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July saw a wave of new fintech rollouts, including stablecoins and Wallet-as-a-Service platforms. One notable launch is the Open USD stablecoin, introduced by a cohort of major names from the fintech and banking industries through a new independent venture, Open Standard.

Open USD Stablecoin Launch

An Open Standard launch statement describes Open USD as a “new stablecoin for global money movement”. Founding CEO and former Coinbase product lead Zach Abrams adds that it’s “built for the internet economy, designed by the businesses growing it”.

The design covers three key principles: allowing businesses to mint and redeem the stablecoin at no cost with no volume limits, distributing reserve earnings back to partners after deducting a small management fee, and operating under a collaborative governance model through an independent board composed of its partners.

Revolut’s Australian Banking Licence

UK challenger Revolut has secured a full Australian Deposit-taking Institution (ADI) licence from the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority, claiming it has become the first global fintech to achieve this unrestricted regulatory status.

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The authorisation clears the way for the official launch of Revolut Bank Australia. It comes six years after Revolut first entered the Aussie market, where it has since grown to serve over one million retail customers and several thousand business clients.

Matt Baxby, who has overseen Revolut’s Australian operations since its outset and now serves as CEO of Revolut Bank Australia, states that the regulatory boost will serve as the “launchpad for our next chapter”, enabling the subsidiary to debut new products including instant-access savings and new credit options.

Visa’s Stablecoin Platform

Visa has taken the next step in its digital asset strategy with the introduction of the Visa Stablecoin Platform (VSP), a new platform for stablecoin minting, movement, and management.

The new solution, currently being beta-tested with select clients, enables institutions to manage stablecoin operations like minting, burning, and treasury workflows through Visa-managed or connected wallets with integrated bank accounts and governance controls.

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Through its Wallet-as-a-Service offering, Visa states that VSP will make “stablecoins usable inside real-world treasury, settlement, and product stacks”.

Always.bank Launches Digital Business Banking Services

US-based small business-focused digital bank Always.bank has launched its full suite of banking services nationwide and established a new physical headquarters and collaborative hub in Birmingham, Alabama.

Owned by 22nd State Banking Company, a banking institution which traces its roots back over 100 years, Always.bank has adopted what it calls an “advisory-first model” to help small business owners grow their companies, combining its digital banking services with “real human expertise” and providing customers with dedicated advisors to discuss their specific business goals and growth needs.

Initially focusing on small business administration (SBA) loans, Always.bank launched its digital banking offering in May in partnership with Linker Finance. Now the company has expanded to provide customers with a full suite of banking products and services, including accounts, invoice factoring, and asset-based lending solutions.

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Swift’s Blockchain Ledger

Swift has completed development of its blockchain-based ledger and says the offering is now “ready for initial use, enabling early adopter financial institutions to support 24/7 cross-border payments with tokenised deposits”.

Going live nine months after Swift announced the project and just four months after it completed the design for the ledger, 17 banks across six continents – including BNP Paribas, HSBC, Lloyds, and Citi – are now preparing to pilot live transactions using the ledger.

According to Swift, the shared ledger provides participating banks with a “secure orchestration layer for bank-issued tokenised deposits on their own ledgers”. The system allows the institutions to move client funds at any time, including overnight and on weekends, before completing final settlement through their existing infrastructure.