Partnerships 

Sezzle Announces Integration with Customer Platform Klaviyo

Sezzle, a leader in the Pay in 4 industry, announced the launch of a new direct integration with Klaviyo. Klaviyo is a leading customer platform that helps over 100,000 paying users maximize revenue, increase repeat sales, and improve retention with personalized emails and SMS. With Sezzle's integration, Klaviyo merchants are able to launch email & SMS campaigns with flexible financing messaging.

PayNearby Integrates Government Super App, UMANG, to Offer Citizens Assisted e-Gov Services

To offer ease and further the Government’s vision to make e-governance 'mobile first' in India, PayNearby, India’s leading branchless banking and digital network, has integrated the all-in-one app UMANG (Unified Mobile Application for New-age Governance) into its platform. PayNearby looks to assist citizens with all their central and state government services-related needs across 20,000+ PIN codes with its tech-led DaaS network of 50+ retail partners while aiding the reach of UMANG services to a larger user base of 20+ crore customers.

Cloud-banking Fintech Ohpen Partners with ezbob to Offer Complete Suite of Lending Products to UK Market

Ohpen, the first fintech platform to bring a bank to the cloud, today announces its partnership with ezbob, a UK-based software provider for banks and financial institutions. The partnership is the next step in Ohpen’s expansion into the UK market, which commenced last year with the launch of a complete mortgage platform, and will leverage ezbob’s local market expertise to provide end-to-end SME lending products, as well as continue to support consumer lending.

Enfuce to Expand Card-as-a-Service with Mastercard

Enfuce announced an extended partnership with Mastercard to expand the company’s Card as a Service platform in the Nordics. Through the partnership, Mastercard powers Card as a Service with tokenised multi-currency BINs in the Nordics, enabling Enfuce’s customers to launch and issue their own physical and virtual Mastercard payment cards in just weeks rather than months.

UnionBank Partners with Avaloq to Transform its Wealth Management Platform

UnionBank continues the digital transformation of its wealth management business with the Avaloq Core Platform. This will help the bank to stay ahead of the technology curve as the financial industry continues to digitalize in the pursuit of greater efficiency and innovation. Avaloq is implementing its core banking system at UnionBank, a digital trailblazer in the Philippines’ financial sector.

Vyne and Wix Partner to Expanding Payment Options for UK Business Owners and Their Customers

Vyne, the specialist pay with bank account-to-account (A2A) payments platform, launches its SME proposition via a new partnership with Wix.com Ltd., a leading global SaaS platform to create, manage and grow an online presence. The partnership will give Wix’s UK-based merchants access to Vyne’s open banking payments infrastructure, enabling them to offer their customers the ability to pay directly from their mobile banking app.

GK8 Integrates with Polygon, Allowing Customers Scalable Access to Web3.0 at a Lower Cost without Sacrificing Security

GK8, the leading institutional-grade digital asset custody platform with DeFi, staking, NFT, and tokenization support, announces its proprietary, end-to-end solution is now integrated with Polygon, a leading blockchain development platform, offering scalable, affordable, secure, and sustainable blockchains for Web3.0. Polygon effectively leverages Ethereum’s ecosystem, the biggest multi-chain system in the world, in a more scalable, secure, and powerful manner.

iDenfy Partners with Payset to Secure Customer Onboarding with Full-stack Identity Verification

iDenfy, the tech startup that provides identity verification and fraud prevention solutions, announced its new partnership with Payset, a global payment solution that offers multi-currency accounts, prepaid cards, and currency exchange services. For Payset, collaborating with iDenfy will ensure a frictionless, four-step identity verification journey. The past few years have seen accelerated growth in the e-commerce industry.

ID-Pal Partners with Melissa to Launch Melissa ID for Seamless Contact Verification in Real-time

ID-Pal, a global identity verification provider announced its partnership with Melissa, a leading provider of global data quality and address management solutions. Collaboration between the two companies has resulted in Melissa ID, a unique, fully-customisable, out-of-the-box SaaS app for businesses to verify their customer’s identities in real-time. The solution uses a multi-layered approach that includes biometrics, facial matching, liveness testing, address verification, and document checks for greater accuracy and efficiency in identity verification.

