Partnerships 

AllianceBlock and Peaq partner to power Web3’s Economy of Things through DeFi

Peaq, the decentralized Web3 network powering the Economy of Things (EoT), and AllianceBlock, an end-to-end decentralized finance solutions provider, have announced a partnership centering on their acceleration into Web3. The partnership will see peaq utilize AllianceBlock’s end-to-end decentralized infrastructure in order to enhance the capabilities of the network's economic mechanisms, accelerating the creation of the Web3 machine economy.

HI partners with Contis to launch Drypto debit card and fiat accounts

HI, the crypto exchange upstart and mobile banking platform, has announced a strategic agreement with Contis, a leading Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) provider in Europe. The partnership with Contis - who counts Visa and MasterCard amongst their network of partners - means that later this year, eligible hi members will be able to seamlessly spend their digital assets at over 60 million merchants, using a hi Debit Card.

Supporting hi’s mission to build the world’s most user-friendly and functional crypto and fiat platform, this partnership will not only enable hi’s 3 million-strong community to use cryptocurrencies to make payments using the hi Debit Card but also provide eligible members with their personal IBAN accounts for a seamless on/off-ramp.

Nordigen partners with SaaS platform Enty to launch an open banking solution on the management platform

Accounting app Binderr has tapped into Nordigen’s freemium open banking platform to gain account information for their client operations. Binderr is a Malta-based business finance and automated accounting platform, created with freelancers and SMEs in mind. Binderr opts for simplified processes and options that save time for their clients, such as quick invoice creation, expense reports updated with photographed receipts and clear real-time financial insights. The platform also boasts an innovative tax system, with automatic updates to VAT and income tax returns with every transaction.

Transunion teams up with Creditladder to include property rental payments in credit reports

Global information and insights company TransUnion, one of the UK’s leading credit reference agencies, has partnered with CreditLadder, the UK’s first and largest rent reporting platform, to incorporate UK tenants’ rental payments into their credit information. Rental payment history of those individuals using CreditLadder can now be recorded in their TransUnion credit report, giving finance providers a more holistic view of financial standing and creditworthiness. Anyone renting can sign up to the service by providing details of their bank account, rent amount and tenancy details, enabling CreditLadder to capture and track rental payments automatically, via Open Banking.

PXP Financial partners with the US leading esports betting service, Esports Entertainment Group

PXP Financial Inc, the expert in acquiring and payment services, announces a new partnership with Esports Entertainment Group, a full-stack esports and online gambling company fuelled by the growth of betting on competitive videogames and the ascendance of esports with new generations. Esports Entertainment Group is an integral part of the global esports betting market which is expected to exceed $205bn by 2027. It has recently been approved by the state of New Jersey to become the US’ first betting company for competitive video games.

Finastra partners with Datagear to help corporate banks in Egypt optimize core processes

Finastra announced its partnership with DataGear, a leading service provider for banking and financial services in Egypt, to enable corporate banks to rationalize core operations, automate compliance and reduce costs. DataGear will provide its customers with Finastra’s solutions, Fusion Corporate Channels, and Fusion Trade Innovation, to help banks strengthen their services and grow their business.  

Surecomp partners with Enigio for sustainable and cost-efficient end-to-end digitization of trade documents 

Surecomp announced that it is partnering with Enigio - the Stockholm-based provider of digital original documents. Enigio’s trace: the original solution will be embedded into Surecomp’s cloud-based solutions to provide financiers, corporate traders, insurers, and other trade participants with the ability to create and fully manage digital negotiable instruments, documents of title, and other trade documents, all with the assurance that their content has not been manipulated or altered.

Vyne and Gr4vy partner to enable instant open banking payments for online merchants 

Vyne, the specialist account-to-account payments platform, announces a new partnership with Gr4vy, a leading cloud-native payment orchestration platform (POP), that will give online merchants access to open banking payments infrastructure.

Gr4vy's cloud-native payment orchestration platform enables merchants to streamline and manage payment methods, services, and transactions all in one place. With eCommerce becoming the cornerstone of retail, this partnership will give Gr4vy’s merchant partners access to Vyne's full array of account-to-account payment processing solutions. Once referred, Vyne's simple integration process will allow merchants to offer payments in as little as three clicks, and enable instant settlement while bypassing high-cost middlemen.

Launches 

Circle launches new portal for businesses to seamlessly access growth in the digital asset economy

Circle Internet Financial, LLC, a global internet finance firm that provides internet-based payments and financial infrastructure to businesses of all sizes, and the sole issuer of USD Coin (USDC), announced the launch of the new Circle Account. Through the comprehensive portal, Circle Account allows business customers to deposit, withdraw, send, receive, store and allocate funds to invest in digital currency to implement their operations in the digital economy. 

The new Circle Account comes amid booming interest in digital assets. According to recent research from Gartner in December 2021, 20% of businesses will use “digital currencies for payments, stored value or collateral by 2024.” This increased interest is happening alongside rapid innovation in blockchain technology that promotes faster and cheaper transactions, and as high inflation is prompting some companies to turn to digital assets as a hedge.

