UK-based FinTech, Akoni Hub, embedded sustainability provider ekko, and Bank of London and The Middle East (BLME) have announced the launch of their Planet Saver savings product. Savers will be able to apply for the product using Akoni Hub (part of the Stubben Edge Group).

In partnering with ekko, Akoni Hub and BLME are enabling people with their ‘world-first’ Planet Saver account, a product for savers who want to put the world first when making decisions about their financial futures and allowing them to create a positive environmental impact. Through these accounts, both businesses and individuals can invest and grow their savings at the current market rate, while contributing 1% to a range of environmental impact projects, such as reforestation, animal conservation, and preventing plastic from entering our oceans.

The ‘Planet Saver’ Fixed Term Deposit Account gives savers the opportunity to earn competitive rates on their savings, whilst contributing £1 in every £100 saved to environmental or conservation projects. Initially launched with 3-month and 12-month fixed term deposits, at maturity, savers will receive their capital and share of profit, while supporting a range of sustainable causes in the ekko portfolio. This includes global positive-impact projects such as Tusk, Conservation International, Prevented Ocean Plastic and Gold Standard.

Chris Kenning, Group CEO of Stubben Edge said, “The ’Planet Saver’ account puts power in the hands of savers – the power to make their savings work harder for them while also working smarter for the planet. In a world where finance and conservation are often viewed as mutually exclusive, ‘Planet Saver’ proves that financial services providers, conservation and environmental projects and consumers can come together to provide real-world solutions to the urgent problems faced by societies across the globe.”

Oli Cook, CEO and co-founder of ekko said “We are delighted to be enabling what we believe to be a ‘world-first’ in the ‘Planet Saver Account’, bringing a new way to support conservation efforts to the market in a seamless and efficient way with Stubben Edge, Akoni, and BLME. Through this new product, we will be able to make a real difference to the projects we support, making a real impact across the world. This is just another example of how ekko can embed sustainability into everyday products, and this partnership shows a real commitment from the industry to deliver climate positive impact.”

Andrew Ball, CEO of BLME said, “Planet Saver allows customers to open a savings account which delivers both competitive rates and a positive environmental impact. By partnering with Ekko and Akoni Hub to launch Planet Saver, BLME is helping savers contribute to a range of sustainable causes, including reforestation, wildlife conservation, and the reduction of plastic pollution.”

Dan Bucknell, Executive Director at Tusk commented: “If conservation is to succeed in the long-term, we need to have innovation, new sources of income, and the ability to put benefits to the planet at the heart of our spending habits. This Planet Saver account with ekko, BLME, Stubben Edge, and Akoni Hub provides all three, and Tusk is very excited to be partnering with them and to have the opportunity to convert consumer spending and donations into significant benefit for the people and wildlife of Africa.”

TotallyMoney has announced the launch of an exclusive, industry-first feature, which provides credit card applicants with pre-approval, and up to four guarantees:

• One in five UK adults was declined for credit last year. So customers can avoid credit card rejection, TotallySure offers are pre-approved, meaning that subject to final checks, applicants will be accepted.

• Regulation requires lenders to only provide 51% of credit applications with the Representative APR shown — meaning millions of customers could be downloaded onto a more expensive product. TotallySure offers can come with guaranteed APRs, credit limits, balance transfer offer durations, and purchase offer durations — so customers get the exact offer they applied for.

• In addition to improving transparency, and driving better customer outcomes, TotallySure can help lenders find more suitable borrowers, reduce costs, and improve trust and brand loyalty.

TotallySure is now live. This brand-new feature means customers can apply with confidence and be sure they’ll get the exact offer advertised.

Advertised credit offers aren’t what they might seem

In just 12 months, more than 9 million adults had their credit applications rejected — and one in 20 were declined three times or more*. Each application can leave a hard search on a customer's credit file — and multiple in a short space of time can act as a red flag to lenders, potentially leading to continued rejection and worsening offers.

Meanwhile, regulation means banks only need to give 51% of customers the advertised Representative APR, meaning almost half could receive something very different from what they applied for. However, only one in five people (19%) think that lenders make this clear.

