Fintech eyes exotic offshoot of crypto derivatives: Cega bagged $4.3M in seed funding ahead of launching an inaugural retail investor product that aims for both an attractive return and downside protection.
Startup promotes saving in US dollars as wealth protection: Bloom aims to help people in Sudan blunt the impacts of inflation and currency weakness on their wealth.
Early adopters of UK open banking changes see most benefit: Regulatory changes designed to benefit consumers are on track to take effect this year. Firms that are slow to adapt risk losing out to nimbler competitors.
Senior Democrat Ron Wyden warned excessively stringent regulation could stifle innovation.
Fed signals that banks can get bigger—but not by too much: The central bank approved M&T Bank’s combination with People’s United Bank, noting that the enlarged company won’t be big enough to limit competition.
Sberbank and others are looking to China’s state-backed UnionPay to combat Visa and Mastercard’s exit from Russia.
Insider Intelligence spoke with David Sykes, head of Klarna’s North America division.
Tencent’s WeChat lowered its SMB fees in response to a government directive, and CBDC adoption may complicate business further.
UK fintech limits freelancers’ income see-saw: SteadyPay, which bagged a $5 million Series A, extends no-interest loans to gig-economy workers that they can access during months when they have lower income.
Proposed crypto mining freeze in New York gains traction: Legislation to freeze mining that uses proof-of-work (PoW) and fossil-fuel plants for three years got two new sponsors in the state assembly.
Companies in several markets are offering crypto products that act like bank accounts, and regulators have taken notice.
Worldline partnered with Japan-based Vesca to process digital payments, which can give it an early mover advantage as cashlessness grows.