As the new 2023 year has come, it is the right time to review the most vital events happened in the past year in the Fintech industry.
2022 was a tough year for Fintech. The new legal regulations were adopted, economics was slowing down in comparison to previous years, Russia invaded Ukraine, crypto prices fell dramatically, personnel were laying off in various financial and banking sectors. Nevertheless, many payment companies are still struggling to innovate despite smaller budgets and hard times.
Wise launched several new offerings and has begun growing its U.S. presence
In 2022, Wise grew its U.S.-based offices by over 75% and will hire over 250 new employees in NYC, Tampa and Austin in 2023.
That year, Wise launched several new offerings:
- auto conversions, an easy way to automatically convert currency when the exchange rate targets a customer’s desired exchange rate
- simplifying how businesses can view their unpaid bills in QuickBooks and pay them directly from their Wise account
- introduction of Plaid Core Exchange for integration of over 6,000 financial apps with Wise account
Forbes names 50 most innovative startups in personal finance, investing, payments and crypto in 2022
Among the listed startups are Addepar, Alchemy, Ava Labs, Carta, Chime, Circle, Melio, etc. It is noted that Venture capitalists poured $133 billion into fintech startups worldwide last year, nearly three times the $49 billion they invested in 2020, according to CB Insights.
Link: https://www.forbes.com/fintech/2022/#2725fc6c187e
The crash of crypto exchange FTX
FTX has been the second largest crypto exchange in the world after Binance. The collapse of FTX followed by the arrest of its founder Sam Bankman-Fried created a complete drama over the future of Bitcoin and the crypto market in general. FTX and its founder were charged on money laundering crime.
After the charges FTX filed for bankruptcy. It is estimated that $8 billion were lost and will signal the demise of crypto.
Link: https://www.forbes.com/sites/arthurherman/2022/12/14/will-the-ftx-crash-kill-crypto/?sh=68b5cab021f3
A bunch of payment institutions started offering cryptocurrency services in 2022
Regulators across the world has been introducing various new legislation restrictions and rules that aim to control the industry and protect consumers against fraud. Nevertheless, in 2022 several major financial companies introduced features that allow consumers to operate with digital currencies.
We already wrote about Mastercard and Visa in our articles, but here comes Revolut. This financial app received permanent approval from the UK Financial Conduct Authority with approval to perform its crypto business in the country in 2022. For several years Revolut has been offering custody of crypto assets and trading. Now, the business is regulated and controlled against money laundering and terrorist financing.
Link: https://www.ft.com/content/2fe924e8-1fc2-4f98-9c3f-b0eff70b2174
Revolut becoming Europe’s most valuable tech company
Revolut joined the tridecacorn club on the back of a $800m funding round in July 2021 that pushed its valuation past the $33bn mark. In 2022 it hired new staff and expanded its presence in the US. The financial results to be published are expected to show Revolut’s profitability.
Link: https://www.verdict.co.uk/the-biggest-fintech-stories-of-2022-that-you-cant-afford-to-miss/
DBS bank wins Asia’s Best Bank for wealth management in 2022
DBS bank is awarded by the world’s leading financial institutions Euromoney for its wealth management excellence doubled with digital innovation and family office.
