As financial markets soared in 2021, we saw a record number of IPOs and workforces surge in numbers. The big six U.S. banks for example added almost 60,000 employees – or the equivalent of Morgan Stanley's worldwide workforce. But the recent news of hiring and spending slowdowns has been well chronicled.

Capital on Tap has secured a £200m funding facility with JP Morgan and Triple Point to support UK small businesses. The funding will help small businesses access to credit at a time when the UK is anticipating a recession and facing historic inflation rates.

As the demand for cross-border payments continues to grow, Brightwell, an Atlanta-based global payments technology company, announced today the availability of ReadyRemit. This comprehensive remittance engine enables FinTechs to capitalize on the digital payments market quickly and easily, building a new revenue stream and driving customer loyalty.

The Booming Global Payments Market

DIGISEQ, the wearable payments tech pioneer, has today announced its partnership with Dutch wearable fashion brand, AdornPay, bringing large-scale wearable payment technology to the Netherlands for the first time.

Accessing sensitive information requires effective security measures. Unlike passwords, specialists argue that biometric authentication systems are more efficient because they do not require remembering complex credential combinations. Biometrics, or body measures, such as fingerprint, facial and voice recognition, are widely spread in the financial sector as a user authentication method.

HSBC UK has rolled out sweeping variable recurring payments (VRP) to all its personal and business customers who use open banking services.

Bitesize investing insights platform Finimize, which was acquired by abrdn in October 2021, has expanded its mobile app with stock data.

Following the incredible success of the inaugural competition last year, KPMG again called on tech innovators across the continent to bring their innovations to the table with the aim of not only highlighting new technology breakthroughs that transform and revolutionize businesses in diverse industries but to identify those businesses truly leading the pack.

SubsBase, the first and only subscription and recurring revenue management platform catering to the MENA region, announces it has successfully closed its seed round at US$2.4 million.

MX, a leader in Open Finance, today announced that Wes Hummel has been named Chief Technology Officer. A customer-focused technology leader, Hummel has spent the past 25 years building global engineering teams that drive business and customer outcomes in financial services. He will oversee the company's engineering and information security teams reporting to MX Chief Executive Officer Jim Magats.