ila Bank, the digital mobile-only bank powered by Bank ABC, has unveiled a new credit card rewards program, ‘ila Rewards,’ powered by Mastercard’s PwR platform. The customizable rewards program enables customers to redeem rewards in a seamless and instant way through the ila Bank application. ila Bank is the first bank in Bahrain to utilize Mastercard’s PwR service and the first issuer in MENA to proceed with full in-app integration to offer credit card holders a personalized end-to-end digital experience journey.

PIMFA WealthTech, the FinTech platform and digital market network created to drive innovation and enhance collaboration between FinTechs and the Wealth Management sector, in association with Morningstar, have announced the results of their first collaboration.

Morningstar and PIMFA’s tech sprint – ‘the Duty of Care Tech Challenge’ - was designed to challenge FinTechs to develop solutions to help Wealth Management Firms and Advisers navigate the new Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) Consumer Duty regulation.

The burden of financial worry is having a significant impact on the mental wellbeing of millions across the UK, particularly young adults, new research from responsible lender, Creditspring, has found.

Flutterwave, Africa's leading payments technology company has announced the launch of Swap, powered by Flutterwave, in partnership with Wema Bank and Kadavra BDC. Swap is a cutting-edge solution that is backed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to serve as a secure & reliable digital platform for Nigerians to have immediate access to foreign currency at competitive exchange rates.

finova, the UK’s largest cloud-based mortgage and savings software provider, has partnered with Sail Wills, the digital will-writing service, to incorporate its self-service will templates into finova’s Broker CRM.

As the cost-of-living crisis pushes record numbers of people to the financial edge, with many relying on loans, overdrafts or credit, Moneyhub Decisioning warns that many Brits may be at risk of falling into a spiral of missed payments and loan defaults.

Of those who have experienced difficulties, a tenth (10%) said they believe the product they were on was not the most suitable for their circumstances. 

Spectrum Markets (“Spectrum”), the pan-European trading venue for securitised derivatives, today welcomes independent retail broker Directa SIM (“Directa”) as its newest member.

Directa is a pioneer in online trading in Italy, servicing over 61,000 active accounts representing combined customer assets of around €3.5bn. It has been listed on Borsa Italiana since December 2021. It will be a direct trading member of Spectrum, using proprietary technology to act as its own settlement agent.

In an era of rapid technological advancement, security, and compliance remain paramount concerns for businesses in the digital asset age. Addressing this problem, wallet infrastructure and custody solutions platform ‘Liminal’ has joined hands with Confide, a leading CryptoCurrency Security Standard Auditor (CCSSA) organization to launch a comprehensive e-book that provides guidance for exchanges and custody providers in implementing CCSS requirements.

Digital payments expert, PayPoint, has become the first Open Banking provider to offer bank to bank transfers as a Payment Initiation Service Provider (PISP) to Pay-As-You-Go energy customers with its new Pay By Bank service. PISP credit transfers operate on the existing interbank infrastructure, but provide customers with an easier payment journey, as a PISP payment requires fewer steps and less data entry than other methods while delivering cost efficiencies for any business.

Unique challenges faced by the banking and financial services sector have made it complex for organisations to roll out clear flexible working policies. Robust regulations, the need for watertight security and the industry’s roots embedded deep in the physical heart of the world’s financial hubs create a challenging environment to shift from traditional to hybrid working models.