The Monday Roundup: what we are watching this week | Nov 3rd

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.

Bridging traditional finance with the digital asset ecosystem

Afriex has partnered with Visa to enable real-time cross-border transfers across more than 160 markets. By integrating Visa Direct through Afriex’s financial institution partner, this initiative strengthens Afriex’s capability to deliver instant, secure, and cost-efficient international transactions for individuals and businesses worldwide.

The integration empowers Afriex users to send funds in real time directly to eligible Visa accounts, connecting to billions of endpoints across the globe. This collaboration reflects Afriex’s ongoing commitment to simplifying international payments through advanced financial technology, while leveraging Visa’s global network to provide a faster, more transparent, and reliable remittance experience.

Cross-border remittances play an increasingly vital role in supporting financial inclusion and global economic stability. According to the World Bank (2024), remittances to low- and middle-income countries reached $669 billion in 2023, underscoring their significance in driving household welfare, education, and community development. By enabling faster and more affordable money transfers, Afriex and Visa Direct are addressing a critical need in emerging markets where access to efficient financial services remains essential for economic resilience and growth.

Citi and Coinbase have teamed up to enhance digital asset payment services for institutional clients, aiming to streamline cross-border transactions and expand access to blockchain-based solutions.

Citigroup has partnered with Coinbase to broaden its digital asset payment capabilities for institutional clients. This collaboration integrates Coinbase’s blockchain infrastructure with Citi’s financial services, enabling faster and more secure cross-border payments. The initiative is part of Citi’s broader strategy to modernise its transaction banking services by leveraging blockchain technology. By using Coinbase’s platform, Citi can offer clients access to real-time settlement and improved transparency in digital asset transactions.

The partnership also reflects growing institutional interest in digital assets and the need for robust, compliant infrastructure to support them. Citi’s clients will benefit from Coinbase’s expertise in crypto custody and tokenisation, while maintaining regulatory compliance. This move aligns with Citi’s ongoing efforts to innovate in the digital finance space, including its Citi Token Services and other blockchain experiments.

Overall, the collaboration marks a significant step in bridging traditional finance with the digital asset ecosystem, providing institutional clients with a more efficient and secure way to manage cross-border payments and digital asset transactions. It underscores the increasing convergence of legacy financial institutions with emerging crypto platforms to meet evolving client demands.

Beyond conventional payroll delivery

Onbe has partnered with Payroll Growth Partners (PGP) to deliver next-generation, digital-first employee recognition and incentive solutions. The collaboration brings together Onbe’s advanced virtual incentive technology with PGP’s extensive portfolio of payroll companies, marking a significant step forward in transforming how businesses reward and retain their workforce.

Through this partnership, Payroll Growth Partners an investor in payroll service providers across multiple industries and markets—will extend its capabilities beyond conventional payroll delivery. By integrating Onbe’s virtual incentive platform, PGP’s clients can now provide employees with fast, flexible and personalised reward experiences designed to strengthen engagement, loyalty and satisfaction.

Recent data from the Incentive Research Foundation indicates that long-term incentive programmes can improve employee performance by an average of 44%. Reflecting this trend, Onbe and PGP’s initiative aims to modernise recognition strategies by giving employees the freedom to choose how they are rewarded. With 92% of consumers now preferring digital or electronic payouts and valuing the autonomy of choice, Onbe’s technology enables employers to offer digital reward options—from virtual cards to mobile wallet payments that align with the preferences of today’s workforce.

LoanTube has partnered with Cubefunder to transform access to finance for UK small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), delivering a lending experience that is both digitally advanced and deeply personal.

The integration sees Cubefunder become part of LoanTube’s extensive network of over 50 lenders, enabling real-time matching of SMEs with pre-qualified, tailored loan offers via LoanTube’s AI-powered decisioning engine. This partnership directly addresses the UK’s $25.8 billion SME funding gap, reinforcing both firms’ shared mission to make capital access more transparent, efficient, and inclusive.

Cubefunder’s lending model is designed to balance speed with empathy. Each application involves a personal visit from a Cubefunder representative before approval, reflecting the company’s belief that lending decisions should be relationship-driven as well as data-driven. Once approved, funds are typically released within 24 hours, helping businesses act quickly on new opportunities.

What is the Buzz

Revolut warns that many UK consumers are taking financial advice from unverified online sources, leading to significant monetary losses—especially among younger adults.

A recent survey by Revolut, conducted with Dynata, reveals that 41% of UK consumers have acted on financial advice found online without verifying its credibility. This trend is particularly pronounced among younger age groups, with 68% of 25–34-year-olds and 58% of 18–24-year-olds admitting to following such advice without further research. The consequences have been costly: 19% of respondents lost over £1,000, and 4% lost more than £5,000.

The study also highlights a gender divide. Men were more confident in identifying legitimate advice, with 80% believing they could spot credible sources, yet 25% still lost over £1,000. Women were more cautious, with 63% saying they never acted on unverified advice, though 59% believed they could recognise it.

Despite widespread concern about scams and misleading claims—35% cited scams and Ponzi schemes as their top worry—only 17% had consulted a financial advisor, and just 12% used educational tools from investment platforms.