Challenger Banks news and trends

UK Launches FinTech Fund Backed by Mastercard and Barclays
Startups // August 16, 2023

The United Kingdom has taken a significant step to bolster its position as a global FinTech investment hub by launching a £1 billion investment fund, announced Wednesday (Aug. 16) by UK FinTech Growth Partners. The fund, called the Fintech Growth Fund, aims to support growth-stage...

Banks Cut Neobanks’ First Mover Advantage on Fees and Tech
Digital-First Banking // October 21, 2022

In business, sometimes, the strategy is to be first — jumping into markets with new products and services, striving to capture consumers’ mind share, wallet share, and loyalty. And sometimes, the strategy can be to follow, but to be better and bigger, too. In financial...

Digital Lenders Flood UK Mortgage Market as Battle Against Incumbents Grows
Digital-First Banking // October 06, 2022

As U.K. consumers become ever-more open to digital banking, the range of services offered by digital-first banks has been expanding to meet that demand. But depending on the products and services offered, traditional banks have not completely lost consumers to disruptive FinTech players, as consumers’...

Banking License Puts Profitability Within Reach for UAE Neobanks
Digital-First Banking // October 03, 2022

If the Middle East was late to the neobank party, the United Arab Emirates, at least, is making strides toward the future of digital banking. In an interview with Jayesh Patel, CEO at UAE-based neobank Wio Bank, he said that the new platform emerged out...

Interviews & Exclusives
Banking License Puts Profitability Within Reach for UAE Neobanks

October 03, 2022
If the Middle East was late to the neobank party, the United Arab Emirates, at least, is making strides toward the future of digital banking. In an interview with Jayesh Patel, CEO at UAE-based neobank Wio Bank, he said that the new platform emerged out of “trying to understand what the needs of the next […]

Crypto Capabilities Bring Engagement, Revenue and New Users to Neobanks

June 29, 2022
By the end of the year, more than half of the 10 largest neobanks will be offering clients cryptocurrency products. So said Mark Daly, vice president of growth at Zero Hash, a...

Chetwood CEO Calls Open Banking ‘Disappointing,’ Regulation Key to Neobank Success

March 29, 2022
The U.K. is widely considered a leader in the implementation of open banking, the regulation mandated by the European Union’s Revised Payment Services Directive (PSD2) that compels retail banks in...

Neobank Fills Primary Account Need for EU’s ‘Credit Invisibles’

February 03, 2022
For a very large population of customers in the United Kingdom who are ‘credit invisible’ — meaning they have little or no credit history with credit agencies — accessing credit...

Quick Reads
Metro Bank Secures $1.1 Billion From Investors

October 08, 2023
England’s Metro Bank has reportedly secured $1.1 billion from investors following a rocky week. As Bloomberg News reported Sunday (Oct. 8), the funding package is comprised of a £325 million capital raise, comprising £150 million ($183 million) of new equity and £175 million ($213 million) in new MREL issuance. In addition, Metro will also refinance £600 million ($732 […]

UK Launches FinTech Fund Backed by Mastercard and Barclays

August 16, 2023
The United Kingdom has taken a significant step to bolster its position as a global FinTech investment hub by launching a £1 billion investment fund, announced Wednesday (Aug. 16) by...

UK Challenger Bank Zopa Reaches £2B Deposits Mark

August 25, 2022
U.K. challenger bank Zopa reported Thursday (Aug. 25) that its deposits now total more than £2 billion, driven by its offer to help customers do more with money that would...

Upgrade Offers OneCard for Single Platform Budgeting, Rewards

July 27, 2022
Challenger bank Upgrade is launching OneCard, a new product that provides users with a single card for daily expenses and making payments over time. “When paying for everyday expenses, consumers...