The Paypers Global Partnerships Analysis Q2 2024: Banking and Fintech

Open Banking adoption maintains its position at the forefront of advancing the financial landscape, with implementation spanning several geographical regions globally. Considering that both Open Banking and Embedded Finance leverage secure networks, they are projected to continue providing optimised services to the banking sector and its participants. Sustaining a similar pattern to the first quarter of 2024, many companies chose to join forces in Q2 2024 to adopt and further develop the capabilities of Open Banking and Embedded Finance.

In addition, Open Banking adoption remained the highest in Europe, with user forecasts reaching 132.2 million and the region introducing regulatory improvements to support further implementation. This was also highlighted by the numerous partnerships forged between companies around the area, with FICO and Atto being among the first ones to join forces to integrate Open Banking into UK credit scoring. The two firms plan to deliver transaction-based scores that rank-order consumers’ risk by analysing up-to-date consumer-permission current account and tradeline transaction data.

Shortly after, Ozone API partnered with Thistle Initiatives to enable FIS to implement PSD3 and achieve accelerated Open Banking compliance. The two firms are set to focus on providing financial institutions with the ability to accelerate how they implement PSD3 and attain conformity. The end of April 2024 saw Neonomics and Qvik entering a collaboration to scale Open Banking services to customers across the Nordics and the UK. The companies are projected to promote and deploy these solutions to clients and users across the regions. Later, in May, Brite Payments and Shopware teamed up to launch Open Banking-based instant payments to businesses across Europe, while Yapily partnered with mmob to simplify Open Banking solutions.

Following this, at the beginning of June 2024, bunq announced an alliance with Mastercard to provide its European customers with a complete overview of their finances using AI in Open Banking. Shortly after, Vyne and Keyloop partnered to allow automotive dealers and their customers to pay and get paid with an alternative and optimised payment method enabled by Open Banking. Soon afterwards, Moldinconbank joined forces with Salt Edge to comply with Moldova’s PSD2 legislation, while BR-DGE collaborated with Trustly to optimise Open Banking connectivity to its customers.

Furthermore, companies operating across the US also showcased interest in developing and adopting Open Banking solutions. For example, Marqeta, in partnership with Rain, aims to deliver earned wage access to customers via the use of Embedded Finance, while PayNearMe and Trustly collaborated to optimise and further improve the technology, as well as their services. The beginning of June also saw Mastercard and Atomic forging an alliance to launch Open Banking solutions and simplify and safeguard opening and updating digital accounts. Additionally, during the same period, Bud Financial announced its partnership with Akoya to improve financial services by utilising Open Finance and data intelligence.

Among others, four Middle Eastern firms announced their collaborations in Q2 2024, including Fils and Aion, which aim to drive ESG initiatives in the region, and Paymentology and Diamond Trust Bank, intending to advance Embedded Finance for customers across Kenya.

With the banking and fintech ecosystem witnessing a move towards digital solutions and overall digitalisation, financial institutions, banks, and firms increasingly concentrated their efforts towards reducing the use of traditional services and implementing modern technologies into their daily operations.

To achieve this, many of them forged partnerships with other industry participants, mostly focusing on improving the banking experience for users, meeting regulatory requirements, and developing additional solutions, while generally modernising their processes.

Similarly to Q1 2024, the European ecosystem witnessed strategic collaborations that intended to digitise, expand, and advance the capabilities of operations. The beginning of April 2024 saw Bancomat and Nexi working on augmenting Italy’s payment landscape with a new centralised infrastructure while improving innovation and efficiency. During the same period, Neonomics and Endavu agreed to simplify the funding of investment accounts for the latter’s users, while Ecommpay and GoCardless partnered to increase UK and EU market coverage and solidify the former’s position in the industry. Following these announcements, EBA, EIOPA, and ECB established a common governance framework to work on the DPM 2.0 Standard.

