The latest fintech news that we bring you focus on acquisitions and mergers, launches of new programmes, innovative subscription models for banking, fresh national bank charters, partnerships and collaborations, cyber threats to be considered, money transfer offerings, interesting Bitcoin services seeing an uprise, and updates on the latest Google Pay app. Dive into the updates and enjoy the selection of materials!
Does BlackRock really “rock” those acquisitions? Apparently yes…
BlackRock to acquire investment adviser Aperio (FinSMEs)
BlackRock, an American investment management corporation, is set to purchase Aperio, an investment adviser company for $1.05 billion in cash. With the new acquisition, Aperio will boost BlackRock’s SMA assets by approximately 30% to over $160 billion and expand personalization capabilities available to wealth managers from BlackRock via tax-managed strategies across factors, broad market indexing, and investor ESG preferences across all asset classes. Read more
Visa gains more momentum on the Latin American market…
Visa purchases YellowPepper, a Latin American banking and payment solutions provider (Business Wire)
Visa made a new announcement regarding one of its latest acquisitions, YellowPepper, a fintech company supporting financial institutions and startups in Latin America and the Caribbean. With this new addition, Visa plans on further expansion and also acceleration of its “network of networks” strategy, meant to put Visa as the single point of access for initiating multiple transaction types and enabling the secure movement of money. Read more
What is the new talent searching for? IBM has got the answer….
IBM’s IT Infrastructure apprenticeship accelerator program (FinSMEs)
IBM launched a new collar apprenticeship accelerator for its IBM Z clients looking to hire talent across system administrators, system programmers and application developer roles. In partnership with Franklin Apprenticeships and the Urban Institute, this program will recruit and develop candidates from across the US with no previous technology experience required, offering candidates the possibility to learn, access virtual training, and have expertise and mentorship provided by IBM. Read more
Financial wellness apps…
UKRSIBBANK partners with financial wellness fintech Dreams (PYMNTS)
Ukrainian bank UKRSIBBANK, part of BNP Paribas Group, is teaming up with Dreams, a financial wellness fintech startup based in Sweden. With this new collaboration, UKRSIBBANK’s clients will have guidance and more information on how to improve their financial choices and also choose more sustainable finance techniques when handling their accounts. Further in this sense, UKRSIBBANK will maintain a prominent position in the competitive financial ecosystem and futureproof its digital banking offering. Read more
National bank charter…
Oportun Financial aims for national bank charter (PYMNTS)
Oportun Financial, a fintech company that provides financial services from personal loans to financial resources, announced that it has applied for a national bank charter with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). If the company obtains the charter, it will be able to reach 100 million low or moderate-income (LMI) consumers in the US, that Oportun Financial has been planning to engage. Read more
Talking about more partnerships & collaborations…
Ebury partners up with German fintech TrustBills (IBS Intelligence)
Ebury, a financial services company designed to provide services for small and medium-sized businesses that want to trade internationally, has announced a new partnership with TrustBills, a German fintech that helps companies finance their international trade. The new collaboration will help strengthen both companies’ product offering and, with the goal of making international trade easier for corporates as well as increasing access to cross border receivables finance to more market participants. Read more
Bank Hapoalim and Abu Dhabi Global Market uniting forces for a new fintech company (Finextra)
Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), an international financial centre in the capital of the United Arab Emirates, and Israeli Bank Hapoalim are forming a partnership with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), in order to support and promote fintech innovations, ecosystems and market opportunities across UAE and Israel. Main key activities to be undertaken include solutions for smoother international tradings, support for fintech companies and entrepreneurs seeking to scale their presence. Read more
Yapily partners with KashFlow to boost digital bookkeeping service (IBS Intelligence)
Yapily, a fintech startup that offers an open banking-based API platform, has announced a new partnership with KashFlow, an accounting and bookkeeping software, in order to provide its customers with more efficient and secure ways to manage their cash flow. KashFlow’s clients will also benefit from the collaboration, being able to connect and extract account information all from within the KashFlow portal – providing them with their business’ financial health. Read more
Cyberattack aftermath: Lesson from Sopra Steria…
Sopra Steria’s October ransomware attack aftermath (Finextra)
Sopra Steria, an a European information technology consultancy and services company, is expecting a gross negative impact on operating margin of between €40 million and €50 million. The company revealed in October that it experienced a cyberattack from hackers using a new version of Ryuk ransomware. Read more
EPI is on a roll…with 2 more members to join the cause….
EPI welcomes 2 new members: Worldline and Nets (The Paypers)
Worldline, a payments and transactional services, and Nets, a payment solutions provider, have joined the European Payments Initiative (EPI), becoming shareholders of the EPI Interim Company. EPI aims to create a unified, innovative pan-European payment solution leveraging Instant Payment/SEPA Instant Credit Transfer (SCT Inst), and P2P payments. The 2 new members will contribute to the expansion of EPI’s acceptance network on the merchant side in Europe. Read more
And the Bitcoin trend continues…
SBI Holdings joins the Bitcoin Trend (Expert Investor)
SBI Holdings, a financial services company group, launches new Bitcon service called “VCTRADE LENDING”, which will provide customers with the possibility to lend as little as 0.1 BTC and up to 5 bitcoins. With this new service, SBI Holdings aims to provide its clients with high reliability and protection from lender’s bankruptcy, and also optimal trading opportunities.The new service will have no fees or annual membership related costs. However, it would cause deposit costs for the Japanese yen, cryptocurrencies, and withdrawals. Read more
Google Pay app & GooglePlex…
Google Pay app: 3 functions in 1 platform (XDA)
With the new version of Google Pay app, now live in the Google Play Store, users will be able to have an all-in-one mobile bank, finance tracker, and contactless payment service. These new functions will pave the way for Google’s bank account service Plex, launching in 2021. GooglePlex accounts will be free to open, without monthly fees, offer fee-free overdrafts, and free ATM withdrawals in-network. Read more
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