To investigate the extent of downselling, TotallyMoney commissioned Moneycomms‡ to conduct research into 18 of the UK’s biggest balance transfer credit card providers and found:

• A third (6/18) don’t provide pre-application product summary boxes

• Half (9/18) don’t show the full range of APRs the customer could be downsold on

• Barclaycard’s headline balance transfer deal advertises an APR of 24.9%, and an offer duration of 29 months. However, customers could end up with 31.9% and 14 months.

• Meanwhile, HSBC’s leading offer advertises 24.9% APR, and a balance transfer period of 27 months — but applicants could be given 29.9% APR and 14 months.

Additional TotallyMoney research found that just 40% of customers are aware they might receive a different APR to the one advertised, and less than half realized they could be given a different credit limit to the one they applied for.

To give customers confidence in being accepted for a product, and so they know they’ll get exactly what they’re applying for — TotallyMoney launched TotallySure.

An industry that puts customers first

TotallySure is a market-leading feature, and the first to show customers if they’ll be pre-approved, and guaranteed to receive the advertised APR, credit limit, balance transfer offer duration, and purchase offer duration.

- Pre-approval: Applying for credit can leave a hard search on your credit file — and too many can hurt your ability to borrow. Pre-approval means that subject to final checks, applicants will be accepted — helping reduce hard searches and improve certainty.

- Guaranteed APR: Knowing how much a lender will charge you to borrow is essential to managing your money. And while ‘representative APRs' mean almost half of customers could receive a worse offer, TotallySure guarantees the interest rate, and the cost to borrow.

- Guaranteed credit limit: If you’re taking out a card to consolidate debt, or make a purchase, knowing how much money you’ll have access to is essential — and is why TotallySure offers come with guaranteed credit limits.

- Guaranteed balance transfer offer duration: Balance transfer headline offers lead on the 0% duration — but downselling means these can often be cut short. TotallySure offers mean customers get what’s advertised, and nothing less.

- Guaranteed 0% purchase duration: When spreading the cost of a big-ticket purchase, it’s essential you know how long the interest-free period will last, and being downsold could have a considerable impact on your finances. Which is why TotallySure removes any surprises and locks in the purchase duration.

TotallySure sets a new standard of care, improving transparency, and creating better customer outcomes. This new feature also benefits lenders by driving more eligible customers and reducing the costs of failed applications, while eliminating uncertainty and improving trust.

Alastair Douglas, CEO of TotallyMoney comments:

“Now more than ever, people need to be able to take total control of their finances — and a big part of that is knowing where they stand when applying for credit. That includes knowing the level of interest you’ll be paying, the credit limit you’ll receive, and how long a 0% interest-free period you’ll get.

“But for too long, regulation has allowed the banks to treat credit card applications as if they were a lottery — and to make things even more concerning, many people aren’t even aware they’re gambling with their finances. Lenders need to be upfront with customers about how products and services work while ensuring they’re easily comparable. The key to that is making sure that what people see is what they’ll get.

“Which is why we launched TotallySure. To help raise industry standards and improve transparency, TotallySure offers are now recognized by our proprietary product ranking algorithm — Match Factor. As such, cards with the TotallySure badge will receive an upvote on our tables, making them more prominent to our customers, while helping lenders find more suitable borrowers, reduce costs, and improve trust and brand loyalty."

Fordefi, a financial technology company, today announced a $10 million seed-extension round. Fordefi’s goal is to continue fueling web3 adoption as they launch their wallet-as-a-service (WaaS) offering that enables exchanges, fintechs, and web3 businesses to offer their users a secure, user-owned wallet, directly within their applications. Fordefi has attained significant market share with its self-custody multi-party computation (MPC) wallet for institutions, having acquired notable industry-leading clients and securing over $3 billion in on-chain transaction volume to date. This round extension was led by Electric Capital with participation from both new and existing investors. 

“Fordefi changes the game for safe institutional access to DeFi and crypto by providing novel tools around MPC, user policies, and transaction simulation,” commented Curtis Spencer, Co-founder and General Partner at Electric Capital. “Their new Wallet as a Service offering extends their industry leading technology to any business wanting their customers to have the best mix of security and user experience to get on-chain.” 

