Are pension products the next big thing for European Challenger banks?

Good morning!

I'd like to start with a shoutout to my good friends from Paris who launched Swan’s Open Source Sponsorship Program. This initiative will see them sponsoring five open-source projects each month. Learn more about Swan’s commitment to sponsoring open source projects, and how you could be one of them here

On to the news:

In Africa, MTN Group on Monday said it had signed an initial agreement with global payments giant Mastercard to sell a minority stake in its fintech arm.

MTN had been trying to unlock value in its financial technology and payments arm amid crippling power cuts that have forced it to set aside extensive capital for backup power systems.

The country’s second largest telecommunications company said it had signed a memorandum of understanding with Mastercard for a minority investment in its FinTech arm, valuing it at around US$5.2-billion dollars, almost 40% of MTN’s total market value.

In Europe there is not a day without some Digital Banking News. Yesterday Revolut and Starling broke the news, and today it’s the third UK neobank powerhouse with a big update as Monzo plots a move into retirement savings.

Monzo currently offers cash savings accounts but has long been rumoured to be building out a fuller suite of wealth products as part of its profitability push.

What do you think? Are pension products the next big thing for European Challenger banks?

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