JiPay throws in the towel

Singapore-based remittance app JiPay is being wound down. CEO Dayana Yermolayeva broke the news on LinkedIn. Why it matters: You rarely get honesty like this. Read it and wonder what might have been. Yermolayeva said: “I decided to wind down JiPay. We didn’t run out of money and we weren’t struggling to grow. In fact, … Read more

Jingle Pay joins forces with AFS

Jingle Pay

Financial app Jingle Pay, a provider of money services in the Middle East, North Africa and Pakistan, has joined forces with Arab Financial Services (AFS), a digital payments solutions provider and fintech enabler in the Middle East and Africa (MEA). So what? The pair say that they can now deliver “…unique digital payments and exceptional customer experience in the Kingdom of Bahrain.” It will … Read more

Buy a bit of an A380?

A380 auction

Neil Martin wonders if you’d like a bit of an A380 – the super ‘jumbo’ of Toulouse. This week you have the chance to buy a bit of an Airbus A380, the famous and mostly French-built leviathan which was designed to take on the famous Boeing 747. The wide-body, two deck A380 was conceived in … Read more

New fund targets Moroccan startups

Moroccan Startups

BMCA Capital Investment has launched a new venture capital fund to help Moroccan startups. The Moroccan based fund is raising money from local and overseas investors, hoping to hit MAD 50m ($4.5m). 👉Why it matters: Morocco is a hot spot for startups, many in the fintech and agritech spaces. Local and international investors are seeing … Read more

US Dexy launch

Hybrid banking app Dexy is about to launch in the US. It aims to help underbanked customers in emerging markets. It provides access to US dollars and cryptocurrencies. And it will enables SWIFT transfers to over 150 countries and the storage of stablecoin USDC and cryptocurrencies Bitcoin and Ethereum.

The Open Finance Association kicks-off

Open Finance Association

The Open Finance Association (OFA) has been launched with 13 fintechs as members. Why: To further open up financial data and payments for consumers and businesses through API (application programming interfaces) technology. What does it aim to do? enable consumers and businesses to access their data across all their financial accounts, and make use of … Read more

Israel comes out on top

Israel comes first in the 2022 Digital Quality of Life Index. This study focusses on the quality of digital wellbeing across 117 countries (92% of the global population). The study indexes each country according to five pillars that impact a population’s overall digital quality of life. Top ten are: Israel Demark Germany France Sweden The … Read more

Surge in B2B embedded finance demand

Embedded finance

Most US B2B businesses are familiar with embedded finance and already offer a solution. Key takeaway: The top three critical business pain points being solved by embedded finance today are: customer retention, cash flow management and revenue growth. So says Juniper Research in collaboration with Galileo Financial Technologies. Take note: Galileo Financial Technologies is a … Read more

Cloud Bike enters Moroccan market

Telus bike

Moroccan startup Cloud Bike is beginning to sell its Telus electric bikes brand to its home market, having previously exclusively exported to the EU and the US. Sigificance: Demand for sustainable Telus bikes in the home market is rising and the 15% sold in Morocco will commercialise electric bikes in the country. More about the bike: known … Read more

Singapore most financially inclusive market

Hands linked

Singapore is the world’s most financially inclusive market says a new index research report. It comes top in the inaugural Global Financial Inclusion Index which reflects the extent of the underbanked problem. Argentina came bottom of the new index. Why this is being flagged: Financial inclusion is key to global economic progress. The company behind the … Read more

Total Banking-as-a-Service platform revenue to skyrocket 

The total revenue derived from Banking-as-a-Service platforms will be over $38bn globally by 2027 says research house Juniper.  Why it matters: Brands are using Banking-as-a-Service, or more particularly, embedded finance, to take control of their own customer finance journey proposition. And that means a sea-change for banks, as they spend less time consumer facing, and … Read more

Casablanca remains a top financial hub, but lags in fintech

Cars in front of Casablanca City.

Although Casablanca is still Africa’s leading financial hub, it ranks just 91 globally when it comes to being a fintech hub. The city, home to nearly four million people, boasts the largest stock exchange in North African. Key points: findings come from a new report from the Global Financial Centers Index; Casablanca ranks 54th internationally; the … Read more

CCaaS not sole plaything of fintechs

A new report is making an argument that Credit-Cards-as-a-Service is not just the plaything of the fintechs. The Aite Matrix: Credit-Cards-as-a-Service report from Boston-based Aite-Novarica argues: “Credit-Cards-as-a-Service (CCAS) is often used to define a small or startup fintech firm that offers an all-in-one credit card issuance solution, but most features associated with this new term … Read more

HolyWally joins Tokyo Financial Award mentoring programme

Singapore-based HolyWally, the world’s first Wallet-as-a-Service platform that allows companies to quickly build their own digital wallet, has been selected to join the Tokyo Financial Award, a mentoring programme. Initially 15 companies, from Japan and internationally, have been chosen from a list of 108 applications, covering 26 different countries and regions. The 15 were selected … Read more