Latest news with #digitalbank
Finextra
17-07-2025
- Business
- Finextra
N26 introduces travel eSIM
N26 is expanding its travel offering with the launch of a new Travel eSIM – fully digital data plans designed to keep travelers connected in over 100 countries. 0 This content is provided by an external author without editing by Finextra. It expresses the views and opinions of the author. Travel eSIM allows customers to activate their Travel eSIM in just a few taps within the N26 App without the need for a physical SIM card or additional app. The launch builds on the introduction of N26 SIM earlier this year, making N26 the first digital bank to oer fast and flexible mobile plans directly within its banking app. Customers can enjoy flexible data plans with best-in-class prices, choosing from dierent plan sizes tailored to their destination, with highly competitive flat-rate. Customers can activate travel data plans for over 100 destinations within the N26 app in just a few taps. They can also buy data plans in advance, which automatically activate as soon as their device connects to the destination's network to avoid unexpected fees. N26 oers one of the most competitive set of features for anyone traveling abroad, combining practical financial tools with valuable travel benefits: Market-leading exchange rates, that remove the need to manage multiple foreign currency accounts Fee-free card payments abroad, simplifying spending without additional foreign exchange fees Unlimited free ATM withdrawals abroad, ensuring access to cash when needed without extra fees Comprehensive travel insurance, covering a range of travel-related situations, like trip delays and interruptions, baggage damage, medical emergencies and more Access to over 1,300 airport lounges worldwide, with digital lounge access passes available straight in the N26 app The N26 Travel eSIM offers flexible data plans tailored to destinations, available instantly within the banking app—supporting travelers with simplicity and value. N26 is also introducing 1% travel cashback on all in-person purchases made outside of Europe1 going forward. Available to customers who have an active N26 Go or N26 Metal subscription2, the cashback comes with no minimum spending requirements, or limits on the amount of cashback claimable on international spend while traveling to the Americas, Asia Pacific, and all other areas outside of the European Economic Area, UK and Switzerland. Daniel Lappas, VP of Business of N26: 'We're proud to bring our best oer for travellers to market, with no hidden fees, top exchange rates, travel insurance and now also mobile data plans and unlimited 1% cashback when travelling internationally.' Travel eSIM is available to all eligible personal and business customers in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland. With the N26 Travel eSIM, users gain powerful digital banking support for travel, from insurance to international data access—all within the N26 mobile app.
Finextra
15-07-2025
- Business
- Finextra
Neobank myTU enables Visa Direct and Mastercard Cross-Border Services
myTU, an AI-native, cloud-first digital bank, today announced the successful onboarding of Visa Direct and Mastercard Cross-Border Services into its payments infrastructure. 0 This content is provided by an external author without editing by Finextra. It expresses the views and opinions of the author. This integration empowers businesses and individuals to send real-time payouts, including salaries, insurance claims, refunds, and gig-economy payments to eligible Mastercard and Visa cardholders, as well as directly to bank accounts in supported markets. The launch strengthens myTU's position as a leading provider of fast, reliable cross-border payment solutions. Global cross-border payments are expanding at an estimated 5% annually, with business-to-consumer (B2C) segments such as payroll and contractor payouts projected to grow at an even faster pace of 11.1% CAGR through 2032. With both Visa Direct and Mastercard Cross-Border Services integrated into its platform, myTU is to enable international transfers of up to €20,000, supporting outgoing card and account-based transactions. Transfers are available 24/7, with many delivered within 30 minutes. Combined, Visa Direct and Mastercard Cross-Border Services reach over 190 countries and support 160+ currencies. The services also support seamless currency exchange, which significantly reduces the friction of international transactions. The addition of these capabilities expands myTU's payments-as-a-service offering, allowing it to serve a diverse client base that includes consumer credit firms, marketplaces, and other payment service providers. Raman Korneu, Co Founder and CEO at myTU,said: 'This launch aligns with our strategy to empower partners with scalable global payout solutions and further solidifies our role as a next-gen payments infrastructure provider. As an AI-native business, myTU delivers long-term operational stability. Our automated systems mean integrations don't require frequent updates. And with a lean team structure, we're able to offer some of the most competitive pricing in the market.' On the security front, Visa Direct and Mastercard Cross-Border Services incorporate industry-leading fraud prevention tools, tokenization, and predictive analytics. Their real-time risk assessment systems help reduce fraud, enhance compliance, and ensure funds are delivered securely and reliably. With this launch, myTU continues its evolution into a full-stack global financial infrastructure provider, combining speed, scale, and security in a single, seamless platform.
