Partnerships

Altura Credit Union taps Scienaptic’s AI-powered credit decisioning platform

Leading global AI-powered credit decision platform provider, Scienaptic AI announced that Altura Credit Union has collaborated with its platform for enhanced credit decisioning. Incorporated in 1957 and headquartered in Riverside County, Calif., Altura Credit Union is a not-for-profit financial cooperative providing financial solutions such as loans, investment, savings, credit and debit cards, online banking and other related services to the communities in the state of California. Through Scienaptic's credit decisioning platform, Altura aims to make its credit decisions automated, increase credit availability and stand firm for its Members and communities.

Finastra extends collaboration with National Bank of Greece for ISO 2022 migration

Finastra is supporting National Bank of Greece (NBG) with its transition to the new ISO payments standard, due to come into force from November 2022. The bank is upgrading to the latest version of Finastra’s Fusion Global PAYplus payments hub. Fusion Global PAYplus will enable NBG to fully harness the richness of the new ISO 20022 standard – improving the efficiency of screening, reconciliation, and payment processing, and enabling a richer customer experience for domestic as well as cross-border transactions.

Phos Partners with Borica to offer its innovative SoftPoS solutions to Bulgarian banks

Phos, the fintech behind the leading software-only Point of Sale system (SoftPoS), has partnered with BORICA, the leading provider of payment services in Bulgaria, to introduce its SoftPoS solution to the market. By partnering with BORICA, Phos’ innovative technology will be available to Bulgarian banks, allowing them to offer customers the ability to turn any NFC-enabled Android device, such as a smartphone or tablet, into a payment’s terminal. Most recently, Postbank became the first bank in Bulgaria to offer a mobile app for contactless payments, turning smartphones into POS terminals. The Smart POS by Postbank app will allow every merchant the ability to offer their customers contactless payments with Visa and Mastercard cards directly via their mobile phone, without the need to maintain costly physical terminals.

Mastercard advances B2B Payments solution with BMO and Moneris Partnership

Mastercard announced new partnerships with BMO and Moneris Solutions Corporation (‘Moneris’), who have joined Mastercard Track™ Business Payment Service. This unique Mastercard solution, available to Canadian business customers in early 2022, is designed to help buyer and supplier partners tackle the systemic challenges of business-to-business (B2B) payments – one of the first open-loop commercial solutions to do so globally and a first of its kind in Canada.

Mastercard Track automates and enhances the execution and management of B2B payments and the exchange of payments-related data between buyers and suppliers. It offers supply chain finance solutions and provides greater control over payments to overcome inefficiencies in the current ecosystem.  According to a small business study by Mastercard, four out of 10 (40%) Canadian businesses report facing cash flow issues due to late payments and slow processing times for cash and cheques. While delayed payments have always been a challenge for businesses, the pandemic magnified this pain point.

Medius and Columbus extend strategic partnership with new Infor M3 Cloud connector

Medius and Columbus extend their longstanding partnership delivering Medius innovative spend management and accounts payable automation solutions to the joint customer base using Medius in combination with the different Infor M3 ERP versions. Together, Medius and Columbus now offer an expanded integration connector between the Infor M3 Cloud Edition (multi-tenant) ERP system and the Medius Spend Management and Accounts Payable (AP) Automation solutions. The integration enables a smooth transition to the Infor M3 Cloud Edition for M3 customers leveraging Medius.

Job moves

CryptoUK appoints former Crypto.com and Binance executive Teana Baker-Taylor as a non-executive director

CryptoUK, the trusted voice of the UK crypto industry, announced the appointment of Teana Baker-Taylor as its new non-executive director (NED). The appointment comes at a time when growing adoption is intensifying debate about possible regulatory frameworks for the UK’s digital assets industry. Teana joins CryptoUK having held a number of critical leadership roles in traditional finance and the digital assets industry, working directly with regulators and Capitol Hill policy makers. She is currently the Chief Policy Officer for the Digital Chamber of Commerce, a leading US trade association representing the digital asset and blockchain industry, and  leads the Chamber's Policy and Government Affairs activities. Formerly at Crypto.com and Binance, Teana was responsible for the UK and European market strategy, operations and business development, as well as government relations and regulatory affairs across the region.