Computop integrates new Amazon interface for express checkout

The new version of Amazon Pay is available for merchants in many European countries as well as the USA and Japan. By integrating this payment method, online shops not only receive access to validated address data from the Amazon data pool for new and existing contacts as always but also benefit from further optimized user guidance. This leads to an improved purchase completion rate compared to the classic Amazon Pay solution. Computop customers will also benefit from future functional enhancements as many steps in the payment process take place directly in Amazon Pay, so improvements can be incorporated without any maintenance effort for the merchants.

Klarna brings the Pay-Now-And-Rewards program to new markets to bolster customer loyalty

Sweden-based buy now, pay later (BNPL) firm Klarna launched its rewards program in nine countries, including the UK and Canada, per a press release. Klarna also brought its Pay Now feature to the same countries, plus Australia. More on this: Klarna’s rewards program, which it launched in Australia and the US in 2020, lets customers earn points when they make on-time payments. Points can be redeemed at brands in the Klarna app. The BNPL provider also introduced “Missions”—small tasks that users can complete to earn points and discover different features in the app.

Wirex introduces Polygon Blockchain to app & non-custodial Wirex wallet

Leading crypto payments company Wirex, announced the addition of the Polygon blockchain to their recently launched non-custodial wallet, as well as the industry leading Wirex app. Users will have access to the benefits of the Polygon blockchain, which joins the Wallet alongside the Ethereum, Avalanche, Binance Smart Chain and Fantom blockchains, and the Bitcoin and Ethereum blockchains on the app. Available worldwide, Wirex launched their mass-market non-custodial wallet at the end of 2021, complementing the Wirex app and crypto-enabled card with over 4.5 million customers.

SWIFT vets bid to make cross-border payments as easy as texting

A group of Swift veterans has unveiled a global payment addressing service for banks and fintech that promises to make transferring money around the world as way as easy as sending a text message. Founded by three former Swift staffers, iPiD (International Payments Identity) has built a service - with partner Palo IT - that enables users to make cross-border payments anywhere in the world using only a simple proxy, such as a phone number, for the payee’s identity.

The addressing service uses the proxy to retrieve all the other data that is required, including an account number and bank name, without the payee needing to provide financial details they may not be familiar with.

PayHawk collaborates with NHS* Group to launch ‘scaling up’: a guide for global businesses expanding to Germany 

Payhawk, the growing platform that combines expense, payment, and invoice management in one solution, and NHS* group, a global tax and accounting firm headquartered in Duesseldorf, announced the launch of Scaling Up, a guide to opening an entity in Germany.

This follows Payhawk’s successful launch of Scaling into the UK, a corresponding guide for launching in the UK, written in partnership with law firm Mishcon de Reya. A key player in the European Union, Germany represents an attractive opportunity for companies looking to open or expand. Yet opening an entity is not easy -- there is a large amount of paperwork, and opening a business bank account is challenging and requires many official translations. As a result, it is vital to have a trusted partner who can manage location-specific tasks.

Virgin Money introduces Paylink solutions’ affordability platform across its lending products 

Virgin Money has enhanced the way customers who have fallen into arrears provide their income and expenditure (I&E) information as part of a new digital affordability platform, delivered by Paylink Solutions. The customized software brings Virgin Money’s operations together as part of a consistent affordability system for agents and customers to self-serve. Virgin Money staff will benefit from using Embark’s self-assist I&E configuration when in dialogue with customers, with prompts that highlight any customer over and underspending.

Bybit to launch USDC perpetual contracts 

Bybit, one of the world's fastest-growing cryptocurrency exchanges, will soon release its USDC perpetual contracts. The new product will allow users to trade using their USDC balance on Bybit's derivatives exchange.Bybit's new USDC perpetual contract will first open to whitelisted traders, allowing them to use USDC as collateral and place long or short contracts with up to 100x leverage and no expiration date.

Utimaco introduces Utimaco Deep Dark web system for critical insights in monitoring cyber attacks 

Utimaco, a leading global provider of IT security solutions, introduces the latest addition to its cyber security solution portfolio: Utimaco Deep Dark Web System. The solution is designed to support business analysts and investigators in law enforcement with sophisticated dark web monitoring tools and automation, required to prevent criminals profiting from stolen data.

Businesses, organizations, and individuals could all benefit from knowing whether information about them, their employees, or their customers, is available on darknet marketplaces. However, an estimated 96-99% of the internet is the ‘deep web’ – sites that are not indexed by any search engine, and which often need specific login credentials to access.

A new green fintech market emerges across Europe and the UK, building an open banking

Platformable launched their latest report, “Using Open Banking and Open Finance APIs to Build Green Fintech”. The report describes how Europe and the UK use open banking and open finance APIs to enable the growth of new sustainability-focused financial products and services. The report specifically focuses on key drivers including the current regulatory environment, partnership action, consumer demand, and how banking API products from open banking platforms are being used to build sustainability products.

