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Finovate Global Africa: Stablecoins, Digital Payments, and Funding Infrastructure

Finovate Global Africa: Stablecoins, Digital Payments, and Funding Infrastructure
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Finovate Global, MasterCard, Revolut

This week’s edition of Finovate Global highlights recent fintech headlines from Saharan and sub-Saharan Africa.

Circle and Sasai Fintech team up to boost adoption of USDC

Digital asset platform Circle announced a new partnership between one of its affiliates and Sasai Fintech, a business of Cassava Technologies. The partnership is designed to boost adoption of Circle’s USDC stablecoin and expand internet-native financial infrastructure across Africa.

“Africa’s digital economy is entering a new era, propelled by entrepreneurship, a mobile-first generation, and the acceleration of intra-regional trade,” Cassava Technologies Founder and Executive Chairman Strive Masiyiwa said. “By integrating with the trusted and widely adopted USDC network, we can drive financial inclusion and open transformative opportunities for businesses and consumers alike.”

Stablecoin adoption in Africa is accelerating due to increases in the number of mobile-first consumers, the growth of cross-border commerce, and the overall expansion of the digital economy. USDC is a fully-reserved, transparent payment stablecoin redeemable 1:1 for US dollars. The stablecoin has been used to power programmable payments and financial applications around the world. This week’s partnership announcement between Circle and Sasai Fintech calls for further exploration into practical applications for USDC. The two companies will also investigate ways that Circle’s full stack platform can lower costs, friction, and settlement time for Sasai’s enterprise and retail customers.

“Emerging markets are at the forefront of stablecoin adoption, and Africa represents a significant opportunity for internet-native innovation,” Circle Co-Founder, Chairman, and CEO Jeremy Allaire said. “Working with Cassava, we can extend the benefits of USDC and on-chain infrastructure into high-growth payment corridors to deliver always-on global connectivity.”

Sasai Fintech is a pan-African digital payment solutions provider. Headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa, and founded in 2021, Sasai Fintech has enabled more than 250 million wallets and more than 85,000 POS terminals. A division of Cassava Technologies, Sasai Fintech has 20+ enterprise partners and is active in 30+ cross-border markets.

IFC Partners with Cashi to expand digital payments infrastructure

International Finance Corporation (IFC) has teamed up with digital payment infrastructure company Cashi. The fintech offers a digital payment platform that allows users to send and receive money via mobile phones, point-of-sale devices, and SMS-based tools. Cashi’s platform links users with banks, telecoms, and other financial institutions in a single interoperable ecosystem that makes everyday transactions easier in an economy that still relies heavily on cash and faces significant obstacles to accessing comprehensive banking services.

“IFC’s upstream support allows us to adapt our proven, crisis-tested platform to the realities of central Africa,” Cashi CEO Tarneem Saeed said. “This partnership enables us to work closely with regulators and ecosystem partners, build trust with local merchants, and deliver practical financial tools that people can use in their daily lives, even in low-connectivity environments.”

Cashi’s platform helps address and alleviate digital infrastructure bottlenecks in economies that are cash-dependent and underbanked. The company offers a range of financial products and services that enable businesses and individuals to send, receive, and spend money. Cashi offers instant settlement, reliable uptime, and dedicated support for both merchants and users. Founded in 2022 and headquartered in Khartoum, Sudan, Cashi operates as part of Alsoug.com, the country’s largest digital classifieds and marketplace.

Financial infrastructure startup Littlefish raises $9.4 million

A South African fintech infrastructure startup, littlefish, has scored $9.4 million in Series A funding. The round was led by Partech, and featured participation from TLcom Capital, Flourish Ventures, and Proparco. The investment is the latest fundraising for the company since its 2021 seed round, and the firm expects to use the new capital to grow its team, advance product development, and enter new markets such as Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Zambia.

“This raise is a validation of our belief that the best way to serve Africa’s small businesses is to work with the institutions they already trust, not around them,” Brandon Roberts, Co-Founder and CEO of littlefish, said. “We’ve proven the model in South Africa, and this capital gives us the runway to deepen those relationships and bring what we’ve built to millions more merchants across the continent. The little guys deserve world-class financial infrastructure, too, and we’re building it.”

Littlefish offers a merchant operating system that empowers banks to deliver fintech products and services to small businesses by integrating payments, POS software, CRMs, APIs, and more into a unified layer. This enables banks and other financial institutions to offer modern, digital services to merchants without disrupting their existing relationships with customers. Littlefish helps banks deliver more services to their business customers more efficiently, and gives small businesses the opportunity to gradually modernize and digitize their operations.

Littlefish counts institutions such as Standard Bank, First National Bank, and Absa among its clients. The company was co-founded in 2021 by Roberts and Miod Davith Kahwa.

Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.

Latin America and the Caribbean

  • Mexico-based digital commerce platform, Clip, introduced Tap to Pay functionality on the iPhone.
  • Mastercard executed a series of live, end-to-end agentic payment transactions across Latin America and the Caribbean.
  • Cross-border payments technology company Reap obtained a Money Transmitter Registry in Mexico.

Asia-Pacific

  • Singapore-based fintech Fingular unveiled Shariah-first digital financing brand in Malaysia, Tazee.
  • Enterprise on-chain settlement infrastructure company Capital Layer forged a distribution partnership with Taiwan-based domestic system integrator Stark Technology Inc.
  • Vienamese police dismantle fraudulent cryptocurrency scheme that cost investors billions of dollars.

Sub-Saharan Africa

  • Operating system for African banks and merchants, Littlefish, raised $9.5 million in Series A funding.
  • Western Union partnered with Sasai Fintech to bring digital remittance access to South African consumers.
  • African financial ecosystem platform Moniepoint acquired cloud-based restaurant management platform Orda Africa.

Central and Eastern Europe

  • Georgia-based TBC Bank partnered with GDS Link to power credit decisioning for retail lending.
  • German fintech Solaris announced plans to become an “AI-native bank,” cut 20% of its workforce.
  • PA Turkey looked at the strength of fintech investment in Turkey in 2025.

Middle East and Northern Africa

  • Saudi Arabia’s central bank issued its first Major Payment Institution license for open banking services to Lean Technologies.
  • Vault22 announced plans to launch its Islamic finance platform Hafiq in the UAE by the middle of 2026.
  • Banque Misr inked a Memorandum of Understanding with Microsoft Egypt to launch an open fintech innovation program for the Egyptian market.

Central and Southern Asia

  • Sri Lanka-based commercial bank Hatton National Bank enabled its debit cards to be added to Google Wallet.
  • Indian employee health and insurance platform Plum raised $20.6 million in Series B funding.
  • Revolut announced plans to boost its India-based workforce by 5,500 by the end of 2026.