Bitfrost appoints former Chairman of Coinfy as a new Chairman 

Today, Bitfrost, the fintech ecosystem, announces the appointment of Alfred W. Moeckli as the new Chairman of the Board. Moeckli joins from his previous position as Chairman of Coinify. Moeckli, who is the owner of Moeckli Finance and Management Ltd., is a banking expert with more than 20 years of international experience as a CEO, COO and Board member of various European banks. As a former Chairman of Coinify, Moeckli played an important role in the sale of Coinify to Voyager in its $85 million deal in the summer of 2021. Prior to his current role, Moeckli also served as a Group Chief Executive Officer of VP Bank Ltd. During his leadership, the market capitalization of the VP Bank doubled. He also co-founded publicly-listed Swissquote Group and subsequently built up Swissquote Bank as CEO.

Selim Sari appointed CEO of GK Trade New York

Global Kapital Group (“GKG”), the global financial services conglomerate, announced the recent appointment of Selim Sari as Chief Executive Officer for GK Trade New York LLC (“GK Trade  New York”), its US-based brokerage firm. A former equity trader, Mr. Selim Sari has over 15 years of significant and relevant Wall Streetexperience. Prior to joining GK Trade New York, he served as an International Equity Trader at both  Rosenblatt Securities and Auerbach Grayson & Co. Among his other positions, Mr. Sari was VP Asian  Equity Sales Trader at Maybank Kim Eng Securities USA. Having held senior trading positions within various global brokerage firms in the US, he has been instrumental in establishing relationships with US institutional clients and hedge funds and executing their orders in global markets.  As well as driving the firm’s expansion in the US, Mr. Sari will develop partnerships with brokers to enable GKG’s international clients to access the US market.

Nabeel Vilcassim is becoming ComplyAdvantage’s new CFO

ComplyAdvantage, a global data technology company transforming financial crime detection, announced two new executive hires that include Nabeel Vilcassim as the company’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Oliver Furniss as Chief Product Officer (CPO).  Both will report directly to Vatsa Narasimha, Chief Operating Officer of ComplyAdvantage. In 2021 ComplyAdvantage saw record growth with ARR (annual recurring revenue) growing by ~80%, fueled by an expanded portfolio of global crypto, fintech and banking customers including Gemini, HTB and TransferMate and key strategic partnerships with world-class blockchain data and BaaS providers including Elliptic and Raisin Bank.   Usage across the company’s AML (anti-money laundering) solution sets hit record levels with searches volumes doubling quarter over quarter for the company’s Customer Screening and Monitoring solution while Transaction Risk Management volumes increased by 4x.

Nordea appoints new Chief Risk Officer

Mark Kandborg, current Deputy Head of Nordea’s Large Corporates & Institutions business area, is appointedChief Risk Officer and a member of the Group Leadership Team as of 1 April 2022. Nordea’s current Chief Risk Officer has decided to return to the United Kingdom after more than five years at Nordea and will be succeeded by Mark Kandborg, 50, who today is Deputy Head of Nordea’s Large Corporates & Institutions business area. Mark Kandborg has worked at Nordea for 26 years and held several senior roles, including acting Chief Financial Officer and Head of Group Finance as well as Head of Treasury & Asset and Liability Management. He has broad experience from all Nordic markets and holds a master’s degree in Economics from the University of Copenhagen.

Napier appoints new Chief Revenue Officer

Napier, the provider of leading anti-financial crime compliance solutions, announced Kevin O’Neill has joined the fast-growing RegTech as Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) to help drive further growth across its global operations. With more than 25 years of experience in technology and financial services, O’Neill comes to Napier having served as Global Head, Asset Management and Asset Servicing, and Head of EMEA Sales for Fenergo. He has also held senior positions at BNY Mellon and Royal Bank of Canada. As CRO, O’Neill will be responsible for leading Napier’s new business growth plans, bringing its next-generation SaaS financial crime solutions to the world’s leading financial services businesses, delivering superior customer experiences, and building the momentum that will allow Napier to achieve its ambitious growth objectives over the coming years.

