The green finance trend is growing strong, but the question is how to support the initiatives that are truly making a difference and distinguish them from greenwashing mumbo-jumbo? It seems that the UK government has a good idea. Read the details here!

Weekly FinTech news digest: 8—14 June 2021

Weekly FinTech news digest: 8—14 June 2021

Green Technical Advisory Group will tackle greenwashing in the UK

The initiative set up by the government will be chaired by the Green Finance Institute

The UK’s government announced the appointment of a new independent expert group comprised of 18 members, among them “financial and business stakeholders, taxonomy and data experts, and subject matter experts drawn from academia, NGOs, the Environment Agency and the Committee on Climate Change”, as per the official press release. The newly established body will be led by the Green Finance Institute and will oversee the delivery of the so-called “Green Taxonomy”–part of the government’s strategy to transform the economy and transition to net zero.

Read more about sustainable initiatives in finance

Ex-Visa executive appointed as CEO at Pomelo Pay

Andrew Doukanaris will lead the company in the UK and Europe

Pomelo Pay, a digital payments platform, welcomes a new permanent CEO for the UK and Europe. However, the new C-level Andrew Doukanaris is not unfamiliar with Pomelo’s business: he has performed the role of Chair of The Board since January 2019. Mr Doukanaris is also an ambassador at the tech community Level39. The new CEO will push Pomelo Pay’s growth in new European markets, as well as strengthen its leading position in the payments sector in the UK. He has extensive experience in digital payments and financial services, gained at firms such as Flotta Consulting Ltd, Fintech & Payments Consulting Ltd, JCB Europe, and Visa Europe.

Read more about the challenges and opportunities in the PayTech sector

10x Future Technologies close to raising £130 million

The funding round will bring the company’s valuation to £500 million

The banking technology company 10x Future Technologies founded by ex-Barclays Antony Jenkins is said to be closing a £130 million funding round with the participation of BlackRock, an asset management firm, and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, a retirement scheme. This means that the company’s valuation will reach £500 million after completing the round, reported Sky News, citing an insider. Among the achievements of 10x Future Technologies there is the development of JPMorgan’s digital banking platform and the contribution to Westpac’s BaaS offering. The company already raised £32m in 2019 from the UK’s Nationwide Building Society and Westpac.

Read more about banking technology development

Nude’s app to help first-time homebuyers save for deposits

Users can choose between various types of savings and investment accounts

UK-based startup Nude launched an iOS app for first-time homebuyers that want to build up their deposits. Users can find out how much they need to save to buy a house in any location in Britain, set up monthly deposits, connect their bank accounts, track their progress and analyse their spending structure for a £2 membership fee. Nude comes also with various types of accounts: ISA, Lifetime ISA, and a general account for savings and investments (with an extra 0.35% fee). In the words of Crawford Taylor, Nude’s CEO: “There’s a lot of noise out there telling people how difficult it is to buy a home. (…) With Nude, we want to cut through that noise and instead, give people support, tools and encouragement to show them they can do it.”

Read more about the top FinTech startups to watch in 2021

OneBanks partners with G4S to offer face to face banking services to their customers

G4S technology will enable paying bills, making deposits and withdrawals

OneBanks, the provider of face to face banking services in pop-up kiosks featured in FinTech Wire #28, announced a partnership with G4S. The new tech partner will equip OneBanks’ shared banking installations with Cash 360 intelligent safe, a cash management solution that will allow those customers without a mean of digital payment to pay their bills in cash. This technology will make OneBanks’ facilities more suitable for locations such as convenience stores and corner shops, in addition to bigger spaces like supermarkets, malls, and stations where the trials of the earlier kiosk format are taking place. OneBanks executives believe that this alliance help them fulfil their mission of bringing everyday banking services back to the underserved locations.

Read more about the digital transformation in banking

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