Finextra
13-07-2025
- Business
- Finextra
Deep Dive: Monzo's Business, Explained: By Sam Boboev
Monzo has emerged as one of fintech's standout success stories – a digital bank that now boasts over 12 million customers and a profitable business model. In an industry where many challengers are still chasing sustainable unit economics, Monzo has redefined what banking can be – and where it's going. Launched in 2015 as a scrappy startup, Monzo set out to 'build a current account that lives on your smartphone and gives you control of your money'. A decade later, it has grown into Britain's largest digital bank and even reached full-year profitability – all while cultivating a devoted user base and an NPS around +70 (versus an industry average of 30). Monzo matters because it exemplifies how a relentless focus on customers can translate into both rapid growth and real revenues. This deep dive examines Monzo's evolution, from its early days and expanding product portfolio to the technology under the hood, its business strategy, international forays, and the financial journey toward profit. Monzo's trajectory offers a blueprint for fintech innovation: prove that 'mission, growth, [and] profit' can go hand in hand. By 'bringing together the best of technology and banking, and remaining customer obsessed,' Monzo has shown it's possible to delight users while building a sustainable bank. Let's explore how Monzo got here and where it's heading next. From Bold Idea to Banking License Monzo's story began in 2015, when a team led by Tom Blomfield founded the company (originally called Mondo) with the aim of creating a branchless, app-based bank. The vision was clear from the start: a bank 'that lives on your smartphone', delivering instant notifications, intuitive budgeting, and a user-friendly experience starkly different from high-street incumbents. Early on, Monzo launched Alpha and Beta prepaid debit cards to test the waters, rapidly gaining a waitlist of enthusiastic early adopters. This grassroots momentum was amplified by record-setting crowdfunding campaigns – in 2016, Monzo raised £1 million in 96 seconds from customers eager to own a part of the bank. By late 2018, Monzo had topped one million users, with 95% of its initial cardholders seamlessly migrating to its new current accounts once those launched. Growth came almost entirely through word of mouth, reflecting a passionate community that Monzo actively nurtured via forums and transparency reports. Regulatory milestones came quickly. Monzo obtained a UK banking license with restrictions in 2016 and, after rigorous testing, had those restrictions lifted in April 2017 – officially becoming 'a fully authorised, unrestricted bank'. This allowed Monzo to transition all customers from prepaid cards to full Monzo current accounts, each with a sort code and FSCS deposit protection. 'Today is a major step towards making [our] mission a reality,' CEO Tom Blomfield wrote at the time, crediting Monzo's community of users for fueling its early success. Throughout 2017–2018, Monzo rolled out core banking features like Monzo me (for easy P2P payments) and Targets (budgeting goals), while maintaining an ethos of openness – Monzo famously shared product roadmaps and engaged users in feedback through its 'Making Monzo' forum. By 2019, Monzo was solidifying its position as a mainstream player. It became the UK's most recommended brand according to YouGov and saw more people switching their primary accounts to Monzo than to any other bank. The bank introduced pioneering app features that competitors would later emulate – Salary Sorter to auto-budget paychecks, Bills Pots to segregate funds for expenses, and Get Paid Early to receive BACS payments a day in advance. All these innovations, alongside the vibrant coral debit card and real-time notifications, helped Monzo build a reputation for making money feel easy. Despite the challenges of 2020's pandemic (when lockdowns briefly dampened card spending), Monzo kept investing in its product. 'As the world shut down, we stayed focused on our customers... delivered new products and invested heavily in key areas of our business,' said TS Anil (who took over as CEO in 2020). That resilience paid off: customer growth remained robust – climbing 23% year-on-year in FY2021 – and engagement deepened even faster. Fast forward to 2023 and Monzo had swelled to around 7½ million personal customers (plus hundreds of thousands of business users) and was ranked as the 7th largest UK bank by customer numbers. It also consistently topped independent surveys for service quality, reflecting the loyalty of its base. Remarkably, 66–90% of Monzo's customer growth came organically via referrals in these years – a testament to its product-market fit and brand love. A typical Monzo user had 30+ friends on Monzo too, underscoring a viral network effect. Monzo's journey from a bold idea in 2015 to a fully licensed, multi-million-user bank within a decade is impressive on its own. But equally notable