Tradeplus24 launches into the UK with close of £30 million debt facility from PFG

Global SME lending fintech Tradeplus24 is launching into the UK with the close of a £30 million debt facility provided by San Francisco-headquartered global credit fund, Partners for Growth (PFG), with advice offered by debt advisory, Neu Capital. The funds will be used to rapidly scale Tradeplus24’s highly competitive revolving lines of credit for SMEs across the UK, after already experiencing great success with SMEs across Switzerland, The Netherlands, and Australia.

Merger & Acquisition

Chargebee acquires Numberz, launches Receivables to help subscription businesses get paid faster

Chargebee, the leading subscription management platform, announced it has acquired collections management platform Numberz and launched Chargebee Receivables. Subscription businesses will now be able to smartly automate their entire receivables process from purchase to payment, in addition to managing subscription products and invoices, leading to better data collections and insights for more confident decision-making. Chargebee Receivables helps finance leaders reimagine this critical workflow. Integrating with the existing ERP and accounting solutions, Chargebee Receivables will also provide finance leaders better visibility and control of their receivables and improve their own customer experience.

Trevipay announces the acquisition of BATON Financial Services, Inc.

TreviPay, a global financial technology company, announced its acquisition of BATON Financial Services, Inc. (“Baton”), a technology company that has built a unique, innovative B2B invoice payments network. To meet the trade credit needs of small businesses, Baton’s payments network has enabled the seamless delivery of structured financial services in partnership with financial institutions​. This successful acquisition is part of TreviPay’s ongoing, global expansion plan to make B2B payments faster and more flexible for its clients.

Job Moves

Macrobond appoints Klaus Holse as Chairperson to further support the growth journey

One of the leading providers of macroeconomic and financial time series solutions, Macrobond, has appointedKlaus Holse as new Chairperson to support further growth and expansion. Klaus has a background as CEO of SimCorp, Corporate VP at Microsoft, and Senior VP at Oracle. 

Klaus Holse is currently Chairperson of open banking firm Tink AB, cloud platform SuperOffice AS, vertical software company EG A/S and payroll firm Zenegy A/S. In addition, he is also Vice Chairperson of the Supervisory Board of Industriens Arbejdsgivere in Denmark and Dansk Industri. He has previously held the positions of CEO of SimCorp for eight years, Corporate VP at Microsoft for eleven years and he has also been Senior VP at Oracle. At Microsoft, he was President of Western Europe, leading the largest area outside of the US.

Currencycloud appoints Australian country manager

Currencycloud, the experts in simplifying business in a multi-currency world, announces the appointment of Nick Briscoe as Country Manager for Australia as our global expansion continues across the APAC region.Formerly the Australian MD of Finalto, the market leader in next-generation multi-channel trading software, systems, and liquidity services, Nick has held a variety of senior roles leading sales, operational, and technology teams for non-bank prime brokerage Invast Global.

In his role, Nick will initially guide the business through the regulatory process of obtaining a license in Australia, while also working with the wider APAC team to build out the infrastructure required to service new and existing customers in Australia and the region. Nick will then build the on-the-ground team through the second half of 2022.

Colt Technology Services appoints Catherine Leaver as Chief People Officer 

Colt Technology Services has appointed Catherine Leaver as its new Chief People Officer, with immediate effect. A seasoned telecoms industry HR executive, Leaver comes to Colt from Telefónica Group, where she has spent the last 16 years in senior HR leadership roles, latterly as HR Director and member of the Executive Team at Telefónica UK - O2. As she joins the Colt Executive Leadership Team, Catherine brings a wealth of experience in working across international workforces and in building strong teams, delivering change, and driving results, while making sure the wellbeing of the organization remains a top priority.

Iliad Solutions appoints COO

Iliad Solutions, a global leader in payments testing, has appointed Jill Pyper as Chief Operating Officer. She will be a member of the Executive Team and report directly to Chief Executive, Anthony Walton. Ms. Pyper will support Iliad’s CEO, Executives, and wider functions, strategically contributing to the achievement of commercial strategies through the development and implementation of effective operational solutions. She will work across the business ensuring processes and ongoing strategies meet the needs of an ever-growing client base and the evolving payments landscape.

Solarisbanks enhances the management team with the appointment of Chloe Mayenobe as a Chief Growth Officer

Solarisbank, Europe’s leading Banking-as-a-Service platform, announced the appointment of Chloé Mayenobe as its new Chief Growth Officer and General Representative. She will join the company on March 1. Mayenobe will strengthen the management team with her prestigious leadership background and deep experience in international growth and scale management. In the newly created position, she will be part of the Extended Management Board overseeing Solarisbank’s international expansion. Subject to BaFin approval, Mayenobe will join Solarisbank’s Management Board in the second half of this year.