Silicon Valley Bank names global payments chief, Turkey getting digital bank

August 23, 2023 12:49 PM

SVB promotes its head of payments infrastructure, Turkey approves Colendi to open a digital bank and more. Here's what's happening around the world.

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Silicon Valley Bank names global payments chief

Silicon Valley Bank, a division of First Citizens Bank, has promoted Martin Murrell to head of global payments from his previous role as leader of payments infrastructure, integration and delivery. Prior to joining SVB last year, Murrell was chief operating officer at Amalgamated Bank. Earlier in his career, Murrell held executive roles at American Express, where he oversaw development of Amex's first personal bank deposit products. Murrell holds a doctorate in nuclear physics from the University of Oxford. —Kate Fitzgerald

Erdogan taps ex-First Republic CEO as head of central bank

Istanbul, Turkey.

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Fintech approved to launch Turkey’s first digital bank

Colendi, a fintech that debuted micro-lending and credit-scoring services in Turkey in 2021, has received permission from Turkey's financial regulators to launch the nation's first digital bank, according to a press release. Under its new banking license, ColendiBank may receive deposits and extend loans from its own balance sheet to its existing audience of 18 million consumer and small-business customers along with Migros, a Turkish grocery retailer, and Turkcell, the country's largest wireless provider. Colendi, with offices in Istanbul and London, also offers investment account brokerage services. Last year Colendi acquired the U.K.-based blockchain firm SETL, which provides support for the Federal Reserve Bank of New York's digital dollar initiative, the release said. —Kate Fitzgerald

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Binance offers crypto payments in Brazil

Blockchain and cryptocurrency company Binance has launched Binance Pay in Brazil, selling a crypto-focused payment alternative to merchants. Binance's payment app supports more than 70 cryptocurrencies, and offers both direct cryptocurrency payments and conversion to local currency before the point of sale, which is how most merchant cryptocurrency payments are processed. Brazil has become a popular market for digital asset initiatives, with Visa working on a central bank digital currency project for agriculture payments and local challenger bank Nubank developing its own cryptocurrency. "We expect this launch to be especially relevant for businesses in Brazil, as the country registers one of the highest crypto adoption rates," said Guilherme Nazar, general manager for Binance in Brazil, in a release. "By accepting crypto as a payment method, they'll increase the row of potential new consumers." —John Adams

SumUp adopts Apple's Tap to Pay in the U.K. and Netherlands

Payments fintech SumUp has added Tap to Pay on iPhone, expanding a partnership that began in 2021 when SumUp first enabled Apple Pay. Tap to Pay allows merchants to use their own Apple devices to accept payments without additional hardware. The Netherlands and the U.K. are the first two markets for SumUp's Tap to Pay feature. Tap to Pay appears as an option in the SumUp app, along with other forms of contactless payments and digital wallets. SumUp, which is based in Berlin and London, has offered some form of mobile point of sale technology for about a decade. The mobile point of sale industry has evolved in recent years to include softPOS, which includes Apple's Tap to Pay and options from other providers that enable smartphones to directly accept payments. —John Adams

NCR's international ATM expansion reaches New Zealand

NCR has extended its partnership with Kiwibank to include upgrades and access to NCR's surcharge-free Allpoint Network. More than 200 ATMs will be incorporated into the Allpoint Network in 2024, and the deal adds access to NCR's software-based ATM as a Service upgrade and management product. NCR, which recently announced a deal to expand its ATM management network to Portugal, earlier this year split in half, with one unit focusing on bank and payment technology and the other unit focusing on ATMs. "This move marks significant growth for NCR in the New Zealand market, and we look forward to helping financial institutions optimize their physical ATM networks while widening consumers' access to cash." said Stuart Mackinnon, executive vice president of the ATM Group at NCR, in a release. —John Adams

Mastercard, fintech partner for virtual cards in the Middle East

Mastercard is collaborating with United Arab Emirates-based payments firm Qashio to enable virtual card issuance in the UAE and the surrounding region. Mastercard and Qashio will also produce corporate credit cards. The two firms are trying to reach business owners who use their consumer cards for business expenses, a common habit among small companies. Virtual cards are increasing in popularity as businesses attempt to manage employee expenses as work patterns change. Mastercard is active in the region, having recently partnered with a local merchant acquirer to expand the card network's reach in the UAE. The UAE's government is encouraging the development of digital financial services, including work on a central bank digital currency, and courting fintechs to locate their headquarters there. —John Adams

Commercial Bank of Dubai, PwC sign AI pact

Commercial Bank of Dubai and PwC Middle East plan to develop customer experiences using new forms of artificial intelligence and machine learning. CBD will focus specifically on generative AI, which refers to newer technology that produces original content. The bank is attempting to improve how it tailors products, marketing, sales and customer service for individual users. Like many banks, CBD is looking to match evolving AI technology to specific uses, such as automating customer interactions and to inform fraud prevention. CBC and PwC will also test AI for use internally at the bank. —John Adams