Payment provider Ryft has secured its UK FCA license
Good morning fellow FinTech Fanatic,
Some great news for UK payments start-up Ryft, as they announced securing a UK license from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) which, in their own words, will open opportunities ’to become a regulated payment facilitator with some of the world’s biggest acquirers’.
Ryft offers a PSD2 compliant payments platform and describes itself as Stripe Connect “without the high fees and length payout wait times”. This is the next big step for the FinTech following its £1.2m seed round in August last year.
Meanwhile the Bank of England has opened recruitment for staff to oversee the development of its proposed central bank digital currency, according to a report by the Times.
The Bank in late March posted openings for a pound solution architect "to explore the technology design and architecture digital options for a potential retail CBDC”.
As both Adyen and Stripe released their annual reports over 2022, I came across an interesting Tweet by Sheel Mohnot in which he compares the annual reports of these payments giants.
Adyen processed $837B, +49% YoY (+70% in '21) and Stripe processed $817B, +26% YoY (+60% in '21). Despite the transaction volumes are slowing down compared to last year, these are impressive numbers anyway.
On to the other FinTech news👇
FINTECH NEWS
Apple Pay Later to help them become ‘as accessible as Netflix. Apple’s new four instalment-based payment method will look to bring about a seamless payment experience by embedding the option into the already popular Apple Wallet.
Curve brings wearable payments to 31 EU countries with Tappy Tech. Users need to download the Curve app, link their Curve digital wallet to their existing bank accounts, debit or credit cards and tokenize and provision it into the wearable through Tappy Pay. Link here
Founders of German airline Hanh Air launch new global FinTech payment platform, FinMont, for travel merchants to improve sales and ensure seamless payment solution. The new payment platform uses cloud-native technologies to integrate acquiring banks, payment, fraud, forex, and chargeback providers.
Investipal launches platform to make investing easy for everyone. The first-of-its-kind solution offers transparency, education, and access to a toolkit typically only reserved for professional portfolio managers.
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#FINTECHREPORT
Germany has several card payment systems, most of which are international such as Visa and MasterCard, but there are also local systems such as Girocard, which is widely used in Germany and is operated by the Deutsche Kreditwirtschaft, as well as other local systems such as the Sparkassen-Card operated by the German savings banks. Read more
DIGITAL BANKING NEWS
China’s Central Bank warns against ChatGPT ‘Data Leaks’. “Payment industry staff must comply with laws and rules when using tools such as ChatGPT, and should not upload confidential information related to the country and the finance industry,” according to an association arm of the People’s Bank of China.
Is crypto-friendly Cross River Bank the next to fall? Since calling out FTX in September 2022, slightly more than a month before it actually collapsed, Marc Cohodes has been right again about the inevitable downfalls of Silvergate Bank, Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), and Signature Bank.
Recommended by LinkedIn
Australian Banking Association launches new campaign to help customers beat the scammers. ABA Chief Executive Officer, Anna Bligh, said the new campaign highlights the need for Australians to pause and offers practical tips to help customers protect themselves from scammers.
M&As
Walmart has acquired Trafalgar, an electronic payment institution in Mexico. Trafalgar offers prepaid card solutions and electronic wallets, and the acquisition will allow Walmart to expand its financial services offerings in Mexico. Link here
PARTNERSHIPS
FinTech Transcard integrates with Mastercard track business payment service to support B2B payments data. The combination of Transcard’s embedded payment solutions with Mastercard’s Business Payment Service data exchange network streamlines payables and receivables processes for businesses.
Clausematch breaks into Middle East through Várri Consultancy partnership. Through the combination of advisory services with modern technology, Várri consultants will be able to more efficiently transfer and integrate their expertise within the organisations they advise.
Pesawise teams with Flagright to strengthen payment solution offering. This will enable customers to send and receive payments easily and securely. Flagright remarked that with its streamlined integration process and customized compliance solutions, it is committed to providing the best possible service to Pesawise and all its customers.
Saxo Bank partners with Trustdock in order to offer ID verification for customers in Japan. With the new service, users are given the capability to verify their identities online and open a new account faster, within two days from the date of the application. Link here
Finastra and Alygne partner to improve ESG investments decisions. The partnership will allow users to leverage the portfolio management capabilities of the solution to ensure portfolios support their ESG-related values.
Visa announced a partnership with PayPal and Venmo to pilot Visa+ which will not require users to have a Visa card; instead, by setting up a personalized payment address linked to their Venmo or PayPal account, individuals using either app will be able to receive and send payments quickly and securely between the platforms
Bankjoy announces integration with Fiserv Portico. Credit unions using Fiserv Portico will have greater flexibility to deploy Bankjoy’s world-class digital banking tools for their members. Read more
Union Credit announces partnership with TransUnion. Partnering with TransUnion enables lenders in the Union Credit marketplace to deliver consumers convenient, transparent financing in their everyday retail and financial experiences.
#DONEDEAL
Fire raises $3.5M to protect your NFTs. Fire's funding highlights the growing need for secure and user-friendly tools that promote safe web3 experiences. By simplifying transactions and helping users avoid scams, Fire can drive adoption and growth in the crypto and NFT ecosystems.
FinTech for contractors Pro Platforms exits stealth with $4.7m. Funds from the round will enable Pro Platforms to launch tools for treasury management and payment processing later in the year. Link here
AFG Partners closes $30m debut venture fund focused on B2B fintech opportunities in Asia and globally, according to its partner Ivan Ong. The first-time fund has been steadily raising and deploying capital over the last year
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Cheers,
Marcel van Oost
Thanks for the mention, Marcel!