Summer is almost over – catch up on Finextra’s top payments stories from August, here.
UAE closes in on launch of Digital Dirham
The Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates (CBUAE) will soon launch the retail and wholesale central bank digital currency (CBDC), the Digital Dirham, to licensed financial institutions.
Having been in the pipeline for several years, the core infrastructure for the Digital Dirham is complete, and will be distributed through a DLT platform. The CBDC is set to increase accessibility, enhance financial resilience, and boost payments innovation
throughout the UAE.
Revolut and Wise alumni raise $3 million for blockchain payments startup
Riva Money, a blockchain-based cross-border transactions platform has raised $3 million in its pre-seed round. The fintech was founded by veterans of Revolut and Wise, Niklas Joejman and Mahendra Katoch, who also worked at Goldman Sachs and Citigroup.
The fintech will use blockchain-based rails or fiat-based rails with stablecoin application to power international payments.
Santander partners with OpenAI to become 'AI-native' bank
OpenAI and Santander are collaborating for a “data and AI-first” transformation of the bank.
Artificial intelligence (AI) will be integrated throughout the operations and technologies at the heart of Santander’s platforms. The solution, ChatGPT Enterprise, has already been rolled out to 15,000 employees in Europe and the Americas, and is estimated
to reach 30,000 by the end of the year.
The bank maintains that it is not “chasing hype”, but focusing on smart solutions that will improve the overall banking experience for consumers.
Bitpanda launches largest crypto offering in UK
Vienna-headquartered cryptocurrency platform, Bitpanda, launched in the UK in August – making over 600 digital assets available to users.
The crypto mega-platform has over 7 million users across Europe and is primed to take over the UK crypto market.
Bitpanda Technology Solutions will develop crypto products with major European banks Deutsche Bank, Societe Generale, Raiffeisen, and LBBW.
Klarna to sell $26bn of US BNPL loans
Buy now pay later (BNPL) giant Klarna will sell $26 billion of US BNPL loans to Nelnet, a student loan company.
The multi-year agreement states that Klarna will originate and sell short-term and interest-free receivables to Nelnet on a rolling basis.
The move underscores Klarna’s plans for growth in the US, as it prepares for an initial public offering (IPO).
Visa shuts US open banking unit – Bloomberg
Visa has closed its open banking branch in the US amid regulatory concerns.
The Personal Financial Data Rights rule, published by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) in October 2024, allowed US users to give permission to their banks to share their financial information with external providers.
However, the CFPB may be considering revising the rule under the Trump administration as Wall Street banks are looking to cash out on the new rule.