Top five stories of the week – 30 September 2022

Here’s our pick of five of the best news stories from the world of finance and technology this week.

European fintechs join forces to make open finance a reality

OFA intends to develop an open financial ecosystem

A number of fintechs have come together to develop and promote an open financial ecosystem in both the UK and the EU underpinned by Application Programming Interfaces (API).

The Open Finance Association (OFA), which counts Plaid, GoCardless and TrueLayer among its members, wants to usher in an era of open finance in much the same way that the EU’s 2016 Payment Services Directive (PSD2) did for open banking.

As the next step in open banking, the non-profit trade association hopes open finance will give companies and consumers “greater control and visibility over their financial lives”.

OFA, which operates from Brussels and London, has three main objectives: enable consumers and businesses to access and use their financial data via third-party providers; develop an immediate payment method based on open payments; and promote a “well-functioning” open financial ecosystem.

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Satispay achieves unicorn status with €320 million Series D round

Italian payment technology Satispay has landed €320 million in a Series D funding round led by Addition, taking its valuation to more than €1 billion.

Existing investors Greyhound Capital, Coatue, Lightrock, Block Inc, Tencent and Mediolanum Gestione Fondi SGR also participated in the round.

The new funding, which will be used to fuel growth and international expansion, brings the total capital raised by Satispay to more than €450 million since inception.

Founded in 2013 and based in Milan, Satispay is a mobile payment alternative to credit and debit cards.

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Celsius names interim CEO as founder Alex Mashinsky steps down

Celsius interim CEO and restructuring chief Chris Ferraro

US crypto firm Celsius, which filed for bankruptcy protection in July, has named Chris Ferraro as interim CEO after co-founder and CEO Alex Mashinsky announced his departure on Tuesday.

Ferraro, who was previously chief financial officer (CFO) at the firm, will also become head of restructuring (CRO). Prior to Celsius, Ferraro spent nearly 18 years at JP Morgan Chase, serving in various roles, including global head of financial planning and analysis and treasurer of the retail bank.

In the resignation letter, Mashinsky says he remains “willing and available” to work with the company and its advisors to achieve a “successful reorganization,” but that his role as CEO has become an “increasing distraction.”

Celsius suspended withdrawals in June to stabilize liquidity and protect and preserve its assets, citing “extreme market conditions”.

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Revolut can offer crypto asset services after FCA AML registration

UK-based super app Revolut is now able to offer crypto asset services in the UK after meeting Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) anti-money laundering (AML) standards.

Revolut, which has been authorized as an electronic money institution by the FCA for more than four years, was entered into the FCA’s Financial Services Register on 26 September.

An FCA spokesperson said: “We confirm that Revolut has been removed from the interim register and has received full registration as a crypto-asset firm. As with firms that were on the interim register, firms listed on the full register are required to comply with anti-money laundering regulations.

“Revolut has agreed to a number of policies designed to ensure that it has the systems and controls in place to meet the requirements of the anti-money laundering regulations.”

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Mobile payment service Paym will close in 2023

Pay.UK to discontinue Paym in March 2023

The mobile payment service Paym is to be closed permanently in 2023 due to changing consumer preferences in payments.

Citing the “rapid evolution” of payment technology that has seen consumers move to newer forms of mobile payment and faster payments through online banking, Pay.UK says Paym will close permanently on 7 March 2023.

“These changes in consumer preferences build on the foundation created by Paym,” said the organisation, which acts as the operator and standards body for the UK’s retail interbank payment systems.

Pay.UK and 15 UK banks and building societies made the decision to discontinue the service after declining payment volumes and fewer registrations over the past three years.

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