FCA orders closure of WealthTek, joint special administrators appointed
The FCA ordered WealthTek to cease all operations last week, citing “serious regulatory and operational issues”.
Regulation
UK payments start-up Ryft secures FCA licence
The company raised £1.5 million in a seed funding round last year.
FinTech Futures: Top five stories of the week – 7 April 2023
Here’s our pick of five of the top news stories from the world of finance and tech this week.
UK’s Payment Systems Regulator unveils annual plan and budget
The UK’s Payment Systems Regulator has published its key aims, activities and budget for the next year.
FDIC looks to sell SVB and Signature Bank securities portfolios
The FDIC says the two portfolios are worth around $27 billion (Signature Bank) and $87 billion (SVB).
Malaysian fintech Soft Space raises $31.5m in Series B1 funding round
The Malaysian payments platform plans to boost its global expansion and further develop its tech.
Liechtenstein’s VP Bank expands digital asset capabilities with Metaco
VP Bank has extended its digital asset services into financial assets using Metaco’s Harmonize platform.
EU drafts crypto transfer rules to fight money laundering
Under the new rules, cryptoasset transfers will have to include information on their source and beneficiary.
Compliance regtech Fourthline secures €50m in fresh funding
Finch Capital increased its stake in the company after having led Fourthline’s previous funding round.
CBDCs – miracle money or new world order?
CBDCs promise much, but their cost when it comes to privacy could be dear.
Crypto exchange OKX readies for Hong Kong launch
OKX sees “immense potential” in Hong Kong and is committed to building out the local ecosystem.
FCA appoints two new joint executive directors for enforcement
Therese Chambers and Steve Smart will work as joint executive directors of enforcement and market oversight.
US CFTC files lawsuit against Binance and CEO
The CFTC has accused Binance of “numerous violations” of the Commodity Exchange Act and CFTC regulations.
FCA outlines expectations for payment firms’ customer protections
It says many firms present “an unacceptable risk of harm” to their customers.
CryptoUK calls on FCA to oppose banks banning transfers to crypto exchanges
CryptoUK says banks limiting transactions to crypto platforms is “anti-competitive and disproportionate”.
Griffin partners Cable to strengthen BaaS financial crime controls
Cable says its tech will help Griffin “monitor, identify, and address financial crime control risks”.
Crypto exchange OKX set to pull out of Canada citing “new regulations”
OKX says the move is “temporary and we are working with regulators to solve this issue”.
FDIC offloads non-crypto Signature Bank deposits to Flagstar Bank
The FDIC will continue to provide crypto-related deposits directly to customers.
Eastnets migrates Swift and sanctions screening infrastructure to Microsoft Azure
Eastnets is one of the first Swift bureaus to migrate its full infrastructure for the Americas to the cloud.
FinTech Futures: Top five stories of the week – 17 March 2023
Here’s our pick of five of the top news stories from the world of finance and tech this week.
Amidst legal troubles in Kenya, Flutterwave lands two licences in Rwanda
The unicorn’s latest push in Rwanda follows its bid to expand across East Africa.
Anchorage Digital to cut 20% of staff as part of “strategic realignment”
Despite a “robust and growing” business, Anchorage says the cuts are a necessary part of a “strategic realignment”.
UAE lendtech Ezra appoints new chief risk officer, Andrew Goodrich
Goodrich will lead the data engineering, predictive analytics, credit risk and fraud functions across Ezra.
Noda taps ThetaRay for Sonar AML solution
ThetaRay’s Sonar will help Noda stay up to date with shifting compliance regulations.
ComplyAdvantage names Jim Anning as chief data officer
Anning joins ComplyAdvantage from GoCardless where he was vice president of data.
Africa-focused escrow service Truzo launches in the UK
Truzo says it will close its next round of funding in Q2 2023.
US regulators shutter New York’s Signature Bank following SVB collapse
Signature Bank is a large lender in the cryptosphere.
Scottish challenger for SMEs Alba lands banking licence
The bank has been granted an Authorised with Restrictions (AwR) licence by the UK’s PRA and FCA.
Central Bank of Nigeria publishes open banking guidelines
The central bank had first begun work on the adoption of open banking in June 2017.
Tintra to set up banking hub in Rwanda for new emerging markets bank
Tintra is in the process of establishing a subsidiary and applying for a licence with the National Bank of Rwanda.
US Federal Reserve sets up new specialist team to supervise crypto sector
The team will monitor the cryptosphere as regulators look to manage risk and promote innovation.
FinTech Futures: Top five stories of the week – 10 March 2023
Here’s our pick of five of the top news stories from the world of finance and tech this week.
US regtech Droit lands $23m Series B funding
The round was led by Pivot Investment Partners and UBS via its venture arm UBS Next.
Griffin secures UK banking licence with restrictions from PRA
Griffin will now be able to operate as a bank in the UK with deposit-taking restrictions.
RBI fines Amazon Pay’s India unit $374,000
The central bank claims Amazon Pay India didn’t comply with “certain provisions” of KYC and PPI directions.
German challenger N26 loses its chief risk officer
Thomas Grosse has quit the firm citing personal reasons. A successor has yet to be named.
Quantifind bags $23m in funding to help firms combat financial crime
Quantifind’s SaaS solutions help banks and financial institutions tackle money laundering and fraud.
Tudi taps ThetaRay for transaction monitoring solution
Through the partnership, ThetaRay will provide Tudi its Sonar transaction monitoring solution.
Centre for Finance, Innovation and Technology launches to boost UK fintech
CFIT will bring together “coalitions of experts” across finance, technology, academia and policy.
Should digital banking platforms be fraud prevention solutions by design?
Banks should look to use technology to not only curb financial crime but to gain a competitive advantage.