Fast forward to May 2024, Finqware and FwF partnered to provide solutions for automating financial operations within European firms. The collaboration merges the two companies’ knowledge in TMA and RPA, aiming to support enterprises in optimising their financial processes and maximising efficiency. Afterwards, Topps Tiles and GoCardless announced their plans to support the TradePay trade credit scheme, with traders receiving the option to pay their monthly instalments via Direct Debit. The same period saw Volopa integrating Microsoft Dynamics 365 to allow accounting teams to benefit from improved expense management features.

Later in May 2024, Temenos revealed that Multifonds extended its relationship with Citi Securities Services, with the former’s solution being employed to amalgamate Citi’s present regional fund accounting operations into a global operational framework. Also, Validata extended its alliance with Temenos, integrating its technology with the latter’s core banking system to provide optimised solutions to banks and EMIs.

In addition, Tuum joined forces with TransactionLink to simplify fintech onboarding and optimise operational efficiency. Shortly after, Danske Bank partnered with United Fintech to improve the fintech landscape. Also, to provide named virtual IBANs across the UK and EEA, OpenPayd partnered with Wirex, the move aligning with the latter’s commitment to provide secure payment methods to customers.

The end of May, as well as the beginning of June 2024, witnessed several partnerships aimed at further modernising and improving the banking and financial landscape. For example, Worldline signed an agreement with Banque Raiffeisen to enable the latter to utilise its cloud-based instant payment solution in Luxembourg. Moreover, the Bank of London worked together with allpay to simplify and expedite payments for individuals without or with a bank account.

Fast forward to the end of the month, C24 expanded its alliance with Mambu after the launch of the greenfield digital retail bank. The bank aims to deliver an improved offering to its customers, with Mambu supporting it in this commitment.

Among the first announcements made in Q2 2024 in the US was the one made by Wells Fargo, which partnered with TradeSun to improve trade finance and compliance processes within the banking industry. Not long after, Frost Bank worked with Atomic to optimise customer experiences by utilising Atomic Deposit Switch, while Nuvo signed a strategic deal with Equifax to improve credit management for B2B sellers, leveraging data-driven insights for faster, informed decisions.

Moreover, the start of May 2024 saw GenPact and Microsoft’s partnership, with the two firms planning to focus on utilising data, technology, and AI to assist innovation within finance organisations globally. With a similar scope, JRNI worked together with Backbase, aiming to modernise how financial institutions connect with customers.

Also, following a collaboration with Atomic, Lumin Digital joined forces with Pinwheel to augment conversion rates and enrolment for banks and credit unions with Pinwheel Prime. At the end of June 2024, Avidia Bank signed an agreement with Q2 and Personetics to improve and advance the digital banking experience for its customers. Concomitantly, Frost Bank entered an alliance with Finzly to provide FedNow and RTP instant payments to its business clients and customers.

Additionally, Treasury Prime worked with FS Vector to integrate the latter’s regulatory compliance training platform, Headmaster, into the Treasury Prime Partner Marketplace. One of the last partnerships announced during the second quarter of 2024 was forged between Clair and Check, enabling the latter’s users to utilise Clair’s complaint, on-demand pay solution.

The month of May 2024 began with the partnership between Mashreq Egypt and Visa, which launched the Mashreq NEO Visa Card and subsequently worked towards advancing banking convenience in the region. Soon after, United Arab Bank expanded its collaboration with Network International to include debit card processing within Network One, while U Bank signed a strategic deal with Raqami Islamic Digital Bank to support access to branch banking services to RIDBL users and optimise the digital banking ecosystem in Pakistan. The region also saw interest from NymCard and Dellsons Associates, which joined forces to drive innovation and help businesses.

Furthermore, Emirates Development Bank entered two collaborations in the second quarter of 2024, including one with Tagit, to go live with its digital corporate banking product, and with Commercial Bank of Dubai to improve international trade services.

