Financial Services

HSBC’s redesigned cards put accessibility at forefront: The bank is redesigning its UK bank cards to help disabled people, ranging from those with dyslexia to vision loss. The cards could help HSBC increase the loyalty of existing customers and attract new ones.

Tide’s turndown of SMB program underscores the limitations of not being a real bank: Because it’s not eligible for Bank of England funding reserved for legal banks, the UK neobank has declined to offer a government-backed repayment choice for small and medium-sized businesses (SMB) that borrowed under a pandemic-era relief initiative. This may motivate Tide to get its license.

Revolut’s new trading fee fix signals focus on turning a profit: The UK-based neobank’s second commission increase in less than a year and its introduction of a percentage-based cost suggests that its focus is shifting from adding customers to making money from them.

Coinbase goes on an acquisition spree to stay ahead and we expect it will soon close the acquisition of a crypto fund provider.

NAB’s Citigroup deal bulks it up further as Afterpay/Square looms: The Australian banking giant’s unsecured loan book will get a big boost from the proposed deal. That and a platform upgrade adds even more heft to NAB in any face-off against Afterpay and Square.

Are neobanks on the verge of hitting consistent profitability? The UK challenger bank Atom has reached its first monthly operating profit. Neobank milestones like this suggest that the challengers are starting to find solutions to the profit problem.