Finextra Research: Latest fintech news, analysis, interviews, features and opinion by industry experts

Company update/crypto

Hong Kong's Bloom partners with Web 3.0 participants to support crypto rebates

Local technology startup Bloom announced that starting today, Bloom members can get spending rebates in the form of cryptocurrency. This move will see the Bloom App become Hong Kong’s first spending app that supports cryptocurrency rebates for any Visa card transaction in Hong Kong, marking a major breakthrough in a spending landscape dominated by cash rebates and reward points.

25 July 2022

News/startups

Santander to hold awards ceremony in metaverse

Santander will host an awards ceremony in the metaverse this week to crown the winners of a global blockchain challenge.

12 July 2022

News/crypto

Meta to shut down Novi wallet

Meta is officially closing all accounts on its digital wallet, Novi.

04 July 2022

News/inclusion

Mastercard’s The Belle Block to empower women and non-binary to use Web 3.0

Mastercard brings inclusivity to the forefront by announcing the launch of The Belle Block, an industry group to focus on empowering women and non-binary individuals to use Web 3.0 technology and cryptocurrency.

24 June 2022

News/startups

Italy's Sella launches metaverse accelerator programme

Italian banking group Sella has launched an acceleration programme dedicated to startups focused on finance in the metaverse.

21 June 2022

News/retail

CaixaBank and Microsoft explore the metaverse

Spain's CaixaBank is teaming up with Microsoft on an AI innovation laboratory that will, among other things, focus on building a work environment in the metaverse.

13 June 2022

News/payments

Mastercard partners NFT marketplaces on card purchases

Mastercard is working with a host of non-fungible token marketplaces to make it easy for people to buy NFTs with their cards.

10 June 2022

Company update/predictions

Kiya.ai launches Indian banking metaverse

Ever imagine being able to visit your bank branch virtually (without leaving your home) or conveniently discussing investment plans with an advisor?

02 June 2022

News/payments

EBAday 2022: 71% believe the future of payments is yet to come

After two years as a virtual conference, EBAday 2022 is back in person for its seventeenth year in Vienna, Austria. The EBA and Finextra Research welcomed a host of board directors, chief executive officers, and payments and technology heads from Europe's leading banks, as well as selected fintechs to the conference.

31 May 2022

News/payments

Worldline establishes metaverse showroom

Worldline has entered the metaverse with the launch of a dedicated virtual showroom to help merchants bridge the gap between virtual and real worlds for commerce scenarios.

31 May 2022

News/wholesale

JPMorgan Summer Reading List arrives in the metaverse

JPMorgan has made its annual Summer Reading List available for perusal in a metaverse library.

27 May 2022

Company update/retail

Flybits introduces OpenDome platform to help banks create multi-dimensional metaverse experiences

Flybits, a global leader in Enterprise-grade Experience Design solutions for the financial industry, today announced the launch of its new Metaverse authoring platform called OpenDome.

26 May 2022

News/retail

Quontic Bank opens metaverse outpost

US digital bank Quontic has opened an outpost in the metaverse, "to connect with customers, offer education, and eventually - as the virtual world evolves - offer banking services".

19 May 2022

Company update/retail

FIS showcases bridge to the metaverse

The metaverse is opening a new frontier of opportunities in the digital economy.

18 May 2022

Finextra TV/payments

Live @ NextGen Nordics 2022 - Event Highlights

Setting the blueprint for payments innovation to help shape the future. Highlights from the NextGen Nordics 2022 event in Stockholm, Sweden on 27 April 2022, hosted by Finextra. Topics and latest trends in the Nordic payments ecosystem include the status of the P27 initiative, CBDCs, ESG goals, cross-border & real-time payments, liquidity management, the metaverse, and what is driving upcoming changes. Join us again next year for NextGen Nordics 2023.

10 May 2022

News/retail

Instagram starts testing NFTs

Instagram will start testing digital collectables this week, enabling creators and collectors to display their non-fungible tokens on their profiles.

09 May 2022

Company update/startups

SC Ventures partners Japanese financial conglomerate SBI

SC Ventures, Standard Chartered’ s innovation, fintech investment and ventures arm, announced that it had entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with SBI Holdings, Inc to expand their portfolio, both at a business and geographic level, and to explore new ecosystems through this partnership.

09 May 2022

News/crypto

Vatican announces metaverse plans

The Vatican has announced its plans to enter the metaverse through a strategic partnership with tech company Sensorium.

05 May 2022

News/startups

Santander launches global blockchain challenge

Banco Santander and Oxentia Foundation are inviting startups and scaleups from 11 countries to compete in a blockchain challenge and the chance to win cash prizes.

29 April 2022

News/markets

Fidelity brings gamified education to the metaverse

Fidelity Investments has entered the metaverse, launching a gamified financial education experience in Decentraland.

27 April 2022