is how Monzo evolved its product lineup beyond a simple checking account to become a broad financial platform. Evolving the Product Portfolio Monzo's initial offering was a simple app-linked account, but over time it has broadened into a one-stop shop for personal finance. Today, 'Monzo's now a place where you can budget, spend, save, borrow, invest, track your mortgage, insure your contents, and combine your pensions.' This product diversification did not happen overnight – it was a deliberate expansion, year by year, often driven by customer demand and experimentation. Everything still 'starts with our personal current account,' as Monzo likes to say. The personal account (with its bright 'hot coral' debit card) remains Monzo's flagship, offering features like instant spend notifications, fee-free spending abroad, and easy money management. Monzo also provides joint accounts for shared finances, and in 2023 it introduced accounts for 16-17 year-olds, eventually followed by Under 16s accounts in 2025 to help the next generation manage money digitally. On the business side, Monzo launched its business accounts in 2020 after a period of testing. By FY2024, Monzo Business had over 400,000 customers (up from 200k the year prior), ranging from sole traders on free accounts to larger SMEs paying for premium plans. Monzo's business banking has been well-received – for the past two years it's been rated Britain's most recommended business account for overall service quality in independent surveys. To monetize its robust retail base, Monzo rolled out premium account tiers in 2020. Monzo Plus (re-launched in July 2020 after an earlier iteration faltered) and Monzo Premium (launched later in 2020) offer advanced features for monthly fees. Plus (originally £5/month) added perks like custom budgeting categories, interest on balances, and virtual cards, while Premium (at £15/month) tacked on benefits like phone insurance, higher interest, and a metal debit card. These proved popular with Monzo's power users: within the first year, over 134,000 customers signed up for Plus or Premium. By FY2022, Monzo reported 360,000+ combined subscribers across Plus, Premium, and paid business accounts. Subscription uptake contributed meaningfully to revenue – by 2021, 25% of Monzo's revenue was coming from new products (like Plus/Premium and business accounts). Notably, Monzo has continued iterating on its plans. In 2023, it even made some formerly paid features free for all (for instance, releasing its 'most powerful budgeting tools' to the entire user base) to drive engagement, while simultaneously enhancing the paid tiers with new benefits. The result: by FY2025 Monzo had 1 million+ customers on subscription plans, and subscription fee income grew 50% year-on-year. Helping customers grow their money has become a major focus for Monzo. Early on, Monzo pioneered the idea of 'Pots', sub-accounts where users can set aside money for goals. Over 300,000 Pots are created by users each month (as of FY2021-22), underscoring how integral this feature is to Monzo's experience. Initially Pots were just simple piggy-banks, but Monzo soon partnered with third-party banks to offer Savings Pots that paid interest. By 2019 it launched a 'savings marketplace' in-app, letting users open interest-bearing Pots provided by the likes of Investec or OakNorth without leaving Monzo. In February 2023, Monzo took this further by introducing Instant Access Savings powered directly by Monzo. This product, rolled out to both personal and business customers, ensures users benefit from every Bank of England rate increase – Monzo explicitly passes on the majority of base rate rises to savers. The response was tremendous: within a year, more than 1.3 million customers had opened Instant Access Savings Pots, collectively saving £7.7 billion in them. Monzo paid out over £130 million in interest to those customers in the first year alone. This strategy of sharing interest yields helped Monzo deepen trust – it's telling that as of 2025, customers have entrusted Monzo with £16.6 billion in deposits (up 48% from the previous year). Monzo is also dabbling in investments and pensions, making the app even more of a financial hub. In late 2023, Monzo launched Monzo Investments, allowing users to invest in curated funds with as little as £1. The user experience emphasizes guidance and simplicity, aiming to demystify investing for first-timers. Indeed, Monzo found that a third of its investing customers were investing for the first time ever – with women, in particular, embracing this (45% of female investors on Monzo were first-timers). On the pensions side, Monzo introduced a feature to 'combine your pensions' in 2025, likely through a partnership, helping users consolidate old pension pots into one – further embedding Monzo in long-term financial planning. And for homeowners, Monzo added a mortgage tracking tool in 2023 so users can link their existing mortgage and monitor repayment progress in-app. While Monzo