6 notable developments in bank and fintech apps

Enjoy complimentary access to top ideas and insights — selected by our editors.

The proliferation of mobile apps in financial services continues to transform the way consumers take care of their banking needs, with new apps for Gen Z customers, tools for credit union members to manage bitcoin trading and the reemergence of the Google Wallet among the latest developments.

Read our roundup for six noteworthy advances in the evolving mobile app environment.

Fintech app agreement opens the way for banking without the bank

The fintech ecosystem continues to evolve and transform the nature of banking with the announcement of a new deal between data aggregator Plaid and cross-border payments provider Wise.

The agreement enables Wise's 13 million customers to use Plaid's network of 6,000 fintechs apps without needing to link to a traditional bank account to conduct banking business, such as person-to-person payments, investing or personal finance.

"Having Wise as a potential primary account by which a consumer would want to move and manage their money became more and more critical," said Raja Chakravorti, universal data access lead at Plaid. "It's not that different from the way Venmo accounts have somewhat evolved into primary checking accounts, whereas initially they were more oriented around peer-to-peer money transfer."

Read more:

Plaid deal lets Wise customers use fintech apps bank-free

FBI puts banks on the alert for crypto app fraud

Loopholes and workarounds are being exploited by cybercriminals to bypass app store review and get unsuspecting customers to install fraudulent crypto apps on their iPhone or Android device, with losses reaching millions of dollars in the past two years.

The scams frequently involve impersonating genuine companies and cryptocurrency exchanges, and recently even a legitimate U.S. financial institution using the organization's name and logo.

The FBI has urged U.S. banks to put their customers on alert for or attempts to install fraudulent crypto trading apps on their phones and how to report suspicious activity.

Read more:

Fake crypto trading apps yield millions in losses

Digital bank gains European exposure with Gen Z banking app purchase

The evolution and growth of digital banking continues to change the face of banking for Generation Z children and teenagers with London-based GoHenry's purchase of French fintech Pixpay.

While the two companies will continue to operate as separate entities, the acquisition enables GoHenry to expand into France and Spain, adding nearly 200,000 Pixpay customers to its own two million U.S. and U.K. customers.

"We're excited to combine our expertise in financial education to accelerate not only GoHenry's growth but to accelerate the financial fitness of … more kids and teens globally," said Alex Zivoder, GoHenry's CEO.

Read more:

Banking app for Gen Z is expanding into Europe

Walmart meets shoppers’ needs with growing slate of financial products

Retail giant Walmart may not want to become a financial services giant, but it's starting to look more and more like one with a range of financial and non-financial product offerings in the Walmart app.

Walmart's strategy to combine its relatively new financial services offerings with its well-established retail business includes digital wallets, credit options for customers, and enhanced shopping and payment technology.

"We want to centralize all financial solutions on one platform so it doesn't feel like it's 25 different things," said Julia Unger, vice president of financial services at Walmart. "People who have financial services can then shop for more."

Read more:

From superstore to super app: Walmart's next steps in finance

Credit union partners with fintech on bitcoin mobile app service

Achieva Credit Union members can now buy, sell and hold bitcoin on the credit union's mobile app using a new bitcoin widget, the first of its kind to offer cryptocurrency trading among credit unions in Florida.

"In the past year, we noted our members trading cryptocurrency through popular trading platforms," said Tracy Ingram, chief digital and infrastructure officer at Achieva. "It was clear [they] want to get involved with crypto, and we felt it was time to provide access to bitcoin from an institution they trust."

While Achieva has taken a bold step in launching the new service in partnership with bitcoin technology and financial services company NYDIG, other credit unions, given bitcoin's unpredictability, are holding off with similar ventures for now.

Read more:

Achieva Credit Union launches bitcoin trading in its mobile app

Google Wallet becomes popular again

The rapid growth of digital credentials for transportation, events, vaccination records and more has resulted in an unexpected return to favor for Google Wallet, four years after its demise, as a companion app to Google Pay.

The pandemic was a key driver. "We saw merchants go digital and experienced the acceleration of digitization for everyday essentials, so we created two separate apps," said Arnold Goldberg, general manager of payments at Google. "Google Wallet for all the things you'd carry in your wallet and Google Pay only for payment-related activities."

Additional plans for the app include adding digital IDs for office and hotel keys to access Google Wallet, and creating QR or bar codes to allow users of older phones to access the app's features.

Read more:

Google Wallet makes a comeback as a digital credential app