Banking aspirant Novatti Group has reported a slightly bigger annual loss after a hectic year of expansion in Australia and overseas.

The Melbourne-based fintech posted a net loss of A$11.8 million – 8 per cent up on 2020 – despite a 50 per cent surge in revenue.

Novatti’s share price soared earlier this year after it inked a partnership with Afterpay to deliver the BNPL provider’s payment card in New Zealand.

Under the three-year deal, Afterpay is leveraging Novatti’s Visa licence to provide its customers with a virtual payment card that can be accessed through digital wallets.

Novatti collects monthly fees from Afterpay for providing the service and is expected to receive transaction fees if customer use of the card meets growth targets.

While Novatti has a small market cap of around $160 million, it is aiming to deepen its presence in local and international financial services in the next 12 months, including a maiden foray into retail banking.

The company is one of many banking hopefuls hanging out for an authority from APRA to begin operating as a bank.

Novatti chief executive Peter Cook yesterday raised hopes that the fintech would secure a licence before the end of November.

“APRA recently issued the first new banking licence since December 2019, having previously put these approvals on hold during COVID,” he said.

“With the restarting of this process, Novatti is seeking to achieve regulatory approval for this new business before the end of November 2021.”

While Novatti had only $8 million of cash sitting on its balance sheet at the end of June, since then it has raised more than $40 million from investors to support banking initiative and further acquisitions.

In July the group completed the acquisition of a 20 per cent strategic stake in online accounting software provider Reckon.