Several companies operating across the APAC region entered strategic deals to advance digitalisation and development, whilst optimising the customer experience. For example, Banked and National Australia Bank are working towards accelerating the number of Australian merchants adopting and integrating A2A payment solutions, while Karta and Visa intend to launch novel services to both merchants and consumers via the VisaNet platform. Other noteworthy alliances from the second quarter of 2024 include CTBC Bank Philippines and Hitachi Asia, focusing on delivering faster and safer digital banking experiences, SeABank and Visa, aiming to solidify digital payments capabilities across Vietnam, and 10x Banking and Deloitte Australia, intending to strengthen cooperation in offering technological solutions to mutuals. The end of June witnessed another collaboration between Superbank and Grab, with the former providing its banking services directly on the Indonesian version of the latter’s mobile app.

As detailed by J.P. Morgan, sustainability is projected to remain a primary concern for businesses and policymakers, with several of them already focusing their efforts on an attempt to mitigate the climate crises and gain long-term returns, while contributing to development and innovation. Throughout the second quarter of 2024, fintech companies worked together to deliver climate-conscious solutions to customers. For example, the beginning of April 2024 revealed a strategic deal between Cogo and Personetics, with the two intending to simplify how banks provide their customers with sustainable banking solutions.

Furthermore, Snowdrop and Ample joined forces to position both companies at the forefront of sustainable fintech, delivering a climate solution that integrates into digital banking applications. Shortly after, Stabiliti partnered with Worldline UK&I to unlock new sustainable capital and surpass ESG targets. The last days of Q2 2024 saw Atmos Financial and Five Star Bank collaborating on launching a sustainable BaaS model for customers and clients.

By integrating digital technology, data, and analytics, companies in the financial landscape are working on supporting SMEs and the expansion of their operations. During the second quarter of 2024, many firms joined forces to further assist small businesses, with ComBank and IFC being among the first ones and intending to develop an SCF strategy to help the bank lend more to local SMEs. Soon after, Marqeta signed an agreement with OakNorth to offer optimised banking features and tools to businesses.

At the beginning of May 2024, Tide partnered with Adyen to launch business accounts for SMEs in Germany, while the Asian Development Bank and Citi signed an agreement to improve access to supply chain financing for small businesses. Shortly after, TRIVER collaborated with Experian to further support SME lending, with the two organisations aiming to expedite the lending process for enterprises looking for short-term capital.

Moreover, June 2024 saw two other significant partnerships, including Banco Desio and Fabrick, intending to digitise invoice advance services, as well as Tuum and AWS, enabling the former to leverage the features offered by AWS to provide flexible, reliable, and efficient banking solutions globally.

According to a recent INTERPOL assessment on global financial fraud, due to the increasing use of technology, organised crime groups advanced their techniques and how they target victims globally. In addition, AI, large language models (LLM), and cryptocurrency use merged with phishing and ransomware-as-a-service business models led to more professional fraud campaigns without requiring technical skills and at a low cost.

To address the worldwide soaring financial crime rates, companies operating in the industry combined their capabilities and worked towards mitigating fraud, providing optimised solutions to the market, and improving the customer onboarding process. In addition, authorities globally instituted additional measures and collaborated on safety initiatives. For example, at the beginning of April 2024, the US and UK agreed to work on AI security initiatives, with the signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aiming to advance research, safety assessment, and guidance for these technologies.

Soon after, DataVisor teamed up with Mitek to enhance the comprehensive check fraud protection offerings for the former’s platform, while Trulioo expanded its partnership with Nium to enable the latter to integrate its Person Match identity verification feature and offer accelerated and compliant payment experiences. The end of the month saw Karma integrating Stripe’s payment identity verification and management solutions, intending to improve customer onboarding and increase conversion. HSBC and PayPal then joined forces to introduce quantum-safe cryptography in the payments industry, aiming to address upcoming cybersecurity threats.

May began with Oscilar and Fingerprint’s collaboration, focused on enabling fintech firms with fraud prevention and detection capabilities while ensuring a simplified customer experience. Afterwards, CLOWD9 selected tellmoney to improve CoP and Open Banking compliance, whilst addressing the urgent regulatory needs in the UK and EU markets. Among the most noteworthy alliances established during this month were the ones forged between Napier AI, which became Salt Bank’s AML platform; Mastercard and UNDP, which agreed to collaborate to mitigate digital fraud, and Treasury Prime and Footprint, with the move focusing on enhancing Treasury Prime’s Partner Marketplace via the integration of Footprint’s KYC and KYB technology.