Fordefi Launches New Wallet-as-a-Service (WaaS) Offering

Fordefi is excited to introduce the addition of their newest WaaS offering that enables exchanges, fintechs, web3 companies, and traditional brands to embed end-user wallets directly into their applications and offer their customers a secure wallet experience. As public interest in digital assets continues to grow, the challenge of ensuring secure self-custody demands a combination of robust accessibility and in-depth education. Fordefi aims to solve these problems by expanding on its existing, industry-leading wallet and security infrastructure, to support retail platforms and the mass adoption of web3 wallets. Retail platforms can now access a battle-tested, comprehensive wallet infrastructure that combines an MPC SDK, which allows building secure end-user controlled wallets, and a rich Wallet API, which provides the data and tools to build an intuitive wallet experience. Fordefi’s WaaS platform was built in close collaboration with leading crypto-native design partners whose goals are to provide new pathways for the mass adoption of digital assets.  

"Our mission at Fordefi has always been to facilitate secure management of digital assets,” said JoshSchwartz, CEO and Cofounder of Fordefi. “We’re proud to continue building on this mission and provide both web3 and web2 businesses with a crucial tool to enable safe crypto adoption for all participants. We are committed to strengthening the Web3 ecosystem and ensuring its accessibility while maintaining a strong focus on security and transparency."

Fordefi’s MPC Wallet Achieves Market Success

Fordefi’s core offering, their institutional MPC wallet platform, has experienced unrivaled success in a competitive market, with recent customer acquisitions including Pantera Capital, Keyrock, Flare Network, and DeFiance Capital. Fordefi’s key differentiator is its native multi-chain connectivity to decentralized applications on Ethereum and EVM blockchains, in addition to being the first MPC wallet to build support for Cosmos application blockchains (appchains) and Solana decentralized applications (dApps). Alongside Fordefi’s success in expanding its client portfolio and securing billions of dollars in transactions, the company has taken significant strides to cultivate ecosystem partnerships that enable and drive the secure adoption of DeFi for institutions. 

Money20/20, the world’s leading fintech show and the place where money does business, announces that over 120 speakers are confirmed and will be taking the stage at Money20/20 ASIA, held at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center (QSNCC) in Bangkok on April 23-25th.

Money20/20 ASIA’s three themes—Integration, Virtualisation, and Eastward Expansion—explore the future of finance, celebrating innovation in Southeast Asia. With four incredible stages and speakers from 15 APAC countries, the show invites exploration of trends, success stories, and investment strategies.

Money20/20 ASIA brings together a diverse lineup from global and regional banks like JP Morgan, HSBC, and Standard Chartered, as well as local institutions such as Kasikorn Bank and RCBC Philippines. Experts from key players in the global and Asian payment sector, such as Visa, Stripe, Nium, TenPay, PhonePe, Dana Indonesia, and tech giants like IBM, Google, and AWS, will also share their insights. The show is further enriched by fintech unicorns like GCash, Bolttech, Fireblocks, and regulatory leaders such as the Bank of Thailand and HKMA of Hong Kong SAR.

“Home to the largest emerging markets, all eyes are on Asia which has been identified to be the largest financial ecosystem in the world by 2030. Money20/20 ASIA is a central hub for the APAC fintech community, functioning as a nexus for major announcements and significant investment opportunities. From Japan to New Zealand, our diverse speakers bring valuable insights and unveil the industry's latest trends. Notably, Money20/20 has a proven track record of discovering and nurturing promising startups, offering a springboard to greater recognition and opportunities. Whether you're looking to network, strike deals, or gain inspiration, Money20/20 Asia connects you with the brightest minds in Asian fintech.," said Ian Fong, Money20/20’s Asia Content Director.

Some of the keynote speakers include Aamir Ibrahim, CEO of Jazz, Jazz Telco and Jazz Cash; Charles Li, Founder and Chairman of Micro Connect, Hong Kong's latest lending unicorn backed by Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing and property tycoon Adrian Cheng; Daranee Saeju, Assistant Governor, Payments Systems Policy & Financial Consumer Protection Group from Bank of Thailand and Chetna Sinha, Founder and Chairperson of Mann Deshi Mahila Bank.

