Global private market exchange ADDX has fractionalised a venture debt fund by Innoven Capital, bringing down the minimum subscription size for individual accredited investors to US$20,000, from US$5 million. Innoven is a joint venture between Seviora Holdings – a wholly owned subsidiary of Temasek Holdings – and UOB.

Today, Australia’s largest retail floor covering specialist, Carpet Court and Australian Fintech, Spenda announce a partnership which will see the rollout of Spenda’s bespoke software and payments platform across the Carpet Court member network of more than 200 franchise stores to deliver business efficiencies through software and payment services.

1. The cost of living crisis will urge banks to revamp their digital banking offering

To say that 2022 has been a turbulent year is quite an understatement. While the energy crisis has driven high levels of inflation, causing people around the world to face higher costs of living, banks are now bracing for even tougher economic conditions and a possible global recession in 2023.

When comparing to last year’s spending habits, 52% of consumers are more likely to or are already using Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) services, according to new research from international payment service provider and direct bank acquirer, ECOMMPAY. The data reveals that a quarter of consumers (25%), more conscious of their spending habits during the cost of living crisis, are more likely to use BNPL for festive purchases this year, whilst 27% of shoppers are already using the payment option.

Atlanta-based global payments technology company Brightwell launched its ATM program solutions that offer a cost-effective way for the cruise industry to drive revenue while lowering ATM operation costs. By partnering with NCR, the largest provider of ATM software applications and hardware, and Travelex, the market leader in foreign exchange, maritime clients can launch an ATM program cost-effectively.

ThetaRay, a leading provider of AI-powered transaction monitoring technology, announced today that Ontop, a fintech platform shaping the future of work, has selected ThetaRay’s advanced SONAR anti-money laundering (AML) solution to monitor and detect both known and unknown financial crime threats.

Across the financial services sector, firms are looking to make their processes faster and less resource-intensive, with increasing numbers turning to artificial intelligence (AI) to automate their decision-making. On the face of it, this is a good thing for consumers, since their applications are dealt with sooner.
 
However, there are concerns that such efficiency comes with a caveat. What if the decisions being made aren't fair and cause financial exclusion by unintentionally discriminating against certain groups or individuals?
 

Scality announced its data storage predictions for 2023, capping a year of unprecedented ransomware attacks and unstructured data growth that complicate the work of IT teams to run efficient enterprise computing resources.

FactSet, a global provider of integrated financial information, analytical applications, and industry-leading services, today announced its collaboration with BMLL Technologies (BMLL) to offer the company’s granular order book history and analytics in the cloud.

bondIT, a provider of next-generation investment technology, announced today that it has raised $14M in a new investment round led by BNY Mellon, with participation by existing investors. As part of the investment, BNY Mellon will join bondIT’s Board of Directors.