Future of Fintech | Edition #93 – Oct 2023
Fintech Pulse: Weekly Digest (Oct 24th-30th)
Greetings, Fintech Trailblazers!
Guess who's back, poised to zap away those Tuesday blues with a surge of fintech awesomeness? Last week, we delved deep into the vibrant core of European fintech and traversed the bustling fintech scenes of LATAM. So, grab your digital passport, buckle up, and hop on board as we plunge into the dimension where finance and technology fuse, where innovation is in constant motion, ideas are forever percolating, and the promise of a brilliant fintechaverse is all around. ☕
Before we dive into the world of fintech innovations, let's uncover the name that set the financial stage ablaze just last week - none other than Elon Musk >>>
Elon Musk's Fintech Revolution: X, the Future of Finance
Last week, in a tech-shaking event, Elon Musk, the owner of X (formerly Twitter), unveiled a groundbreaking vision. With a focus on establishing X as the financial epicentre, a bold proclamation declared it to be the ultimate conductor for all things related to money. By setting 2024 as the target year for these remarkable plans to materialize, this exhilarating revelation was unveiled during a company-wide virtual assembly. What was meant by "payments" was far more profound – a revolution of people's entire financial lives. Anything remotely connected to money, be it cash, securities, or any other financial facet, would find its home within the realm of X. This strategic transformation mirrors the grand objective of moulding the platform into a one-stop-shop, an "everything app" along the lines of super apps like WeChat in China. At the same time, the company boldly embarked on the quest to obtain money transmission licenses throughout the United States, laying the groundwork for a wide range of financial services. The future of X, under Musk's visionary guidance, promised to be nothing short of extraordinary. 🚀
Secure your seatbelts, for we're about to embark on a high-octane journey into the Future of Fintech - Edition #93.
Here's the TL;DR
Last week, the spotlight was on milestones as J.P. Morgan's JPM Coin breezed past $1B in daily transactions, while Nubank expanded its customer base to over 90 million in Latin America.
Pioneering real-time payments, Thought Machine and Form3 united to revolutionize payment processing. Meanwhile, Alba Bank collaborated with ClearBank to empower SMEs with near-real-time payment capabilities.
In a quest to safeguard users, Riskified and Plaid joined forces to bolster ACH payment risk protection, while Belvo teamed up with Colombia's MOVii to combat digital payment fraud in the region.
Mastering flexible payments, Airbnb and Klarna introduced the Pay Over Time with Klarna system in Australia. On top of that, Maurices joined forces with Afterpay to provide customers with versatile payment choices.
The fintech world resonated globally with newfound vigour as The World Bank ushered in the era of digital securities on Europe's Euroclear's DLT platform, raising an impressive $106M. In parallel, Hong Kong's virtual banks, WeLab, Mox, and ZA Bank, forged strategic alliances with digital insurers Bowtie Insurance and OneDegree, aligning with the government's fintech initiatives.
For the longer read, let's get going –
Embark on a thrilling odyssey through the realm of Open Finance, where visionary collaborations unleash the boundless potential of state-of-the-art technology!
Bud Financial partnered with Blackbullion to enhance the latter’s financial well-being solutions for higher education students. Through this collaboration, Blackbullion will leverage Bud’s Assess and Engage solutions to offer students a more convenient process of applying for additional funding, including support funds, scholarships, and grants from their place of study and third-party organisations.
BGL, an SMSF software specialist, teamed up with Skript, an open banking intermediary, to enhance CDR utilisation by integrating bank data directly into BGL's SMSF systems. This collaboration is intended to connect BGL's Simple Fund 360 and Simple Invest 360 clients to the world of Open Banking.
Dive headlong into the limitless digital domain of Digital Finance, where fintech trailblazers from across the globe made seismic waves with their innovative moves!
Brazil’s Pagbank hit 30M clients, a 19% increase from 24.8M a year earlier, and a sign that the neobank is growing despite a more competitive landscape for digital banks.
Bangladesh Bank approved a total of 8 institutions to operate digital banks to serve the government's goal of catering for customer needs in banking in the era of digitisation and covering the unbanked segment of the population.
In the exciting world of Embedded Finance last week, innovators sprinted to unveil cutting-edge features and solutions to address users' financial challenges.
American personal finance company NerdWallet launched NerdUp - launched NerdUp, a secured credit card aimed at helping Americans build credit without the usual hurdles of annual fees, high deposits, and hard credit checks.
Stere Pay unveiled its buy now, pay later (BNPL) gateway for the insurance industry, addressing the upfront financial burden often faced by policyholders by enabling insurers and distribution partners to offer flexible financing options for premium payments.
In the bustling realm of Fintech Infrastructure, passionate fintech aficionados formed powerful alliances to cater to a wide range of users and applications.
Africa and Gulf Bank (AGB) selected Temenos to modernize its digital and core banking capabilities. The Temenos solution, hosted on the cloud, will enable AGB to provide innovative products faster to retail and corporate customers in Sudan and around the world.
BankProv teamed up with Cable, a financial crime testing platform, to bolster its compliance program with advanced automated assurance and testing. This partnership underscores BankProv's dedication to regulatory compliance and using technology to combat financial crime.
Enter the enthralling universe of Green Finance, where fintech pioneers take the lead, driving the financial ecosystem into a sustainable future!
DBS launched a sustainable finance solution for SMEs called DBS Eco Renovate Loan, aimed at enabling smaller companies to access a wider pool of capital to fund green projects. The new solution enables SMEs to borrow up to 100% of the cost of using resource-efficient or energy-optimization solutions for a green renovation project, at preferential rates.
Nine25 teamed with savings app Blossom to launch Nine25 Earn - an ESG-considered fixed-income savings product. Nine25 Earn focuses on generating returns from fixed-income investments, allowing customers to witness their savings grow daily through compounding returns.
In the last week, the DeFi community boldly expanded its horizons, achieving remarkable milestones, and propelling web3 to new heights!
Zodia Custody extended its digital asset services to the Hong Kong market. The company's expansion into Hong Kong comes as part of the city's crypto retail trading licensing scheme, which aims to position Hong Kong as a major hub for cryptocurrency.
Brazil’s Receita Federal — the Special Department of Federal Revenue reported a substantial increase in the usage of stablecoins, specifically Tether’s USDT., exceeding the combined trading volume of all other cryptocurrencies in 2022.
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 tantalising headlines!
Mexican fintech Nexu secured a $20M investment to expand its platform.
Multicurrency wallets firm YouTrip secured $50M in a Series B round for Southeast Asian expansion.
Digital personal finance platform Credit Genie secured $10M in a funding round to expand its product line and hire top talent.
Payflow, a fintech focused on an on-demand salary and flexible remuneration service, entered a financing agreement with BBVA Spark, to help the growth of innovative and technological companies.
And that's a wrap 👋
We hope you enjoyed this edition of the Weekly Fintech Brew!
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