Fazzaco Weekly Digest: Worldline Delivers Strong H1 Results, Posts 12.6% Jump in Revenue; Tools for Brokers Promotes Sergei Gruzin to Head of Business Development Asia

Take a look at the latest happenings in this week's news digest from around the forex and fintech industry. Here are some of the top headlines from this past week.

1. Worldline Delivers Strong H1 Results, Posts 12.6% Jump in Revenue

The global payments company Worldline has released its financial results for the half year of 2022, showing a sharp increase in revenue compared to the last year.

In H1 2021, Worldline's revenue stood at €2,020 million, which is up by 12.6% compared to the same period of 2021. This achievement was reached thanks, in particular, to the continuous growth acceleration in Merchant Services reflecting the widespread and rapid shift towards digital payments as well as the group's strong positioning following the acquisition of Ingenico.

2. Tools for Brokers Promotes Sergei Gruzin to Head of Business Development Asia

Tools for Brokers, a leading technology provider for retail brokers and hedge funds, announced this week the appointment of Sergei Gruzin as the company's Head of Business Development Asia. The promotion is in line with the company's focus on strengthening its position across the APAC region.

Gruzin has been with Tools for Brokers since 2017 and, throughout his career, has had the opportunity to work in the TFB offices in Cyprus, the United Kingdom, Russia, Thailand, and now Singapore. Sergei was instrumental in launching and supporting the company's new offices, building strong customer relationships, helping onboard the team, and designing the strategy for the new regions.  

3. Brazilian Broker XP Inc. to Open Crypto Trading Platform to Clients in August

XP Inc., the largest investment broker in Brazil, will open its digital asset trading platform Xtage in August, as reported.

Xtage, which is currently being tested by employees, will be available from next month to customers with "adequate investment profile for such operations," revealed Lucas Rabechini, Director of Financial Products at XP Inc.

4. CySEC Withdraws CIF License of MPS Marketplace Securities Ltd

The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission(CySEC) announced on Tuesday that it has decided to withdraw the Cyprus Investment Firm (CIF) License with Number 170/12 of MPS Marketplace Securities Ltd.

According to the official press release, the decision was made at a CySEC meeting held on 11 July 2022. The cypriot regulator has decided, pursuant to section 8(1)(a) of the Investment Services and Activities and Regulated Markets Law of 2017 and section 4(7) of Directive DI87-05, to withdraw the company's license, due to the company's decision to expressly renounce it.

5. Bitstamp Secures OAM Approval to Operate in Italy

Cryptocurrency exchange Bitstamp has obtained approval to operate in Italy, the Luxembourg-based company's CEO confirmed.

The platform registered with the financial regulator Organismo Agenti e Mediatori (OAM) on July 22, according to OAM's website.

6. FXCM Reduces Spreads up to 54%

FXCM Group, LLC ('FXCM Group' or 'FXCM'), a leading international provider of online foreign exchange, CFD trading and related services has today announced it has reduced its spreads by as much as 54% on major currency pairs and indices. The new spreads will be available for clients under Forex Capital Markets Limited, FXCM EU LTD and FXCM Australia Pty. Limited.

In addition to reduced spreads, the FXCM continues to deliver quality execution with 84% of all orders receiving positive slippage or zero slippage. This means those trades were executed at the rate the client clicked on or better with FXCM.

7. Lloyds to Close Another 66 Branches​

Lloyds Banking Group has identified another 66 branches for closure over the next few months.

The UK lender will shut 48 Lloyds Bank branches and 18 Halifax branches between October and February.