Vyzer Chooses Salt Edge to Offer an Open Banking Boost to Investment

Vyzer, an Israeli-based fintech consumer-focused startup, joined hands with Salt Edge, a leader in offering open banking solutions, to enable high net worth investors to instantly connect and sync their European bank accounts, offering a comprehensive analysis of investment performance and fully digital cashflow tracking in a single dashboard. Our present-day society is at the core of a digital revolution that is being driven by the unprecedented expansion in, and dependence on, electronic data which is quickly turning into a vital commodity.

Akurateco Integrates with AFS Benefit, Mercury, and UPC to Expand Business Coverage

The Netherlands-based Payment Orchestration Platform Akurateco announced its recent integration with AFS Benefit, Mercury, and UPC in order to boost clients’ business coverage and scale their market share. Via the Arab Financial Services (AFS) Benefit partnership, Akurateco’s goal is to empower its clients by broadening their coverage in the Middle East region. AFS specializes in electronic payments outsourcing services in the MENA region. 

Future FinTech Labs Partners with Currencycloud, Making Low-cost Remittance a Reality for US-based Immigrants

Currencycloud, the experts simplifying business in a multi-currency world, has teamed up with Future FinTech Labs (FTFT Labs) to launch the remittance app Tempo to offer US-based immigrants a streamlined, secure and cost-effective way to send money.   Tempo currently serves money transfers to North America (Canada, Mexico), Europe (Italy, Spain, France, Germany, the United Kingdom), India and the Philippines.

Glia and Veritran Partner to Help Banks and Credit Unions Digitally Transform Customer Service Globally

Glia, the leader in Digital Customer Service (DCS), and Veritran, a leading global Low-Code solutions provider, announced a strategic partnership to offer digital-first customer support to financial institutions worldwide. The partnership integrates Glia’s seamless Digital Customer Service (DCS) solution with Veritran’s suite of Business Solutions to complement its digital onboarding, payments, digital wallet, retail- and business-banking offering.

Nebeus and Modulr Partner for Card Issuing

Nebeus, the European cryptocurrency app has announced a partnership with Modulr, the embedded payments platform, to augment its offering with accounts, real-time payments and Visa cards. This move makes Nebeus one of the first European companies to leverage Modulr’s one-stop card issuing solution across the UK and Europe.

Paysafe's viafintech Partners with Pecunpay for Cash Deposits and Withdrawals

viafintech GmbH, part of the leading specialised payments platform, Paysafe, announces a partnership with Pecunpay to launch a new cash deposit and withdrawal network in Spain. Pecunpay, a brand from e-money institution Pecunia Cards EDE, specialises in innovative e-payment and e-money processing systems. The collaboration enables fintechs who partner with Pecunpay to leverage its core banking system and licences to offer consumers easier access to cash deposit and withdrawal services at numerous supermarket checkouts across Spain.

Zimpler Teams Up with Gigapay to Provide Instant Payouts for Content Creators

Zimpler, a leading fintech company born in Sweden, has teamed up with fintech startup Gigapay to provide content creators with a hassle-free payout management system. Gigapay was the first to accommodate freelancers without a registered company, and now thanks to their partnership with Zimpler, Gigapay is also the first to provide instant payouts to those with a registered company in Sweden. The instant payout function is now available in Finland as well, with plans to expand internationally this year.

OKEO Delivers Seamless Multi-Currency Payments on Mambu

OKEO, a digital payment service provider for European entrepreneurs and businesses, announced their successful go-live on the leading cloud banking platform, Mambu. OKEO helps customers save time and money by providing access to modern and professional banking services. Mambu's composable platform enables OKEO to offer multi-currency foreign exchange payments, at rates up to five times better than traditional banks, and delivery times ranging from minutes to a maximum of one business day. 

Launches 

Revolut Launches Consumer Loans in Romania

UK-based fintech Revolut announced it will start giving consumer loans in Romania, its second biggest market worldwide. Revolut has over 2 million users in Romania, representing about 10% of its worldwide clients.Revolut customers can apply for consumer loans directly in the app. The credit agreement is signed with a qualified electronic signature, and the funds are instantly made available to the customer's account.