Throughout June 2024, several industry participants decided to team up, including bunq and NVIDIA, to work on debunking financial fraudsters using accelerated computing and AI. In addition, this month witnessed a new collaboration from Trulioo, with the Canadian firm partnering with Mastercard to offer identity verification solutions that can optimise digital onboarding for merchants and consumers. Following this announcement, Capital One joined forces with Adyen and Stripe to reveal a new initiative, Direct Data Share (DDS), and address fraud in the financial sector. With the end of June approaching, Discai and Harmoney entered a partnership to provide an integrated AML solution for financial institutions.

During the second quarter of 2024, the cryptocurrency space witnessed several developments and collaborations that mostly focused on launching additional solutions, supporting stablecoin acceptance, and increasing cryptocurrency adoption. One of the first partnerships announced was between Paymentology and Rain, with the two firms planning to launch a new payment solution for digital asset businesses in the Caribbean and Latin American regions. Shortly after, Coinbase moved closer to including Bitcoin Lightning into its platform via an alliance with Lightspark. At the same time, Blockchain.com teamed up with MetaMask to support secure crypto payments for the latter’s users.

May 2024 saw multiple companies working together to further improve their preexisting offerings, including Sumsub and CODE, with the two firms aiming to facilitate secure and immediate data sharing among VASPs to meet Travel Rule compliance requirements for virtual asset transactions. Following this announcement, Avalanche integrated with Stripe to enable the latter’s verified users to acquire its AVAX and send it to their wallets. Regarding Triple-A, the company revealed two collaborations this month, including one with Tamatem Plus to allow gamers to purchase game vouchers with crypto and one with PayPal to incorporate PayPayl USD (PYUSC) into its payment services. By the end of the month, four other companies uncovered their partnerships, including Gnosis Pay and Visa, aiming to introduce a self-custodian Visa Debit Card linked to a Safe smart account, and Currencycloud and Pyvio, intending to offer efficient cross-border payment solutions for China-based ecommerce businesses.

Moreover, throughout June 2024, the crypto landscape witnessed multiple firms teaming up to facilitate optimised services. For example, Deutsche Bank entered an alliance with Bitpanda to deliver real-time inbound and outbound cash payments for German crypto traders. At the same time, Fireblocks expanded its exchange connectivity by launching support for Coinbase International Exchange. Through this, the company works towards enabling both institutional and retail clients to access perpetual futures and spot trading features. Shortly after, Coinbase and Stripe announced their collaboration, with the two firms planning to increase cryptocurrency adoption with better financial infrastructure. The end of the month saw Nubank and Lightspark joining forces to integrate the Bitcoin Lightning Network into the former’s platform, intending to improve financial services for its customers.

Throughout the second quarter of 2024, partnerships between fintech companies, banks, and financial institutions maintained their momentum from the previous quarter, with many of their initiatives focusing on complementing and optimising preexisting offerings, developing additional solutions, and expanding their global footprint. Also, many firms chose to concentrate their efforts on advancing their AI capabilities, as well as to mitigate the potential issues that arise from the use of this technology by bad actors.

Furthermore, the implementation of Open Banking and Embedded Finance represented a focal point for companies and banks, with Europe continuing to be a growth hub for these practices. Additionally, considering the current situation, where fraud and financial crime are on a constant rise, industry participants centred their attention on compliance, risk management, and improving their customer onboarding processes. Digitalisation played a key role in organisations teaming up, with several of them working towards eliminating legacy systems and integrating modern technology that could better support their operations and their customer experience.

In a nutshell, either working on developing a more sustainable financial environment, advancing their capabilities in the banking sector, or even increasing crypto adoption globally, financial firms joined forces to keep up with the pace of the ever-evolving industry, while also meeting the needs and demands of their clients and customers.

To access more information on the global developments that emerged during Q1 2024, be sure to follow The Paypers Global Quarterly Analysis series. This also includes partnerships, acquisitions, and contributions surrounding the investments and M&As that took place during this period.