Photo by Adrien Olichon

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2026: The Year Everyone Became a Bank

2026: The Year Everyone Became a Bank
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: David's column, Nubank, PayPal, Revolut, Ripple

So when did everyone want to be a bank?

In 2026, some of the most innovative companies in fintech are expected to obtain banking charters in the US. From bunq to Zerohash, challenger banks and crypto infrastructure companies alike have determined that the next best step for their businesses is a license to offer full banking services to customers in the United States.

What’s interesting about the companies that are seeking US banking charters now is how they tend to fall into two broad camps: the neobank challengers and the crypto-insurgents. How do these two camps see the opportunity in the US and does either camp have an advantage in terms of the likelihood of success?

The challengers: From neobank to “real bank”

Many of the fintechs currently seeking US bank charters are some of the best known names in the industry. These include the UK’s Revolut, the EU’s bunq, Brazil’s Nubank—even the US’s PayPal, which sees a bank charter as a way to expand its operations in the States.

“Securing capital remains a significant hurdle for small businesses striving to grow and scale,” former PayPal CEO and President Alex Chriss said in December. “Establishing PayPal Bank will strengthen our business and improve our efficiency, enabling us to better support small business growth and economic opportunities across the US.”

For international firms, expanding operations is a major, though not the only, reason for coming to America. In the case of Nubank, which secured conditional approval from the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) in January, the goal is more than just expanding operations. As David Vélez, founder and CEO of Nu Holdings explained, “It’s an opportunity to prove our thesis that a digital-first, customer-centric model is the future of financial services globally.” While insisting that the company’s focus would remain on Latin America, Vélez noted “This step allows us to build the next generation of banking in the United States.”

Revolut also cited bringing a proven customer experience to the US as part of its rationale when it announced that it had applied to the OCC and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation for a US national bank charter. “Filing for a national bank charter is a major milestone toward our vision of building the world’s first truly global banking platform,” Revolut Co-Founder and CEO Nik Storonsky said. “This charter will give us the direct control needed to innovate faster and deliver the Revolut experience to millions more Americans as we move toward our goal of 100 million customers.”

The cryptos: On the road to regulatory maturity

The other major category of aspirants for US bank charters is the crypto community. This includes stablecoin issuers like Circle as well as cryptocurrency exchange companies like Kraken. Circle secured conditional approval from the OCC in December to establish a national trust bank, named First National Digital Currency Bank. The company’s statement announcing the approval shed light on the reason why crypto companies like Circle are seeking bank licenses in the US.

“As a public company, we’re focused on operating under rigorous regulatory oversight and building the infrastructure that allows digital dollars like USDC to become a core part of global finance,” Circle CEO, Co-Founder, and Chairman Jeremy Allaire said. “This important milestone will give the world’s leading institutions greater clarity and confidence to build on Circle’s platform as stablecoins and blockchain technology move rapidly into the mainstream.”

For businesses in this space, the rewards of a US bank charter go beyond the ability to market products and services to a new market—even one as large as the US. For these firms, the chance to build and secure institutional credibility via a US banking license is an opportunity that cannot be missed. Combined with benefits such as direct access to payment rails, reserve backing, digital asset custody, and tokenization, it is little surprise that some of the most innovative companies in DeFi are seeking out US banking licenses. Speaking on behalf of Ripple, which secured conditional approval to establish a national trust bank in December, CEO Brad Garlinghouse emphasized the importance of a bank charter for regulatory compliance and public trust.

“The conditional approval of our trust bank charter represents a massive step forward—setting the highest standard for stablecoin compliance with both federal and state oversight,” Garlinghouse said. “While anti-innovation bank lobbyists may claim otherwise, we are ensuring RLUSD is the most transparent and responsibly managed stablecoin in the market today.”

Risk, opportunity, and cutting out the middleman

However different the reasons may be for neobanks and digital asset companies seeking out US banking licenses right now, there is an interesting commonality between the two camps. In both instances, firms are seeking ways to transition away from the “intermediary model” in which fintechs rely on sponsoring banks. There are myriad reasons why this decade-long paradigm has endured and why it is proving inadequate for many firms, such as growing awareness of risk (including both financial institution and third-party risk), as well as new opportunities (such as the OCC’s 2021 national bank trust policy shift).

But the general takeaway is that some of the most innovative fintechs in our industry are concluding that rather than try to “unbundle” or partner with a bank, it might now be the best strategy to just become one.

Photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash

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Revolut Unveils Anti-Impersonation Scam Solution

Revolut Unveils Anti-Impersonation Scam Solution
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Revolut
  • Challenger bank Revolut has launched new anti-impersonation functionality on its app to help its users avoid deepfakes and scams.
  • The new in-app identification feature works in real-time to let users know if they are receiving a call from a legitimate Revolut agent or a potential fraudster.
  • Founded in 2015, Revolut made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope the same year. Nik Storonsky is Founder and CEO.

How confident are you that you can tell the difference between a genuine caller and an AI-powered deepfake impersonation? All the time? Most of the time? Some of the time?

According to a report from the National Library of Medicine, only 25% of people can accurately identify a deepfake voice, making impersonation scams that much more effective and turning voice calls into what it called “a critical vulnerability.”

In response, Revolut has unveiled its solution to the rising security challenge of AI deepfakes and impersonation scams. The company announced a new in-app identification feature that detects when users are in a call and verifies if the call is coming from a legitimate Revolut employee or a potential scammer, all in real time.

“As fraudsters adopt AI and advanced deepfake tools, we need to innovate fast to defend our customers and stay ahead of rapidly evolving fraud threats,” Revolut Product Owner Rami Kalai explained. “This new feature not only gives users real-time, contextual warnings in the moment they need them most, but also guides them to identify impersonation scams, providing clear, actionable steps to keep their money safe while the fraud attempt is happening.”

Revolut’s anti-scam solution is straightforward. When a user receives a call, they simply check their mobile Revolut app. If the call is legitimate, a banner or pop-up will appear to confirm that the call is from Revolut. If the call is not from Revolut, the pop-up will turn red and warn the user. At this point, the user can tap the pop-up to alert Revolut that they have received a potential scam call, and then hang up immediately. The technology is currently active for all Revolut customers using iOS devices. Customers using Android will need to specifically authorize the new functionality from the Security Hub.

The range of scam types is truly staggering, including purchase scams, investment scams, impersonation scams, job scams, romance scams, delivery scams, charity scams, rental scams, and triangle scams. Revolut’s new anti-impersonation feature is only the latest solution the company has deployed to help its customers deal with the growing threat of fraud and financial crime in recent years. Among these solutions are biometric verification to help prevent transfer mugging (in which a victim is coerced or threatened into transferring funds from their account to a fraudster) and advanced machine learning strategies to identify suspicious transactions.

