EMEA Daily: UK Government to Pay out $43.6B to Support Households

In today’s top news from Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), the U.K. government is set to pay out nearly $44 billion in “cost of living” payments, South African mobility FinTech Moove has raised $20 million and more.

UK Parliament Asks Visa, Mastercard to Explain Swipe Fees Hike

The U.K. Parliament’s Treasury Committee has sent letters to Visa and Mastercard asking them to explain their increases in cross-border interchange fees after the U.K. left the European Union.

The companies will have until July 27 to respond. This inquiry comes after the Payment Systems Regulator expressed similar concerns last month and announced it was launching investigations into the cross-border interchange fees and processing fees charged by the two card providers.

TurnKey Lender Raises $10M, Names Board Chair

TurnKey Lender, B2B Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) company, announced Thursday (July 14) that it has raised $10 million in new funding and appointed tech veteran Christian Morales as its new board chairman.

According to a press release sent to PYMNTS, the company will use the funds to “take advantage of new opportunities in embedded lending adoption macro trends across North America, Europe and Southeast Asia, following a sustainable growth trajectory.”

UK Government to Pay Out $43.6B to Support Households

To help struggling Britons keep up with soaring food prices and energy bills, the U.K. government is set to make a series of “cost of living” payments to millions of households in the country.

Low-income households on means-tested benefits will receive two installments totaling £650 ($766) from the Department for Work and Pensions. Meanwhile, pensioners and people with a disability will also receive payments of £300 and £150 later this year as part of the U.K. government’s £37 billion ($43.6 billion) support package.

Vehicle Financing Firm Moove Raises $20M

Johannesburg, South Africa-based mobility FinTech Moove has raised $20 million in financing from Absa Corporate and Investment Banking.

The funding brings Moove’s total financing to over $200 million, and will help the company expand its vehicle financing to more customers. Launched in 2020, the company said it is “democratizing vehicle ownership across Africa by providing mobility entrepreneurs access to revenue-based financing in markets with low access to credit.”

Kroo and ClearBank to Grow Partnership

Real-time clearing and banking service provider ClearBank has been selected by Kroo to provide access to all U.K. payment schemes, as well as accounts for its operational funds.

Founded in 2016, Kroo began as a digital-only prepaid card, and was awarded a banking license last month. ClearBank has worked with Kroo from the beginning, having provided operational accounts, access to U.K. payment schemes and the integrations that allowed Kroo to build its banking tech stack.

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