Korea Financial Telecommunications and Clearings Institute (KFTC) launched a secure OTP authentication service built with Trustonic and Mirae Technology. KDB Bank integrated the solution first, with availability extended to other Korean financial institutions. The service used Trustonic's Secured Platform technology embedded in over 2 billion devices.
Entities: KFTC · Trustonic · Mirae Technology · KDB Bank
Standard Chartered established SC Ventures, a new business unit dedicated to investing in fintechs, sponsoring ventures, and driving digital innovation. The unit focuses on distributed ledger technology, payments, and other emerging areas. It builds on prior fintech proofs-of-concept conducted by the bank.
Nordic Capital fund acquired a majority share of Trustly, a Swedish open banking payments fintech that enables direct bank-to-bank transactions for merchants and platforms. The acquisition positions Trustly for accelerated growth in embedded account-to-account payments across Europe.
Betterment Holdings and The Bancorp Inc. announced the continuation of their partnership, with The Bancorp serving as Betterment's payment processing partner since 2013. The Bancorp provides BaaS-like sponsor bank services including ACH origination and prepaid card issuance for non-bank financial companies. The renewal underscores the importance of sponsor bank relationships in enabling fintech platforms.
RecargaPay, a Brazilian fintech banking platform offering mobile payments and prepaid card infrastructure with API integrations, raised $22 million in Series B funding. Investors included IFC (World Bank Group), TheVentureCity, Ventech, DN Capital, FJ Labs, and over 100 angel investors. The round supports expansion of banking-like services for underserved users in Latin America.
Genesis Financial, Inc. announced the launch of its Epoint program, an integrated suite of embedded financial services delivered through partnerships with regulated U.S. banks. The program bundles secure debit cards for retail and online purchases targeting U.S. and Latin American markets. The company was finalizing agreements with several U.S. banks at the time of its SEC filing.
Investcorp partnered with Bahrain FinTech Bay to build infrastructure supporting fintech API development in the MENA region. The collaboration aims to accelerate fintech innovation and ecosystem growth in Bahrain. This partnership signals growing institutional support for embedded finance infrastructure in the Middle East.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Government of Maharashtra signed a Memorandum of Understanding for closer fintech cooperation. The agreement aims to facilitate cross-border collaboration on fintech innovation, potentially including banking and financial services technology. It reflects growing international regulatory interest in supporting fintech-bank ecosystems.
Entities: Monetary Authority of Singapore · Government of Maharashtra
Genesis Financial, Inc. completed a Capital Stock Exchange Agreement with EPOINT Payment Corp. and a Membership Interest Exchange Agreement with Fintech Holdings LLC. The transaction was structured as a reverse business combination under ASC 805. EPOINT also signed a Membership Interest Purchase Agreement for SmartPay Leasing LLC valued at $48.5 million in cash plus assumed liabilities.
Cardlytics, a data-driven marketing fintech, went public on NASDAQ (CDLX) by issuing 5.4 million shares. The company's Purchase Intelligence platform enables advertising within banking environments. CEO highlighted the IPO as a means to strengthen existing bank partnerships that power its embedded analytics offering.
YapStone, a payments platform for marketplaces, raised $71 million in Series C funding led by Premji Invest with participation from Mastercard. The round supports YapStone's embedded payments infrastructure for marketplace and platform businesses. Mastercard's involvement signals growing card network interest in embedded finance distribution.
Visa and digital banking fintech Revolut partnered on prepaid Visa card issuance in the UK. The deal enabled Revolut to offer Visa-branded prepaid cards to its growing customer base. This partnership represents an embedded finance model where a card network enables a fintech's consumer-facing banking products.
Radius Bank partnered with NYC-based fintech Mantl to launch a new digital account opening platform. The collaboration aimed to modernize the bank's onboarding process for new customers. This represents an early example of a community bank leveraging fintech infrastructure to compete with larger digital-first institutions.
The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision published 'Sound Practices: Implications of Fintech Developments for Banks and Bank Supervisors.' The guidance addresses risks and opportunities from bank-fintech partnerships and technology adoption. It sets expectations for how supervisors should approach fintech-related activities at banks.
Entities: Basel Committee on Banking Supervision · Financial Stability Board
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority issued revised authorization guidelines for virtual banks in February 2018, establishing principles for licensing digital-only banking operations. This reflected a more open regulatory stance toward challenger banks and set the stage for virtual bank license applications in Hong Kong.
The U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 1426, the Federal Savings Association Charter Flexibility Act of 2017, allowing federal savings associations to exercise national bank powers without converting charters. This expanded operational flexibility for financial institutions and indirectly benefited the embedded finance ecosystem.
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency outlined how it would evaluate fintech companies applying for a special purpose national bank charter. This signaled the agency's openness to considering fintech charter applications and established criteria for future applicants. The move was a key step in the U.S. regulatory framework for fintech banking.
Entities: Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) · Basel Committee on Banking Supervision
ABN AMRO Clearing Bank collaborated with fintech firm Nxchange to develop a blockchain-based alternative to traditional escrow accounts. Nxchange launched the solution in February 2018. The product leveraged distributed ledger technology to provide a more efficient and transparent escrow process.
Mastercard expanded its Engage platform to enable technology integrations for issuers, merchants, and IoT device manufacturers. The platform supports capabilities including digital wallets, tokenization, instant payouts, and mobile POS solutions. This expansion strengthens Mastercard's role as an embedded payments infrastructure provider.
Finastra acquired Olfa Soft SA to provide banks with an end-to-end electronic FX trading platform. The acquisition enhances Finastra's treasury and capital markets offering with digital FX capabilities. This strengthens Finastra's position as a banking technology provider enabling digitized financial services.
Varo Money announced a $45M Series B financing round, publicly disclosed on January 18, 2018. The mobile banking fintech had applied for a national bank charter from the OCC and FDIC in July 2017, aiming to become the first U.S. national bank designed for smartphones. The funding was intended to support its charter application process and product expansion.
Entities: Varo Money · Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) · Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)
Originate, a financial services software company, received an undisclosed investment from Pacific Growth Investors. The funding supports working capital and international expansion. Originate builds software that redesigns legacy banking systems through client partnerships, aligning with BaaS infrastructure needs.
Dutch Finance Lab raised €30 million shortly after its January 2018 launch, led by investor Pieter Schoen and a banking partner. The funds primarily support client credit lines and acquisitions. The company leverages fintech products to offer customized funding and credit insurance solutions.
Indian payment gateway Razorpay raised $20 million in a Series B round led by Tiger Global and Y Combinator Continuity, with participation from Matrix Partners. The funding came amid reported interest from Stripe, PayPal, Amazon, and Adyen for potential partnerships or acquisitions to expand in India.
Entities: Razorpay · Tiger Global · Y Combinator Continuity · Matrix Partners