A Finovate alum for more than a decade, Revolut first demoed its technology on the Finovate stage at FinovateEurope 2015. Today, the company boasts more than 65 million customers around the world—12 million in the UK alone—offering a range of banking services via its mobile app. Revolut retail and business customers have access to money transfer services, stock trading, a cryptocurrency exchange, current accounts, a pre-paid debit card, insurance, and more—as well as premium services available via subscription. Operating under a European banking license, and having licenses and approvals in Mexico, Australia, Japan, the UK (restricted) and the US (via partnerships), Revolut has a presence in more than 48 countries.

Headquartered in London, England, Revolut was founded in 2015. Nik Storonsky is founder and CEO.

Photo by Christian Gertenbach on Unsplash

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Fintech Rundown: A Rapid Review of Weekly News

Fintech Rundown: A Rapid Review of Weekly News
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: AMLYZE, FICO, Fintech Rundown, Intuit, Revolut, WorldPay

From AI-enabled commerce to AI-powered voice agents in insurance, companies across the fintech spectrum are busily integrating AI into their operations to boost efficiency, cut costs, and enhance the customer experience. It is a holiday-shortened week, so be sure to check in to Finovate’s Fintech Rundown to keep you informed on the latest fintech headlines.

Insurtech

Eleos Life unveils AI voice agent to provide 24/7 customer support.

HawkSoft partners with AI automation company Liberate to leverage the company’s Voice AI to enhance sales and service operations.

Payments

European payment provider Mollie announces payment integration with ChatGPT.

Worldpay unveils its Worldpay MCP (Model Context Protocol).

Revolut reaches a valuation of $75 billion following a share sale and investment from NVIDIA’s venture capital arm, NVentures.

TerraPay introduces payments interoperability network, Xend.

Australian payments and rewards platform pay.com.au raises $53 million to fuel US expansion.

Payments platform Paysafe partners with independent cloud gaming provider Boosteroid.

Lending

Tech Mahindra launches its advanced, sustainable lending platform i.GreenFinance.

Fraud prevention

GFT Technologies and FICO team up to help banks leverage AI to stop fraud in real time and simplify risk decision-making.

Lithuania-based Electronic Money Institution (EMI) Wallter UAB partners with regtech AMLYZE to bolster its AML screening.

Open banking

Intuit QuickBooks partners with SiSS Data Services (SISS) to facilitate open banking data feeds for its customers in Australia.

Photo by Balazs Busznyak on Unsplash

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Finovate Global South Africa: Acquisitions and Licensing Innovation in Banking

Finovate Global South Africa: Acquisitions and Licensing Innovation in Banking
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: MasterCard, Napier, PayQuicker, Revolut

This week’s edition of Finovate Global looks at recent fintech headlines from South Africa.

Lesaka Technologies to Acquire Bank Zero

Lesaka Technologies, a fintech that provides low-cost financial services to underbanked South Africans, has secured approval from the Competition Commission to acquire Bank Zero. An app-only bank co-founded by Michael Jordaan in 2018 and publicly launched three years later, Bank Zero today has more than 40,000 funded accounts and deposits of more than $22 million. The financial institution offers personal and business banking solutions to both underbanked and tech-first customers.

Initially announced in July, the acquisition is valued at $60 million. The transaction consists of a combination of newly issued shares in Lesaka and up to $5 million in cash. Post-transaction, Jordaan will remain as Bank Zero’s chairman, and co-founder Yatin Narsai will continue to serve as CEO. Bank Zero’s entire management team will also remain in place.

Lesaka anticipates that the acquisition will fortify its balance sheet, enhance lending performance, and reduce the firm’s dependence on bank debt. The fintech suggested that the move could lower its gross debt by $57 million.

“The acquisition of Bank Zero is a transformative event in Lesaka’s journey, enabling us to better serve our consumers, merchants, and enterprise clients, by embedding a trusted, well-engineered neobank capability into our fintech platform,” Lesaka Chairman Ali Mazanderani said. “I am delighted to welcome the Bank Zero team to Lesaka as partners.”

Lesaka Technologies offers banking, lending, and insurance products to consumers and cash management, billpay, business funding, and card acquiring solutions to retail merchants in both the formal and informal sectors. Founded in 1997, the company is headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa.

South African Retailer Explores New Banking Venture

One of South Africa’s largest discount retail groups may be getting into the banking business.

Pepkor Holdings operates more than 5,800 stores across a wide number of brands including PEP, Ackermans, and Tekkie Town. A subsidiary of Steinhoff International, Pepkor is reportedly looking to launch a new banking venture—informally referred to as “Pep Bank”—that will leverage the company’s market reach to offer zero-fee banking to millions of consumers with lower incomes. The company is said to be in conversation with Investec, seeking a partner to support the new bank’s regulatory, operational, and financial infrastructure.

There has been no public commentary from Pepkor on the initiative, and press reports assert that the talks are in “early stages.” Further, the launch of a new bank would require approvals from the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) and the National Credit Regulator, and no such engagement has been reported to date.

That said, the move could be a major expansion for Pepkor, which would benefit significantly from its relationship to its sizable—and largely underbanked—low-income customers. And leveraging the businesses’ nearly 6,000 retail outlets to offer those customers banking services geared toward their specific needs could give Pepkor’s new bank a strong start and make it an instant competitor to current providers.

Revolut applies for South African banking license

Speaking of launching banking operations in South Africa, Revolut announced that it has officially begun the process of securing a banking license in the country. The company has confirmed that it submitted a Section 12 application under the country’s Banks Act, the first step in becoming a licensed bank in South Africa. Revolut first signaled its intention to launch a bank in South Africa in September, highlighting the country as a “key growth market” with increasing rates of digital adoption and an openness to innovative financial products and services.

“Becoming a licensed bank will allow us to bring a full suite of products to the market and ensure we become the go-to financial app for millions of South Africans,” Revolut South Africa CEO Jacques Meyer said.

As a sign of the company’s growing engagement with the South African market, Revolut has appointed Dr. Gaby Magomola as Chairman of Revolut South Africa. A pioneer in the history of banking in South Africa, Dr. Magomola has served in senior executive roles at Citibank, Barclays Bank, First National Bank, and African Bank. He most recently served as Deputy Chairman of the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA).

“Dr. Magomola’s experience is invaluable as we deepen our commitment to the South African market,” Meyer said. “His strategic counsel will be critical in navigating the local regulatory environment, ensuring we build a locally relevant service that addresses the financial needs of all customers in South Africa.”

