Partnerships 

SPENN and Mastercard Partner to Boost Digital Inclusion in Africa

Spenn and Mastercard announced a strategic partnership that will enable Spenn Mobile Wallet users – even those without bank accounts - to make safe and seamless digital payments on the Mastercard network including international e-commerce transactions. Under the agreement, SPENN will launch a Mastercard virtual card, giving its Mobile Wallet App customers new ways to shop at millions of Mastercard-accepting e-commerce merchants.

Liminal and Buidlers Tribe Partners to Foster Web3.0 Innovations

Digital wallet infrastructure platform ‘Liminal’ announced a partnership with Web3 incubator Buidlers Tribe as part of an accelerator program. The program aims at supporting emerging crypto-native projects at the incubation level. Startups part of this accelerator program will be able to avail of benefits worth USD 59,000 annually. Builders Tribe is a Web3 native incubator collaborating with various ​​founders and investors in building something new. 

11:FS and Griffin Join Forces to Bring the Power of Embedded Finance to UK Businesses

UK BaaS (Banking as a Service) fintech firm Griffin and global FS OS (Financial Services Operating System) 11:FS Foundry announced a new partnership to help businesses actualise the benefits of embedded finance - the process of building new fintech products and embedding financial services directly into non-financial applications. The partnership will expand 11:FS Foundry’s current integrations, adding Griffin’s BaaS products.

Arzooo Partners with HDFC Bank to Offer Purchase Cards to Retailers with Up To Rs1 Cr Credit

Arzooo (India’s fastest-growing Retail Tech Platform) partners with HDFC Bank (India’s largest Private sector Bank) to launch Purchase cards that have been exclusively designed for offline retailers. The aim is to roll out over one lakh such credit cards over the next 12 months. Over 40,000 retail partners who are already on the Arzooo platform stand immensely benefited, as they will now be able to manage their working capital much more efficiently.

actyv.ai Partners with Mswipe to Digitize and Transform B2B Ecosystem

actyv.ai, the category creator in Enterprise SaaS with embedded B2B BNPL and insurance, announced its cooperation with Mswipe, an omni-channel digital payments platform, to offer offline and online payment acceptance solutions to businesses in 800 Indian cities and towns. Mswipe will use actyv.ai's technological stack to digitise company processes and score for business prospects through the platform's embedded solutions, including B2B BNPL and insurance.

Unqork and Securrency Launch Private Markets Asset Tokenization Solution Powered by Codeless Architecture

Unqork, the leading codeless-as-a-service platform, partnered with Securrency, a leading developer of institutional-grade blockchain-enabled financial and regulatory technology, to create an end-to-end digital asset solution for private market customers. Leveraging Unqork’s enterprise-grade codeless development platform, Securrency’s Capital Markets Platform provides financial institutions and other operators with all of the features needed to launch a digital asset marketplace.

Finastra and Modefin Partner to Provide Best-in-class Fintech Solutions for Banks in Africa and Selected Indian Subcontinent Markets

Modefin, a global fintech solution provider, and Finastra, a global provider of financial software applications and marketplaces, announced their agreement to deliver Finastra's Fusion Trade Innovation and Fusion Essence products to banks in Africa and numerous Indian subcontinent markets. With Finastra’s solutions, Modefin will help its customers embrace open finance today and future-proof their banking and global trade operations.

OCR Labs Global Announces Partnership with Synectics Solutions

World-leading digital ID verification company OCR Labs Global, announced its partnership with Synectics Solutions, a data management and software solutions provider and the creator of the digital identity verification solution SynID. The partnership between OCR Labs Global and Synectics Solutions will enable all eligible people who need to prove their right to work or rent in the UK to do so.

emerchantpay Becomes the First Payment Service Provider to Integrate Directly with Umbraco for Real-time Payments

emerchantpay, a leading payment service provider, announces a new strategic partnership with Umbraco, an open-source content management system (CMS) platform. emerchantpay is the first payments company to be directly integrated into Umbraco Forms and enables payments for businesses in the UK and the rest of Europe using the CMS platform. emerchantpay will securely process one-time Umbraco form payments. 

Transferra Partners with Sumsub to Provide Straightforward Customer Onboarding

Transferra has partnered with Sumsub to create an easy, safe and secure onboarding experience for their clients. Sumsub is a global IT company fighting internet fraud and helping businesses comply. Transferra, a UK-registered payments company, provides business owners with UK IBANs and sort codes, EUR and GBP payment options, and a responsive online platform.

Shieldpay Announces Partnership with Checkout.com to Further Support B2B Transactions for Payments Industry

Shieldpay, the market-leading fintech solving complex B2B payments, has today announced its partnership with Checkout.com, the global payments platform, to support customers that need more than just straight-through-processing. Checkout.com will use Shieldpay's payment engine and digital escrow to solve customers' security, trust, and transparency issues in high-value online transactions.

