Future of Fintech | Edition #99 – Dec 2023

Dec 19, 2023

Grab your cyber-mugs, fintech aficionados! ☕️

This is it – the final sip of 2023's Future of Fintech before we bid adieu to the current year!

The holiday vibes 🎄 are in full swing, and our excitement is through the roof! Sip on the hottest fintech tea as we unveil headlines that will keep you buzzing all week. Embark on a thrilling journey through the dynamic fintech landscapes of APAC, Middle East, and Europe, where groundbreaking moves and financial evolution never take a nap.

Don't miss out on your fintech fix – this one's extra special, marking our 99th edition. We've brewed up the perfect fintech concoction just for you - for there may be 99 problems, but fintech ain’t one! ♨️

This isn't goodbye; it's a 'see you soon' as we're brewing up even more fintech magic for you in the coming year. Until then, grab your digital cuppa and let's dive into the last sip of fintech fabulousness for 2023!

Gear up for a fintech spectacle where a tech titan is poised to swagger into the BNPL scene like a true boss >>>

Tech Heist: Google Pay's Sneaky Entry into BNPL Domination

Amid hushed murmurs of soaring demand for BNPL services, consumers grappling with the weighty burdens of living costs and inflation yearn for a hero. Enter Google Pay, ready to drop a game-changing integration bomb by joining forces with Affirm and Zip. They're about to turn mundane online shopping into an epic tale of financial flexibility. Get ready to be swept away as their pilot phase launches next month in 2024!

Hot on the heels of Apple Pay's "Pay Later" wizardry and Amazon's dalliance with Affirm, Google steps into the limelight, prepared to revolutionise BNPL into an accessible and user-friendly spectacle. Brace yourself for a financial metamorphosis as Google reshapes the digital landscape, offering a swift and thrilling solution to the challenges of personal finance!

Curious about how BNPL is reshaping personal finance? Dive into our 2023 roundup blog, "2023 Roundup: The Synergy of BNPL and E-commerce." Discover savvy shopper choices, global collaborations, and the rise of flexible payments reshaping the digital landscape.

Curiosity piqued? Don't miss the chance to be in the know—check out the full blog here

Take me to the blog! 🚀

Ignite your fintech passion with a steaming cup of the freshest headlines, specially crafted for you in our #99th Edition.

Here's the TL;DR

Headlines from last week were riding the regulatory wave, as The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) unveiled rules aimed at regulating BNPL companies, establishing essential standards and procedures for their operations. At the same time, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed AB 39, the Digital Financial Assets Law (DFAL), bringing regulations to companies involved in digital asset activities in the state.
Driving the wheels of collaboration for cutting-edge services, Airbnb and Klarna joined forces to introduce Pay Over Time, providing guests with greater payment flexibility. Meanwhile, Futurebank and Paymentology collaborated to offer banks and fintechs seamless access to modern card issuing and processing technology of virtual cards.
In a power move, Moneyhub clinched Credit Information Services permissions from the Financial Conduct Authority, unlocking the ability to access and showcase user credit files. On the other hand, the Ethereum community gave the nod to ERC-3643 as the go-to standard for real-world asset tokenisation.
In a strategic move to assert its market dominance, ABN AMRO acquired European neobroker BUX, reinforcing its presence in the retail investment sector. Simultaneously, GXBank experienced a rapid surge, bolstering its user base with a remarkable 100,000 new additions within a mere two weeks post-launch.
With a keen emphasis on the North American data access landscape, TD Bank Group and Plaid forged a strategic agreement to improve financial data connectivity for TD customers in both Canada and the United States. Concurrently, Xero collaborated with Flinks to provide secure access to over 20 direct bank connections and high-quality transaction data for small businesses in Canada and the United States.

For the longer read, let's get going –

Immerse yourself in the dynamic realm of Open Finance, where the game of payments and deposits ascends to a new level, effortlessly catering to users' needs.

UK’s public procurement organisation The Crown Commercial Service (CCS) introduced a procurement framework for open banking known as the Open Banking Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS). This initiative is designed to mitigate fraud and enhance timely payments throughout the public sector.
Twino, a P2P lending marketplace, introduced an open banking solution on its platform. In collaboration with its partner Ecommpay, this new functionality empowers customers to make deposits more efficiently and securely.