Revolut’s presence in South Africa would bring significant additional competition to the country’s digital bank industry, which consists of TymeBank, Discovery Bank, and Bank Zero, which has been acquired by Lesaka Technologies, as we noted in this week’s column. Already one of the largest digital banks in the world, Revolut has said its expansion in South Africa is part of the company’s goal to grow its customer base from 65 million to 100 million by 2027. Revolut also seeks to be active in 30 markets by 2030.

Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.

Asia-Pacific

  • Japan’s largest trust bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank, selected SCSK Corporation and OneSpan to enhance security for its mobile banking operations.
  • Australian superannuation fund Brighter Super partnered with Napier AI to enhance its compliance infrastructure.
  • Is Jack back? South China Morning Post featured Alibaba Group Holding founder Jack Ma’s return to the campus of Ant Group.

Sub-Saharan Africa

  • South African fintech Lesaka Technologies received approval to acquire Bank Zero in a deal valued at $60 million.
  • Revolut has applied for a banking license in South Africa.
  • South Africa’s Discovery Bank announced new crypto trading offering.

Central and Eastern Europe

  • Lithuanian regtech iDenfy unveiled its new solution that conduct instant license checks during the KYC process.
  • The European Payments Initiative (EPI) announced that Wero for e-commerce is now live in Germany.
  • Mastercard introduced open loop transit payments in Azerbaijan.

Middle East and Northern Africa

  • Crypto payments company MoonPay expanded its partnership with Israel-based Zengo Wallet. The firm’s venture arm, MoonPay Ventures, also announced a strategic investment in the self-custodial crypto wallet.
  • First Abu Dhabi Bank teamed up with Thunes to enable global mobile wallet payouts.
  • Israel-based fintech PayMe announced plans to expand into the European market.

Central and Southern Asia

  • Yuze Digital, a AI-powered fintech platform for freelancers and independent businesses, launched its pilot in India.
  • Pakistani fintech Abhi partnered with UAE-based digital platform Numou to help SMEs access financial services.
  • Indian fintech Yubi raised $46.4 million to enhance its debt marketplace, collection systems, and AI capabilities.

Latin America and the Caribbean

  • Uruguay-based cross-border payment platform dLocal partnered with global payouts orchestration company PayQuicker to help the firm serve more merchants in emerging markets.
  • Latin American accounts receivable management and collections automation platform Moonflow acquired Mexican fintech Kobro.
  • Colombian fintech Addi raised $50 million in debt funding.

Photo by Madiba.de African Inspiration on Unsplash

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An IPO Alternative: Revolut’s $75 Billion Valuation and $3 Billion Funding Round

An IPO Alternative: Revolut’s $75 Billion Valuation and $3 Billion Funding Round
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Funding, Revolut
  • Revolut is rumored to be raising capital and selling previously repurchased shares at a higher valuation in a creative alternative to going public.
  • Staying private gives Revolut more flexibility as it expands into new markets and adds roughly one million customers every 17 days, without the scrutiny of quarterly earnings reports.
  • The company is likely delaying its IPO until it secures a full UK banking license, but strong investor demand and ample private funding mean Revolut can continue scaling without listing on public markets.

Global banking fintech Revolut is nearing the threshold of two major milestones. The UK-based company is currently seeking to close a $3 billion funding round, marking a $75 billion valuation.

According to Bloomberg, which broke the news, Revolut has spent months putting the round together and has been informing investors about the allocation of shares they’ll receive as part of the oversubscribed round. The investment will bring in cash and offer early backers and employees liquidity.

Revolut declined to comment, but according to people familiar with the matter, Revolut will use the funds as fuel to enter dozens of new markets across the globe in the coming years. Revolut already operates in the European Economic Area (EEA), Australia, Brazil, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, Switzerland, the UK, and the US, as well as a handful of small territories. Expanding its geographical reach will allow Revolut to deepen its customer base, diversify revenue streams, and strengthen its position as a global financial “super app.”

In August, Revolut bought back some of its own shares from existing investors in a tender offer deal that paid investors for their shares based on the company valuation of $45 billion. Revolut is now considering selling some of the same shares it just bought back to new investors. Notably, this sale would be conducted at a much higher valuation of $75 billion, meaning Revolut could profit significantly from the difference. In addition to selling these existing shares, Revolut may also issue new shares to raise new funding which would bring additional cash into the company as opposed to simply transferring ownership of existing shares.

Sources noted that Revolut CEO Nik Storonsky encouraged early employees to sell some of their stock in order to allow the company to offer more shares to eager new investors. Despite this effort, demand was far greater than supply, so many investors could only buy a small amount. This strong demand showcases Revolut’s rising valuation and positions it well for raising more capital.

This complicated song and dance around share shifting may sound more complicated than simply going public. But many analysts argue that an IPO isn’t ideal for Revolut at the moment. The company is expanding rapidly, adding around one million customers every 17 days, and staying private offers it more flexibility to pivot, experiment, and grow without the quarterly pressure and scrutiny that come with being a public company.

Perhaps the biggest aspect holding the company back is that it has not received its full UK banking license. While the UK Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) awarded Revolut a banking license in 2024, it did so with restrictions. Regulators have been reviewing the company’s application for years, and not having a banking license significantly decreases both revenue potential and investor confidence. In fact, going public before securing the license could lower Revolut’s valuation or limit interest from institutional investors.

Fortunately for Revolut, private funding is still plentiful. Since the company was founded in 2015, it has been able to raise a large amount of capital privately, and at valuations similar to or higher than what it may get in public markets.

Photo by cottonbro studio

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Finovate Global Peru: Digital Wallet Partnerships and Innovations in Payment Services

Finovate Global Peru: Digital Wallet Partnerships and Innovations in Payment Services
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: ecolytiq, Finovate Global, MasterCard, Revolut, VISA, WorldPay

This week’s edition of Finovate Global looks at recent fintech headlines from the South American nation of Peru.

EBANX partners with Peruvian digital wallet Yape

Brazilian payments company EBANX announced a direct integration with Peruvian digital wallet, Yape. Designed for cross-border commerce and relying on an easy user enrollment process, Yape enables users to pay for purchases on international ecommerce websites using either their Yape wallet balance or a linked card. The wallet supports recurring, one-click and on-file payment solutions and, in 2024, was responsible for the largest share of the volume transacted online through a digital wallet in the country. This is according to research from Payments and Commerce Market Intelligence (PCMI).

“With over 14 million active Peruvian users, Yape empowers millions of consumers with reliable daily transactions,” Yape Head of Payments Claudia Silva said. “This direct integration with EBANX marks a significant step in expanding our reach to global merchants, allowing them to tap into the vast potential of the Peruvian market.”

