow in existing markets and invest in the core product offering.
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.
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