2023年2月17日

這是我們本周從金融和科技領域挑選的五個頂級新聞故事。美國銀行和支付技術巨頭FIS宣布了分拆其商戶解決方案業務的計劃，希望“加強其戰略和運營重點，利用增長機會並釋放股東價值”。FIS表示，分拆其主要由支付軟件部門Worldpay組成的商戶業務，將賦予獨立公司“更大的戰略靈活性和運營重點”。該公司補充說，兩家公司將保持“牢固的商業關係”。據路透社報道，該公司還將考慮對剝離業務的收購提議。Worldpay於2019年被FIS以約430億美元的價格收購。FIS現任首席執行官斯蒂芬妮•費裏斯通過收購Worldpay加入公司。Ferris於去年2月被任命為總裁，並於2023年1月1日接替Gary Norcross擔任首席執行官。自那以後，該公司開始了一場節省成本的裁員熱潮，在2022年公司股價暴跌後，該公司裁員了數千人。NatWest集團將以1.44億英鎊的價格收購英國職場儲蓄和養老金金融科技公司Cushon 85%的股份。 The acquisition will enable NatWest to offer its commercial customers and their employees a new suite of financial wellbeing products as the bank looks to “help meet customers’ changing needs at every stage of their lives and support greater financial resilience”. Cushon, whose stated mission is “to lead a tech-revolution of UK pensions” whilst having “a positive impact on society”, offers pensions and savings products via a mobile app. Its Master Trust workplace pension offers an investment strategy built to drive down the financed carbon emissions of customers, with a focus on sustainability and social impact. The fintech also offers financial education services and one-to-one financial check-ups to employees. Finastra reportedly looking to sell banking business Finastra, an international banking, financial and payments technology heavyweight, is looking to offload its banking unit, according to Reuters. Finastra ponders the sale of its banking business The London-headquartered company, which has grown over the years via mergers and acquisitions – picking up the likes of banking tech veteran Misys; Thomson Reuters’ treasury capital and risk management software business; Canadian payments and lending tech provider D+H; and US-based digital banking vendor Malauzai, among others – has been known as Finastra since 2017 . According to Reuters, Vista Equity Partners, which has owned Finastra and its key component predecessors for over a decade, is exploring the sale of its banking portfolio for as much as $7 billion. It is carving out the “universal banking” business that will house core and digital banking solutions for banks and credit unions, which it believes can appeal to other venture capital and private equity firms as well as technology companies. Zopa acquires DivideBuy in “BNPL 2.0” push UK fintech unicorn Zopa has made its first acquisition, snapping up e-commerce credit solutions provider DivideBuy as it looks to deliver “BNPL 2.0”. Financial details are undisclosed and the deal is set to be completed in the next few months. The move will enable Zopa users to spread the cost of larger purchases worth between £250 and £30,000. Zopa says its buy now, pay later (BNPL) offering will run credit checks and affordability assessments, share data with credit agencies, enable the creation of credit profiles and help customers structure and pay off their debt. It will also provide instant decisions and combine “fully integrated” consumer journeys with consumer protection and the safeguards of a regulated bank, Zopa says. Global fintech investment drops 31% in 2022 from record 2021 high Global fintech investment fell in 2022 to $164.1 billion from a record high of $238.9 billion in 2021, a drop of 31%, according to consultancy KPMG’s Pulse of Fintech H2 2022 report. Global fintech investment fell in 2022 according to KPMG Despite the drop, it was still the third-best year for fintech investment ever and the second-best year for deal volume. Global fintech investment dropped by more than 50% in H2 2022 compared to H1 2022, from $119.2 billion to $44.9 billion, reflecting a “sharp drop-off” in large deals. KPMG says 2022 was a “challenging year” for fintech investment globally, with the Americas in particular hit hard. The region saw a $40 billion drop in investment compared to 2021. However, deal volume was “incredibly robust” in 2022, the report notes, while seed deals saw record investment, “which bodes well for the long-term fintech pipeline”.