Apex Group, the global financial services provider, has appointed a new Global Head of Operational Transformation. Ken Fullerton will lead the Operational Delivery and Improvement team focusing on client-driven technology and business process initiatives and improvements. He will also oversee the Global Service Centres.

bunq, the second largest neobank in Europe, has taken a significant step forward to upgrade its user-facing AI assistant, Finn, to be fully conversational. The challenger has also rolled out its worldwide one-time activation travel insurance, in partnership with Qover, a global embedded insurance provider. Both announcements come amid strong growth, as the neobank’s total user base surges past 12.5 million, and its deposits climb to over €8 billion. 

Pushing further into AI

Paynetics, one of Europe’s leading providers of embedded finance, has appointed Amit Sharma as Head of UK Operations. 

Temenos today announced that Commerce Bank, a top US bank, has gone live with FedNow on Temenos Payments Hub delivered as Temenos SaaS, enabling real-time payments on a secure, scalable, and continuously updated platform.

Temenos today announced the results of a sustainability benchmark for its cloud-native banking platform running on Microsoft Azure, demonstrating the efficiency to handle the variable demands of digital transactions while also supporting banks to meet their sustainability goals.

PayRetailers, the leading payment processor for Latin America is pleased to announce its new expansion to Africa. With coverage across four countries, the company offers a unified payment solution that will be a game changer for cross-border online merchants looking at Africa as their next move for strategic growth.

Grasp, one of the world's first AI assistants for investment banks and management consultants, is issuing new shares worth USD 1.9 million (SEK 20 million) to Yanno Capital and Philian Invest. Together, they have acquired an ownership stake of just under 13%. 

The investment will be used to accelerate the development of Grasp’s AI platform and continue its global expansion.

In a significant leap forward for contactless payment solutions within the travel and hospitality sector, Softpay, a tap-to-pay solution provider, is excited to announce its strategic partnership with Visit Group, the comprehensive digital ecosystem for the tourist industry. This collaboration is set to redefine how payments are made, offering seamless, contactless, and innovative payment options to guests and partners across the globe.

Fifth Third and Bottomline announced the launch of Enhanced Payables powered by Bottomline and its business payments network, Paymode-X. The solution combines the capabilities of Bottomline’s industry-leading business payments technology with Fifth Third’s extensive banking services to provide customers with a comprehensive suite of payment options.

Half of Brits are more wary of using online banking and banking apps now than they were 4 years ago, according to new research from personal finance comparison site finder.com.

The most common reason for this decline in confidence was concern about online fraud when using these platforms, with over a third (35%) of UK adults citing this reason.