Mann Deshi Mahila Bank is India's first bank for and by rural women. In 2022, Chetna Sinha was also awarded the Nari Shakti Paskar, India’s highest civilian award for women.

"I am honored to stand on the vibrant stage of Money20/20 ASIA, where innovation and financial inclusivity converge. I will be sharing the extraordinary journey of Mann Deshi Bank, a pioneer in redefining banking and uplifting lives in rural India. Join me as I explore the dynamic intersection of innovation and inclusivity, unlocking the boundless potential of rural women. Money20/20 Asia isn't just a platform for everything fintech; it's also a catalyst for lifting and transforming communities,” said Chetna Sinha, Founder and Chairperson, Mann Deshi Bank.

Masakazu Osawa, Managing Executive Officer & Chief Executive for Asia Pacific for MUFG Bank, Ltd. is also one of our keynote speakers. MUFG is Japan’s largest bank and one of the largest banks in the world.

"Asia, home to 4.7 billion people, represents 60% of the world's population, sustaining a steady GDP around 5%, outpacing other regions. With over 300 unicorns in APAC showing rapid growth, Money20/20 provides a unique platform for networking with Asia's most prominent business influencers. As one of Asia's largest financial institutions, MUFG recognizes the need for evolving business models. We've invested over $15 billion USD in the last decade, focusing on commercial banking and consumer finance. At Money20/20 ASIA, I'll discuss how MUFG identifies and collaborates with promising startups to enhance our products and services, ensuring better service to our clients and society. Excited to connect with innovative minds and share insights on fostering growth,” said Masakazu Osawa, Managing Executive Officer, Chief Executive for Asia Pacific at MUFG Bank.

An overview of some of the Money20/20 ASIA speakers can be found here.

The Money20/20 ASIA agenda will be updated until the event starts. The most up-to-date version can be found here.

Dave Inc., one of the nation's leading neobanks, today announced it has become the newest member of the American Fintech Council (AFC), the premier industry association representing responsible fintech companies and innovative banks. Dave joins a diverse group of AFC members to progress fintech innovation, focusing on creating inclusive digital banking services and products for consumers not well-served by incumbent banks.

"Our members are setting the standard for the responsible use of innovation to increase competition in financial services that improve access for families long forgotten by traditional financial institutions," said Phil Goldfeder, CEO of the American Fintech Council. "Dave is leading by example and democratizing financial services by creating fair, transparent, and equitable services. Their team will add an important voice to our growing chorus of members focused on inclusion and responsible innovation for the future of finance."

"Dave is proud to join an association that prioritizes financial inclusion and responsible banking as more Americans turn to digital banks for seamless experiences, financial education, and innovative products," said Jason Wilk, CEO and founder of Dave. "Fintech was born out of the realization that traditional banking was not keeping pace with the needs of the American consumer. By uniting our efforts with the AFC's growing network of innovators, we envision a positive future for accessible financial solutions in fintech."

As a member of the AFC, Dave plans to be an essential voice in support of regulators' development of transparent and consistent frameworks for the fintech industry, as digital banking gains momentum. Dave looks forward to advancing the dialogue on access to banking and short-term credit, inclusive finance, and regulatory compliance. Since 2016, Dave has been a leader in providing short-term liquidity to consumers to cover expenses between paychecks. Dave enables a comprehensive and accessible banking experience regardless of a person's income, on its mission to level the financial playing field.

AFC collaborates with policymakers and regulators to develop unified and consistent approaches to regulation. They encourage the development of a modern regulatory framework that creates access to financial services without compromising on compliance or consumer protection. AFC consistently advocates on issues that are crucial to developing a more inclusive financial services industry, including improved data sharing and the development of an open banking ecosystem, as well as the expansion of innovation efforts that allow consumers to live their best financial lives.

NCR Atleos Corporation, a leader in expanding financial access for financial institutions, retailers, and consumers, today announced that American Express has selected Atleos’ Allpoint ATM Network to expand surcharge-free access in the United States to its Business and Consumer Checking customers later this year.

