Friday April 19, 2019 –
Here are the new and noteworthy stories we have been following this week.
OCBC and Rapyd team on instant mobile payments
OCBC and Rapyd are working to leverage Singapore’s national P2P funds transfer service, PayNow to enable OCBC customers to make payments from their bank accounts at e-commerce merchants.
https://www.finextra.com/newsarticle/33689/ocbc-and-rapyd-team-on-instant-mobile-payments
Brex, the credit card for startups, raises $100M debt round
Brex has raised $100 million in debt financing from Barclays Investment Bank to expand its credit card program from startups to large companies.
https://techcrunch.com/2019/04/16/brex-the-credit-card-for-startups-raises-100m-debt-round/
Salary Finance raises $32.8m, hires SoFi co-founder for US push
Salary Finance, a UK based company focused on salary-linked savings and loans for employees, has raised $32.8 million in a Series C round and is gearing for its US expansion.
T-Mobile’s No-Fee Checking Gets Big Marketing Push. Here’s What You Need to Know
Following a soft launch in November 2018, T-Mobile is moving forward with a nationwide roll out of its banking service offering a 4% APY on balances upto $3,000.
http://fortune.com/2019/04/18/t-mobile-no-fee-checking-banking/
Stripe acquires Irish payments start-up Touchtech
Stripe has acquired Touchtech, a startup that provides strong customer authentication (SCA) technology for financial institutions to comply with new online authentication regulations.
Singapore Airlines Partners with Adyen to Speed Digital Payment Journeys
Singapore Airline is partnering with Adyen to support online and in-app payments and will be using Adyen’s direct card acquiring capabilities.
Sezzle Raises $5.6M in Funding
Sezzle, a POS Installment lender has raised $5.6 million led by Continental Investors and is preparing to list on the Australian Stock Exchange.
http://www.finsmes.com/2019/04/sezzle-raises-5-6m-in-funding.html
Venmo’s Latest Effort to Turn a Profit: Credit Cards
Venmo is considering launching a credit card product and is reportedly in discussions with Synchrony on an issuing deal.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/venmos-latest-effort-to-turn-a-profit-credit-cards-11555666201
American banks’ earnings are boosted by retail business
Fintech Robinhood Said to Be Pursuing National Bank Charter
According to a report by the San Francisco Business Times, Robinhood has applied for a national bank charter with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC).
Brazil’s Itaú sees card processor unit profitable after no-charge move
