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digital banking

Fintech Adoption in Pakistan and Digital Transformation Supported by Local Fintechs Could Improve Tax Collection: PM Imran Khan

The team at Islamabad-based Fintech firm SadaPay has been introducing innovative and appealing financial products and services that are focusing on younger consumers in Pakistan.

SadaPay is offering black, sleek premium spending cards which may be comparable to some of the cards offered by European Fintech challengers such as Monzo or Starling.

SadaPay has also launched a Founder’s Club and allows its clients to get their hands on these premium black cards if they can get 10 of their friends or colleagues to register to use the company’s Fintech services.

SadaPay, which was recently approved by the State Bank of Pakistan to launch pilot operations, points out that Payoneer’s Global Gig Economy Index revealed that Pakistan was among the top freelance markets, even surpassing India, Bangladesh and Russia last year (following the COVID-19 outbreak).

The report from Payoneer confirmed that the United States saw the most growth at 78%, followed by the United Kingdom at 59%, Brazil at 48% and Pakistan following closely at 47%.

In Pakistan, there’s also a young workforce that is increasingly using digital banking and online payments services like EasyPaisa and JazzCash to settle daily transactions. The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated digital transformation in Pakistan and neighboring countries like India and Bangladesh as well.

Last month, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan said that the Digital Pakistan initiative would help move the country away from a cash economy, which has become even more relevant in a post COVID world.

Prime Minister Khan had stated in January 2021 that the Digital Pakistan initiative would help the nation transition to a more modern economy. The premier, whose comments came at the launch ceremony for the ‘Raast‘ payment system in Islamabad, noted that the initiative could potentially play a key role in eradicating poverty in the country with a GDP of nearly $400 billion.

The Prime Minister remarked:

“Cash economy is an obstacle for the people.” 

He added that digital transactions will help Pakistan on its journey to prosperity. He also pointed out that tax collection is extremely low in the country and that out of the 220 million residents, just 2 million are paying their taxes.

He further noted:

“Only 3,000 Pakistanis pay 70% tax.” 

Khan explained that the low tax collection rate has been a significant challenge or obstacle in the country’s ongoing development.

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YIELD App, Created by Fintech and Cybersecurity Experts, to Expand its DeFi focused Digital Banking Solution to Avalanche

YIELD App is getting ready to expand its decentralized finance (DeFi) banking solution to Avalanche.

According to a blog post published on January 22, 2021 by Ava Labs, which supports the ongoing development of Avalanche, a distributed ledger technology (DLT)-focused platform and project, this new integration will allow YIELD users to more easily gain access to new opportunities within Avalanche’s evolving DeFi ecosystem so they can “maximize their crypto returns.”

As confirmed in the update, the YIELD App will be expanding to Avalanche following the completion of the integration during the second quarter of this year. The initiative will aim to take advantage of the “rapid growth of opportunities” in Avalanche’s DeFi ecosystem.

As noted in the announcement:

“YIELD App is led by an experienced team of capital markets, Fintech, cybersecurity, and crypto professionals, and adheres to internationally recognized standards under global financial, regulatory, and licensing best practices.”

The YIELD App’s main product combines two major components its team believes were not found in the majority of DeFi apps. They include a “proprietary” portfolio management engine on the back-end and a digital banking and wealth management app on the front-end.

By leveraging all these capabilities, the app can regularly monitor and assess/evaluate the overall profitability of strategies across the DeFi space, such as liquidity mining, arbitrage, liquidations, margin and collateralized lending, and various other income-generating methods.

It employs an advanced risk management solution, allowing consumers to “achieve their optimal risk/reward ratio.”

YIELD App users are able to generate a “minimum of 12% APY and up to 20% APY–returns are maximized by eliminating gas fees and paying interest daily,” the announcement noted.

Tim Frost, CEO of YIELD App, stated:

“DeFi’s growth has been undeniable, but in order to bring it into the mainstream, hybrid crypto financial services providers, DeFi project owners, and innovators must collaborate to build better, more accessible products and services. This collaboration with Avalanche provides an opportunity for YIELD App to work with a best-in-class DeFi protocol developer and blockchain pioneer to make it easier for all investors to acquire digital assets and participate in DeFi services.” 

