Partnerships 

HSBC and Wells Fargo Expand DLT Solution to Include Offshore Yuan

HSBC Bank and Wells Fargo & Company announced that the blockchain-based solution they are using for bilateral FX settlements is expanding to include the offshore Yuan (CNH). The offshore Yuan is the fifth currency resolved between the two banks utilising a shared settlement ledger. Since the shared DLT solution was launched in December 2021, HSBC and Wells Fargo have settled over USD200 billion in transactions.

Worldline Extends Partnership with BR-DGE to Further Enhance Merchants Payment Capabilities

Leading payment orchestration provider BR-DGE has extended its partnership with Worldline, announcing that Worldline’s new global acquiring capabilities have joined BR-DGE’s Partnership Program. Led by Brian Coburn, BR-DGE’s platform promises to revolutionise online payments for merchants by offering a universe of payment options via a single point of integration.

Alipay+ Partners with Over 1 Million Merchants in Japan to Create Seamless Travel Experiences for International Tourists

Earlier in October (11th), Alipay+ reached the notable milestone of partnering with 1 million merchants in Japan, helping to bring more seamless payments experiences to overseas travellers from China and Southeast Asian countries. This was a crucial moment for Alipay+ and Japan, given that the country is just reopening to mass tourism.

Coinbase Introduces Easy Bank Transfers for UK Users

Coinbase announced the launch of Easy Bank Transfers, making it one of the first major crypto platforms to offer rapid, Open Banking powered payments. Users can now link their bank account directly to Coinbase and begin making near-instant deposits, securely, and without the need to manually enter their bank account details. Manual data entry increases the chance of errors and rejected payments, wastes time, and is inconvenient for Coinbase clients.

Bump Teams Up with Mastercard and Highnote to Launch the ‘Bump Creator Card,’ Helping Creators Grow Their Businesses

Bump, a financial services platform that helps artists track and manage their money, is teaming with Highnote and Mastercard to offer the Bump Creator Card. The Bump Creator Card, powered by Mastercard, eliminates financial obstacles for millions of independent creators (musicians, content creators, influencers, etc.) and empowers them to develop successful businesses and brands.

Santa Cruz County Bank Partners with Corserv to Launch Comprehensive Credit Card Program

Corserv, a company that empowers banks and fintechs with payment programs, has implemented an innovative credit card program with Santa Cruz, CA-based Santa Cruz County Bank, to serve their business and commercial clients. Santa Cruz County Bank is a top-rated, full-service community bank serving Santa Cruz, Monterey and Santa Clara counties, dedicated to combining financial resources with expert solutions.

IboxPay Joins Forces with iDenfy to Ensure AML Compliance

iDenfy, full-stack ID verification, fraud prevention and compliance startup, partnered with IboxPay, a Poland-based fintech and cash-in payment solution provider that recently moved from Ukraine. The company integrated iDenfy’s AML solution pack to ensure compliance and prevent fraud. In the past decade, regulators have encouraged banks and other financial organisations to meet their duties using innovative means. Neither is IboxPay.

Spare Partners with Eazy Financial Services to Launch Open Banking Capabilities in Bahrain

Spare, an open banking platform regulated by the Central Bank of Bahrain, has partnered with Eazy Financial Services "EazyPay" to embrace Open Banking potential. Abdulaziz AlOthman, General Manager of Spare in Bahrain, and Nayef Tawfiq Al Alawi, Founder & CEO of Eazy Financial Services, signed the cooperation to accelerate the implementation of open banking services in the Kingdom, in line with Bahrain's 2030 economic ambition to develop the financial industry.

Santander Goes Live with Planixs’ Realiti® Suite to Deliver Real-Time Cash and Liquidity Management

Santander, a G-SIB (Global Systemically Important Bank), has gone live with Planixs' Realiti Software Suite to revolutionise its liquidity management procedures, including cash management, liquidity forecasting, and risk mitigation. Santander chose Planixs' real-time software in 2021 after a thorough market search for a solution that would provide real-time visibility over its balances, cash positions, and liquidity usage.

