Starling Bank is crushing it 🚀; Nigeria🇳🇬 to do a CBDC 😲; Amazon seeks crypto talent 👀
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 🚀
New report 📊 British challenger bank Starling published a new annual report covering the period between November 30, 2019 (the end of its previous reporting period) and March 31, 2021. The report reveals steady progress toward its profitability goals.
Key numbers:
Revenue grew approximately 600%, from £14.7M ($18.9M) to £97.6M ($125.2M). That’s massive! 🤯
Loss after tax dropped from £52.1M ($66.8M) to £23.3M ($29.9M) over the same period. Not bad 👀
Total accounts amounted to 2.3M as of June 30, 2021, comprising 1.8M retail current accounts—akin to checking accounts in the US—374,000 small and medium-sized business (SMB) accounts, and 126,000 euro and US dollar accounts.
SME strategy 🏦 Ramping up its presence in SMB banking is a key pillar of its strategy towards success and ultimately becoming profitable.
It works ✅ Starling has pulled in the largest number of business customers that switched their banking provider as part of the Incentivized Switching Scheme operated by Banking Competition Remedies. The neobank gained 16,528 new business clients through the scheme, edging out second-place Virgin Money (15,946 switchers).
✈️ THE TAKEAWAY
It appears that neobanks can be profitable… 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 isn’t on their roadmap? 🤔
Nigeria🇳🇬 to do a CBDC 😲
Giant 👀 On October 1, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) will reportedly launch a pilot scheme for “GIANT,” a CBDC project in development since 2017 that runs on the open-source blockchain Hyperledger Fabric.
Doesn’t want to be left behind… 😬 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 📈 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.
✈️ THE TAKEAWAY
Everyone is doing it… 😬 A lot of central banks in the world are exploring the concept of a CBDC, hence, CBN doesn’t want to be left behind. Given Nigeria’s huge population, high interest in crypto as well as still big dominance of cash, it might not be a bad play after all…
Amazon seeks crypto talent 👀
The position 💼 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 🔎 The position, based in Seattle, will work within Amazon’s Payments Acceptance & Experience team. The company is seeking “an experienced product leader to develop Amazon’s Digital Currency and Blockchain strategy and product roadmap,” according to a job posting on the company’s website.
✈️ THE TAKEAWAY
Yet another one… 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 Amazon’s size and influence, an Amazon Coin might be not that far away, maybe? 🤔
🔎 What else I’m watching
PensionBee on the fly 🐝 PensionBee was one of the first FinTechs to list on the London Stock Exchange 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. PensionBee now houses just under £2B in customer deposits, up from £915B in 2020. Its stock is down since the IPO though… 🤷♂️
Another crypto IPO? 👀 BlockFi, a crypto lender facing regulatory scrutiny, is pursuing plans to go public in 12 to 18 months, according to documents circulated to investors Wednesday. The company is set to close a $500M round of funding.
💸 Following the Money
BNPL FinTech player Zilch has raised an extra $110M in debt and equity just 3 months after it announced its $80M Series B.
Clim8 Invest, an app for sustainable investing, has closed its latest crowdfunding campaign on Crowdcube, hitting £2.85M from over 1,800 investors.
Sweden-based FinTech giant Klarna acquires Germany-based startup Stocard for more than EUR 100M, according to startbase.com.
US-based automated B2B payments company Paystand has announced receiving $50M to use cloud technology and the Ethereum blockchain as the engine for its Paystand Bank Network.
👋 That’s it for today! Thank you for reading and have a productive Monday! And if you enjoyed this newsletter, invite your friends and colleagues to sign up:
P.S. This is a free issue 8/30. You can subscribe now for $7/month or $70/year, or join later. I must note though that after the first 30 issues, the price will be $17,90/month or $179/year (the price for current subscribers won’t change). It’s still a bargain as you will save at least 180 minutes. Every week.