Monoup news digest: main updates from fintech industry
As usual keep a close eye on all events in payment industry and have created a digest of the most influential ones. British company Noda has expanded its client base and surprised fintech world with its choice of audience. Let's delve into the possible reasons behind this decision.
Today digest also includes the main news of this week that you might have missed. We have gathered the key information and present it in a short and understandable format. Even if you are not a payment expert, you will still understand everything, as our media is created for businesspeople. Enjoy your reading!
Noda launches payment solution for retail in the UK
Noda payment system has turned its attention to the offline market in the UK, focusing on an audience that is of least interest to most payment systems. This includes freelancers, small shops, cafes, beauty salons, sellers of homemade goods, and other similar services. The nature of this business involves a small number and size of transactions, making it difficult to connect to a payment system. Most fintech companies are interested in large projects and businesses that process hundreds of thousands or even millions per month, as these allow for stable earnings and growth year after year.
Why does Noda need this audience? We can suggest that the company has ambitions to become a bank, and such services will help strengthen its user base and attract wider audience. The proposed solution is QR payments based on open banking. Sellers can provide a QR code for scanning, allowing customers to make instant transfers from account to account. This way, sellers will always have a “mobile cash register” at hand and improve their payment acceptance rates.
Instant payments coming to Somalia
Somalia is focusing on developing its payment systems. Central Bank of Somalia has announced the launch of a national instant payment system that will support QR code functionality. The payment method is pretty familiar: payments can be initiated from mobile banking, confirmed with a PIN code or OTP message, or made by scanning a QR code. Obviously that Brazilian PIX continues to inspire many countries worldwide to replicate its success and improve their payment infrastructure. This will not only increase the volume of payments but also enhance the user experience, develop businesses and e-commerce, and ultimately increase tax revenues.
The payment system will be called Somali Payment Switch and will be available soon.
Sumsub to allow reusage of KYC packages
User verification solutions provider Sumsub has introduced a new service: Reusable KYC. This service allows previously completed KYC documentation to be used again on other client sites of the company.
For this purpose, Sumsub ID is implemented, enabling clients to save their KYC documents already uploaded to the platform and reuse them for verification through Sumsub. For example, if a player registers on an iGaming project that partners with Sumsub and saves their documents, they can use same documents to register on another Sumsub client project without repeating full verification process. Sumsub clarifies that standard identity verification steps, such as liveness checks, remain in place, making it impossible to deceive the system.
Since the document upload stage is the most complicated for customers, company aims to improve registration conversion rates for businesses and reduce repeated verifications for clients who may register on multiple sites in a short period. This solution can be particularly beneficial for new iGaming products partnering with Sumsub, as clients will have already completed full KYC on competitor sites and only need to confirm the process on the new site.
Revolut attracts over 100,000 users in Ukraine
The excitement surrounding Revolut launch in Ukraine continues, and we decided to conduct additional analysis on this matter.
What have we found out? Firstly, it's worth noting that clients were not deterred by the unlicensed financial institution and are actively registering. In such a short period, the application already has over 100,000 users. After the National Bank of Ukraine warned about the illegal operation, Revolut stated that it intends to obtain a license but acknowledged that it is a complex process that will take some time. In the meantime, launching with a Lithuanian legal entity is a sensible decision. Currently, Revolut operates in Ukraine but is not a local bank; it functions as a foreign banking institution.
Ukrainians can open accounts, but there are no accounts in Hryvnia. The application can only be used for receiving payments from abroad and sending money abroad, as well as making card payments within Ukraine at the current exchange rate EUR/UAH.
It is important to note that payments in dollars or euros are not conducted in Ukraine, as these currencies are not nationally accepted, and settlements in them are not possible. Therefore, benefit of card payments in these currencies is questionable, as users will lose money on currency exchanges and repeated conversions. The service will be fully accessible to Ukrainians living in the EU or frequently traveling there, as well as those working for European companies. We can’t say Revolut is a full-fledged participant in the Ukrainian market; they have simply provided Ukrainians with access to their services as non-residents. Whether to open an account with Revolut is a personal decision, but it is important to consider that such accounts are not covered by the Deposit Guarantee Fund unlike for local banks.
These are the updates from Monoup about this week. You can also receive news on Telegram, where we publish all the main events daily as short messages.
