What happened this week in payments

Monzo embeds Deliveroo in banking app

Monzo is one step closer to becoming a financial marketplace for your finances.

The UK start-up recently announced a new bill splitting feature that allows Monzo users to request money from anyone. Using the Monzo.me feature that allows users to request money from anyone, customers using Monzo are given the option to split the bill once they have ordered from Deliveroo.

“Here at Monzo, we’re building tools that others can connect to. That will solve people’s problems and allow us to achieve our vision of becoming the financial hub for people’s lives,” said a statement from Monzo.

Read our exclusive interview with Monzo chief executive Tom Blomfield.

Starling Bank opens up fintech marketplace

UK fintech Starling Bank, the first mobile-only bank to launch a current account in the UK, has gone live with a new Marketplace feature that aims to become an ecosystem of financial products accessible through Starling’s app.

The Starling Marketplace is a brand new concept in banking whereby products from other fintech providers – and in the future lifestyle products – can sit within an easily browsed ecosystem within the app. These partners integrate with Starling Bank using their Open Banking and PSD2 compliant APIs.

Megan Caywood, Chief Platform Officer at Starling Bank, says: “Starling is built on the belief that customers should have ownership over their data. This is how they can build a better relationship with their money. The Starling Marketplace is central to turning this belief into something tangible, allowing third party developers, like Flux, access to our API’s to build a range of apps and integrations with the goal of helping people manage their money more efficiently.

Venmo to offer debit cards to customers

US-based payments service Venmo is reportedly testing a free debit card with selected users that is connected to their Venmo account.

According to TechCrunch, the company has selected users to test the beta cards that work just like any other debit card, and the money will be debited from their Venmo account.

The cards are Visa debit cards issued by Metropolitan Commercial bank via Shift Financial.

Square applies for banking license

US fintech Square that was founded by Twitter chief Jack Dorsey has made an official application in the US for a banking license.

The move ends months of speculation about the fintech’s next move. Various media reports claim that the potential banking license will allow Square to offer loans to small businesses. According to Dorsey, Square has lent more than $1.8bn to over 140,000 businesses to date.

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