YIELD App’s user-friendly application and web platform allow users across the globe to generate fairly  high returns from various DeFi products “without having to go through a lengthy, complex, and often costly learning process.”

YIELD provides an investment fund that’s managed by a team with considerable experience in the Fintech and cybersecurity space.

As noted in the update, at “the core of its strategy is the YLD token, which rewards community members and allows them to boost their APY from 12% to 20%.”

As previously reported, Avalanche is an open-source platform for creating DeFi apps and enterprise-grade blockchain or DLT deployments in “one interoperable, highly scalable ecosystem.” Software engineers who create solutions on Avalanche are reportedly able to develop robust, reliable, and highly-secure software and customized DLT networks with “complex rulesets” or build on various private or public subnets (sub-networks).

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SoFi to Go Public in $8.65 Billion SPAC Deal with Chamath Palihapitiya’s Social Capital

Chamath Palihapitiya, CEO of Social Capital (NASDAQ:IPOE), has announced that SoFi will go public via a SPAC deal that is worth $8.65 billion via CNBC

According to a Tweet by Palihapitiya, his thesis is based on the challenges of incumbent banks and the benefits of Fintech and digital banking.

Palihapitiya says that SoFi has built a best in class digital banking solution. SoFi reports 1.8 million predicted to top 3 million users in 2021. The company was launched as a student loan refinancing platform but, over time, has iterated and expanded into other verticals and markets. Today, SoFi is more of a digital bank and investing platform with a dedicated community than an online lender. It was reported in mid-2020, that SoFi has filed for a national banking charter.

Anthony Noto said that he and Palihapitiya are super aligned with the goals of SoFi.

“Setting really high, loft goals,” said Noto. “We can really do a much better job of explaining the opportunity together.”

Noto predicted SoFi would do a lot of things together strategically with Social Capital. He added that they spent 2020 preparing for this event.

And why a SPAC versus an IPO? Noto says a SPAC will allow them to better educate investors – a process that is superior to a traditional IPO.

Additionally, deal certainty is a feature of a SPAC that Noto said drove their decision. He pointed to S-1s filed by firms that, in the end, do not get done.

In 2020, SoFi’s revenue was said to be at $621 million. In 2025, SoFi anticipates revenue of $3.67 billion.

SoFi expects to hit profitability in 2021 delivering $27 million to the bottom line. In 2025, net income is predicted to rise to $1.17 billion.

SoFi has built the AWS of Fintech said Palihapitiya. He also pointed to the fact that SoFi not only serves consumers but is also in the enterprise space providing services to Fintechs like Chime.

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Fintech Professional Says Challenger Banks are Disrupting Banking Sector in a “Big Way” by Improving Customer Experience

Mr. Potter Banker Banking (1)

Mr. Potter Banker Banking (1)Last year, we saw many banking challengers offering services to customers who might not have been satisfied with their traditional bank. Many more people also began to use online banking services due to the COVID-19 pandemic which forced many physical business locations to shut down.

Marwan Forzley, Co-Founder and CEO at Align Commerce, a payment service provider for global commerce, notes in a blog post published by Payments Source that challenger banks are still quite small when compared to traditional financial institutions. But they’re “disrupting” the banking sector in a “big way” by changing “the fundamental and antiquated experience we’ve come to expect.”

Forzley points out that Deloitte’s “DNA of Digital Challenger Banks” report states that “challengers have developed a product offering and channel experience that targets the points of the value chain where incumbents’ weaknesses are most exposed and often not easy to fix.” In 2020, we saw Fintech challengers (like Current) offer certain services that cater to the financially underserved — such as SMEs, Millennials and underbanked consumers, Forzley confirmed.

He added that digital-only banks (like Revolut) have launched services that specifically aim to serve corporate or business clients. They may offer advanced tools and features (for example, access to working capital, accounting integrations, online wallets, and payment scheduling). These tools may be accessed from a laptop or mobile device — “without the processes, complexities or red tape that incumbents are known for,” Forzley claims.

He also mentioned that there’s a “wide open market with plenty of opportunity not just for challenger banks but for financial technology as an industry to set themselves apart from incumbents to gain market share.”

