Fintech is a wide-ranging, multi-sector, global industry whose growth influences not only the banking world, but society at large.
Below, Everly does a deep dive into what’s been happening in the fintech industry this week.
Bank of America Offers Insights to Fintech Start-ups
Bank of America (BofA) recently hosted a group of fintech start-ups in their London office.
The session was aimed at providing the start-ups with insights into the banking industry, as well as guidance on market fitness.
All the participating start-ups were part of the Accenture FinTech Innovation Lab global programme, which supports fintech start-ups to scale their businesses in competitive markets. BofA has been hosting this event since 2013, when Accenture launched the programme in London.
Griffin Receives Authorisation to Operate as a UK Bank
UK-based Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) provider, Griffin, has announced that it has received authorisation to operate as a UK bank with restrictions from the Prudential Regulation Authority.
This development is a huge milestone for the fintech start-up, which is now mobilising to become the UK’s first full-stack BaaS platform with a banking licence. During the mobilisation period, the company can hold a limited number of deposits and carry out a limited amount of payment services.
Zenus Bank launches Visa Infinite debit card
Zenus Bank has launched a Visa Infinite debit card, which is available remotely to people in 46 countries. The Puerto Rico-based bank offers US accounts to international clients without the need to be a US citizen or resident. The debit card offers Visa’s purchase protection and can be used at over 80 million merchant locations in 200 countries.
According to Mushegh Tovmasyan, the founder of Zenus Bank, clients can make purchases with “total confidence, security and unique benefits”.
Visa representatives also expressed their excitement for the partnership, with Luis Guerra, country manager of Visa Puerto Rico, stating that the launch of the card will help accelerate digital inclusion in the region and beyond, while Jorge Lemus, group country manager of Visa Caribbean and Central America, noted that the partnership will expand their infrastructure for enabling digital payments in the Latin American and Caribbean region.
Nexi bags €280mn deal for Sabadell merchant acquiring business
Nexi has agreed to acquire 80% of Banco Sabadell’s merchant acquiring business for €280mn, giving the paytech access to more than 380,000 merchants and approximately €48bn in transaction volumes.
As part of the deal, Sabadell will become a strategic partner of Nexi in Spain as well as the exclusive distributor for innovative Nexi solutions in the country. Nexi CEO Paolo Bertoluzzo said, “With this partnership, we enter Spain from a strong position, a market that we have always considered highly attractive for digital payments with great potential for further profitable and sustainable long-term growth”.
The deal is expected to complete in Q4 2022.
Revolut Reports First-Ever Year of Profit
Revolut, the neobank, has reported its first year of profit in a long-awaited set of 2021 financial results.
The results showed that the neobank increased its customer base and revenues across higher margin products. Revenues at the neobank almost tripled from £220m in 2020 to £636m in 2021.
That meant the bank swung a £39m profit before tax, its first results in the black.
Klarna Posts $1bn Annual Loss, its Largest Ever
Klarna, the Swedish buy now, pay later giant, has reported its largest annual loss to date.
Despite the bruising 2022, the fintech claims to have made “clear progress” to return to profitability, according to annual results released on Tuesday.
Annual losses swelled by 47% to reach SKr10.4bn ($1bn) in the 12 months to December 31, 2022, up from SKr7.1bn in 2021.
The company also saw its valuation slashed by 85% to $6.7bn.
