FinTech Is Coming For Another Industry
Hey Digital Banking Fanatic!
Your next mobile carrier might be... your bank.
Starling has joined Revolut and Monzo in rolling out eSIMs, turning yet another everyday service into a banking feature. But it's also one more way FinTechs are creeping into services that used to have nothing to do with banking.
They're not all following the same playbook, though.
Starling is launching travel eSIMs for 130+ destinations. Revolut started there but is now stepping into full mobile plans in the UK and Germany, complete with unlimited calls, texts, data, and roaming. Monzo has taken a similar step, offering UK customers a telecom service alongside their bank account.
A few years ago, adding an eSIM to a banking app would've felt like a stretch. Today, it feels almost inevitable.
The battleground is no longer just FX rates or budgeting tools. It's about becoming the app customers instinctively open, whether they're checking their balance, boarding a flight, or switching on mobile data abroad.
Whether people actually want their bank to be their mobile provider is still up for debate. But if Starling, Revolut, and Monzo are all making the same bet, it's probably about more than eSIMs.
Let's see what else is making headlines today. 👇 See you tomorrow!
Cheers,
INSIGHTS
📰 AppsFlyer: AI delivers results only when connected to attribution data. AppsFlyer argues that most finance marketers struggle to generate value from AI because fragmented and low-quality data limits its effectiveness and that successful AI adoption in FinTech marketing depends more on high-quality attribution data than on new technology. Read the full article here
NEWS
🇧🇷 Nubank presents its new segment, Nubank Croma, with an exclusive selection of benefits. With it, customers have access to a Mastercard Platinum card with 0.8% cashback or 1 point for every $1.40 spent on all credit purchases. Keep reading
🇬🇧 Starling Bank has launched integrated Starling eSIM plans to provide retail customers with transparent, competitive data roaming across 130 countries. Powered by Gigs, the service eliminates surprise roaming fees, allowing users to purchase and manage mobile data directly within the Starling app for a seamless travel experience.
🇺🇸 Rent FinTech Flex is the latest firm to ask for a bank charter. Flexible Finance, the parent company behind Flex Rent, announced that it has submitted applications to the Utah Department of Financial Institutions and to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation to establish a bank subsidiary called Flex Bank. The proposed bank subsidiary would make Flex an FDIC-insured institution.
🇬🇧 Monzo Business reaches 1 million customers, cementing its role as a leading UK business bank. The milestone comes as the digital bank expands its business banking platform with tools for payments, savings, tax management, invoicing and expense management, while now serving one in six UK businesses.
🇨🇭 Cantor is advising crypto bank AMINA on the path to a potential public listing, as the Swiss digital asset bank seeks capital to support its next phase of growth. While the company has evaluated several listing routes, it says its current priority is securing long-term strategic investment rather than pursuing a near-term market debut.
🇺🇸 Klarna to power Apple upgrade, a new hardware leasing program offered by Apple. Customers can select from 12- and 24-month leasing options for iPhone and Apple Watch, and 24- and 36-month leasing options for Mac and iPad. Read more
🇬🇧 Nimble AppGenie accelerates AI-powered banking app development for global financial institutions. By focusing on user-centric design combined with robust backend AI, the Nimble AppGenie framework prioritizes scalability and security, allowing banks to deploy next-generation features without compromising on performance or regulatory compliance.
🇨🇳 Africa's largest bank helps China reshape cross-border payments with $1.2 billion in transactions. Standard Bank has processed more than CNY8 billion in payments through China's Cross-Border Interbank Payment System (CIPS) within a year of becoming Africa's first direct participant.
🇺🇸 Cross River powers X Money. With Cross River providing the banking backbone and X connecting users across the United States, the collaboration represents a new standard for money movement, combining compliance, speed, and scale in a way that meets the needs of today’s digital-first consumers.
🇩🇴 Asprofin Bank and Digital TRVST launch BaaS alliance as embedded finance hits $7 trillion. This alliance enables Digital TRVST to offer licensed banking services, including Mastercard programs and institutional custody, targeting a projected $5 billion in annual transaction volume.
🇪🇸 Embat launches a global banking product and appoints Pleo’s Álvaro Dexeus to lead expansion. Led by former Dexeus, the platform enables businesses to open accounts in 22 countries within days, significantly accelerating international expansion.
🇬🇧 HSBC hired Val Riabtsev, the man behind Revolut's agentic AI platform. Riabtsev previously led Revolut's agentic AI platform and will focus on developing AI agents to enhance the bank's wealth management operations. Read on
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