Hey fintech friends,

If you're reading this, you've maybe been asked the question "... What more can fintech do from here?"

This past week felt like one of those news cycles that answered the question head-on: Dave's Q1 results highlighted that demand for early wage access is at an all-time high (and growing!); Synapse's bank partnership saga illustrates how complex– and high-stakes– it is to manage a bank ledger as a non-bank entity, and Roaring Kitty's resurgence on Twitter... DM me if you know what that one means, because I haven't the foggiest.

In India, central bank regulators are grappling with how best to expand UPI usage– while breaking up the payment app duopoly that currently supports 76% of UPI processing volumes. We'll dive into the challenge of building superapps in India, but first...

Neobanks internationalizing

Just as NuBank became the first western neobank to hit 100 million users across Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia, Monzo announced $190 million in fresh funding to double down on the US market (having launched Monzo US 2 years ago). Monzo’s UK rival Revolut already boasts ~1 million users in the US, and is now setting its sights on expanding to Mexico.

It’s interesting to see how neobanks that have driven such rapid adoption in their home markets are now tackling growth abroad. Sure, international expansion enables neobanks to acquire users in new geographies– but it’s also unlocking new features that can lure new neobanking customer at home.