Starling Bank is crushing it š; Nigeriaš³š¬ to do a CBDC š²; Amazon seeks crypto talent š
Good Morning FinTech. 8/30
Good morning Everyone,
And happy Monday! Hope you had some time to relax and enjoy the sun as the weekend was great in most parts of the world. Let us make your week better with a productive start. 3 stories for today:
Starling Bank is crushing it š
New report š British challenger bank Starling published a new annualĀ reportĀ covering the period between November 30, 2019 (the end of its previous reporting period) and March 31, 2021. The reportĀ revealsĀ steady progress toward its profitability goals.
Key numbers:
Revenue grewĀ approximately 600%, fromĀ Ā£14.7M ($18.9M) to Ā£97.6M ($125.2M). Thatās massive! š¤Æ
Loss after tax dropped fromĀ Ā£52.1M ($66.8M) to Ā£23.3M ($29.9M)Ā over the same period. Not bad š
Total accounts amounted toĀ 2.3MĀ as of June 30, 2021, comprisingĀ 1.8M retailĀ current accountsāakin to checking accounts in the USā374,000 small and medium-sized businessĀ (SMB) accounts, and 126,000 euro and US dollar accounts.
SME strategy š¦ Ramping up its presence in SMB banking is a key pillar of its strategy towards success and ultimately becoming profitable.
It works ā Starling has pulled in the largest number of business customers that switched their banking provider as part of theĀ Incentivized SwitchingĀ SchemeĀ operated byĀ Banking Competition Remedies. The neobank gained 16,528 new business clients through the scheme, edging out second-placeĀ Virgin MoneyĀ (15,946 switchers).
āļø THE TAKEAWAY
It appears that neobanks can be profitableā¦ It all comes down to your strategy and execution. Does this mean that younger challenger banks might find it hard to raise funding if profitability isnāt on their roadmap? š¤
Nigeriaš³š¬ to do a CBDC š²
Giant š On October 1, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) will reportedlyĀ launchĀ a pilot scheme for āGIANT,ā a CBDC project in development since 2017 that runs on the open-source blockchain Hyperledger Fabric.
Doesnāt want to be left behindā¦ š¬ CBN representatives reportedly emphasized that the institution could not afford to be left behind while the vast majority of central banks worldwide make headway with their own CBDC research and development.
Benefits > cost š CBN has noted that a CBDC would be beneficial for macro and growth management, cross-border trade support, and financial inclusion. Furthermore, potential benefits could be ranging from higher efficiency for payments and remittances, better monetary policy transmission, improved tax revenue collection, and the facilitation of targeted social policies.
āļø THE TAKEAWAY
Everyone is doing itā¦ š¬ A lot of central banks in the world are exploring the concept of a CBDC, hence, CBN doesnāt want to be left behind. Given Nigeriaās huge population, high interest in crypto as well as still big dominance of cash, it might not be a bad play after allā¦
Amazon seeks crypto talent š
The position š¼ Amazon is looking for a Digital Currency and Blockchain Product Lead as the internet giant progresses with plans to bring its payments systems into the crypto age.
Strategic role š The position, based in Seattle, will work within Amazonās Payments Acceptance & Experience team. The company is seeking āan experienced product leader to develop Amazonās Digital Currency and Blockchain strategy and product roadmap,āĀ according to a job posting on the companyās website.Ā
āļø THE TAKEAWAY
Yet another oneā¦ Amazon is another big business that is exploring the new digital frontier and wants to be at the forefront when it comes to blockchain and cryptocurrency. Given Amazonās size and influence, an Amazon Coin might be not that far away, maybe? š¤
š What else Iām watching
PensionBee on the fly š PensionBeeĀ was one of theĀ first FinTechs to listĀ on theĀ London Stock ExchangeĀ earlier this year. The digital pension platform saw its assets under management more than double in the first half of 2021 compared to the same period last year.Ā PensionBeeĀ now houses just under Ā£2B in customer deposits, up from Ā£915B in 2020. Its stock is down since the IPO thoughā¦ š¤·āāļø
Another crypto IPO? š BlockFi, a crypto lenderĀ facingĀ regulatory scrutiny, is pursuingĀ plans to go publicĀ in 12 to 18 months, according to documents circulated to investors Wednesday. The company is set to close a $500M round of funding.Ā
šø Following the Money
BNPL FinTech playerĀ ZilchĀ has raised an extra $110M in debt and equity just 3 months after it announced itsĀ $80M Series B.
Clim8Ā Invest, an app for sustainable investing, has closed its latest crowdfunding campaign onĀ Crowdcube,Ā hitting Ā£2.85M from over 1,800 investors.Ā
Sweden-based FinTech giantĀ KlarnaĀ acquires Germany-based startupĀ StocardĀ for more than EUR 100M, according toĀ startbase.com.
US-based automated B2B payments companyĀ PaystandĀ has announced receiving $50M to use cloud technology and the Ethereum blockchain as the engine for its Paystand Bank Network.
š Thatās it for today! Thank you for reading and have a productive Monday! And if you enjoyed this newsletter,Ā invite your friends and colleagues to sign up:
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