The Fintech Fix Weekly Roundup 11/05/2022

Welcome to The Fintech Fix, where we cover the biggest stories of the financial week. Whether it’s the next ground breaking trend in cryptocurrency or Blockchain technology, a new partnership about to change the global, economic landscape or an upcoming start-up generating a huge following, this is the place to keep up with the breaking news of the future. 

Hot Topics –  Kicking off this week’s roundup is Plum, who are on a mission to ensure people can effortlessly manage their money.  As part of this mission, the investment and savings app launched a new stock investing feature that allows customers to invest in fractional company shares, commission-free, making it one of the UK’s most competitively priced investment platforms. Plum’s customers will be able to access huge names such as Apple, Tesla, Nike and Microsoft for the first time, creating more confidence, freedom and diversity within investment portfolios. 

Variable Recurring Payments could be a watershed moment in the industry and NatWest Group are leading the way in the space after signing agreements with TrueLayer, GoCardless and Crezco to offer VRP as a new and convenient payment option for businesses and consumers. Jana Reid, Senior Product Partnership Manager at TrueLayer, commented how “there is so much potential that can be unlocked with VRP to deliver value for consumers and businesses.” Whether it’s simplifying how consumers pay utility bills, subscriptions or facilitating real-time payment collection, it is significant to see NatWest go beyond the regulatory mandate and execute new, more efficient and digitally native payment options to its customers. 

KeyBank recently announced its acquisition of GradFin, a leading Public Service Loan Forgiveness counselling provider for individuals seeking assistance with student loan debt. Jamie Warder, Head of Digital at KeyCorp noted how the partnership will fit KeyBank’s commitment to seamless client interactions.

The crypto craze continues! Nano, the feeless eco-friendly cryptocurrency, was used for the first ever crypto transaction for the launch of the Centre of FinTech at the UK Houses of Parliament, in partnership with the University of East London. George Coxon, a director of the Nano Foundation, shared how Nano’s relationship with The Centre of Fintech at UEL “is all about equipping students with the educational tools they need to build an incredible career in the industries and fields of the future.” 

“London has long been the centre of the financial universe, and with the advent of blockchain technology and the recent regulatory announcements concerning blockchain and cryptocurrency in the UK, we at the Nano Foundation see no sign of that changing.” 

Big Partnerships To Watch – Adyen announced its partnership with Afterpay Limited, one of the leaders in the BNPL space, in order to process payments globally in areas such as Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Europe, the US and the UK. Globally, 24% of consumers have used BNPL services, so it makes complete sense to expand the sought-after offering as much yet as effectively as possible. 

Finastra announced the launch of Finastra Managed Services (FMS) on Amazon Web Services (AWS) to enable banks and financial institutions to access FML in the AWS cloud to increase infrastructural  efficiency and scalability, all while reducing one’s carbon footprint. Neil Budd, VP Finastra Managed Services said, Finastra “are committed to helping drive efficiency and reduce total cost of ownership (TCO), so this move aligns closely with our strategy to help our FMS customers specifically to accelerate their move to the cloud and access the benefits it affords. It is also a commitment to our FMS multi-cloud strategy which enables us to support customers who value a choice of cloud vendor.”

Paysafe, a leading payments platform, and Playtech, a leading gambling technology company, announced a new global partnership, representing the extension of an existing agreement between the two. Through a single, global streamlined integration with Paysafe’s API, operators in the UK and Europe will now also be able to leverage Playtech’s iGaming PAM, Information Management Solution (IMS) platform to access a range of Paysafe’s payment solutions, starting with payment acquiring and card processing, with Paysafe’s digital wallet services set to follow. The integration helps to maximise consumer choice by providing players with all the ways they want to pay when betting online.

And last but not least, John Lewis, the trusted and adored UK name, has announced a partnership with NewDay, a leading UK consumer credit business. The deal includes relaunching John Lewis’ Partnership Card later this year, which is one of the UK’s most popular retail reward credit cards.

John Hourican, CEO of NewDay, c CEO of NewDay commented how “we believe the combination of our fully FCA-regulated product set, proprietary technology and two decades of underwriting experience mean we are ideally placed to help John Lewis deliver meaningful business growth through the use of responsible, accessible consumer credit.”

Funding – Just one funding story to report in this week’s roundup, but a big one it still is! Januar ApS closed the largest seed round in Danish history with a historic  €6 million round led by Element Ventures, with participation from Angular Ventures, Outward VC, and early pre-seed backers byFounders. With the proceeds from the seed round, Januar aims to become the leading one-stop crypto gate for European businesses, serving the growing crypto and digital asset industry with a market cap of $2 trillion. 

The company is on a mission to support a more open and collaborative financial system based on decentralized technology by offering fiat-to-crypto rails as a service. “For years, legacy financial service providers have failed to serve these new digital asset businesses, leaving them at risk of being shut down with days’ notice. It’s time we recognize that entrepreneurs building the future of our financial system deserve an IBAN account, like any other business,” says Simon Ousager, CEO and Co Founder of Januar.”