Top five stories of the week – 16 September 2022

Here’s our pick of five of the top news stories from the world of finance and tech this week.

FTC orders Credit Karma to pay $3m for “misleading” consumers

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has ordered credit services company Credit Karma to pay $3 million for allegedly misrepresenting consumers with “pre-approved” credit card offers.

It alleges that from February 2018 to April 2021, Credit Karma claimed consumers were “pre-approved” and had “90% odds”, making them apply for offers that, in many instances, they did not qualify for, resulting in potential damage to their credit scores.

Susannah Wright, chief legal officer at Credit Karma, says that even though the company gas reached an agreement with the regulator, it “fundamentally disagrees with the FTC’s allegations”.

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JP Morgan to acquire US paytech firm Renovite

JP Morgan has signed an agreement to acquire cloud-based payments technology firm Renovite Technologies for an undisclosed sum. Once the acquisition is complete, Renovite will become part of JP Morgan Payments – which provides corporate treasury services, trade finance, card and merchant services.

Founded in 2015 and based in Fremont, California, Renovite offers cloud-native software products for payment systems, helping clients with infrastructure, including switch, reconciliation, security, issuing, ATM and testing.

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Revolut launches new one-click payment solution

Financial app Revolut has launched Revolut Pay, an online checkout feature that allows UK and European merchants to present it as a payment method. The challenger says its new product will make online shopping “even easier as it facilitates direct payments” which will be validated through Face ID or fingerprint unlock, with no account numbers being shared.

Revolut Pay can be used by Revolut members through the app, and also by non-Revolut users who can use their saved Mastercard or Visa cards issued by other providers to make the purchase.

It is already being used by the likes of Shopify and WH Smith and will be rolled out to more merchants in the coming months.

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New challenger Wio Bank launches in the UAE

Wio Bank, which describes itself as “the region’s first platform bank”, has officially launched operations in the UAE, with its HQ in Abu Dhabi. The start-up aims to provide financial solutions via digital banking apps, embedded finance and as Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS).

Wio is jointly owned by Abu Dhabi Holding Company (ADQ), Alpha Dhabi, Etisalat and First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) with an initial capital of AED 2.3 billion ($630 million).

It aims to partner up with other fintech start-ups to offer customers a “fully digital banking experience” through its mobile app.

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US digital bank for migrants Majority lands $37.5m Series B

Majority, a digital bank for migrants in the US, has landed $37.5 million in Series B funding led by Valar Ventures.

The funding round consists of $30 million equity from Valar and participating insider, Heartcore Capital, as well as $7.5 million in debt financing from a US-based commercial bank.

Majority says it will deploy the new funds towards enhancing its suite of essential services as the company targets the nearly 50 million immigrants in the US.

The new round follows nine months after Majority’s Series A round, bringing the total investment to $83.5 million.

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