Plunge into the thrilling Digital Finance arena, where global innovators are rapidly enhancing their products for top-notch customer satisfaction.

Beyond ONE, a digital services provider, introduced FRiENDi Pay—a digital mobile wallet service aimed at simplifying remittances, cutting costs, and enhancing efficiency for FRiENDi mobile subscribers in Saudi Arabia.
Nubank extended its range of investment products, enabling its Brazilian customers to directly access and trade Real Estate Credit Bonds (LCI) and Agricultural Credit Bonds (LCA) within the Nubank app.

Step into the Embedded Finance thrill, as players embark on a mission to broaden horizons, revealing cutting-edge products and services to captivate a fresh wave of users!

US-based BaaS platform Synctera introduced an embedded finance platform in Canada. The initial launch includes bank account, card, and electronic fund transfer functionalities, with plans to incorporate features like bill payments.
Yabx, a player in the digital lending space, and Clickatell, a chat commerce platform, joined forces to launch WhatsApp lending in Africa. The move aims to democratise access to financial services and enable customers to get credit in real-time.

Embark on a Fintech Infrastructure adventure, where strategic collaboration transformed the financial landscape, making client journeys ultra-efficient.

SB Finance, a collaborative venture between Security Bank Corporation and Krungsri of Thailand, entered into a strategic partnership with UBX to broaden the spectrum of loan options available to Filipinos. Under this partnership, SB Finance joins UBX’s SeekCap portfolio of lenders on its platform, enhancing the range of lending products accessible to Filipinos, including personal loans, business loans, and various credit facilities.
Ireland-based payments provider MiFinity partnered with US-based B2B payments company Convera to strengthen its PayAnyBank (PAB) service. This collaboration allows them to increase their country coverage, enabling more global customers and merchants to make secure cross-border and in-country payments.

Take a walk into the realm of Green Finance, where the big guys orchestrate a symphony of eco-transformation that paints the financial landscape in shades of green.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) published an Anti-Greenwashing Guidance. It is aimed at helping companies comply with rules to avoid misleading green marketing advertising green claims and protecting consumers from greenwashing.
BNP Paribas launched the Climate Impact Infrastructure Debt Fund. The fund is dedicated to financing climate change mitigation and supporting energy transition projects across continental Europe.

Explore the vibrant landscape of DeFi, where innovators collaborated for a whirlwind of change, revolutionising every aspect of the decentralised financial game!

Emirates NBD Lab welcomed R3 - an enterprise blockchain software firm - to its digital asset lab council to drive transformative digital advancements in assets and banking. Leveraging R3's expertise in regulated markets, Emirates NBD aims to drive transformative advancements in digital assets, currencies, and banking services.
MetaMask crypto wallet forged global partnerships to broaden its reach. The firm is set to collaborate with VietQR and Mobile Money in Vietnam, Vodafone Cash in Egypt, GCash in the Philippines, QRIS in Indonesia, Thai QR in Thailand, and Webpay in Chile. These strategic partnerships aim to enhance user inclusion by providing localised options.

Some other happenings in the fintech universe 🪐

Eager for a side of swift fintech delights with your tea? Indulge your fintech cravings through this scrumptious spread of some more headlines:

Bank and technology platform Kapital secured $165M - $40M in Series B and $125M in debt financing. The company aims to use fresh funds to provide financial visibility to LatAm SMBs.
Brazil’s QI Tech raised $200M in Series B round, securing one of Latam’s highest fintech rounds in 2023. The firm plans to leverage the new capital to explore merger and acquisition opportunities.
Personal finance solutions fintech Meniga landed $16.5M in Series D funding to fuel the company’s new strategy that focuses on creating data enrichment and hyper-personalised insights for financial services companies.
Paris-based startup Pivot raised $21.8M in Series A funding to boost its growth and expand in Europe.

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 –

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.

Fintech research is in the WhiteSight DNA, so if you'd like to get in touch for features, sponsorships, and content marketing services, reach out to us at hello@whitesight.net.

And lastly, to stay updated on everything fintech and web3, follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter, and don't be shy to show some ❤️

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