Digital wallets are a major component of Peru’s payment ecosystem. The fourth most commonly used payment in the country, digital wallets represented 10% of all digital commerce transactions in Peru in 2024. PCMI anticipates a digital wallet annual growth rate of 17% by 2027 and much of this growth, according to Silva, can be credited to Yape. According to the firm’s own data, Yape’s digital wallet delivers a 93% approval rate on transactions, an especially valuable achievement as digital wallets are increasingly becoming the preferred payment method for recurring transactions.

“Through its partnership with Yape, EBANX enables merchants to access a seamless, secure, and high-conversion payment solution that drives immediate results for one-time purchases as well as for subscription-based services and recurring payments,” said Juliana Etcheverry, Director of LatAm Country Growth—South Cone at EBANX. “This partnership goes beyond payments; it’s about fostering scalable, long-term growth for merchants in a rapidly evolving market.”

Founded in 2016, Yape is headquartered in Lima, Peru. The company’s payment app has more than 20 million users and more than 2.5 million affiliated businesses. Yape expanded to Bolivia in 2023, reaching two million users (“Yaperos”) a year later.

Paysafe goes live with PagoEfective ewallet in Peru

As if to underscore the rising popularity of digital wallets in Peru, payments platform Paysafe announced that it is expanding its eCash brand, PagoEfectivo, into a digital wallet. As a brand, PagoEfectivo has been a major force in Latin America’s eCash payment ecosystem, supporting the transactions of millions of online consumers. As a digital wallet, the brand will enable users to load funds instantly, make online transactions, receive payouts from participating merchants, transfer funds to others, and more.

“Our recent survey with Peruvian consumers found that 81% would use a digital wallet from PagoEfectivo,” Paysafe Head of Latin America Estaban Sarubbi said. “With that strong sign, we’re launching a solution that meets consumers’ payment needs.” Paysafe CEO Bruce Lowthers added, “Consumers in Peru already trust PagoEfectivo for everything from iGaming and digital goods to travel and ecommerce. With the launch of our new digital wallet, we’re giving them a more convenient way to pay—one that reflects Paysafe’s commitment to powering the experiential economy.”

Headquartered in London, Paysafe processed $152 billion in annualized transactional volume in 2024. A leading payments platform, Paysafe empowers businesses and consumers to connect and transact through its capabilities in payment processing, digital wallets, and online cash solutions. Delivering services across 260 payment types in 48 currencies, Paysafe’s integrated platform is designed for mobile-initiated transactions, real-time analytics, and facilitating the convergence between in-store and online payments.

Do Payment launches pay-in service Do Pay in regional expansion

Peruvian paytech Do Payment has launched its own pay-in service, Do Pay. The new offering is designed bring greater speed, lower costs, and more flexibility to the payments process by enhancing liquidity for clients and reducing reliance on intermediate parties. Do Pay also creates a single provider for both pay-in and pay-out payment solutions thanks to leveraging its own proprietary infrastructure and direct connections with banks, acquirers, and local payment networks.

“In Latin America, companies face a critical challenge: the slowness of fund availability, with delays of 48 to 72 hours and even up to one week, directly impacting their liquidity,” Do Payment Chief Product Officer Valentina Brero said. “Against global solutions poorly adapted to the region, Do Pay emerges as a service specialized in payment collection with the fastest settlement in the market, ideal for operators who need to use the funds for daily operations.”

Do Payment’s new offering enables firms to better manage a range of problems faced by companies in Latin America when it comes to collecting and making payments. These challenges include having to work with multiple partners—often different providers for both collecting and disbursements—as well as multiple technologies, high fees, and long waiting times. Do Pay, in contrast, enables firms to leverage a single platform for both collection and dispersal, which enhances operational liquidity and ensures that funds are credit faster.

Founded in 2022 by CEO Cristian Valderrama, Do Payment is based in Lima, Peru. The company is already active in seven countries—Peru, Mexico, Ecuador, Chile, Colombia, Panama, and the US—with its pay-out service. In addition to Peru, Do Payment will go live with its Do Pay pay-in solution in Mexico and Ecuador, with the goal of expanding to both Chile and Colombia subsequently. Do Payment also noted that it plans to grow its footprint in Brazil in the second half of 2025.

Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.

Latin America and the Caribbean

  • Payments platform Paysafe launched its digital wallet, PagoEfectivo, in Peru.
  • Mexican fintech and edtech Mattilda partnered with payment orchestration platform Gr4vy to power its new white-label payments solution, Mattilda Pay.
  • Uruguay-based paytech dLocal announced plans to acquire Kenyan cross-border payments solutions provider AZA Finance.

Asia-Pacific

  • Revolut partnered with Ant International to enable its customers to send money to China.
  • Visa unveiled its Security Roadmap for New Zealand, featuring a three-year plan to leverage AI to fight fraud and other cyberthreats against consumers and businesses in the country.
  • Worldpay went live with domestic acquiring services in Thailand.

Sub-Saharan Africa

  • Nigerian cryptocurrency exchange Roqqu acquired Kenyan crypto startup Flitaa as part of its expansion into East Africa.
  • Daily Investor profiled South African entrepreneur Lungisa Matshoba, co-founder of Yoco.
  • South African paytech Stitch acquired Efficacy Payments in order to offer card acquiring services directly to merchants.

Central and Eastern Europe

  • Clarity AI acquired Berlin, Germany-based Sustainability-as-a-Service innovator ecolytiq.
  • Azerbaijan-based fintech PashaPay inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Mastercard.
  • German online bank N26 announced plans to offer stock trading to customers in Austria and Germany.

Middle East and Northern Africa

  • Egypt’s Faisal Islamic Bank partnered with Intellect to launch its Shariah-compliant digital transformation.
  • According to research from Mordor Intelligence, the fintech market in the United Arab Emirates is expected to grow to more than $6.4 billion by 2030.
  • Egyptian digital investment platform Thndr raised $15.7 million in a round led by Prosus Ventures.

Central and Southern Asia

  • Pakistan-based ecommerce startup Bazaar Technologies announced that it is nearing profitability following its acquisition of Pakistani paytech Keenu.
  • Indian cross-border investing and financial management platform Belong is now available to non-resident Indians living in the UAE.
  • Central Asian digital banking ecosystem TBC Uzbekistan launched a new insurance vertical, TBC Insurance.

Photo by Aarom Ore on Unsplash

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Finovate Global Africa: Investments, Acquisitions, and Partnerships

Finovate Global Africa: Investments, Acquisitions, and Partnerships
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Finovate Global, Revolut, ThetaRay, TransUnion, Xero

This week’s edition of Finovate Global looks at recent fintech headlines from Nigeria and South Africa.