Finastra and Jifiti Form Strategic Alliance to Deliver Next-Generation White-Labeled Embedded Finance to Global Financial Institutions

Finastra, a global provider of financial software applications and marketplaces, and Jifiti, a leading global fintech company, announced a collaboration to extend embedded finance capabilities to all financial institutions in the Finastra BaaS (Banking as a Service) ecosystem. Banks will be able to deliver financing offerings to consumers via merchants at point-of-sale, providing a better digital customer experience and choice for end users.

Launches 

AQRU Launches Crypto Accountancy Start-up Daxiom

AQRU plc, an incubator specialising in opportunities in decentralised finance (“DeFi”), announced that it has partnered with Ben Sampson and Elliot Fielding, Managing Partners of the UK-based chartered accountancy firm Sampson Fielding Ltd. (“Sampson Fielding”), to launch a start-up under the brand “Daxiom” offering technology-led accountancy and advisory services for institutions holding digital assets, and their auditors.

Mastercard and JPMorgan Launch Pay By Bank

JP Morgan is teaming up with Mastercard on a service that uses open banking to let customers make payments using their bank account information instead of a card. The Pay-by-Bank service offers ACH payments that use open banking so that customers can have permission for their financial data to be shared between trusted parties to let them pay bills directly from their bank account.

FinTech Connect Launches “FinTech in Flux” Industry Benchmark Report Reveals Adapting To Consumer Demand and Investment In Tech are Key for Winning Edge

FinTech Connect 2022, Europe's first fintech event for the whole ecosystem, launched its 2022 Industry Benchmark Report, Fintech in Flux: Thriving in the Age of Uncertainty. Customers remain the top priority, with 86% of respondents investing in AI to stay competitive. As the fintech arms race continues, institutions of all sizes continue to embrace technologies to meet the demands of modern consumers and drive greater efficiency and insight, with 86.6% of respondents believing that investing in tech is necessary for the winning edge.

Debite Launches an Innovative New Product; Debite Pay

Debite, the dynamic financing platform built for early-stage companies, has announced they’re launching a new product called Debite Pay. Debite Pay is an innovative payment solution that allows early-stage companies to send a payment directly from their Debite corporate credit card to a bank account. Early-stage companies can unlock the ability to use their line of credit to pay suppliers that prefer bank transfers or might not accept card payments.

Spendesk Launches New Invoice Capabilities to Eliminate Time-consuming and Costly Manual Invoicing for SMBs

Spendesk launches its industry-first set of Invoice Automation features, bringing secure, one-click, end-to-end supplier payments to its 7-in-1 spend management solution. The new features relieve small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) from the burden of invoicing by streamlining the process while providing full visibility and control through an easy-to-use interface. SMBs may invoicing like huge companies with a single engine.

Starling Bank Launches New Partnership with Settld to Support End of Life Admin for Bereaved Individuals

Starling Bank has taken swift action to make life simpler for bereaved individuals, following recommendations made in a key nationwide bereavement report. The digital bank announced a strategic partnership with end-of-life admin service Settld to simplify account administration for Starling bank customers who have died. Settld's award-winning online service will allow Starling customers' next of kin to notify the bank and other relevant service providers of a death in one go.

Squirro Launches Allocators Insights App to Improve Investment Decision-Making for Asset Managers

Squirro, the Augmented Intelligence solutions provider, has launched a new app – Allocators Insights – that directly delivers the latest allocation strategy information to users, such as asset, fund, wealth, portfolio, and investment managers. Allocators Insights is a Gartner Magic Quadrant Visionary Squirro "Out of the Box" product. It helps investors, especially CIOs, understand market trends and variations.

Kuda, the Money App for Africans, Launches in the UK

Kuda, the money app for Africans is launching in the UK as part of a major global expansion drive, following a total investment of over $90 million USD. The launch will enable hundreds of thousands of UK-based Nigerians to combat high remittance costs on large transfers which currently average out at eight percent¹ - significantly short of the UN Sustainable Development Goal target of 3%.  

Facctum Launches FacctSet to Streamline Watchlist Management

Facctum™, a risktech company specialising in cloud-delivered enterprise risk decisioning technology, announces the launch of FacctSet™, a new solution designed to streamline watchlist management for improved compliance outcomes. FacctSet is the first purpose-built product designed to address the growing data management challenges created by the rapid growth of sanctions and AML compliance obligations.

AstroPay Launches New Mastercard Prepaid Card

AstroPay, the online payment solution of choice for millions of users worldwide, launched its new product in Brazil, a Mastercard prepaid card. This move will provide both new and existing AstroPay customers with the ability to pay in any store that accepts Mastercard. This new card in Brazil marks a strategic partnership between Mastercard, a worldwide payments leader, and AstroPay, a fintech that aims to simplify, secure, and maximise consumers' money.

