Novatti, an audacious but struggling ASX payments play will break cover on Thursday morning.

Novatti may have found a buyer for International Bank of Australia – and god knows who – or a material sell-down and ideally sell out is in the works.

A drag on Novatti from the outset, International Bank of Australia is and was an emblem of the chancers nature of Australia’s mercifully limited neobanking bubble.

All aspiration and ambition and audacity early on, Peter Cook, the former Novatti CEO and philosopher king of this passion project. Well, Peter Cook was in a hurry.

Cook told Banking Day at the time APRA gave them the all clear in November 2022 that IBOA and Novatti would get the job done in one year.

Novatti and IBOA teach that the capital needs and compliance burdens  of any banking upstart are beyond even thoughtful schemers.

There will be more neobank exits.