In 2020, we saw an “unprecedented” level of investment into Fintech firms, Forzley noted. He pointed out that the opportunity for growth within the payment and banking sector is driven by the need to solve or address clear problems and develop “tech-forward solutions” that are “readily available” to serve individuals and companies. He claims that VCs and incumbents are interested in funding “innovative, agile products and services that improve on the speed, accessibility and transparency issues that are widespread throughout traditional financial institutions.”

He concluded:

“[The] winners will be determined by how novel their offering is. In order for the leaders in the space to survive against incumbents and against each other, challengers will need to focus on ensuring their services are more innovative and different compared to what exists today. If the service is going to yield minor incremental changes, it won’t be enough for the challenger to truly take off. The services that will do well are the ones providing a fundamentally different and forward-thinking customer experience.”

As reported recently, digital banks and Fintech challengers must show they can generate profits, because investors are expecting returns.

Investors have been pushing banking challengers to show them how they can generate sizable profits by effectively monetizing their products and services. Industry analysts expect that the neo-banking sector will have to consider consolidation opportunities and seriously begin to focus on achieving profitability in a post COVID environment.

As covered, Fintech adoption is on the rise globally with over 250 digital banks operating in major financial markets, according to a new report from Exton.

The report noted:

“On their quest for monetizing customer relationships neobanks have learned a first lesson: payment transaction fees, premium account subscription fees, or open banking commissions from brokering 3rd party services will in most cases not be sufficient to generate profits or breach beyond operational break-even. Our expectation much rather is that Neobanks will need to offer additional products to jump the gap to sizable profitability.”

The report added:

“Irrespective of which path neobanks will take, we remain convinced that they will need to shift into profitability mode quickly as investor patience will not be unlimited. But for those that select the paths right for them, stay focused on it and grow up as an organization, the future remains bright and full of opportunities.”

Exton suggests that some Fintechs or neobanks may want to consider offering digital or lending services which should help them diversify their business. Financial technology firms can also look into developing their own super app or offer investment services to the mass affluent market, Exton noted.

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Digital Banking: Fintech Unicorn Revolut’s Customers Spent 2.6x More on Online E-Commerce than On In-Store Purchases

Digital bank Revolut notes in its end of year review that “it goes without saying that 2020 has been a year like no other.” It has definitely impacted all our lives, including how we spend our money and the way we save, the Fintech firm confirmed.

While most people have had to remain indoors a lot more than they might have expected to or liked, staying home also has its benefits, according to Revolut. Many people might have saved a lot of money they’d normally spend while dining out or other costs related to commuting to work and other physical business locations.

As mentioned in a blog post by Revolut, the way we’ve all spent our funds has been “a little different too – we’ve supported our local businesses more, ordered our groceries online and sent digital cash gifts to friends and family across the country and the world.”

A Revolut user spent “on average £561 this year on travel, which is less compared to an average of £997 in 2019.” The digital bank’s customers spent “on average £338 this year on transport, which is less compared to an average of £458 in 2019.”

The Revolut team further noted that the bank’s clients “on average made 3.3 times more transactions on groceries than restaurants this year.” While sharing more details on consumer behavior and spending, the digital bank revealed that its customers “on average spent 2.6 more times on online shopping than on in-store purchases this year.”

As noted by the Fintech firm, its clients spent “on average £287 with top takeaway vendors (Deliveroo, Just Eat, Uber eats, Wolt, Glovo, takeaway.com) this year, up from an average of £182 per user in 2019.”

While sharing other updates, the Revolut team confirmed:

“From January 1, 2021, new regulations will come into effect across Europe which require most types of Internet payments to be made with an extra security layer called 3D Secure (or 3DS). These same regulations will also require card issuers to decline certain payments if they weren’t processed using this extra security layer.”

What these changes mean for consumers is that large online payments without the merchant asking customers to complete 3DS will be declined by Revolut as part of its “regulatory obligations.”

As explained by the Revolut team, 3DS adds additional security to card payments made via the Internet. The bank does this by asking its customers to verify their payments in the Revolut app before they approve it with the merchant.

So even if a bad actor or fraudster gains access to a customer’s card details, they won’t be  able to use them to conduct digital payments “where 3DS is involved.” The card holders would receive an alert asking them to verify the payment and can reject it with just a tap in their Revolut app. (Note: to learn more about this update, check here.)

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