Your weekly resource for noteworthy news, fascinating features, and fintech titbits that caught our eye. Whether you live by your Twitter lists, save your Google Alerts or simply scroll through LinkedIn for insights and commentary – there is a wealth of content that weaves a global story around fintech.

Our job at Fintech Talents is to work within that global story – finding the news items, conventional wisdoms and hard data that aids us in bringing the industry the best content, community and experiences in the business. This week’s FTT Bookmark of timely resources and real time conversations that are shaping fintech is brought to you by VC Innovations Director, Liz Lumley.

This week Swedish open banking startup Tink continues its European buying spree, digital assets meet core banking at Temenos, BNPL come to travel via Amex, and cash just refuses to die. Let’s all work in Bali for 90 days to recoup (if you work at GoCardless, that is).

Stockholm-based Tink acquires German open banking startup FinTecSystems – EU Startups

Swedish open banking platform Tink continues its expansion across Europe with the acquisition of FinTecSystems, a leading German open banking infrastructure fintech, powering over 150 banks and fintechs in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The acquisition will strengthen FinTecSystems’ already leading market position, with Tink further fuelling the company’s high growth and open banking capabilities in the DACH region.

Liz’s take: Following in the wake of their OpenWrks … (Why? Do startups hate vowels? – Yes, I know it has to do with SEO and such, but it’s starting to look as dated as boot cut jeans and drawn-on eyebrows) Anyway, where was I? Oh yes… Following in the wake of their OpenWrks acquisition, Tink buys FinTechSystems. Who is next?

Temenos brings digital asset trading to core banking product – Finextra

Swiss core banking vendor Temenos is to deliver access to digital assets for its banking clients through a relationship with local startup Taurus.

Taurus recently received a securities firm license from the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (Finma) to operate an independent regulated marketplace for digital assets.

The fintech is able to cover cryptocurrencies including Staking and Decentralized Finance (DeFi), any type of tokenized assets on any standard including issuance and full-lifecycle management, and digital currencies – all within the same platform.

Liz’s take: The bad boy of FinTech – crypto, digital assets, DeFI – has been scrubbing itself up lately and sitting at the table with all the china plates and multiple choices of cutlery. What will happen to the party that is ‘Crypto Twitter’? Will DeFi Generals never die? Or will they just fade away?

American Express launches new ‘buy now, pay later’ option for air travel – American Banker

American Express is diving further into instalment lending, launching a new option for credit card customers to pay for flights in monthly chunks through its travel platform.
Customers are now able to use Amex’s “Plan It” feature — which lets customers set up instalment plans for card purchases above $100 — for any flights they book on the American Express Travel website. That essentially moves the Plan It feature up directly to the point of sale, rather than requiring customers to log into their Amex accounts and switch a prior card purchase to an instalment plan after the fact.

Liz’s take: BNPL continues its march through Millennial, Zoomer financial culture – those dominating generations who never stood in a too hot Sears and Roebuck layaway line, two weeks before Christmas after their mother emptied the Christmas Club account. What goes around comes around, I guess.

Some of the biggest names in retail take Which?’s Cash Friendly pledge – Which?

Big and small retailers with stores around the UK including Aldi, John Lewis and Lloyds Pharmacy have made a public commitment to accept cash as a method of payment by signing up to the Which? Cash Friendly pledge.

Liz’s take: For the love of Pete! Listen, I get that Which? is trying to protect consumers. I am the daughter of a man who have never used an ATM machine (he has my mother do it). But we don’t light our streets with flickering gas any more. Our cars have antilock brakes and seat belts. Our children are vaccinated against things that used to kill children in great numbers – like measles. If you really care about consumers – put your energies into showing all of them that there are better, safer and CLEANER ways to manage your daily cash.

City fintech GoCardless reveals 90-day work from abroad policy – Financial News

Staff at London fintech firm GoCardless will soon be able to spend up to 90 days per year working from any location they choose, as companies find ways to be innovative with their hybrid working strategies.
Those who qualify for the online payments company’s Work Away scheme will be able to work from any location that meets safety, security and privacy standards, GoCardless said.

Liz’s take: Listen, if a woman wants to see what an AirBnB in Bali would cost for 90 Days, she is within her rights to investigate that. Awright!?

What I RT’s this week:

All joking aside. This 1,000 times this. 👇 https://t.co/mG0cS5XLRx

— Liz Lumley (@LizLum) May 13, 2021

Stay tuned for next week when our VC Innovations news hounds takes the reins of the news cart and to fill the basket with insights, interviews and interesting stuff!