For this piece, we analyzed the most recent news from fintech and selected the top relevant insights for you. As main highlights, this week was marked by the Pro-Trump Riot at US Capitol, which has further ramifications for the fintech world as well, such as a new ban on any US transactions with Chinese fintech firms. In addition, we look at a new blockchain protocol, discover the most recent mergers, acquisitions and partnerships, analyze the current foreign exchange market, and look at the latest IPOs.
Enjoy the material!
US ban on Chinese fintechs…
President Trump against US transactions with Chinese fintechs
President Trump has signed an order that aims to place a ban on US transactions with eight major Chinese apps, including names such as Ant Group’s Alipay and Tencent Holdings’ online wallets. This proposed ban on the fintech services comes in an effort to secure national power against Chinese firms. However, it will come down to President-elect Joe Biden whether or not to enforce these new policies. Read more
Blockchain protocol in place…
SwiftPass and Wallyt form partnership with blockchain protocol Findora
SwiftPass, a mobile service provider, and Wallyt, an international mobile payments platform, have partnered with Findora, a blockchain network that leverages zero-knowledge proof technology to ensure privacy for financial transactions while remaining auditable, to support a payment network. By incorporating the capabilities of Wallyt and SwiftPass, Findora hopes to enhance its data safety and privacy for clients. Read more
On Mergers, Acquisitions & Partnerships…
Orange Bank acquires Anytime neobank
Orange Bank, a bank launched by French telecom company Orange, has announced the acquisition of Anytime, a French neobank dedicated to independent professionals, small businesses and associations, enabling the former to address the professionals and small business market. The financial details of this deal have not been disclosed. With this new purchase, Orange Bank aims to further support its group’s client footprint and ensure alignment with the “core multi-service” strategy of Orange. Read more
XTM Teams Up With KABN North America
XTM, a Canada-based fintech that provides mobile banking and payment card solutions, announced that it has teamed up with KABN Systems North America, a fintech company that specializes in continuous online identity verification, management and monetization, to launch KABN Visa card and digital banking solution. According to XTM, users of KABN’s Liquid Avatar platform will have the added features of XTM’s “bank-in-a-box” solution. Read more
AirPay partners with UnionPay and launches Alipay campaign
AirPay Financial Technologies, an Australian marketing and payment service provider, partnered up with UnionPay, an international payment network, in order to offer its customers in Australia UnionPay Online Payment services. Read more
Foreign Exchange…
Standard Chartered has gone live on Cobalt’s foreign exchange market infrastructure platform
Standard Chartered, a British multinational banking and financial services company, announced it went live on Cobalt’s foreign exchange market infrastructure platform for its prime brokerage and executing broking business. Cobalt allows for dynamic credit allocation across clients and counterparties, cutting operational costs and reducing credit, settlement and operational risk. Read more
On IPOs…
Affirm targets an $9bn valuation with its IPO
Affirm, a fintech services company that offers installment loans to consumers at the point of sale, plans on achieving a $9bn valuation in its forthcoming IPO. The company intends to sell shares between $33 and $38 each, raising $935m in total. Affirm has also started 2021 by completing the acquisition of PayBright announced in mid-December. Read more
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