Ripple Unveils Crypto On-Demand Liquidity Service in Brazil

Ripple has brought its On-Demand Liquidity (ODL) offering to Latin America through a partnership with Brazil's Travelex Bank. ODL taps Ripple's XRP digital asset to enable customers to send money across borders instantly with very low-cost settlement and without the need to hold pre-funded capital in the destination market. Travelex turned to Ripple to help its customers, who have limited capital to cover pre-funding costs.

Seedrs Introduces Private Deal Room

Seedrs, the leading private investment platform with over £2BN in investments recorded to date, has launchedthe inaugural Seedrs Venture Partner programme, a new curated community for VCs, accelerators, ecosystem builders and serial entrepreneurs. Seedrs’ Venture Partner community will bring together established and emerging investors and influencers in private investment to support one another through global deal flow, mentorship, and collaboration to help founders get further ahead.

Pin Payments Expands to New Zealand

Australia’s online payments provider Pin Payments has recently expanded its offering to New Zealand.The strategic expansion comes less than two years after the Melbourne-based startup was acquired by global payments unicorn Checkout.com, which recently reached a $40 billion valuation. Pin Payments, which supports Aussie brands like PetRescue, Fig & Bloom, Finders Keepers and Obee, will now be able to provide the New Zealand small to medium business market with an online payments service that is quick to onboard.

Wirex Introduces SEPA Instant and Faster Payments as Top-Up Methods

Wirex, the leading crypto platform, has made it easier than ever for users to top-up and withdraw from their accounts with the introduction of new payment methods. The addition of SEPA Instant and Faster Payments will mean customers in the UK and EEA can transfer British Pounds and Euros more easily between their Wirex and bank accounts. Wirex’s mission has been to enable everyone to access the benefits of crypto, and giving their 5 million customers complete control over managing their funds is a vital part of that.

Adyen Advances In-person Payments with the Launch of In-house Designed Terminal Range

Adyen, the global financial technology platform of choice for leading businesses, announced the launch of its first in-house designed terminals. Innovated to facilitate diverse payment use cases, the terminal range marks the latest step forward in Adyen’s growing unified commerce offering. Running on the company’s single platform, the new devices remain inherently flexible to address a rapidly advancing payment landscape and ever-evolving customer needs.

Bank of New Zealand Rolls Out SoftPOS App

Bank of New Zealand (BNZ) has unveiled BNZ Pay, a mobile app for retailers that transforms an Android device into a contactless payment terminal. Developed in conjunction with Visa and Quest Payment Systems, BNZ Pay is being launched with no monthly costs to merchants who settle into a BNZ account until January 2024. After that, a monthly fixed fee of $10 will be applied.

Ranqx Launches in North America to ‘Fix’ SMB Credit and Lending

Ranqx, the world’s leading fully digital small-to-medium sized business (SMB) loan origination, decisioning and monitoring platform has officially launched operations in North America. The company now aims to tackle the region’s broken SMB lending system, which is estimated to cost the economy nearly $1 trillion each year.Ranqx is a first-of-its-kind platform, which delivers the intelligence, customer service and speed needed to transform the world of SMB lending.

Fuse Capital Launches VC Fund Focused on Web3

Brazil-based Fuse Capital has started raising Fuse Capital Fund II, whose central thesis will be investing in the next generation of Web 3 startups in Latin America. Fuse Capital Fund II will be aimed at companies solving traditional world problems, still dominated by web2, while using technologies embedded in the Web 3 framework, such as blockchain, DeFi (Decentralized Finance), stablecoins and NFTs.

SmilePay Launches Face Biometrics Payments in Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan-based SmilePay has struck deals with two major food retailers in the country to let shoppers buy their groceries using their faces. SmilePay has secured an investment from the biggest acquirer bank in Azerbaijan, Pasha, and formed deals with the Bravo and Araz supermarket chains. Already installed at Bravo, in its first month the technology has been used for 3000 transactions from 418 users.

Merger & Acquisition 

Verto Acquires Locusnine to Deliver World-class Cross-border Payments Solutions

Verto, the leading B2B cross-border payments and foreign exchange (FX) enabler, announced that it has acquired Locusnine, a software studio that delivers innovative solutions, products and services that help to transcend technological barriers to customers’ experiences. Locusnine is a leading product innovation studio that combines design thinking with extensive technological expertise to deliver compelling, user-centric products that create a positive impact.