UAE’s Invest Bank Selects Temenos Banking Cloud to Accelerate Digital Transformation with NdcTech

Invest Bank, a premier commercial bank in UAE, has selected Temenos (SIX: TEMN) to take its digital and core banking to the cloud, in partnership with NdcTech.Invest Bank will adopt an end-to-end retail and wholesale banking solution on the Temenos Banking Cloud, becoming one of the first in the UAE to adopt a full SaaS model for its digital and core banking platform.

Gitcoin and OKX to Partner on Support for Developer Community and Public Good

OKX, the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume and a leading web3 ecosystem, has entered into a strategic partnership with Gitcoin to support the developer community and the use of novel funding mechanisms for the public good in the crypto space. With its day-one commitment to user experience, safety, and transparency, OKX leads in industry compliance and product innovation and is trusted by 20 million people worldwide.

IDScan.net Announces Collaboration with Jack Henry to Remove Barriers in Mobile Onboarding

IDScan.net established a partnership with Jack HenryTM to provide identity confirmation for digital account creation using the Jack Henry OpenAnywhereTM platform. Jack Henry offers a smooth, mobile onboarding experience through its partnership with IDScan.net. IDScan.net combines ID scanning, data parsing, facial recognition, liveness checks, and third-party identity validation to give financial institutions confidence in their customers.

BrandAlley, Boden, UGG® and Footasylum Partner With Clearpay To Offer Customers Flexible Payments

Clearpay, the leader in Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL), has announced partnerships with premium fashion and lifestyles favourites BrandAlley, Boden and UGG® - allowing them to offer online customers more choice in payment methods so they can manage their budgets and spend responsibly ahead of the Christmas shopping season. Footasylum uses Clearpay's omnichannel offering to enable 'pay-in-4' online and in-store.

Markor Technology Teams Up with Sumsub to Streamline Verification for iGaming Customers

Markor Technology has partnered with Sumsub to provide enhanced verification and fraud protection while ensuring full compliance. Sumsub is a global tech company with five international offices in London, Berlin, Cyprus, Tel Aviv and Miami. It offers businesses an all-in-one verification platform that secures the whole user lifecycle with customizable KYC, KYB, KYT, and AML solutions.

GLEIF and SWIFT Collaborate to Enable Interoperability Across Multiple Identity Platforms

The Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (GLEIF) has expanded its collaboration with Swift by certifying the mapping of MIC to LEI. A new open-source file mapping the MIC to the LEI will allow market players that use GLEIF and/or Swift data, such as financial institutions and public agencies involved in risk research and market monitoring, to link and cross-reference key entity identifiers for free.

Shard Credit Partners Provides Loan Funding in Support of Female-led MBO of NAC Grou

Shard Credit Partners provided senior debt financing for a female-led management buy-out of NAC Group, incorporating NA College in Washington, Tyne & Wear, North-east UK. Following the investment, NAC Group plans to expand its vocational training. Shard Credit Partners' loan assistance shows its growing support for the education sector. This latest investment aims to give young people in the North-east more chances in the engineering and automotive sectors.

eToro Partners with Broadridge for Proxy Voting, Enabling Retail Investors’ Voices to be Heard

eToro, the social investing network, has partnered with Broadridge Financial Solutions Inc. (NYSE: BR) to enable proxy voting for its users. eToro users, including those holding fractional shares, will be able to easily participate in annual general meetings (AGMs) by casting a proxy vote on issues such as mergers, executive pay and environmental, social and governance proposals. Votes are submitted by eToro investors, aggregated and shared with the company.

Launches 

Flutterwave and World Record Holder, Tobi Amusan Collaborate to Launch $end Mobile for the African Diaspora

Flutterwave, Africa’s leading payments technology company, unveiled $endmobile, an app to facilitate the faster and easier transfer of funds from the diaspora to the African continent. Flutterwave also signed Tobi Amusan, the Nigeria-born 100m Hurdles Women’s World Record Holder as $endmobile’s Ambassador; a decision the company says is due to their similarity in speed and resilience.

Global Payments Launches Open Banking Payment Solution that Joins Growing Portfolio of Innovative Payment Mechanisms to Meet Merchant Needs 

Global Payments is announcing a new payment method offering, Bank Payment, that enables merchants to provide consumers more choice in how they pay. This payment method leverages the direct, secure access to bank accounts made possible by Open Banking and lays the foundation for further payments innovation. Businesses can now accept payments directly from a bank account, combining speed and flexibility. 

