The Monday Roundup: what we are watching this week | Feb 10th

By Puja Sharma

The Monday Roundup sets the scene for the week’s biggest news stories, industry deals, and upcoming events. For Prime subscribers only.

Galaxy of Borderless Payments

Wells Fargo has partnered with Q2 Holdings to launch a new commercial banking platform, supporting its digital transformation efforts and enhancing bankers’ efficiency.

“Wells Fargo is committed to delivering superior value to our commercial banking clients,” said Mary Katherine Dubose, EVP and Head of Commercial Banking Specialised Industries at Wells Fargo. “We are excited to partner with Q2 on this important initiative and to have completed the initial phases of Q2’s implementation. This new solution enables our teams to serve our customers with the agility and insights required in an increasingly dynamic market.”

Q2 serves banks, credit unions, alternative finance companies, and FinTechs in the U.S. and internationally. It enables financial institutions and FinTech customers to provide comprehensive, data-driven digital engagement solutions for consumers, small businesses and corporate clients. Q2’s solution is trusted by more than 30,000 bankers across 140 leading financial institutions, including more than half of the 15 largest banks in North America.

LuLu Exchange, the cross-border payments provider in GCC, has announced a partnership with Fintech Galaxy in Bahrain. The partnership will see LuLu Exchange leverage Fintech Galaxy’s Open Banking Solutions to make cross-border payments faster and more convenient.

Fintech Galaxy is licensed by the Central Bank of Bahrain to offer Account Information Services (AIS) and Payment Initiation Services (PIS) in the Kingdom.

Since its entry in 2013, LuLu Exchange’s digital payment solutions have contributed to Bahrain’s digital transformation. LuLu Money, its flagship digital payments app, has consistently been rated highly for its security and convenience.

Verifying Payments, Elevating Trust

ACI Worldwide has extended its FinTech partnership ecosystem through an alliance with Banfico, which specialises in regulatory technology, global account verification and Open Banking solutions.

ACI processes account-to-account payments for hundreds of PSPs in Europe and the UK instant payment solutions. Through the partnership with Banfico, ACI will support UK and European banks and payment service providers (PSP) to comply with mandates to offer Confirmation of Payee (CoP) and Verification of Payee (VOP) services.

VOP service is a pan-European regulatory requirement as part of the new European Instant Payment Regulation, which all PSPs must adhere to by October 2025. VOP enables PSPs to confirm account names and numbers prior to executing a transfer and is designed to enhance payment security across the Single Euro Payments Area and combat the growing threat of fraud, including Authorised Push Payments (APP) fraud.

FinTech giant PayU has joined forces with AdvantageClub.ai, an AI-powered engagement and rewards platform, to streamline employee benefits and recognition in India. The partnership integrates AdvantageClub.ai with PayU Checkout, allowing users to effortlessly redeem rewards or wallet balances for digital purchases.

This collaboration aims to enhance employee engagement by offering a seamless experience across rewards, wellness solutions, sales incentives, and more—all on a single platform.

With a user base of over 5.5 million users, a presence in over 100+ countries, 1000+ clients, and 10,000+ brand options, AdvantageClub.ai is renowned for its 95%+ reward redemption rate. This partnership expands the scope of PayU’s merchant partners to drive more customer retention, increase transaction volumes, and deliver superior value to their users.

What is the Buzz

CRED is set to inject ₹550 crore into its NBFC arm, Newtap Finance Pvt Ltd (NFPL), as part of a larger equity raise of ₹550 crore from its wholly-owned subsidiary, Newtap Technologies, and CRED itself—pending regulatory approvals.

NFPL, which launched in 2021, caters to CRED users with short-term personal loans. Kunal Shah indirectly owns 76% of NFPL via Newtap Technologies, while CRED holds a 23.6% stake. As of December 2024, CRED boasted an AUM of ₹19,000 crore with NPAs at just 1.1%.

India Ratings has assigned an ‘IND BBB’ rating with a stable outlook to NFPL’s non-convertible debentures and bank loans. As of December 2024, NFPL managed ₹1,141.6 crore in AUM—₹632 crore on its books and the rest via co-lending partnerships.

With an average loan ticket size of ₹1 lakh, NFPL primarily serves salaried individuals (60% of AUM), while self-employed high-credit-score borrowers make up the remaining 40%. Loans have a max tenor of 60 months and an average interest rate of 18%.

CRED’s latest move signals an aggressive expansion in digital lending—setting the stage for bigger bets in India’s FinTech space.