BAS Group acquired a majority stake in Nigeria’s Zuvy

Nigeria-based diversified financial services group BAS Group announced this week that it has acquired a minority stake in Zuvy, a local fintech that specializes in invoice financing. The move gives BAS Group more than 50% of the company, a stake that analysts estimate could be valued between $1.5 million and $3 million. The transaction will also place BAS Group Chief Operating Officer, Adnan Kayode, at the helm of Zuvy—although the firm will continue to operate independently.

“This acquisition of Zuvy goes beyond simply expanding our investment portfolio—it represents a strategic alignment with our core mission of developing a comprehensive, technology-enabled financial ecosystem for Africa,” BAS Group Founder and CEO Abdulateef Hussein said.

Co-founded in 2023 by Angel Onuoha and Ahmed Shehu, Zuvy provides invoice financing to businesses in the FMCG (“fast-moving consumer goods”) and healthcare sectors, as well as to companies in supply chain industries. Zuvy reports financing invoices worth more than ₦1 billion ($650,000) for 1,500 small businesses over the past two years. As part of the deal, Onuoha and Shehu will retain minority stakes in the company, but will no longer have operational roles. The two founders have moved on to focus on their new healthcare venture, Avelis Health.

“We take great pride in Zuvy’s accomplishments and the positive impact we’ve created for thousands of Nigerian enterprises,” Onuoha said. “BAS Group represents the perfect partner to advance Zuvy’s growth trajectory while we focus our efforts on addressing critical healthcare challenges in the American market.”

BAS Group’s deal for Zuvy comes after the firm launched a lending business that provides collateralized loans to small and medium-sized businesses. The majority stake in Zuvy will enable BAS Group to add uncollateralized lending to its offering.

South African fintech Lesaka acquired Bank Zero

Lesaka Technologies reported that its subsidiary, Lesaka Technologies Proprietary Ltd, has agreed to acquire Bank Zero Mutual Bank (Bank Zero). Subject to customary closing conditions, the acquisition will be settled via a combination of new share issuance and up to ZAR 91 million ($5.1 million) in cash. The total value of the transaction is estimated to be $61 million.

“The acquisition of Bank Zero is a transformative event in Lesaka’s journey, enabling us to better serve our consumers, merchants, and enterprise clients by embedding a trusted, well-engineered neobank capability into our fintech platform,” Lesaka Chairman Ali Mazanderani said. “I am delighted to welcome the Bank Zero team to Lesaka as partners.”

Founded in 2018 and headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa, Bank Zero is a modern “app-only” bank for both individuals and businesses. As of April 2025, the institution had a deposit base of more than ZAR 400 million ($22.4 million), and more than 40,000 funded accounts across South Africa. Co-launched by Michael Jordaan (Chairman) and Yatin Narsai (CEO), Bank Zero boasts 45% black- and 20% female-ownership. Post-acquisition, Jordaan will join the Lesaka Board of Directors while Narsai continues to serve as CEO.

“Bank Zero was built from the ground up to deliver a secure, digital-first banking experience that puts control back in the hands of customers,” Narsai said. “Our focus has always been on using technology to remove friction, lower costs, and challenge legacy banking norms. Joining forces with Lesaka allows us to accelerate that mission at scale—reaching more customers, faster—while staying true to the principles that define who we are.”

TransUnion invests, partners with Omnisient

Speaking of minority investments, TransUnion announced that it has secured a minority investment in—and a strategic partnership with—South Africa-based fintech Omnisient. Omnisient offers a data collaboration and advanced analytics platform that enables companies to securely access high-value consumer data ecosystems and integrate alternative data sets to support smart decision-making.

The strategic partnership will enhance TransUnion’s ability to bring more of the estimated 500 million un- and underbanked Africans into the formal financial system. By leveraging alternative data at scale, TransUnion’s partnership with Omnisient will enable more new-to-credit and credit-underserved consumers to begin building a credit profile and start the journey toward greater, long-term financial empowerment and opportunity.

“Traditional data models often fail to reflect the lived realities of African consumers, leaving millions without access to credit and the opportunities it enables,” TransUnion Africa Regional President/CEO Lee Naik said. “Financial inclusion is central to unlocking economic growth across the continent. That’s why we’re committed to leading with bold, Africa-born solutions designed to see the unseen and serve the credit-invisible by integrating alternative datasets alongside traditional credit data in ways that reflect uniquely African contexts and realities.”

Along with the investment (amount undisclosed) and strategic partnership, a member of TransUnion will join Omnisient’s board of directors.

TransUnion’s investment and strategic partnership comes at a time when demand is rising worldwide for access to alternative data and solutions that leverage this data while ensuring privacy, enhancing trust, and creating value for financial institutions. Omnisient’s technology uses tokenized keys to represent personal information in the data set, avoiding the transfer of raw data and providing privacy throughout the entire process. The company’s many-to-many data connectivity between banks and other financial services providers and third-parties helps promote innovation in the field of data collaboration.

“Our privacy-preserving data collaboration platform brings financial services and consumer brands together, allowing them to discover, validate, and commercialize new alternative sources of consumer behavioral and transactional data without having to exchange sensitive personal information,” Omnisient Co-Founder and Group CEO Jon Jacobson said.

Founded in 2019 in Cape Town, South Africa, Omnisient is currently headquartered in the UK. TransUnion most recently demoed its technology at FinovateSpring 2024, showing how its Enhanced BreachIQ solution provides modern, gamified consumer identity protection.

Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.

Central and Southern Asia

  • Indian paytech Pine Labs announced plans for an IPO and a goal of a $6 billion valuation.
  • UnaFinancial and JSCB Microcreditbank partnered to launch a digital credit service in Uzbekistan.
  • SEBI-registered Online Bond Platform Provider (OBPP) IndiaBonds.com raised $3.77 million in funding.

Latin America and the Caribbean

  • Open payments platform Belvo and digital bank Ualá teamed up to launch new digital credit-scoring model leveraging a large-scale integration of employment data.
  • Paytech EBANX forged a partnership with Mexican BNPL fintech APLAZO.
  • Revolut announced plans to acquire Argentina-based lender Banco Cetelem from BNP Paribas.

Asia-Pacific

  • South Korean banks formed a consortium to issue a Won-backed stablecoin.
  • New Zealand-based accounting platform Xero agreed to acquire SMB bill pay platform Melio.
  • Australian open banking platform provider Frollo introduced its Frollo for Brokers online portal for mortgage brokers.

Sub-Saharan Africa

  • TransUnion announced a minority investment in and strategic partner with South African fintech Omnisient.
  • Financial crime compliance company ThetaRay partnered with Africa-based financial services firm I&M Group.
  • Kenya-based PesaLink inked a Memorandun of Understanding with Fintech Alliance to advance inclusive payment solutions.

