Stay up to date with the latest news from fintech! This week, we bring you updates on regulations, legislation, partnerships, and more. Enjoy reading!
SMB financial health platform Nav acquires Nuula (Fintech Futures)
Nav, a financial health platform for small businesses in the US, has acquired the assets of Canadian fintech start-up Nuula for an undisclosed sum. Launched in 2021, Nuula is a financial services and technology company focused on serving the small business community, providing business insights and financial products to small business owners. The acquisition of Nuula’s tech will enable Nav to add a number of additional mobile app features to build out its existing offerings for small businesses, allowing firms to more easily compare financing options based on actual financial data. Read more
Luno Slashes 35% of Workforce as Crypto Fallout Rages On (Fintech News)
Luno was the first digital assets exchange to be approved by the Securities Commission in Malaysia, opening the door for Malaysians to trade and store cryptocurrency assets in a more regulated setting. But as challenging macroeconomic factors adversely impact sectoral growth across the board, the tech industry overall and the cryptocurrency industry have been hit by waves of layoffs as companies struggle to find ways to rebalance their business plans towards more conservative outlooks for 2023. Read more
PayPal faces antitrust investigation in Germany (Fintech Futures)
Germany’s Federal Cartel Office, the Bundeskartellamt, has initiated proceedings against PayPal regarding what the regulator refers to as “practices possibly foreclosing competitors and restricting price competition”. The Bundeskartellamt’s action is concerned with PayPal’s terms and conditions, which the regulator claims prevent merchants from offering goods or services at lower prices if customers choose a payment method that is cheaper than PayPal. Read more
Fintech lenders call on government to boost SME access to finance (P2P Finance)
The Federation of Small Businesses and a group of fintech lenders including Funding Circle have urged the government to improve small businesses’ access to funding, to protect the UK’s economic growth prospects. In a letter to Business Secretary Grant Shapps, seen by a number of publications, the business group and lenders said that more needs to be done to close the £22bn funding gap for smaller businesses, citing Bank of England data. Read more
Lagos’ Blue Rail Line Accepts Contactless Payments for the Unbanked (Fintech Times)
NFC-powered cashless fare collection technology by Nigerian fintech Touch and Pay Technologies (TAP) can now be used on Lagos’ new mass transit ‘Blue Rail Line’. The Blue Line project in Nigeria is a 27km long rail route designed to run from Okokomaiko, in Western Lagos, eastward to Marina. Currently, the first phase of the route is complete, covering a distance of 13km. Payment to use the rail service is powered by Tap’s turnstiles and cards. The payment company enables an estimated 200,000 banked and unbanked passengers to access the train. Read more
Fintech app Plum expands into five European countries (UK Tech News)
Money management app Plum is launching in five new countries: Italy, Portugal, the Netherlands, Greece and Cyprus. Plum is a subscription financial management app that offers investments, stocks, pensions and a physical spending card. Features include automated saving and investing. The five new countries add to its existing presence in the UK, France, Spain, Ireland and Belgium. Read more
OV-chipkaart out? Pay for your train trip by phone or bank card (DutchNews.nl)
Train travellers will be able to pay for second class tickets by debit card, credit card and phone from January 31 following a number of contactless payment trials at the main stations. Operators Arriva in Limburg and Qbuzz in Zuid-Holland are also reducing use of the OV-chipkaart public transport smart card, although it will not be phased out completely. Travellers will still be able to buy a personal or, if they prefer not to share their data, an anonymous version. Read more
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