By leveraging the Allpoint network, American Express will enable its Business and Consumer Checking customers to access more than 40,000 surcharge-free ATMs in the U.S. located in trusted retail locations where they live, work, shop, and travel. The American Express brand will be featured prominently during each ATM transaction, providing American Express customers with assurance they will receive the service they expect. The Allpoint Network is the world’s largest independently owned retail ATM network.

“Our network powers digital banking leaders such as American Express with the physical endpoints their customers expect and demand,” explained Diego Navarrete, executive vice president, Global Sales for Atleos. “We look forward to serving more digitally native customers at our Allpoint ATMs.”

Dynatrace, the leader in unified observability and security, today announced that BMO, North America’s eighth-largest bank by assets, is using the Dynatrace® platform to scale its digital capabilities and deliver best-in-class experiences to customers worldwide. As demand for digital interactions increases, BMO has reimagined traditional services and is optimizing operating efficiencies to enhance customer loyalty.

To do this, the bank works with Dynatrace. The Dynatrace platform’s core technologies, including the Grail™ data lakehouse and Davis® hypermodal AI, along with its continuous automation capabilities, assist BMO’s Technology, Resiliency, and Experience Operations (TREO) team in accessing precise answers about its technology environment. The insights BMO gains from Dynatrace have helped the bank continually improve the digital banking experience for customers, providing faster, more innovative banking experiences with lower risk.

“To drive our digital-first strategy and continue delivering speed and scale for our customers, BMO innovates rapidly and with confidence,” said Angela Sim, Chief Technology, Resiliency, Experience and Operations Officer, BMO. “The Dynatrace platform has allowed our team to embrace the principles of site reliability engineering (SRE) and ensures reliability is built into the core of our digital banking services. With the help of Dynatrace, we have significantly improved our response time and are increasing our continuous service availability. This allows us to focus on driving innovation and improving the digital experience, helping millions of customers make real financial progress.”

Dynatrace Grail unifies, stores, and processes BMO’s data while retaining the context of the environment where it originated. Dynatrace Davis AI then leverages the unified data from Grail to deliver precise answers in real time, enabling BMO’s TREO team to identify, report, and resolve issues instantly. This has resulted in an 80% reduction in the bank’s mean time to identify (MTTI) issues and root cause analysis (RCA) timelines.

“The Dynatrace platform has already delivered significant benefits to BMO,” continued Sim. “For example, log analytics previously required manual input that would take significant time and resources to complete. With Dynatrace, this process happens in seconds. In a rapidly evolving market, these efficiencies allow us to free up human resources, enabling employees to focus on delivering expert advice and strategic innovation.”

Dragonfly Financial Technologies Corp., a digital banking and treasury management FinTech, today released the findings of its "State of Banking" survey. Dragonfly surveyed over 100 bank executives to gain insights into their bank's biggest challenges, spending initiatives, and tech preferences for 2024. Bank executives were overwhelmingly bullish about the banking industry with 85% stating a positive outlook for 2024. With renewed optimism, 51% of respondents believe banks are expecting to increase their tech spend or stay the same (41%). While less than 8% are expecting to decrease their tech spending in 2024.

The survey also found some serious headwinds, with more than 53% of banking executives concerned or very concerned about their current dependency on legacy technology and rising tech debt. Furthermore, over half (51%) said legacy technology/tech debt is standing in the way of their bank's success. Bank executives also note the following key concerns for 2024:

• 65% are most concerned about protecting and growing deposits.
• 59% believe fraud will be a top concern in 2024.
• 58% believe the biggest challenges to digital business banking success are staffing resources, while 46% believe feature function/competitive gaps and budget are cause for concern.

"2023 was a difficult year for bankers, and as they are now looking to come out strong in 2024, they are facing a complex environment with economic uncertainty, introduction of new payments, modernization of old payments, and customer adoption of APIs and embedded banking," said Jim Gillespie, chief product officer of Dragonfly Financial Technologies. "Prioritization of tech debt will be key in 2024, and the Dragonfly survey identified some near-term winners and losers as banks look to make the most of tight budgets."

