Demystify Podcast with Norris Koppel and Atul Choudrie, Monese
In this podcast episode we talk about Monese and what makes it so special and successful.
Europe
The Banking Scene: Today’s banking challenges and the search for a new ethos
The Banking Scene Conference 2023 Brussels will take place on Tuesday 16 May.
Paynetics lands UK EMI licence from the FCA
Paynetics was previously operating in the UK under the FCA’s Temporary Permission Regime.
Virgin Money partners FNZ to launch new digital investment platform
The new offering will provide Virgin Money customers with three investment funds to choose from.
BNP Paribas deploys Worldline solution to tackle SEPA direct debit fraud
BNP Paribas Cash Management will deploy Worldline’s Account Validation solution.
ClearBank sees income nearly triple to £58m in 2022
UK-based ClearBank is plotting its European expansion and expects to remain profitable through 2023.
Montenegro’s central bank partners Ripple for CBDC pilot
Montenegro joins a list of more than 100 countries piloting a CBDC for various use cases.
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”.
Societe Generale taps Lemonway for B2B marketplace payment services
The French bank plans to offer payment services for large corporates entering the B2B marketplace arena.
UK payments start-up Ryft secures FCA licence
The company raised £1.5 million in a seed funding round last year.
IG Group names Adam Wheelwright as new CTO
Wheelwright was previously the CIO of the UK Health Security Agency.
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.
French private bank Milleis completes core banking tech revamp with ERI
Milleis, which stems from Barclays’ wealth management business in France, embarked on the project in 2018.
European paytech Viva Wallet names Dimitris Mavroyiannis as group COO
Mavroyiannis joins from Greece’s Piraeus Bank, where he led the operations and technology arms of the business.
PostFinance partners Sygnum for digital asset banking services
PostFinance customers can now access regulated, bank-grade cryptocurrency services.
UTP Group set to acquire Wellet’s Spanish business
Launched in 2021, Wellet is a card payment app that uses similar technology to UTP Group’s Tapeeno.
Lloyds Bank partners Enigio to boost trade finance digitisation
Enigio’s solution creates digital documents that can be used where an ‘original’ document is required.
Tandem Bank acquires money app Loop for undisclosed sum
Loop will continue to operate as a standalone brand and app following the acquisition.
How fintech start-ups are driving the ethical finance revolution
FinTech Futures chats with three ethical fintech firms operating in the UK.
TerraPay secures $100m in debt and equity funding to fuel global expansion
With the new funding, TerraPay plans to expand its services in Latin America and the MENA region.
UK government delays plan to sell NatWest shares by two years
Rather than offload a 15% stake in the group this year, HM Treasury has pushed the date back to August 2025.
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.
Rathbones acquires wealth management arm of Investec in £839m deal
The new combined UK entity will have around £100 billion in funds under management.
Railsr appoints new CEO, CFO and COO following rescue sale
Railsr board chair Rick Haythornthwaite says the new appointments bring “renewed energy” to rebuild the firm.
Dutch challenger Bunq applies for US banking licence
The banking charter from the FDIC would allow the neobank to offer its services across the country.
Quantexa raises $129m Series E funding at $1.8bn valuation
The company will use the new capital to expand its global presence and hire more engineering staff.
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.
US saving and investing app Acorns acquires UK’s GoHenry
Together, both firms will now serve over 6 million customers globally.
PPRO appoints Motie Bring as chief commercial officer
In his previous role, Bring served as CCO at paytech Nuvei.
Paysafe names Nicole Carroll as new chief strategy and innovation officer
Carroll, who was previously chief product officer at Experian, has more than three decades of industry experience.
Compliance regtech Fourthline secures €50m in fresh funding
Finch Capital increased its stake in the company after having led Fourthline’s previous funding round.
Dutch heavyweight ING taps Salt Edge for SME open banking solutions
The partnership will see use cases developed for SME segments from various industries.
European Payments Council names Giorgio Andreoli as director general
Andreoli says he will be working closely with EPC members to build “the future of payments in Europe”.
Sustainable investment fintech Clim8 shutters
Clim8 says it has been unable to secure further venture capital to fund the business.
The Co-operative Bank partners Onfido for customer onboarding solution
Onfido’s solution allows The Co-operative to meet regulatory requirements and customer preferences.
Blockchain-based BaaS provider Scallop partners tell.money for open banking compliance
Scallop will utilise tell.money’s gateway service to ensure PSD2 open banking compliance.
Climate-focused fintech for farmers Agreena lands €46m Series B funding
The fresh funding comes a year after the company raised €20 million in its Series A round.
UK fintech Paytrix lands $18.3m in Series A funding round
The Series A follows a pre-seed funding round held last year, when it raised £5 million.
Sergio Ermotti returns to UBS as group CEO to help manage Credit Suisse takeover
Ermotti was previously group CEO of UBS for nine years between 2011 and 2020.
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.