Central and Eastern Europe

  • Germany-based insurer Munich Re teamed up with Instnt to enhance its ID fraud loss insurance coverage.
  • NaroIQ, a German digital platform that helps firms launch and manage ETFs and mutual funds, raised $6.5 million in seed funding.
  • Deutsche Bank turned to Silverflow for the launch of its European cloud-native payments platform.

Middle East and Northern Africa

  • Israeli-based fintech Tipalti acquired AI-powered cash flow management specialist Statement.
  • Egyptian payments platform Octane secured $5.2 million in new funding.
  • Libya’s Central Bank launched the country’s first electronic payment forum in a bid to spur fintech modernization.

Photo by onaopemipo Rufus

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Finovate Global Southeast Asia: Payments, Lending, and the Rise of Islamic Digital Banking

Finovate Global Southeast Asia: Payments, Lending, and the Rise of Islamic Digital Banking
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: AMLYZE, Finovate Global, Mambu, MoneyGram, Revolut, VISA

This week’s edition of Finovate Global showcases recent fintech news from three countries in southeast Asia: Vietnam, Malaysia, and the Philippines.

Visa brings Click to Pay to Vietnam

A growing number of Vietnamese banks have become early adopters of Visa’s Click to Pay service. Click to Pay provides a faster, more secure, and convenient checkout experience for online transactions by enabling cardholders to make their purchases with fewer clicks—including relieving them of the need to manually enter card and shipping details. Instead, Click to Pay allows users to identify themselves through their email address or mobile phone number. The service uses advanced security technology—including the Visa Token Service—to keep transaction data secure and is designed to meet EMVCo standards for digital checkout.

“With e-commerce being so prevalent in Vietnam and aligning with the Vietnamese government’s digitization objectives, we are pleased to introduce this solution through our banking partners,” Visa Country Manager for Vietnam and Laos Dung Dang said. “Click to Pay with Visa has the potential to transform online shopping and support the development of a more connected digital economy.”

Cardholders with Vietnam Technological and Commercial Joint Stock Bank (Techcombank) and Vietnam Prosperity Joint-Stock Commercial Bank (VPBank) can enroll in the Click to Pay service through their banking apps or with participating online merchants. Visa has also teamed up with Vietnamese payment platform Payoo, which will integrate Click to Pay across its merchant ecosystem. Visa announced that cardholders using Click to Pay at Payoo-affiliated merchants will be eligible for exclusive promotional offers “in the near future”. Additional merchants are expected to be added in the coming months.

BNPL provider Atome secures $75 million to support Philippines operations

Singapore-based Buy Now, Pay Later fintech Atome has received an asset-back financing facility of $75 million. The financing, from Lending Ark Asia Secured Private Debt Fund, will help support Atome’s expansion in the Philippines.

“The Philippines is a key growth market for Atome,” Atome Chief Commercial Officer Andy Tan said. “This financing reflects the continued confidence in Atome’s ability to deliver inclusive, risk-managed credit at scale.”

Atome is part of Advance Intelligence Group, a fintech and AI platform backed by investors such as SoftBank Vision Fund 2, Warburg Pincus, Northstar, and Singapore-based EDBI. This week’s funding comes as the company has been expanding its BNPL offering throughout Southeast Asia, bringing alternative credit solutions to unbanked and underbanked populations in the region. The financing also arrives one year after Atome secured a three-year term loan facility from EvolutionX Debt Capital.

“The launch of innovative and fit-for-market solutions like the Atome Card (PayLater Anywhere) and lending products demonstrates their ability to expand offerings while leveraging local market expertise,” EvolutionX Partner Rahul Shah said.

Malaysia’s KAF Digital Bank goes live with Temenos

The growth of Islamic digital banking is one of the most underappreciated developments in international fintech. Helping power this trend are companies like Temenos which recently partnered with Malaysia’s KAF Digital Bank as the institution launches its new Islamic digital bank in the country.

“Powered by Temenos SaaS, KAF Digital Bank is redefining Shariah-compliant banking with smarter, simpler financial solutions and a seamless, customer-first digital experience,” KAF Digital Bank CEO Rafiza Ghazali said. “The successful go-live and early access customer launch marks a key milestone in our journey, enabling Malaysians to take control of their financial futures with greater confidence.”

Temenos SaaS will enable KAF Digital Bank to offer a range of Shariah-compliant financial solutions that make financial management easier for customers who require or simply prefer Islamic banking. The offering includes comprehensive core and digital banking services with payments, analytics, and Temenos Data Hub on Microsoft Azure cloud infrastructure. In a statement, Temenos APAC Managing Director Will Dale noted the growth and importance of the Islamic banking customer in the country.

“This go-live not only strengthens Temenos’ regional footprint in SaaS, but also shows the unique breadth of functionality and advanced technology we deliver,” Dale said. “With proven capabilities tailored to the Malaysian market and Islamic banking, Temenos SaaS empowers KAF Digital Bank to achieve faster time-to-market, greater efficiency, and drive future growth.”

KAF Digital Bank secured approval to operate as a digital bank at the beginning of the year, and will be the fourth digital bank to operate in the country. The bank was launched by KAF Investment Bank Berhad, in partnership with Carsome, MoneyMatch, Jirnexu, and StoreHub. KAF Investment Bank Berhad was established in 1975.

Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.

Middle East and Northern Africa

  • Saudi Arabian finance app tiqmo partnered with global payments network MoneyGram.
  • Revolut reported that it has entered talks with the Bank of Israel to expand operations in the country.
  • MENA-based financial institution Mashreq launched its NEO PLUS Saver Account.

Central and Southern Asia

Latin America and the Caribbean

  • Brazilian fintech Matera partnered with Circle to integrate stablecoins as a payment method.
  • Cross-border payment platform dLocal teamed up with payment infrastructure solutions provider JusPay.
  • Tether announced an investment in Chiliean crypto exchange Orionx to support financial inclusion and digital payment adoption in Latin America.

Asia-Pacific

  • Visa launched its Click to Pay solution in Vietnam.
  • Buy Now, Pay Later provider Atome secured a $75 million asset-backed financing facility to support its expansion to the Philippines.
  • A new trading platform, moomoo, has gone live in New Zealand.

Sub-Saharan Africa

  • Africa.com profiled African fintech giant Paystack.
  • Online payment service provider PayU GPO launched account-to-account payments in Nigeria.
  • Critics warn that Kenya’s 1.5% tax on crypto transactions could hamper the development of the country’s fintech industry.

Central and Eastern Europe

  • Berlin-based paytech Payrails raised $32 million in Series A funding.
  • Lithuania’s largest credit union, Lietuvos centrinė kredito unija (LCKU), inked a long-term agreement with regtech AMLYZE.
  • German SaaS cloud banking platform Mambu announced that Sweden-based Marginalen Bank has migrated to its core.

