FinTech Futures: Top five stories of the week – 1 December 2023
Here’s our pick of five of the top news stories from the world of finance and tech this week.
Lending
Metro Bank to axe 20% of jobs and review branch opening hours in push to cut costs
The bank is due to cut around 800 jobs as it looks to save up to £50 million per year in costs.
Nucleus Commercial Finance secures £200m funding facility from NatWest
The new facility brings its total lending capacity to date to £900 million.
The ‘Boots’ theory of socioeconomic unfairness
The people who need fair credit products the most may not have access. That’s economic unfairness.
Apple’s partnership with Goldman Sachs is reportedly nearing its end
Apple has reportedly proposed ending its partnership with Goldman Sachs within the next 12 to 15 months.
HSBC launches $150m venture debt product for high-growth scale-ups in Australia
Loans are anticipated to range from $6.6 million to $19.8 million.
India’s PhonePe reportedly planning to launch consumer lending in January 2024
According to sources, over the next six to seven months, PhonePe plans to launch multiple consumer credit products.
Swedish lender Froda hires former Klarna director Roger Forsberg as CTO
Forsberg is expected to form and execute a strategy for Froda’s loan products and embedded finance operations.
European Central Bank highlights continued sector-wide risk in latest Financial Stability Review
The ECB says residential and commercial real estate markets face “downside surprises” due to inflation.
Funding Circle and Atom Bank to provide an additional £150m in financing to UK SMEs
The third such partnership between the two firms takes Atom’s total lending with Funding Circle up to £800m.
FCA greenlights Klarna for payment and credit services in the UK
A newly formed entity, Klarna Financial Services UK, will now provide all consumer-facing services in the country.
ICYMI fintech funding round-up: Kiwi, ID Finance, Crezco and more
A handy round-up of the recent funding endeavours of fintech companies across the globe.
UK’s Kodelab to provide lending tech for HKMA CBDC pilot with Ripple and Fubon Bank
The pilot is part of the HKMA’s three-stage approach to CBDC development.
Mexican fintech start-up Trafalgar taps Thought Machine for core banking technology
Trafalagar plans to launch its new platform, running on Vault Core, in Q2 2024.
This can’t be right
The only way to support people who need money is to give them fair, affordable and speedy access to it.
UK fintech Triver secures £20m debt facility from Avellinia Capital
Triver says the new facility will enable it to offer more than £200 million in funding annually to small businesses.
Klarna prepares for SEPA instant payments with Form3 partnership
The agreement will directly connect Klarna to STEP2 and the gross settlement payment system RT1.
Scottish challenger Alba Bank taps nCino to power SME lending
The SME-focused challenger landed its UK banking licence with the FCA and PRA in March.
Egypt’s KashNow partners Sandah to provide small businesses with access to financing
Small businesses will now be able to submit loan applications through the KashNow app.
US lender Enova fined $15m by CFPB for “widespread illegal conduct”
Enova says it has reached an agreement with the CFPB, with the majority of items being self-reported by the firm.
Lack of funding forces US credit card fintech Ness to close down
Having raised $15.5 million in seed funding, the fintech had hoped to raise an additional $40 million but to no avail.
ICYMI fintech funding round-up: Refine Intelligence, Apiture, Solvimon and more
Our weekly fintech round-up for you to get the latest funding news from around the world.
UK’s OneSavings Bank partners nCino to streamline lending operations
The bank aims to increase efficiency in its underwriting and loan origination processes.
Saudi BNPL start-up Tamara expands lending capacity to $400m with Goldman Sachs
The company has secured an additional $250 million in debt financing to support its lending operations.
Levenue lands €8m Series A funding from Truffle Capital, acquires Cake
Levenue provides a marketplace for subscription-based businesses to connect with investors and access financing.
Customers Bank taps Funding Circle for Lending-as-a-Service platform
The bank says the platform will enable it to deliver “affordable term loans” directly to its SMB customers.
AI, BaaS and identity: Inside day one of the Fintech Talents Festival
Hosted at The Brewery, London, the festival has this year attracted over 2,000 delegates and 400 speakers.
India’s InCred Finance secures unicorn status with $60m Series D funding
The Series D funding round takes InCred Finance’s valuation up to $1.05 billion.
Canadian Tire reacquires Scotiabank’s 20% stake in its financial services arm in $650m deal
Scotiabank first bought its 20% stake in May 2014 for around $460 million.
ICYMI fintech funding round-up: EduFi, Performativ, Due and more
A handy round-up of the recent funding endeavours of fintech companies across the globe.
FinTech Futures: Top five stories of the week – 10 November 2023
Here’s our pick of five of the top news stories from the world of finance and tech this week.
Goldman Sachs reportedly seeks new issuer for General Motors credit card
Goldman Sachs bought the GM credit card business for $2.5 billion in October 2020.
N26 to cease operations in Brazil within the next two months
The challenger bank wants to focus its efforts on its “core markets”, namely Germany, France, Spain and Italy.
Italian fintech Qomodo lands €34.5m pre-seed funding
The start-up aims to bring SmartPOS, Tap-to-Phone and BNPL payment solutions to physical merchants.
DeFi BNPL start-up AtPay taps Pismo for card issuance
Pismo is to support AtPay’s BNPL and card management programmes, ahead of its Q1 2024 launch.
UK challenger bank OakNorth launches new business banking offering
OakNorth’s new product is currently in a phased beta, with businesses being invited to sign up to a waitlist.
MPOWER Financing boosts lending capacity to over $300m with fresh debt funding
The financing will enable MPOWER to issue more loans to international students studying in the US and Canada.
Aussie SME lender Earlypay acquires Timelio’s $40m loan portfolio and assets
The portfolio comprises $35 million in invoice finance and a further $5 million in trade finance.
Klarna to establish UK holding company in preparation for billion-dollar IPO
Klarna describes the UK holding company as “an important early step on a journey towards an eventual IPO”.
BNPL fintech Jifiti lands European EMI licence from Swedish regulator
Jifiti says it can now provide clients with a broader range of payment products and pan-European solutions.
