After 20 years as a player in the retail banking market of the Czech Republic, ING is calling it quits. The firm announced this week that it plans to withdraw from the country’s retail banking scene and is encouraging its customers to consider Raiffeisenbank Czech Republic as their alternative bank going forward.
ING expects to end its operations in the Czech Republic by the end of this year. The company has approximately 375,000 retail banking customers in the country and has worked with Raiffeisenbank to ensure the smoothest possible transition for ING customers to take advantage of the opportunity to transfer their savings and investments. This agreement is pending regulatory approval.
ING Group said that the decision in part reflects an assessment of whether or not operations “are likely to achieve the preferred scale in their market within a reasonable time frame. ING has more than 39 million retail and wholesale customers in 40 markets around the world.
We will stay in the CEE for this week’s Finovate Global Profile, which features payever, a German platform-as-a-service commerce solution for banks and insurance companies. Founded in 2013 and led by CEO Artur Schlaht, payever made its Finovate return last fall at our all-digital FinovateWest event. At the conference, the Hamburg, Germany-based company demonstrated its Commerce Infrastructure that enables banks and insurance companies to connect to hundreds of thousands of businesses – as well as million of consumers – online as well as at the point of sale.
Payever offers a variety of Business Apps that cover the entire sales cycle. The company’s Checkout solution gives customers wide access to a range of payment options without requiring the merchant to undergo complex integrations. With Shop, merchants can build their own online store in without needing any coding experience. The solution features design template as well as cloud hosting and support.
Payever’s PoS technology enables its partners to offer cashless payment acceptance using QR codes instead of expensive hardware. Other solutions offered by payever include a Studio to help merchants better display their wares digitally and Mail, an e-mail marketing solution for building newsletters, sending personalized offers and more – all without needing to code.
Check out payever’s demo from FinovateWest last year.
Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.
Central and Eastern Europe
- Tinkoff collaborates with oneFactor to put AI-powered predictive analytics to work in enhancing credit scoring.
- Bulgaria’s TBI Bank teams up with Onfido to enhance security in its customer onboarding process.
- German fintech TechQuartier announces ecosystem partnership with SWIFT.
Middle East and Northern Africa
- AIO, a fintech based in Israel, and Finastra earn $1 million grant from the Board of Governors of the Israel – USD BIRD Foundation.
- Dutch payments company Adyen opens new Middle East headquarters in Dubai.
- Jewish News looks at how collaborations between the U.K. and Israel are driving fintech innovation.
Central and Southern Asia
- Kotak Remit, the remittance solution offered by Kotah Mahindra Bank, is now live on the company’s mobile banking app.
- Pakistan-based fintech Safepay scores seed funding from Stripe.
- India-based payments and banking technology provider Cashfree introduces its payments toolkit for e-commerce merchants.
Latin America and the Caribbean
- Banco Promerica El Salvador launches its Cuenta Inicia, a new digital account, courtesy of a partnership with local Mobbeel partner, Veentrix.
- Brazil’s Nubank launches new credit card dedicated to serving the country’s 60 million un- and underbanked citizens.
- Jamaica Co-operative Credit Union League to partners with ERI to bring its Olympic Banking System to credit unions in the country.
Asia-Pacific
- Is sharia banking the path to a better Islamic fintech ecosystem in Indonesia? KrAsia considers the possibilities.
- Singapore based blockchain company Lightnet partners with cross-border money transfer specialist Moneygram.
- Malaysian engineering services company Minetech announced plans to enter the fintech business via acquisition of a payment solutions company.
Sub-Saharan Africa
- Central Bank of Nigeria unveils regulatory framework for Open Banking.
- South Africa embarks on the second trial of both a wholesale central bank digital currency (CBDC) and a wholesale settlement token for interbank use. For more on the rise of CBDCs, check out our Finovate List Series Feature, Five Things to Know about CBDCs.
- Mama Money, a money transfer fintech based in South Africa, reports 5x volume growth in 2020.
Photo by Daniel Frank from Pexels