Top five stories of the week – September 2, 2022
Here’s our pick of five of the best news stories from the world of finance and technology this week.
Diebold Nixdorf hires Joe Myers as executive vice president
Diebold Nixdorf hires Joe Myers as EVP
Paytech heavyweight Diebold Nixdorf has appointed Joe Myers as Executive Vice President, reporting directly to CEO Octavio Marquez.
Myers, who has more than 20 years of experience leading sales, marketing and business teams, will lead the US firm’s banking operations, handling sales and solutions delivery.
Myers joins from US Bancorp subsidiary Elavon, where he most recently served as chief revenue officer (CRO) and president of North America in Atlanta, Georgia.
He spent more than 11 years in a variety of roles at the company and was responsible for its growth strategy, business development and all revenue-related activities.
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Barclays will sell its remaining 7.4% stake in South Africa’s Absa
British banking giant Barclays is to sell its remaining 7.4% stake in South African banking group Absa, marking the end of an almost century-long run on the continent.
The offloading of 63,072,652 shares at ZAR 169 (£8.51) each will raise approximately £538m, Barclays says, with an expected loss of £31m on the investment.
The bank announced in 2016 that it planned to exit Africa and consolidate after a turbulent year and instead focus on its UK and corporate arms.
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UK parliamentary challenger group calls for financial services ‘big bang’
The UK’s All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on challenger banks and building societies has outlined how new reforms to the financial sector could support the government’s plan for equalisation.
APPG calls for a “big bang” for financial services
Challenger bank APPG has made five recommendations, notably calling for a new “big bang” in financial services to break up the dominance of Britain’s Big Five banks, which it says remain “insulated from the forces of competition”.
It also wants to cut regulations that stifle innovation, improve open banking and FSCS protection, match regulatory thresholds with international competitors and boost financial education.
The group’s leader Karen Bradley MP says financial services can play a “huge role” in the Government’s equalization agenda and the ongoing cost of living crisis, “but overly cautious regulation is holding them back”.
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Railsr appoints former Mastercard executive Rick Haythornthwaite as first chairman
Embedded finance and banking-as-a-service (BaaS) fintech Railsr, formerly Railsbank, is set to get former Mastercard executive Rick Haythornthwaite as its first chairman.
Confirming the news on LinkedIn, Railsr CEO Nigel Verdon welcomed Haythornthwaite “who will be joining Railsr as chairman and is my new boss”.
“Thanks to one of our loyal investors Mo El Husseiny of Ventura Capital who introduced us to Rick,” adds Verdon.
Haythornthwaite, who currently heads online supermarket Ocado and roadside assistance service AA, has also chaired Network Rail and energy company Centrica.
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ING will close down Yolt’s open banking operations
ING, the parent company of Yolt, has decided to wind down the latter’s B2B open banking business a year after shutting down its consumer-facing smart money app to focus on its technology business.
Yolt to shut down
The Dutch banking heavyweight says it evaluated all options and concluded that it is “not possible to achieve its ambitions with Yolt”.
“ING and its businesses continually evaluate activities, including assessing whether they are likely to achieve the preferred scale in the market within a reasonable timeframe,” it said.
“In this context, the evaluation has led to the decision to phase out Yolt.”
Yolt says its customers have been informed of the closure and will fulfill all contractual obligations as it winds down operations. ING aims to complete the phase-out by the end of April 2023.
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