Finovate Blog

Digital banking app for kids and teens, Greenlight, launched a financial literacy game today. The game, Greenlight Level Up, is designed to teach financial skills to kids from kindergarten to 12th grade. Only 23 states in the U.S. require schools to offer lessons in personal finance.

Greenlight, a digital banking app for kids and teens, unveiled a financial literacy game today called Greenlight Level Up.

The game aims to teach kids from kindergarten to 12th grade skills that they can use to improve their financial well-being. Many financial skills are not taught in schools. In fact, only 23 U.S. states require schools to teach a personal finance course. Greenlight Level Up offers lessons on earning, spending, saving, investing, managing credit, income, taxes, and more.

The game was crafted by academic and game design experts to keep kids engaged, using coins and stars as rewards.

Schools, teachers, and students…

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Japanese buy now, pay later fintech Smartpay launched Smartpay Bank Direct, a tool that will enable users to pay for their purchases directly from their bank accounts. Prior to today's launch, Smartpay users could only repay using a credit card. Smartpay is currently available in Japan, KSA, and the UAE. The company aims to expand into Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, and other markets in Southeast Asia and MENA.

Japan-based Smartpay is launching Smartpay Bank Direct, a tool that offers users a new way to pay for their online installment purchases.

Starting today, Smartpay users can pay for their buy now, pay later (BNPL) purchases directly from their bank accounts. The move is made possible by Smartpay's partnerships with 67 banks and makes Smartpay one of the first consumer finance companies to leverage Japan's open banking ecosystem.

Smartpay markets itself as a "payments experience" company, offering consumers a BNPL tool that enables consumers…

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U.S.-based banking association and payments network operator The Clearing House appointed a new CEO this week. David Watson will assume the leadership position from Jim Aramanda, who will retire at the end of this month. Watson comes to The Clearing House from SWIFT, where he served as Chief Product Officer.

The Clearing House (TCH) is getting a new leader for the new year. The U.S.-based banking association and payments network operator appointed David Watson as its newest CEO, launching into 2023 with a fresh start.

Watson will take the reins from the company's current President and CEO Jim Aramanda, who will retire at the end of this month. Aramanda has served as CEO of TCH for 15 years, beginning his tenure at the height of the financial crisis in 2008.

"The Clearing House’s Supervisory Board is grateful for Jim Aramanda’s long-standing service to the organization, said Bank of America Chair…

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St. Mary's Bank, a credit union headquartered in New Hampshire, has teamed up with credit risk specialist AKUVO. The nation's first credit union, founded in 1908, St. Mary's Bank will deploy AKUVO's Aperture to automate and enhance its collection operations. With $1.5 billion in assets, St. Mary's Bank said goodbye to its eighth CEO in December, as CEO and President Ronald Covey announced his retirement after 14 years leading the firm.

New Hampshire-based St. Mary's Bank has teamed up with AKUVO, a credit risk specialist headquartered in Pennsylvania. St. Mary's Bank will deploy AKUVO's Aperture platform to streamline and enhance its collections operations, including bankruptcy, repossession, and foreclosure.

"We are committed to providing state-of-the-art banking services," St. Mary's Bank EVP and Chief Lending Officer Jan Raymond said. "With the amount of automation and integration we plan to leverage in Aperture, our team will have more time and the right…

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