Dapio Tap to Pay Officially Launches in the UK

Dapio, a London-based pay-tech, turning Android smartphones into card readers without extra hardware, announced the launch of its Tap to Pay app for small businesses and sellers across the UK. Dapio allows small businesses accept contactless card and e-wallet payments with one tap on any NFC-enabled Android phone. None is needed. Dapio Tap to Pay can be integrated into Android apps by partners for their business customers.

Coinbase Introduces Easy Bank Transfers for UK Users

Coinbase announced the launch of Easy Bank Transfers, making it one of the first major crypto platforms to offer rapid, Open Banking powered payments. Users can now link their bank account directly to Coinbase and begin making near-instant deposits, securely, and without the need to manually enter their bank account details. Manual data entry increases the chance of errors and rejected payments, wastes time, and is inconvenient for Coinbase clients.

Cristiano Ronaldo Launches First NFT Collection with Binance

Cristiano Ronaldo’s first NFT collection will be available Friday, November 18 as part of an exclusive, multi-year partnership with Binance, the world’s leading blockchain ecosystem and cryptocurrency infrastructure provider. The launch is supported by a global marketing campaign featuring Ronaldo, aiming to give his fans an introduction to Web3 through the world of NFTs.

LiquidityBook Launches LBX Portal, New OEMS Partnership Model Emphasizing Workflow Efficiencies for Both Sell Side and

LiquidityBook, a leading provider of cloud-native trading solutions for the buy and sell sides, announced the launch of LBX Portal, a breakthrough SaaS-based solution that promises new levels of efficiency, transparency and speed for market participants. LBX Portal offers simple, preconfigured solutions for varied client demands, allowing sell-side businesses to offer OEMS capabilities to customers while easing their own procedures.

Vantage Launches UK Liquidity Service for Institutional Traders

International multi-asset trading platform Vantage (or "Vantage Markets") announced the launch of Vantage Connect, a liquidity solution for institutions and corporates in the UK. The revelation comes as part of a wider strategic effort by Vantage to increase their institutional business in response to growing demand from hedge funds, family offices, banks, brokers, money managers, and asset managers.

Gravita Launches to Challenge Traditional Accounting Industry Consolidators

Gravita launches as a new challenger brand in the accounting industry with ambitions to become the leading tech-enabled full-service partner for established UK SMEs. Backed by Tenzing, Gravita is significantly investing in building a new kind of consolidator that combines the best of breed from high-quality professional services firms to support ambitious SME leaders in realising their growth goals. 

Genesis Global Launches Partner Program to Accelerate Software Innovation in Financial Services

Genesis Global, a low-code platform for financial markets, announced partnerships with Chenoa Information Systems, Flylance, Future Workforce, Luxoft, a DXC Technology Company, Velocity Investment Solutions, and Wissen Technology. Each financial services organisation specialises in process automation, low-code and agile software development, digital transformation, AI, big data and analytics, and many more. 

Klarna Launches Price Comparison Tool to Help Consumers Shop Smarter

Klarna's push to create an all-pupose shopping app has been boosted further with the inclusion of a price comparison tool for the cost-conscious consumer. The new tool compares prices across thousands of retailers and enables customers to filter their search by including colour, size, features, customer ratings, store availability and shipping options.

Merger & Acquisition

Tools for Brokers Acquires Match-Trader Server Licence to Expand its White Label Platforms Offer

Tools for Brokers, a leading technology provider for retail brokers and hedge funds, expanded its offer of White Label platforms with the Match-Trader (MTR), an award-winning trading platform developed by Match-Trade Technologies. Tools for Brokers is an award-winning technology provider with over a decade of experience developing its product ecosystem centred around the Trade Processor liquidity bridge.

Job Moves

Visa Promotes Ryan McInerney to CEO

Visa has announced that the current president, Ryan McInerney, will be appointed CEO of the banking giant effective from the 1st of February, 2023. Current CEO, Alfred F. Kelly Jr., who has been serving as CEO since 2016 and chairman since 2019, will become an executive chairman of the board after leaving the role.Previously, he was CEO of consumer banking at JPMorgan Chase. 