Merger & Acquisition

Neobank Startup ZikZuk Acquires Tax E-filing Platform, TaxSpanner.com

SME Neobank, ZikZuk Technologies, announced the acquisition of SPANACROSS IT Solutions, well known as TaxSpanner.com. The Delhi based, TaxSpanner.com caters to over one million users and has a suite of products in its ambit including Tax Filing, Tax Advisory, Financial Wellbeing etc. and is soon looking to expand its service offerings into Indirect Taxes with its products on GST filing and Reconciliation.

FINOM Acquires Kapaga for Eight Figure Sum to Expand its Financial Services Platform into the UK

FINOM, the fast-growing mobile-first financial management platform for SMEs and freelancers, has acquiredKapaga, a UK-based cross-border payment service facilitating international trade for SMEs. FINOM's expansion in the UK and Europe will be strengthened by the transaction. European SMEs lack B2B finance services. 3% of 24 million European SMEs utilise digital platforms to manage their finances, highlighting the market gap.

Job Moves

Saxo UK Appoints Simon Camilleri as COO

Saxo, the leading fintech specialist focused on multi-asset trading and investment, announces the appointment of Simon Camilleri as Chief Operating Officer and board member of its subsidiary, Saxo UK Limited, effective immediately. Simon joins from Bank of America Securities where he was working for over 17 years, most recently as COO and Director of EMEA Rates and Global Non-Linear Rates Trading. 

Judy Waruiru Appointed as Managing Director for DPO Africa

Leading African digital payments company DPO has announced the appointment of Judy Waruiru as Managing Director for DPO Africa. In her new role, becoming effective in January 2023, Judy will be responsible for DPO business in over twenty African countries. Judy has been with the DPO since 2019 and was appointed as Deputy Managing Director in early 2022.

Navian Has Appointed Christopher May as Head of UK

The operations will be headed by Christopher May, with full responsibility for the expansion of Navian in the UK market. Christopher will play a key role in continuing the Navian journey of the digitalising property development industry. Christopher will also help the company maintain its stellar reputation with professionals, partners, and clients. Christopher May began his finance career as a mortgage broker for a large American insurance company.

Atlanticus Promotes Rosalind Drakeford to Managing Counsel, Chief Compliance Officer and Corporate Secretary

Atlanticus Holdings Corporation, a financial technology company enabling bank, retail and healthcare partnersto offer more inclusive financial services to millions of everyday Americans, today announced the promotion of Rosalind Drakeford to Managing Counsel, Chief Compliance Officer and Corporate Secretary. Mrs. Drakeford has served as Assistant General Counsel for 23 years and Director of Compliance for ten years.

Evolve Bank & Trust Appoints Robert Ducklo as General Counsel, Corporate Secretary

Evolve Bank & Trust ("Evolve"), a leading financial technology solutions provider, announced it has appointed Robert Ducklo as General Counsel, Corporate Secretary. Ducklo joins Evolve with more than 25 years of legal experience in banking. Most recently, Robert served as Senior Vice President and Counsel for FHN Financial, the capital markets division of First Horizon Bank. Prior, he was a Partner at Gerrish & McCreary Law Firm, where he represented community banks nationwide. 

Tradeteq Appoints Nils Behling as Chief Operating Officer

Tradeteq, a technology provider for securitisation-as-a-service and bank asset distribution, appointed Nils Behling to the newly created role of Chief Operating Officer. Tradeteq's CFO was Nils. Due to the company's continued growth in the trade finance market and its growing network of bank and non-bank originators looking to securitize and distribute their trade finance assets, the new role was created. 

MANGOPAY Appoints Ronen Benchetrit as Chief Technology Officer

MANGOPAY, a major European payment solutions provider for marketplaces and platforms, announced the appointment of key additions to MANGOPAY’s executive leadership team. Ronen Benchetrit has been appointed as MANGOPAY’s Chief Technology Officer and joined the executive committee following the acquisition by Advent International. Ronen will lead one of the payment industry's fastest-growing tech teams to lead the scale-up into its next technology challenge. 

Genesis Global Names Chief Technology Officer

Genesis Global, the low-code application development platform purpose-built for financial markets organizations, announced Tej Sidhu as Chief Technology Officer. Sidhu reports to CEO, Stephen Murphy. He leads multi-national product development teams and develops technology strategy for fast-growing fintech companies. Since 2015, Genesis co-founder and CTO James Harrison will engage with Genesis' largest clients as they make the Genesis platform a core technology strategy.

Lloyds Bank Appoints New Head of Corporate Trade and Working Capital Sales

Lloyds Bank Corporate & Institutional Banking strengthened its Transaction Banking Solutions team with the appointment of Mansour Davarian. Mansour will deliver Lloyds Bank's full trade and working capital solutions to corporate clients as Head of Corporate Trade Finance and Working Capital Sales. Under Mansour, Lloyds Bank's corporate trade, working capital, and asset finance sales teams will collaborate to deliver customised multi-product solutions.