Social Investment Platform eToro Acquires Option Trading App for $50 Million

Social investment platform eToro has agreed to acquire Gatsby, a U.S.-based, commission-free, stock and options trading app. The Israel-based company, which has won Best of Show awards in every one of its six appearances on the Finovate stage since 2011, will pay approximately $50 million for the trading company.Geared toward younger investors and traders, Gatsby was founded in 2018 as a way to bring commission-free options and stock trading to a demographic that has been overlooked until recently.

Sage Acquires Provider of Cloud Native Technology to Drive Accounting Workflow Automation for SMBs and Accountants

The Sage Group plc, the leader in accounting, financial, HR and payroll technology for small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs), announces that it has agreed to acquire Lockstep, a provider of cloud-native technology that automates accounting workflows between companies.  The acquisition of Lockstep accelerates Sage’s strategy for growth by broadening its value proposition for SMBs and by expanding Sage’s digital network.

Job Moves

Channel Capital Announces New CCO as it Advances Digital Lending Proposition for SMEs

As its new Chief Commercial Officer, Ion Fratiloiu has joined Channel Capital Advisors LLP (Channel). Fratiloiu will be driving Channel’s new digital lending proposition for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) via various go-to-market strategies including partnerships, lending platforms and intermediaries. Channel has invested heavily over the past three years in developing proprietary systems using APIs, Open Banking and cloud-based, artificial intelligence-driven technologies to prospect, assess and monitor SME credit risk. 

Genesis Global Names Chief Marketing Officer

Genesis Global, the low-code application development platform purpose-built for financial markets organizations, announced Jason Jhonson as Chief Marketing Officer.  Jhonson reports to CEO, Stephen Murphy. Jhonson’s more than 20 years of experience building world-class brands for pioneering technology companies like Improbable, GitHub, PayPal and Yahoo, will propel Genesis’ own transformative mission to reinvent software delivery in financial markets through its low-code platform.

ComplyAdvantage Names Financial Crime Risk Management Expert Andrew Davies As Global Head of Regulatory Affairs

ComplyAdvantage, a global data technology company transforming financial crime detection, announcedfinancial crime risk management veteran Andrew Davies as the company's first Head of Regulatory Affairs. Andrew will support ComplyAdvantage's customers and prospects as they implement innovative financial crime risk management solutions. Andrew will also act as a lead advisor to the company's product management teams and train employees.

Royal Park Partners Appoints Niccolò Gamaleri as Senior Director

Royal Park Partners, the specialist financial advisor to the fintech industry, has announced that it is expanding its leadership team with the hire of ex-Barclays dealmaker Niccolò Gamaleri as senior director. The appointment represents another milestone for Royal Park Partners as it approaches its third anniversary. Since launching in late 2019 it has established itself as EMEA’s most active fintech advisor, expanded to New York, and raised over $1 billion for its clients.

Kingswood Continues Recruitment Drive with Two New Financial Adviser Hires

Kingswood Holdings Limited, the international, fully integrated wealth and investment management group, announced the appointment of Jade Rose and Max Sullivan as financial advisers, based at the firm’s London and Kent offices respectively. Max joins Kingswood as a fully qualified Financial Adviser with over half a decade of experience in the financial services profession. In his new role at Kingswood, Max will provide holistic advice to clients across financial planning and wealth management.

Shieldpay Appoints Chris Andrews as Head of Sales

Shieldpay, the market leader in secure digital payments, has announced the appointment of Chris Andrews as Head of Sales.Chris will be driving the business forward into the next era of commercial success. In his leadership position, he will be developing the Shieldpay sales strategy and guiding the team to achieve significant growth over the second half of 2022 and into 2023, and beyond. While there remains a focus on building share in existing markets, Chris will be looking to broaden the scope of Shieldpay’s current client base.

Cornerstone FS Appoints New CEO

Cornerstone FS plc, the cloud-based provider of international payment, currency risk management and electronic account services to SMEs, announces the appointment of James Hickman as Chief Executive Officer. James is serving out his notice with his current employer and so his appointment will take effect on 12 September 2022. James has over 19 years of experience within the payments industry. Most recently, James was Chief Revenue Officer at Dublin-based fintech business, Fire Financial Services Ltd.