Photo by Pixabay

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Conversational Banking, Financial Inclusion, Crypto, and More on the Finovate Podcast

Conversational Banking, Financial Inclusion, Crypto, and More on the Finovate Podcast
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Efigence, Nest Bank, Podcasting, Revolut

Catch up with Finovate VP and host of the Finovate Podcast Greg Palmer as he interviews some of the most interesting entrepreneurs, analysts, and thought leaders in fintech today.

In recent podcast episodes, Palmer and his guests have covered topics including the emerging regulatory environment in Europe, the outlook for cryptocurrencies, the opportunities in conversational banking, and the challenge of financial inclusion for female entrepreneurs in the Global South.

Will Martino (LinkedIn), President and Co-Founder of Kadena, talks with Finovate podcast host Greg Palmer about crypto, the SEC, and what shifting regulations mean for the fintech industry. EP 245.

Founded in 2016, Kadena is a scalable Layer 1 Proof of Work (PoW) blockchain. The technology is purpose-built to support the demand of businesses and traditional financial institutions.

Greg Palmer sits down with Janusz Mieloszyk (LinkedIn) and Lukasz Gajewski (LinkedIn) from FinovateFall Best of Show winning company Nest to talk about their partnership with Efigence, conversational banking, and the future of customer service. EP 244.

The first AI-enhanced bank in Poland, Nest caters to both entrepreneurs and individuals with a comprehensive suite of innovative payment methods and personalized banking services.

Rory Tanner (LinkedIn), Head of UK Affairs with Revolut, talks with podcast host Greg Palmer about neobanks, predictions for fintech and financial services in 2025, and a preview of FinovateEurope. EP 243.

A neobank and fintech platform, Revolut offers multi-currency accounts, international money transfers, debit and virtual cards, as well as stock and cryptocurrency trading. Founded in 2015, the company serves more than 50 million customers around the globe.

Greg Palmer and Mary Ellen Iskenderian (LinkedIn), President and CEO of Women’s World Banking, discuss the challenges of expanding credit for women entrepreneurs in the Global South and how fintechs can help. EP 242.

Women’s World Banking is an international non-profit organization dedicated to ensuring the future of economically empowered women. To date, the organization has help provide 14 million women in emerging markets with access to transformative financial products and services.

Photo by Brett Sayles

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A Look Back at What You Loved: Top 10 Posts of 2024

A Look Back at What You Loved: Top 10 Posts of 2024
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Fiserv, Klarna, List series, Revolut, Socure, SoFi

As both a conference producer and a news outlet, we’re always paying close attention to the topics that resonate most with you — our audience of fintech and banking professionals. To wrap up 2024 and brace ourselves of what to expect for 2025, we analyzed readership data to gain valuable insights into the stories, trends, companies, and products that mattered most to the industry this year to create the top 10 posts of 2024.

This list is compiled of posts published in 2024 that garnered the highest number of views and engagement in 2024. From breaking news to big IPOs, these were the stories you found most compelling. So, without further ado, here’s a countdown of the top 10 posts that captured your interest over the past year.

#10: Finovate Awards finalists (link)

Meet the Finalists of the 2024 Finovate Awards!

#9: Klarna’s long-awaited IPO (link)

5 Facts About Klarna’s Long-Awaited IPO

#8: How Galileo is expanding into real time payments (link)

SoFi’s Galileo Extends Partnership with The Bancorp to Offer Real-Time Payments

#7: A highlight of conversations with FinovateFall’s Best of Show Winners (link)

Best of Show Winners from FinovateFall 2024 Join the Finovate Podcast

#6: A look at Socure’s big buy (link)

Socure Acquires Real-Time Risk Decisioning Company Effectiv for $136 Million

#5: A Finovate Global roundup focused on central Asia (link)

Finovate Global Uzbekistan: Fintech Innovation and Banking Breakthroughs in Central Asia

#4: A look at how Walmart is tapping a traditional fintech player to compete on payments (link)

Walmart Taps Fiserv to Offer Pay by Bank

#3: The news event that kicked off the stablecoin frenzy (link)

What Stripe’s Purchase of Bridge Means for Stablecoins in the U.S.

#2: A mid-year roundup of M&A activity (link)

Top 10 Fintech Acquisitions of Summer 2024 (So Far)

#1: How Revolut is doubling down in the wealth management arena (link)

Revolut to Launch Standalone Wealth Management App

Photo by Vlada Karpovich

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Revolut Earns U.K. Trading License from the FCA

Revolut Earns U.K. Trading License from the FCA
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, Revolut
  • Revolut has received FCA approval to offer U.K. and E.U.-listed stock and ETF trading.
  • The new service is expected to roll out in 2025 for its nine million U.K. customers.
  • Revolut’s U.K. stock trading offering will allow it to compete with established platforms like Trading 212, Freetrade, Hargreaves Lansdown, and AJ Bell.

Global challenger bank Revolut announced today that the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has granted it a license to offer trading services on U.K. and E.U.-listed stocks and ETFs.

Revolut, which cemented its reputation as Europe’s most valuable fintech after receiving a $45 billion valuation, launched in 2014. The company initially launched stock market trading capabilities for U.S. stocks in 2019.

Revolut’s U.K. trading service will roll out in 2025 for its nine million U.K. customers. Once the service is launched, the company will compete against Trading 212, Freetrade, Hargreaves Lansdown, and AJ Bell; which all offer U.K. trading stock trading services.

Today’s news comes three months after Revolut received its banking license from the U.K. Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA). The long-awaited license allows the fintech to take and hold deposits, as well as sell financial products such as loans, credit cards, overdraft protection, and savings accounts to U.K. consumers.

Previously, Revolut was able to offer an investment service to its U.K.-based traders which allowed its 650,000 users to trade U.S. stocks through fractional shares using Revolut’s app. That service was made possible via a partnership with DriveWealth, a U.S.-based fintech that facilitates investing-as-a-service for third party companies.

U.K.-based Revolut chose to launch equities trading in the U.S. over the U.K. likely because of the higher demand for U.S. stocks such as Apple, Amazon, and Tesla. These companies have captured the attention of global retail investors because of their significant growth. By prioritizing U.S. equities, Revolut capitalized on this demand and aligned its offering to suit the interests of its tech-savvy user base.

Adding U.K. trading will offer Revolut another cross-sell opportunity, helping it to further compete with traditional financial institutions that are able to help users manage multiple facets of their clients’ lives. The move not only diversifies its product portfolio but also strengthens its position in an increasingly competitive fintech market.

Photo by energepic.com

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