Visa reported a 34% YoY rise in payments volume in its fiscal Q3—and its recent moves in the BNPL, cryptocurrency, and cross-border payments spaces can help it maintain its trajectory and build market share.
Citizens marches onward with push for scale: The US regional bank seeks to bulk up in the New York City and Philadelphia metros through a $3.5 billion tie-up with Investors Bancorp. But its mobile offering needs to improve to retain the customers it’s gaining.
Get them while they’re young (and maybe you’ll get them for life): The children’s finance app Spriggy plans more products after raising AUD $35 million. Current offerings range from letting parents give their kids pocket money to helping them invest. In time, app and kids could grow up together.
By giving its users access to cross-border fund transfers for more than 100 countries, the Brazil-based neobanking juggernaut can promote its brand well beyond its existing markets.
The bank filed an application to launch an ETF comprising crypto-related firms, but we’ll likely have to wait a few months until such a product is on the market.
China’s efforts to roll out a CBDC could create more competition for mobile payment giants like Ant and Tencent, which are already under serious regulatory scrutiny.
UK neobank picks JPMorgan to advise for £100M round: Zopa’s growth in areas like auto loans and credit cards has kindled its hopes of achieving unicorn status and going public. The new round could help Zopa scale up product lines without direct competition from other prominent challengers.
MX aims to make micro-deposits verification less annoying: The banking technology company is teaming up with API provider Dwolla to automate the micro-deposits process. The collaboration will help banks simplify their customers’ experience when linking their accounts.
Trips to the bank have shifted from the default way to bank to something done only when absolutely necessary. Banks should optimize physical locations to meet customers’ desire for “more meaningful experiences.”
While Facebook’s digital currency remains MIA, Twitter and Amazon are making their own headway in cryptos—all in a bid to simplify payments on their global platforms.
SouthState aims for a bigger Atlanta-area footprint: Its planned purchase of Atlantic Capital for around $542 million would enlarge the regional bank’s market share in the metro area—and add a lucrative fintech and payments business.