Think You’re a FinTech Pro? Time to Prove It
Hey Payments Fanatic!
I have an exciting announcement: I’ve launched the FinTech Quiz!
The first quiz is live now, and this round closes on August 14th at 12:30 PM CEST.
If you’ve been reading my newsletters for a while, you know I love sharing the latest deals, launches, and shake-ups in FinTech. But I thought, why not make it more interesting and turn reading into a challenge?
Each week, you’ll get 11 FinTech questions based on the news covered in my newsletters.
Here’s the fun part: score a perfect 11/11 and you’ll secure your spot on the Leaderboard of Legends.
Everyone’s got that one colleague who’s always up for a challenge. Now it’s your turn to show where you stand, defend your spot, and prove your FinTech knowledge.
👉 What’s your score? Drop it in the comments, then share your results on LinkedIn and tag me so I can see!
Let’s see if YOU are the FinTech pro.
If you stick around on the Leaderboard of Legends for a while, there may be a little something special coming your way. 😉
Start the quiz here, and let the games begin.
Now, scroll down to read the latest Payments developments 👇 you never know, some might show up in the Quiz 👀
Cheers,
INSIGHTS
🌍 Airwallex has been quietly collecting licenses 🤯
Airwallex holds 60+ financial licenses and regulatory registrations globally, across the US, UK, EU, China, APAC, and Latin America.
NEWS
🌎 How a smarter currency choice can save the sale by Francisco Huerta, Chief Product Officer, PagoNxt Payments. For Latin America's digital economy to thrive globally, the focus must shift to providing transparent, fair, and seamless currency conversion experiences that build trust and ensure successful transactions. Read the full article
🇳🇬 FinTechCashless Economy gains ground as E-payments reach ₦295.5 trillion in Q1 2025. A recent report by ACI Worldwide projects Nigeria’s real-time payment transactions to reach 19.7 billion by 2028, up from 7.9 billion recorded in 2023.
🌍 Nium expands Verify in Europe through partnership with iPiD. As part of this deepening collaboration, iPiD is also leveraging Nium’s Verify technology to enhance its validation capabilities, marking a mutual partnership between two of Singapore’s most prominent FinTech innovators.
🇺🇸 Google Pay expands rewards and BNPL options with Affirm and Zip. Google announced new features designed to provide online shoppers in the U.S. with more choice, convenience, and value. Chrome autofill now displays reward details for over 100 credit cards, helping users choose the best option for their purchases.
🇦🇪 UAE closes in on launch of Digital Dirham. The CBUAE has already put in place the core infrastructure and can now issue, redeem, and distribute the Digital Dirham to licensed financial institutions through a custom-built issuance platform utilising DLT.
🇰🇿 Alipay+ links with Kaspi.kz for cross-border payments in Kazakhstan. Users of 12 Alipay+ enabled payments can now scan-to-pay via Kaspi QR. Kazakhstan is the first country in Central Asia to accept Alipay+, according to a press release. Read more
🇺🇸 Flutterwave boosts margins in profitable growth push. Africa’s top payments tech firm achieved 20% year-on-year growth in enterprise transaction volume while securing 20 additional U.S. money transmitter licenses, bringing its direct regulatory footprint to 34 states.
🇺🇸 Unlimit adds an integrated Click-to-Pay flow to its online payments solution for merchants worldwide. This new feature marks a significant step forward in Unlimit’s mission to deliver faster, more secure, and frictionless payment solutions that drive growth for merchants.
🇺🇸 Bleap launches Global Send. With Global Send, users can send money instantly from their Bleap wallet to anyone in the world using only a phone number or any payment address, including a crypto wallet, payment link, or traditional bank account.
🇮🇳 India's UPI system faces backlash as small vendors receive GST notices based on digital transaction data. This has led to a shift back to cash transactions, with vendors fearing tax scrutiny. Concerns rise that aggressive formalisation efforts may push the informal economy further underground, undermining the goals of financial inclusion and transparency.
🇨🇦 Nuvei taps stablecoin rails to power payouts in emerging markets. By leveraging stablecoin rails to facilitate the backend movement of value, Nuvei offers businesses a powerful new way to move fiat funds across borders with greater speed, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness, helping reduce reliance on costly intermediaries.
🇮🇳 Paytm's unit gets Indian central bank nod to operate as online payment aggregator. In August 2024, the company said it would apply to the Reserve Bank of India to seek a payment aggregator license. That move came seven months after the central bank ordered it to wind down its payments bank.
🇬🇧 New FinTech from Wise and Revolut alumni Riva Money scores £2m investment. The company’s stated mission is to address the high costs and slow settlement times associated with cross-border transactions. Read more
🇺🇸 FinTech giant Stripe is building ‘Tempo’ blockchain with crypto VC Paradigm. The FinTech giant Stripe is developing a new blockchain, according to a recent job posting on a site for the crypto lobby group Blockchain Association. Tempo is a high-performance, payments-focused blockchain.
🇺🇸 Circle posts second-quarter loss and sees revenue increase 53%. The eye-popping success of Circle’s June 5 IPO, its shares traded almost 10 times their offering price at one point, spoke to the optimism surrounding the potential growth to be found in this once-obscure corner of the crypto market.
🌍 HoneyCoin secures $4.9M funding to power cross-border payments with stablecoin. The investment will fuel HoneyCoin’s mission to transform cross-border payments using stablecoin technology, driving faster, cheaper, and more compliant financial solutions across Africa and global markets.
🇮🇳 Neon and Razorpay partner to bring world-class DTC payments to the gaming market in India. The integration enables Neon clients to accept payments from players in India using local currency via UPI‑enabled methods, in addition to credit and debit cards.
🇧🇷 Gowd strengthens executive team with strategic appointments in technology and expansion. It appoints Juan Trujillo as Chief Technology Officer and Raul Guisado as Head of Expansion. With a mission to modernize cross-border payments and decentralized finance, these appointments mark a significant milestone in Gowd's rapid global scale-up.
🇺🇸 Transak raises $16M from IDG Capital and Tether to scale stablecoin payment network. The company plans to use the funds to expand its stablecoin payments stack and enter new markets. Continue reading
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