Video: Top fintech stories this week – 18 March 2021
FinTech Futures’ weekly news round-up.
Financial Services/Finserv
What the Fintech? | S.2 Episode 7 | Class is in session
Tania Ziegler, senior research associate at Cambridge, joins us on this latest episode.
PayTech Awards 2021 – call for judges
Be at the forefront of paytech innovation and gain exclusive insights by joining our all-star judging panel.
Wise considers rare direct listing on London Stock Exchange
This would see Wise circumvent the conventional IPO process.
ICYMI funding round: Fondeadora, SEON, Lendo, Nomanini & more
Plenty of funding rounds may have slipped you by this week.
Goldman Sachs analysts reveal abusive working conditions in leaked survey
“This is beyond the level of ‘hard working’, this is inhumane/abuse,” says one surveyed analyst.
Australia consults industry on more “sustainable” challenger bank licence
The APRA’s consultation closes at the end of April.
Sheroes Money is banking on India’s female entrepreneurs
India is home to just two self-made female billionaires.
Railsbank comes to Australia via tie-up with challenger bank Volt
Railsbank considers Australia “a highly strategic market”, where embedded finance is “still in its infancy”.
US fintech Sincere to target “pet parents” with debit cards
In 2019, Americans spent $95.7 billion on their pets.
Lithuanian fintech SH Payments picks Nano as new core system
Baltic Amber Systems beat “several” competitors to the deal.
OnPath Federal Credit Union selects NCR digital banking tech
OnPath to deploy NCR’s DI system across ten branches.
Avaloq CEO Juerg Hunziker to step back
Hunziker is replaced by the co-CEO pairing of Martin Greweldinger and Thomas Beck.
OCBC launches facial recognition at ATMs, region’s first
The biometric tool will be first used for account balance enquiries – piloted by eight ATMs.
How financial services leaders can create opportunities in a crisis
Retail banking is set to undergo up to three years of acceleration in digital banking preference just this year.
Canadian challenger Koho raises $56m in Series C funding round
The new funding is all headed towards building awareness in the market.
Low-code firm Genesis raises $45m in Series B funding round
Genesis had raised $4.8m over nine years prior to the new injection.
API fintech Flinks adds Levi King to turbocharge US growth
King brings funding, market entry, and growth expertise.
Socure raises $100m in Series D round featuring Citi & Wells Fargo
Digital identity firm to put cash towards new product lines.
Wealthtech for asset managers FundSense launches in UK
FundSense licenses the platform on a per-user basis.
New central bank rules push Pakistan’s banks towards digital payments
All Pakistani banks will need to provide debit cards to users who don’t already have one.
Time to apply 2020 tax lessons
You should have a candid tax planning discussion with your advisors early
The need for predictable poetry
Despite all our need for uplifting messages and poetry, the reality is we need predictability.
Nordea to deploy AxiomSL’s RegCloud for regulatory reporting
Scandinavian bank aims to meet Finrep, Corep, AnaCredit, and SHSG requirements.
Dear Luc: When is the best time to expand my fintech abroad?
When is the right time for a fintech to go beyond the domestic market?
Ikigai launches in UK to disrupt the asset percentage pricing model
Ikigai is charging a flat £10-a-month fee to early access users.
Web browser Opera hires ex-PayPal and Tencent exec to lead new fintech arm
The new EVP likens Dify’s potential to PayPal’s market disruptor status.
Rush Gold launches mobile card to pay with gold in real-time
The Mastercard offering is powered by EML Payments.
Nest Bank picks Fiserv for card issuance revamp
Fiserv’s First Data brand is handling the implementation.
Indonesian fintech Alami acquires rural bank in $10m deal
Alami is helping the bank keep up with capital requirements.
Dwolla hires Dave Glaser as new COO
Glaser has worked at Mastercard, Visa, and Worldpay.
Banking Tech Awards 2020 Winner: Moxtra – Best Digital Banking Solution Provider
Enabling digital customer experience in financial services and beyond.
Revolut exits Canada after trialling beta for year and a half
Canada is a difficult market for challengers to crack.
N26 loses 300 employees and head of HR in 12 months
The company is now trying to recruit 500 new employees by end of June.
Core banking provider Technisys buys AI chatbot operator Kona
Technisys has acquired some 60 bank customers to date.
Policybazaar raises $75m to power Middle East expansion
Indian insurance firm aims to sell $1 billion in contracts by 2022.
Autobooks raises $25m in Series B round featuring TD Bank
Paytech firm to explore options abroad after new raise.
Emirates NBD chief digital officer leaves to pursue entrepreneurship
Evans Munyuki resigns after brush with COVID-19.
Fintech funding deals globally 8-14 March 2021
Featuring Stripe, Starling, BlockFi, Cedar, and Flutterwave.
State of play: account-to-account (A2A) payments
In-depth analysis and understanding of the market landscape by our resident fintech analyst.