doesn't (yet) offer its own mortgage lending, this integration keeps customers engaged and sets the stage for potential future offerings. Like any full-service bank, Monzo provides credit products – but with Monzo twists. It started with overdrafts (introduced around 2018) and later personal loans, offering eligible users quick cash at competitive rates via the app. In September 2021, Monzo unveiled Monzo Flex, a 'buy now, pay later' style credit option allowing users to spread purchases over installments. As Monzo put it, Flex lets you 'pay later for pretty much anything' – unlike other BNPL services limited to certain merchants. Flex was essentially Monzo's take on a credit card, but managed in-app with transparency. It attracted 35,000 customers in short order and later evolved into Monzo's credit card lineup: today Monzo markets 'Flex' as a credit card (with 19% APR variable) and has even launched a 'Flex Build' credit card aimed at helping those with thin credit histories build up their score. For a challenger that once eschewed lending, these credit products have become a key part of the portfolio and revenue mix. Monzo reported that by FY2024, total card spending volume grew 42% year-on-year to £47.8 billion – a clear sign that users are increasingly routing their everyday spending through Monzo's cards, generating interchange fees and interest income on credit balances. Source: Monzo Annual Reports (2021–2025); Monzo Investor and Press Releases; Monzo Blog and Web Pages. Disclaimer: Fintech Wrap Up aggregates publicly available information for informational purposes only. Portions of the content may be reproduced verbatim from the original source, and full credit is provided with a "Source: [Name]" attribution. All copyrights and trademarks remain the property of their respective owners. Fintech Wrap Up does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of the aggregated content; these are the responsibility of the original source providers. Links to the original sources may not always be included. For questions or concerns, please contact us at
Yahoo
11-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
6 Reasons to Buy SoFi Technologies Stock Like There's No Tomorrow
Wall Street has finally caught on to the rampant growth at SoFi Technologies. The digital bank is thriving, and profits are beginning to accumulate, a good sign for the stock's prospects. SoFi's valuation has become somewhat elevated, but a long growth runway helps justify buying shares. 10 stocks we like better than SoFi Technologies › SoFi Technologies (NASDAQ: SOFI) has long been a volatile stock, but investors have begun to believe in the digital bank's prospects. The shares are on a remarkable run, surging more than 200% over the past year. It's impossible to know how long it will sustain its momentum. That said, investors who can look at the big picture for SoFi Technologies can gain perspective on the stock's long-term potential -- specifically, the next five years and beyond. So I looked into the fintech to help investors gain that perspective. What I found were six reasons to consider buying the stock like there's no tomorrow. SoFi is a digital bank, meaning it has no physical branches. Instead, customers conduct all their banking online through its website or smartphone app. It's not the only digital bank; brick-and-mortar competitors also offer online banking. However, the fintech has arguably done the best job at creating a digital ecosystem with its app. In this one-stop shop, users can easily access all of its lending products and services. They can bank, invest, and borrow, all within the app, which lowers customer acquisition costs. How do you determine whether SoFi's ecosystem works? Take a look at the fintech's rapid user growth. The company's customer base has grown from 1.4 million in the first quarter of 2020 to 10.9 million as of the first quarter in 2025. The U.S. population isn't growing remotely that fast, so the obvious conclusion is that people are leaving other banks for SoFi. It's an excellent indicator of what they think of its user experience. One of the company's primary growth opportunities is cross-selling, where an individual signs up with SoFi for a specific product or service and gradually begins using other products and services over time. For example, someone may open a checking account and subsequently open an investment account. There are currently 15.9 million products actively in use on the bank's platform, or about 1.5 per customer. There is still room for a significant amount of cross-selling over the coming years, which is a tailwind as customer acquisition eventually levels off or slows. SoFi cut its teeth in the student loan business, which ironically has been somewhat dormant since the government froze most student loan repayments in response to the pandemic. The fintech's student loan originations were $1.2 billion in the first quarter of 2025, compared to $2.1 billion in the first quarter of 2020, despite having many