Top 5 Stories of the Week

Revolut Launches Full Banking Operations in Mexico

The global fintech has exited its Beta phase in Mexico, marking its first banking launch outside Europe with a US$100m capital injection.

Revolut has officially announced the end of its Beta phase in Mexico, marking the formal launch of its full banking operations in the country.

Operating as Revolut Bank S.A. Institución de Banca Múltiple, the move represents the first time the fintech has established and launched a bank outside of the European continent.

The strategic expansion into one of the world’s key markets brings the company’s presence to 40 countries. Revolut stands as the first independent digital bank to secure a Mexican banking licence via a direct application, rather than through acquisition.

How is Ripple using DeFi to Affect Aviva’s Funding?

Aviva Investors, asset managers of Aviva plc, have struck up a partnership with Ripple for the facilitation of tokenised fund structures.

Ripple, the issuer of XRP, has teamed up with Aviva Investors for its first collaboration with a European investment management business.

The deal between the two organisations will see tokenised solutions incorporated into Aviva Investors’ existing product offering. 

The partnership is also the first of its kind for Aviva Investors, using a shared vision between the two companies to bring tokenised funds to the XRPL ledger. 

Standard Chartered Tech Leadership Shift in Digital Era​​​​​​​

Diego De Giorgi has left his position as Group CFO at Standard Chartered, joining Apollo Global Management, underscoring ties between banking and fintech.

Senior finance exits at major institutions highlight the growing intersection between traditional banking and alternative asset management as fintech partnerships reshape treasury operations.

Diego De Giorgi has left his position as Group CFO at Standard Chartered with immediate effect to take up a role as Partner and Head of Europe, the Middle East and Africa at Apollo Global Management. The move comes despite his status as a leading internal candidate to succeed long-serving CEO Bill Winters.

Apollo is a client of Standard Chartered, and recently entered a US$3bn partnership with the bank to finance infrastructure and green energy projects, representing the type of fintech-enabled collaboration increasingly common in modern banking. Shares in Standard Chartered fell 5.3% on the news, after nearly tripling during De Giorgi's tenure.

Amazon: Payment Options to Include Pay-by-Bank and Prime

Online retail giant Amazon has introduced pay-by-bank as a payment option for consumers to complete transactions directly from their UK bank accounts.

In a move that aligns Amazon with consumers’ digital banking preferences and modern lifestyles, it has announced the introduction of its 'Pay by Bank' function for UK customers.

Essentially, Pay by Bank gives shoppers the option of completing a purchase on the Amazon UK website without entering card details by establishing a secure connection between consumers and their banks.

The customer’s own banking app will provide a thick layer of security as it will use the consumer’s own biometric authentication or PIN verification.

This helps to protect financial information in addition to providing consumers with direct control over each transaction.

How will HSBC Boost the UK Government’s Tokenisation Goals?

HSBC Orion has been selected by HM Treasury as the platform provider for the Digital Gilt Instrument (DIGIT) pilot as part of the UK’s digital strategy.

After what the UK Government has called a “competitive procurement process”, it has revealed that HSBC is the selected provider for the launch of the DIGIT issuance after bids opened in October 2025.  

Together with HSBC, the government is actively engaging with additional suppliers in order to facilitate the accessibility of DIGIT, as well as ensuring that the development of secondary markets is supported. 

Patrick George, Global Head of Markets & Securities for HSBC, says: “After a competitive selection process, we are very pleased that HM Treasury has chosen our market-leading digital assets platform, HSBC Orion, which already has a proven track record of delivering successful and liquid market outcomes in other jurisdictions.”