The British Business Bank’s Small Business Finance Markets 2024/25 report, published today, finds that challenger and specialist banks’ share of gross lending is the highest on record - accounting for 60% and outperforming the UK’s big five banks.

The report also finds that business investment by smaller businesses continued to be low, a key reason for the lag in UK productivity versus other G7 countries.

SaaS provider Rivero today announced that it will provide its fraud recovery and dispute management platform, Amiko, to SIX and its partner banks. This collaboration will enable SIX to optimize its chargeback process by introducing a range of self-service features for its partners and their cardholders. 

Financial services organisations have faced significant disruption in recent years. In the banking space, nimble new fintechs are providing the seamless, personalised, app-based experiences that consumers increasingly expect, piling competitive pressure on traditional institutions. The democratisation of trading also means that advisers and brokers are seeing profits diminish, as people turn to trading apps instead of intermediaries.

Trading Technologies International, Inc. (TT), a global capital markets platform services provider, today announced the promotion of Justin Llewellyn-Jones to CEO, effective March 31. After three decades of experience in fintech and financial services, Llewellyn-Jones joined Trading Technologies as Chief Operating Officer in January 2024. Current CEO Keith Todd will remain on the Board of Directors and be appointed Deputy Chairman.

Viva.com, the 1st Tech Bank in Europe for Businesses, has entered a strategic partnership with checkout software solutions provider Extenda Retail, aiming to provide retailers with the latest cloud-native warehouse-to-payments technology. Viva.com’s innovative omnichannel payments platform is now integrated with HiiCheckout (High Intensity Intelligent) and ExtendaGoPOS solutions, saving retailers time, money, and resources, while offering speed to market, and a seamless in-store and online checkout experience.

Skipify, a leading financial technology company redefining the checkout experience, today announced its partnership with Discover® Global Network, a leading global payment network connecting millions of merchants and cardholders across more than 200 countries and territories worldwide.