Zaggle appoints Sathish as Chief Product Officer

Zaggle, a leading SaaS Fintech company that helps businesses digitize their spending, announced the appointment of Sathish N as its Chief Product Officer. The company aims to further strengthen its suite of world-class financial products that help businesses digitize and aggregate their spending through automated and innovative workflows. Sathish is a seasoned FinTech product leader with 25+ years of experience in launching multiple enterprise-scale Products & Platforms to global markets out of India in the areas of Digital transformation, Omni-Channel Engagement, Payments, FinTech, Digital Lending, Customer Centricity, Revenue Management, Enterprise Product Catalog, and Digital Core Banking. 

Finalto appoints Pablo Gomez as Global Head of Client Services 

Finalto is delighted to announce the appointment of Pablo Gomez as Global Head of Client Services following his outstanding performance as Head of Client Services, Europe. Pablo joined Finalto in 2014 as a Relationship Manager. Over his time here, Pablo has held the positions of Liquidity and Senior Relationships Manager, before spending nearly three years as Head of Client Services, Europe.

Launches

BNPL Fintech Jifiti launches first-of-its-kind split payment solution

Jifiti, a leading fintech company, announced the launch of the first-of-its-kind white-labeled Split Payment solution, which will round out their existing platform of BNPL offerings. The company already facilitates point-of-sale financing for leading banks and merchants globally through its white-labeled platform, enabling them to easily deploy and scale any consumer loan program at any point of sale. While there are many direct-to-consumer split payment solutions already available in the market, Jifiti's solution is unique in that it is both white-labeled and off-the-shelf. Jifiti clients can now offer Split Payments under their own brand without involving a direct-to-consumer fintech, thus retaining full ownership of their customer experience, data, and brand equity.

Temenos launches impact partner program

Temenos, the banking software company, announced to strengthen its commitment to a partner-first future with the launch of the Temenos IMPACT Partner Program that will cover five different partner categories. The new partner program will drive deeper collaboration and tighter engagement with system integrators, value-added resellers, solution providers, fintechs and consulting companies to open up new market opportunities and segments. With the speed and cost of innovation and the emergence of new business models such as BaaS changing the DNA of how banks operate and the need for more collaborative ways of working, Temenos sees partnering as the key to success for all players in the financial industry ecosystem.

Merger & Acquisitions

Paya announces acquisition of VelocIT 

Paya Holdings Inc., a leading integrated payments and commerce solution provider, announced the acquisition of VelocIT Business Solutions (“VelocIT”). Founded in 2018 and based in Clarkson, WA, VelocIT provides fully integrated, omnichannel payment solutions to accounting and ERP partners, including Acumatica and Sage, driving frictionless commerce experiences for their end-users. VelocIT brings to Paya industry-leading technologies, deep knowledge of the ERP market, and strong integration experience and expertise. “We are excited to welcome the VelocIT team to Paya as we look to expand and accelerate Paya’s growth within the ERP channel,” said Jeff Hack, Paya’s chief executive officer. “VelocIT brings a great roster of ERP partners, leading technological capabilities, and key talent which will enrich the value of our offerings while providing for continued growth within B2B and across key verticals we serve.”

Solera enters into a definitive merger agreement to be acquired by Vista Equity Partners 

Solera Holdings, Inc. announced that it has entered into a definitive merger agreement (the "Merger Agreement") pursuant to which an affiliate of Vista Equity Partners ("Vista") will acquire Solera in a transaction valued at approximately $6.5 billion (the "Merger"), including the existing net debt of Solera. Other key investors include an affiliate of Koch Equity Development LLC ("Koch Equity Development"), the investment and acquisition subsidiary of Koch Industries, Inc., and an affiliate of Goldman, Sachs & Co. According to the agreement, a single share will cost $55.85 in cash.