more users today. The Trump Administration has pushed to get borrowers back into repayment, which may lead to a surge in refinancing activity that could reignite what was once arguably SoFi's most important business. It's one thing to grow -- and to be clear, the bank has grown tremendously over the past several years. Its trailing-12-month revenue of $2.8 billion is multiples of what it was a few years prior. But that only goes so far if the business doesn't generate a profit. Fortunately, SoFi is starting to produce profits to match that growth. The company earned a net profit for the first time in 2024, while its book value rose 39%. This year, management is guiding for earnings of $0.27 per share, up from $0.15 in 2024, and a $585 million to $600 million increase in book value. One criticism of its stock is its high price tag. Naturally, such a large rally in share price has lifted the valuation in the process. Trading at 4.9 times book value, it's arguably the most expensive bank stock on Wall Street. Investors buying now must hope that the business continues to expand and grow into that valuation. The good news is that growth momentum looks fantastic. The user base increased by 34% year over year in the first quarter, and the company's net revenue rose by 33%, its fastest gain in five quarters. It doesn't seem like a company approaching its ceiling anytime soon, which gives long-term investors the green light to buy shares. If valuation remains a concern, consider buying the stock gradually, looking for pullbacks to add to your position. Given how volatile SoFi Technologies' stock has been in the past, it's reasonable to anticipate some dips over the coming months. Before you buy stock in SoFi Technologies, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and SoFi Technologies wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $694,758!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $998,376!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 1,058% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 180% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join . See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of July 7, 2025 Justin Pope has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. 6 Reasons to Buy SoFi Technologies Stock Like There's No Tomorrow was originally published by The Motley Fool Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Tahawul Tech
11-07-2025
- Business
- Tahawul Tech
'We needed a platform that could deliver both reliability and flexibility at scale—WSO2 gave us exactly that.'
MVola, Madagascar's pioneering mobile money service and the country's first licensed digital bank, is redefining how millions access and manage financial services thanks to its ground-breaking partnership with WSO2. As MVola scaled operations and transitioned from a telecom-run service into a standalone digital bank, the company faced the critical challenge of building a modern, resilient, and scalable digital infrastructure. In response, MVola turned to WSO2 to provide a cloud-native integration and API management platform that could support its rapid growth and need for operational independence. 'We needed a platform that could deliver both reliability and flexibility at scale—WSO2 gave us exactly that,' said Lakruwan Senevirathne, Chief Information Officer at MVola. Working alongside MVola's internal teams, iTelaSoft implemented a comprehensive WSO2 API Management solution at MVola. Head of EMEA at iTelaSoft, Shiraz Thajudeen said, 'We implemented the solution for MVola, thereby centralizing API management, improving scalability, and supporting 100 million transactions monthly. This reduced operational risks, enhanced performance, and positioned MVola for future growth with real-time insights.' With WSO2, MVola now manages over 20 APIs that handle more than 1 billion transactions each year. These include over 300 million high-volume, customer-to-merchant transactions powered through a stable integration with Amdocs DFS. The company also launched a secure, branded developer portal using WSO2, enabling external partners to easily integrate MVola's payment services into their own apps and websites. 'WSO2 helped us expand beyond internal capabilities and open our ecosystem to trusted third parties—critical to our mission of driving digital inclusion,' Senevirathne added. Beyond performance and scalability, WSO2's platform ensures consistent service delivery across channels, from the USSD interface to the Super App, allowing MVola to meet customers where they are—regardless of device or connectivity. Real-time analytics and seamless monitoring have further enhanced MVola's ability to proactively optimize services and ensure continuous improvement. 'WSO2 has been instrumental in helping us build a future-proof digital banking platform,' said Senevirathne. 'Their technology supports our goal of delivering accessible financial services to every Malagasy citizen, and positions us to keep innovating as demand grows.'
