EToro Unveils Range of New Portfolio Tools
Weekly news up to Tuesday, 14th of January 2025
👀 NEWS HIGHLIGHT
The European Banking Authority (EBA) published a Consultation Paper on its draft Regulatory Technical Standards (RTS) to specify the technical elements necessary for institutions to calculate and aggregate crypto-asset exposures in relation to the prudential treatment of such exposures.
These RTS will address implementation aspects and ensure harmonisation of the capital requirements on crypto-assets exposures by institutions across the EU.
NOW, ON TO THE SUMMARY OF LAST WEEK'S NEWS
🌎 FINTECH HIGHLIGHTS
⭐️ FTX Disputes Sale of EU Assets to Ex-Employees as Complete.
⭐️ Seasoned FinTech Executive Joins UrbanChain.
⭐️ EToro unveils range of new portfolio tools.
⭐️ UK FinTech funding races ahead of Europe.
Join the FinTech Running Club in your city to connect with top FinTech leaders and have fun! Check out the exciting events happening in the coming weeks!
FINTECH
European FinTech’s next IPO candidates. Sifted compiled a list of European scaleups founded between 2005 and 2020, valued as unicorns, and raising $100m+ (via Dealroom). They verified public intent and sought comments to finalize the list. Click here to view it
Monzo co-founder prepares for AI-based self-driving startups. Jonas Templestein found a new startup, Nustom, with the aim of building generative AI coding tools for SaaS products. He describes this as a Level 2 startup where people might ask AI agents to write software from a plain-English spec or tell it to execute well-defined customer service processes.
PAYMENTS
Tietoevry banking secures EPC registration for payment services. Tietoevry in partnership with Movitz Payments, will manage Verification of Payee solutions across Europe, providing client banks with a new service saving time and money while reducing fraud.
Bank-backed EPI processes first e-commerce transactions, paving the way for a full-scale roll out later this year. This setup entailed the smooth integration of the EPI's Wero wallet into the online platform of the merchant and its acquiring partner, VR Payments, as well as in the online banking app of the end-customers.
CPMI boosts ISO 20022 for cross-border payments. The steps aim to clarify the medium-term governance and maintenance of these requirements during the global transition to the ISO 20022 messaging standard. The CPMI's actions also encourage industry-led efforts to develop guidelines for cross-border fast payments.
Europe to scale A2A payments with new regulation. January 9th, 2025 is the implementation deadline for all banks in the eurozone to receive instant payments. This is arguably one of the most significant deadlines for European payments innovation since PSD2 came into force seven years ago. Continue reading
Disrupting payments in NL. Robert Vis, Bird founder and CEO says: "Your margin is my opportunity." Today, Bird is slashing processing fees by more than 50%. Just €0.15 for iDEAL, 1% + €0.10 for all European credit cards. Explore the full story here
dLocal secures UK payments licence. LatAm payments company dLocal adds FCA authorisation with dLocal Opco Ltd UK. The licence allows the firm to onboard UK merchants directly for the first time, following previous restrictions related to Britain's departure from the European Union.
Can Wero shape the future of European payments? Martina Weimert, CEO of European Payments Initiative (EPI), explains the motivation behind Wero. The digital wallet aims to offer a European sovereign unified payment solution to address the needs of consumers, professionals and merchants in all European markets.
OPEN BANKING
CFIT secures industry partners to lead next coalition. The coalition will build on CFIT’s Open Finance coalition and SME Finance Taskforce by developing the technology, policy, and regulatory solutions to help the UK’s 5.6 million small businesses raise external finance “more readily, successfully, and efficiently”.
Money Squirrel launches open banking-powered cash flow management app. The offering links to business current accounts, and sweeps cash into interest-bearing savings accounts for automatically calculated VAT, budgeting, and tax purposes. Continue reading
REGTECH
FxPro implements tell.money antifraud solution. This integration enhances security for BnkPro its e-money app, the innovative Electronic Money Institution (EMI) under FxPro Group Ltd, and provides their clients with greater protection against app fraud and unauthorised transactions.
DIGITAL BANKING
Shawbrook targets £2bn value in potential sale or IPO. The new plans for an IPO offer a small glint of positivity to the London Stock Exchange, which last year suffered its biggest net outflow of companies since the global financial crisis. A total of 88 businesses delisted or transferred their primary listings from the LSE last year.
