Friday May 28, 2021 –
Here are the new and noteworthy stories we have been following this week.
Federal Reserve Board announces approval of application by Adyen, N.V.
The Federal Reserve Board announced its approval of the application by Adyen to establish a federally-licensed branch in San Francisco, California; the opening of the US branch is pending approval from the OCC.
https://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/pressreleases/orders20210524a.htm
Big banks look for post-pandemic rebound of credit card revenue
Large US credit card issuers are gearing for an increase in credit card spending and balances as the economy opens up stepping up their marketing and also easing credit standards; according to a Mintel Comperemedia estimate about 260 million offers were sent out in March.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-banks-creditcards-idCAKCN2D50S2
ACI Worldwide and J.P. Morgan Collaborate to Offer Merchants in Europe Greater Choice of Payment Options
ACI and JP Morgan are teaming to enable merchants in certain European countries to deliver in-store payment acceptance capabilities to their customers; through this collaboration, merchants will have a pre-certified and easy-to-onboard service combining J.P. Morgan’s European acquiring platform with the ACI Omni-Commerce solution.
BNY Mellon’s New Solution Leads the Digital Bill-Pay Revolution
BNY Mellon has announced the launch of a real-time electronic bill (e-bill) and payment solution enabling US businesses to present digital bills to their consumers in real-time and receive instant payment via the consumers’ preferred online and mobile banking channels; the e-bills will be sent over the RTP® network operated by The Clearing House.
Visa takes a swipe in fintech, builds new online marketplace
Visa has expanded its ‘Visa Fintech Partner Connect’ program which was initially launched in Europe across all global regions; the goal of this program is to help banks and financial institutions (that are clients of Visa’s) as well as other fintechs connect with a vetted set of technology providers so they can quickly get to market without the cost and complexity of building the back-end technology in-house.
https://techcrunch.com/2021/05/26/visa-takes-a-swipe-in-fintech-builds-new-online-marketplace/
China-Backed African Payment Startup OPay Raising $400 Million to Fuel Expansion
OPay, an African digital payment startup based in Nigeria, is reportedly in talks with investors to raise as much as $400 million at a valuation of more than $1.5 billion, three times its most recent valuation; if the funding does go through, OPay will use the money to expand into other markets.
HSBC to Exit Most U.S. Retail Banking
HSBC has finally announced the exit of its retail banking business in the US selling its east coast branches to Citizens Bank and its west coast branches to Cathy Bank; HSBC will retain around two dozen locations, which will become international wealth centers providing banking and wealth-management services to high-net-worth clients.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/hsbc-to-exit-u-s-retail-banking-11622077164
Irish start-up Wayflyer raises $76m and secures $100m debt facility
Wayflyer, an Irish start-up that provides revenue-based financing and marketing analytics for online businesses, has raised $76 million in funding and expanded its debt facilities by an additional $100 million; the funding will be used to support Wayflyer’s product development and international expansion.
CBA ups digital game with Open Banking move and $50 million investment in disruptive businesses
Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) will become the first of Australia’s Big Four banks to let customers see balances from other banks within its banking app under the country’s new Open Banking rules; this comes as the bank sharpens its focus on digital transformation with a $50 million investment in Little Birdie, an online shopping startup and Amber, which provides consumers with subscription-based access to wholesale electricity prices.
Investing app Acorns to go public through a blank-check merger valued at $2.2 billion
Savings and investing app Acorn has announced plans to go public by merging with with a SPAC, Pioneer Merger Corp. at a valuation of $2.2 billion; Acorns’ most popular offerings let customers automatically invest the spare change from debit or credit card purchases into index funds.
