New US fintech Monai to gamify savings for Millennials and Gen Z
New fintech plans to use time spent mobile gaming to help users reduce debt.
Mobile
Ex-Singlife execs to launch new Japanese paytech Purasu Money
Purasu to launch under umbrella of new venture SJ Mobile Labs.
Surfboard Payments launches Surfpay to turn smartphones into payment terminals
Swedish payments company aims to help small businesses transact easier.
Monzo withdraws US licence application after two years of negotiation
UK challenger bank to refocus its business after aborted US entry.
Robo-advisor Betterment achieves unicorn status with $160m capital injection
The funding was drawn from a Series F round and $100m credit facility.
Banking Technology October 2021 issue out now
Cover story: multi-tusking – how do you eat an elephant?
ICYMI funding round-up: Yellow Card, QisstPay, Vyne, Tomorrow & more
Plenty of funding rounds in the double digits in this week’s ICYMI roundup.
Swan raises €16m Series A to accelerate European expansion
The BaaS platform wants to democratise access to banking services.
FNBM selects new core banking solution in Finastra’s Fusion Phoenix
Fusion Phoenix is key to the bank’s strategy to attract younger customers.
Spanish challenger Bankse plans raft of features to win over customers
New bank to provide trading, credit, crypto, wage payment and more.
UOB to spend $500m on boosting digital banking capabilities
The investment comes after the pandemic accelerated digital-first banking across Southeast Asia.
New FinTech Futures Report: Mortgages – the final digital frontier
We’ve launched our latest report, including an in-depth industry survey.
Payments fintech Highnote emerges from stealth with $54m funding
The card issuing platform will help SMEs compete with ecommerce giants like Amazon.
Aspiring neobank Vergo aims to serve US architecture SMEs
Vergo will be a vertical neobank for the US construction and interior design industry.
Ascend Money becomes Thailand’s first fintech unicorn with $150m fundraise
Thai fintech plans to boost financial inclusion efforts in Southeast Asia.
PrimaryBid names City veteran Donald Brydon as first chair
Brydon will step down as chairman of financial software company Sage on 30 September.
Marcus chairman Harit Talwar set to retire in October
Talwar leaves his role after six years and the launch of his consumer project.
Challenger bank Mox appoints former ING exec Barbaros Uygun as CEO
Current CEO Deniz Güven will step down with effect from 27 September.
Dear Luc: How do I get a slice of the BNPL pie?
This week someone asks: I want to add BNPL to my service, what do I need to consider?
Exclusive: Santander’s PagoNxt to discontinue PagoFX app to refocus on trade services
Users will no longer be able to use the service to send payments after 30 November.
Bhutan central bank partners with Ripple to pilot CBDC
The CBDC pilot with the South Asian country is designed to boost financial inclusion.
Cobo raises $40m Series B funding for DeFi-as-a-Service platform
The Singaporean crypto platform will also use the $40m raised to secure regulatory licences.
Barclays hires payments veteran Antony Stephen to boost BNPL solution
Stephen joins from Amazon and will work on scaling Barclays’ BNPL platform.
JP Morgan Chase acquires Frank to firm up student offering
US firm hopes the deal for the college-focused financial wellness platform will boost student engagement.
The path to personalisation
The path to personalisation in banking is apparent. But like every journey, it needs those first steps to be taken.
Zolve launches immigrant-focused banking products
The neobank’s new suite of products will help new arrivals to the US build credit.
Paytech Recharge eyes global expansion after $35m investment
The Series B round culminated in one of the largest investments into a Dutch startup in 2021.
Deutsche Bank boosts online payments with Better Payment acquisition
Deutsche Bank’s acquisition will expand its product range and market share in online payments in Germany.
SME bank Recognise given green light by UK regulator
The new bank can now start offering personal savings accounts and business loans.
Monese moves into digital banking with Investec
The new partnership will see the international bank begin to offer digital banking services to UK customers.
A perfect storm: cash collection and the rise of digital payments
The cashless society has been anticipated for decades, with the pandemic now accelerating its arrival.
What the Fintech? | S.2 Episode 18 | Are you being self served?
Diebold Nixdorf’s Matt Phillips joins us for this latest episode of our What the Fintech? podcast.
JP Morgan to launch UK digital bank Chase this week
The digital bank forms part of JP Morgan’s planned international consumer expansion.
ICYMI funding round-up: TomoCredit, Lightyear, X-Margin, Coinfirm & more
More funding deals you may have missed during a busy week of news.
Shortlist announced for Banking Tech Awards 2021
Congratulations to all of this year’s finalists.
Dutch digital bank Bunq partners with Paysafe to offer cash deposits
The two companies say the partnership will facilitate “quick and secure cash deposits”.
Scalapay raises $155m in Series A round to fund BNPL expansion
European payments firm seeks greater foothold in core markets.
Canadian fintech start-up Nuula secures $120m funding
The firm launched its mobile app in June this year with the aim of helping SMEs to grow.
i-movo teams up with ClearBank and DWP to digitise UK’s benefits payments system
Claimants can now receive their payments in a number of different ways.
African fintech Wave hits unicorn status with $200m Series A round
The fintech start-up says it wants to “bring digital finance to everyone in Africa”.
