PSD2 and Open banking news roundup
2019-11-14
Google banking
Google Pay will comply with RBI's data localisation norms '100%': Report
Google Pay is currently in the “midst of” complying with the Reserve Bank of India’s data localisation norms, but will “100%” comply with it, according to news agency PTI. MediaNama has reached out to Google for comment. Paytm’s active users are for both its payments bank and UPI, while Google Pay and PhonePe are UPI-only platforms. A timeline of the RBI’s localisation mandate for payments data April 2018: the localisation circular surfaces: The RBI told all payments system operators in India to ensure that payments-related data was stored within the country and gave the companies six months to comply. The bill, however, failed to explicitly define ‘critical data’. September 2018, RBI asks for updates on local storage: The RBI asked payment companies to send it fortnightly updates about their progress on local storage of payments data.
https://www.medianama.com/2019/11/223-google-pay-data-localisation/
Google takes on Monzo and Revolut with digital banking plans
Google is to start offering bank accounts, becoming the latest big Silicon Valley company to take aim at online retail banking in a threat to British players such as Monzo and Revolut. Its digital bank account app, codenamed Cache, will be launched in the US next year in partnership with Citi and will start out as a digital current account for personal payments and bills. If successful it could eventually trigger similar operations in Britain. Google customers can already make payments using a linked credit card on Android mobile phones with the Google Pay app.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2019/11/13/google-takes-monzo-revolut-digital-banking-plans/
Fintech futures and investment growing
AI fintech assisstant Plum secures $3M
The London-and-Athens-based firm’s latest round brings the total round to a close at $7.5m. Christian Faes, founder and CEO of LendInvest has also joined the latest round. CEO & co-founder, Victor Trokoudes, said the firm was moving from a focus on the UK to a wider Europe reach.
https://www.businesscloud.co.uk/news/ai-fintech-assistant-plum-secures-3m
Durham fintech startup Spreedly gets $75M injection from Spectrum Equity
Spreedly, a fintech startup that provides cloud-based software infrastructure for payments, has landed a whopping $75 million in funding from Spectrum Equity. With this investment from Spectrum Equity, we are positioned to extend our leadership globally, in particular to leverage our momentum in Latin America. Using Spreedly’s platform, businesses of all sizes can optimize their payments operations through a single application programming interface (API) connection.
Financial services in the 2020s: From Open Banking to Open Finance
The sustained growth in technology adoption is now one of the critical drivers for evolution. The mantra would follow building upon what is already developed. GDPR will be pivotal in the role played by digital currencies and big tech in the future. The banks themselves have built upon this model, and, after overcoming their fears, have now started to embrace Open Banking. Open Banking is also far safer for use than its predecessor technology, “screen scraping”. Open Finance can support consumers, the financial industry and the regulators themselves, by empowering the public to be truly at one with their own data.