TripActions Names Stripe Executive Clara Liang to Board of Directors

Clara Liang has been appointed to TripActions' board of directors. Liang is a seasoned product leader with travel and finance industry experience. He has held top leadership roles in consumer and enterprise firms.Liang joins Andreessen Horowitz's Ben Horowitz, Zeev Ventures' Oren Zeev, Lightspeed Ventures' Arif Janmohammed, and TripActions' Ariel Cohen and Ilan Twig on the board. 

Tink Strengthens Payments Team with Four New Key Hires

Tink, Europe's leading open banking platform, has recruited four important hires in London. Andrew Boyajian joins Tink as Head of Variable Recurring Payments (VRP) to accelerate the company's VRP growth. Ian Morrin is Tink's new VP of Payment Sales, overseeing and expanding the business development team to put Pay by Bank at the checkout. Kevin Ward is VP Strategic Account Management for Tink's Payments and Platform clients. Head of Delivery and Solutions Architecture is Reece Shannon-Sinclair.

OKX Appoints Experienced International Finance Lawyer Nicole Purin as Deputy General Counsel

OKX, a world-leading crypto trading app and Web3 ecosystem announced the appointment of Nicole Purin as its Deputy General Counsel, based in Dubai, UAE. Nicole is an experienced international finance lawyer who has worked with trad-fi heavyweights across investment banking, derivatives and capital markets. She will be instrumental in ensuring the compliance of the OKX brand internationally.

SmartSearch Appoints New VP of Professional Services Sales

SmartSearch, the provider of the UK’s leading digital compliance solution for anti-money laundering (AML) has promoted Tom Dockerty to the position of vice president of professional services sales. Tom is a key part of the SmartSearch sales team, having joined as one of the company’s first sales executives almost 11 years ago. Since then, Tom has successfully climbed the ranks, becoming sales manager and then head of professional services sales in June 2021.

CellPoint Digital’s Commitment to Industry Leadership Continues with New Appointments

CellPoint Digital, the global leader in Payment Orchestration, announces the appointment of a top-tier tech and marketing team as the business continues its expansion into new verticals. Kim Hansen, new Head of Technology Operations, is a leading software developer specialising in DevOps. He joins CellPoint from Specshell ApS, where he led the implementation of IT processes and security.

Former BNY Mellon Exec Paul Burleton Joins Delio as Chief Operating Officer

Paul Burleton has joined fintech Delio as its Chief Operating Officer, making him the latest senior appointment at the company. He previously worked at BNY Mellon as Head of Regulatory Strategy, Global Operations, and Technology. Burleton's talents and expertise will now be utilised to expand and strengthen Delio's operational model and offer value to their growing international client base.

Freedom Finance Appoints Paul Bevis as Head of Growth

Freedom Finance, one of the UK’s leading digital lending marketplaces and embedded finance providers, has appointed Paul Bevis as Head of Growth. Paul joins from Royal London where he spent five years, latterly as Head of D2C Partnerships. Paul will lead the growth of Freedom Finance’s embedded finance platform which is already integrated across brands like Argos, ASDA Money, Co-op Bank, Creation and The Very Group.

Mahalo Banking Names Ken Kondo Chief Innovation Officer to Expand Digital Strategies

Mahalo Banking, a CUSO that provides online and mobile banking solutions for credit unions, announced that Ken Kondo, former Vice President of Software Development, has been promoted to Chief Innovation Officer (CIO). This leadership appointment supports the company’s commitment to continuous digital banking innovation. Kondo has an extensive background in financial software development and credit union operations.

Hazeltree Appoints Paul Higdon as Chief Technology Officer

Hazeltree, a leader in treasury and liquidity management technology for the alternative asset industry, announced it has appointed Paul Higdon as Chief Technology Officer. Higdon has 20 years of experience designing technological solutions and building financial software enterprises. As CTO, Higdon drives innovation to create customer value using modern technology, domain expertise, user-centered design, lean thinking, and agile delivery. Higdon will report to Amin.

Global Processing Services Names Sharyn Wilson as Chief People Officer

Global Processing Services (“GPS”), a leading global payments technology platform, announced the appointment of Sharyn Wilson as Chief People Officer. In this newly created role, Sharyn is responsible for leading GPS’s global HR organisation, including Talent Strategy, Recruitment, Culture, Learning and Development, Compensation and Benefits. Sharyn joins GPS’ executive management team and is based in London.