Bankers are responding with plans to invest in new technologies that will not only improve their customers' experiences but help them trim down technology debt. Some key technology investments include:

• Real-time payments, with 63% of bank executives stating they are likely to add FedNow service to their payments' portfolio.
• 67% of bank executives are open to introducing FinTech applications, including NetSuite and QuickBooks, to customers.
• API banking adoption is a must-have in 2024, with 57% of bank executives believing API banking will provide impactful applications and connections.

In addition, the survey revealed that banks are cautiously moving more operations to the cloud. 84% of banking executives polled said their banks are already operating in the cloud and of those not operating in the cloud (16%), 44% said their banks are planning a move to the cloud. While banks are moving some operations to the cloud, they are less inclined to move to a cloud-based model with only 8% running more than 75% of operations in the cloud to date.

As banks invest more in technology resources, it will be important to focus on adding quality services that their business customers want. One way to accomplish this goal is to look at composable embedded banking solutions that enable banks to gradually add services and improve overall feature functionality.

Revolut, the global financial app with over 35 million customers worldwide and 8+ million in the UK becomes the first financial institution in the UK to offer eSIMs and global data plans to its UK customers. Revolut eSIM allows customers to roam like a local, and stay connected without unexpected roaming charges and interruptions.

Available to UK customers later this week, Revolut customers on eSIM-compatible devices will have access to the eSIM, regardless of their plan. Once installed, customers will be able to top up data wherever they go - without any need for a physical SIM. Connecting the eSIM enables customers to use the Revolut app without using up their mobile data allowance - so if a Revolut customer lands in a country and doesn't have data access, they can still access their Revolut app and use all the products and features, including topping up their data if they run out.

With the eSIM installed via the Revolut app, Ultra customers will gain access to a new benefit as part of their plan - 3GB of mobile data to use globally, with a rolling refresh every month. UK customers who install their new eSIM by 1 May 2024 will also be able to take advantage of an introductory offer of 100MB of global data at no cost (terms and conditions apply LINK).

The cost of using mobile data overseas has increased in recent years. Most UK mobile networks no longer allow their users to "roam like at home" in the EU, and data charges for the rest of the world are almost always outside the standard benefits.

Elyas Sadou, Product Owner of eSIM at Revolut, commented: “At Revolut, we harness technology to simplify our customers’ lives, and that’s precisely what our eSIM accomplishes. It offers seamless access to mobile data, eliminating the inconvenience of high prices or the need to buy and organize a physical SIM card.'

Whether you are in the US, Australia, or Egypt, you can effortlessly secure a data plan with just a few taps on your phone, and then instantly share those breathtaking photos of your trip with friends and family. It’s a game-changer for people who love to travel.”

The launch of eSIM ensures travelers are supported by Revolut from the very beginning of their trip through to the very end. From booking accommodation through Stays to enjoying lounge access at 1,000+ airports, as well as having peace of mind with emergency medical and dental cover for Premium, Metal, and Ultra plans (Insurance T&Cs apply, Paid Plan terms and subscription fees apply). Customers can then take advantage of Experiences for tours and attractions, as well as spend like a local with currency exchange at competitive rates in 30+ currencies. Now with eSIM, customers no longer have to worry about extortionate roaming charges.

ConnexPay, the world’s first all-in-one platform to manage PayIns and PayOuts, today announced the launch of ConnexPay Flex, a variable-rate virtual card with over 30 dynamic rates, designed to facilitate strategic supplier spend, often at a pre-negotiated rate.

Part of ConnexPay Exclusives, a suite of payment options designed to increase supplier acceptance and boost profitability, ConnexPay Flex offers clients a very broad spectrum of rate categories when paying suppliers in the United States. This flexibility allows clients to meet supplier payment preferences while driving maximum card spend and revenue.

“I’m excited to announce the ConnexPay Flex card, our newest payment capability for our valued clients,” said Bob Kaufman, Founder and CEO, ConnexPay. “With ConnexPay Flex, our clients now have over 30 payment rate options for any unique supplier payment challenge, providing them with the maximum flexibility for driving supplier acceptance while also increasing profitability.”

A premier payments provider, ConnexPay is the first payments technology company to unify B2B payments, both PayIn and PayOut, inside a single platform. Over the past year, ConnexPay has more than doubled its customer base, expanded its global footprint, and continued to launch new products and features that transform the B2B payments space.