Revolut officially launched in Ukraine. Revolut has connected to the electronic government system 'Diia' and now allows users to register through this platform. This information was published by the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine.
JPMorgan files two lawsuits over Viva Wallet. In a Greek lawsuit the bank is claiming €916 million ($943 million) over allegations that Viva’s CEO, and three other executives deprived JPMorgan of the value of its 2022 investment. The second case in the UK filed this week against Werealize.com claims it breached shareholder agreements with JPMorgan.
CRYPTO
Garanti BBVA’s to provide crypto trading services. Bit2Me will be used as the bank’s trading execution center. The partnership between BBVA and the crypto exchange is a strong signal of more things are brewing on the horizon, according to Bit2Me’s chief sales officer. Read More
Garanti BBVA Crypto partners with Bitstamp. The aim of this partnership is to allow customers to trade in multiple currencies. In addition, investors in both crypto currencies and traditional financial markets can trade a series of approved digital assets, thus helping to boost crypto access and adoption in Türkiye.
Acuity Trading launches TradeSignals. The tool adds a new layer of automation to an already robust suite of trading tools. The new AI-driven signals tool caters specifically to the FX and cryptocurrency markets, bringing an unparalleled blend of machine precision and market intuition.
Stablecoin payments are catching on in the ‘Real World’. The total market capitalization of all stablecoins in circulation has ballooned from less than $140 billion at the end of 2023 to more than $200 billion today. They are a kind of crypto token designed to mimic the price of a fiat currency, usually the US dollar.
PARTNERSHIPS
Network International partners with Money Fellows. Under the partnership, Network will provide Money Fellows with its ‘Digital Payments as a Service’ platform with value added services including advanced fraud prevention, fully secure payment functionality, as well as a full suite of back office managed services.
Nuvei partners with Gaming Innovation Group (GiG). This collaboration enables iGaming operators to optimize their payments functionality through their existing integration with GiG's CoreX solution. Also, they can leverage Nuvei's payments expertise across global iGaming markets to maximize their revenues and accelerate their growth.
DONEDEAL
Tide to raise £50m via share sale. The offering may involve the issuance of new shares, as well as an opportunity for existing investors to reduce or offload part of their stakes. With operations in the UK, Germany and India, Tide provides business banking services to over one million SME customers.
Defiant is a new European VC firm that uses data and products to make better investments. Joseph Pizzolato and Cam Rail have already secured $30 million and plan to raise as much as $70 million for their initial fund. Defiant is willing to lead or co-lead funding rounds. The goal is to spend anything between $1 million and $10 million per deal.
M&As
Backpack acquires FTX EU. The acquisition was approved by the FTX bankruptcy court and the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC), paving the way for Backpack to expand its footprint in the European Union. The company said in an announcement that will offer a suite of crypto derivative services across the EU, including perpetual futures.
ClearScore acquires Aro Finance, Argos and Asda Partner. "This acquisition allows us to continue our growth by expanding into two complementary areas as a credit broker, namely embedded finance and secured second charge lending," Justin Basini, ClearScore's chief executive, said.
TransUnion acquires credit platform Monevo. “This acquisition is the natural next step in Monevo's future growth and success, and would unlock new opportunities to innovate by uniting these two complementary businesses, whose values are already strongly aligned,” said Monevo CEO.
MOVERS & SHAKERS
Wise expands leadership for EMEA. Wise announced the appointment of Lauren Langbridge as CD for North America, and Manuel Sandhofer as its new GM for Europe, Middle East and Brazil. They will oversee and scale Wise Platform’s strategic partnerships, growth, and commercial strategy across the regions, as demand for its solutions rapidly grows.
Curve appoints Lord Stanley Fink as Chair of Board. Lord Fink’s leadership will guide Curve through its next phase of strategic scaling. This appointment underscores Curve’s commitment to leadership in the evolving digital wallet market.
Finastra names Chris Walters as new CEO. “Chris brings a wealth of experience from senior executive leadership positions, driving innovation and scaling technology companies,” Finastra said in a news release. Read more
PXP appoints Alex Apergis as CRO in brand transformation. Apergis is a prominent business leader in the payments industry and comes with a wealth of experience forming and scaling global distribution channels. He has previously held leadership roles across in the payments space.