As noncash transactions grow more popular, the government hopes to maintain control of its payments system.
New unicorn Lydia plans a European expansion: The France-based neobank bagged $100M in a Series C round and is aiming for 10 million users by 2025. It’s the latest cash-laden challenger with ambitions for the region.
A federal defense bill will move forward without a provision that would’ve let banks offer services to the $17.5B cannabis industry. But Congressional backers remain supportive and fintechs have found workarounds.
Former UK P2P giant Zopa closed this part of its business to focus purely on banking services
Citizens’ survey piles on more evidence of the digital shift—but human advisors aren’t yet obsolete: The US regional bank found that even post-lockdown, digital has become even more frequently used by consumers and businesses—except when they want advice.
Nova Credit transfers immigrants’ credit histories into the US financial system so Amex can reach a hard-to-tap consumer segment.
Raisin’s AML collaboration gives it a BaaS selling point: In the wake of some neobanks’ compliance woes, the Germany-based fintech is offering support from regtech ComplyAdvantage.
Majority has raised $27M in a Series A round. In a digital-centric era, its approach for its target audience includes offering customer meetups and native-language advisors.
EU fintech and bank tech budgets rose in 2021, but evolving open banking legislation and user experience enhancements will demand further spending in 2022.
Neobank for the smallest of SMBs raises $58M: US-based Nearside offers universal cashback and free business checking among its products. Enhancing its lineup further could help it stand out from similar challengers.
Smaller banks could power a US climate-resilience program: In the Democrats’ federal spending bill, the proposed program is designed to support smaller financial institutions that serve communities of color and low- to moderate-income communities.
McKinsey warns that banks have just 18 to 24 months to revamp their post-recovery business models so they don’t lag in shareholder returns. Partnerships or mergers may offer less costly alternatives.
Mainstreaming of digital asset adoption won’t happen without regulation and compromise.