Praxent develops prototype to help investtech startup raise capital and accelerate launch

Praxent, a fintech design and engineering partner to financial companies, today announced that it has supported Endex by accelerating the product development and path to fulfillment for the Gen Z-founded startup.   

Endex is a social investment platform that facilitates the convenient creation, publication and investment in custom peer-managed portfolios. It has a social component that allows retail investors to learn from and emulate investment strategies. Working with Praxent, Endex founders were able to quickly bring their concept to a workable prototype, which served as a proof of concept for early investors and allowed for a smoother product development cycle, expediting the company’s path to market.    

Endex founders first approached Praxent when they needed to raise capital pre-launch but lacked a way to demonstrate their concept. iPhone mockups were not enough for today’s competitive fintech investors. They considered using an offshore company to create a functional demo but didn’t want to wait the months that would require. Praxent was able to design and develop a clickable prototype in just four weeks – and included an app map, wireframes and style guide to help tell their story.  

“We were impressed with Praxent’s deep fintech experience and understanding of what we were trying to accomplish from day one,” said Brittany Wright, CEO and co-founder of Endex. “Praxent helped us work through and optimize the design and user journey, translating our idea into something tangible. The prototype allowed us to jumpstart our fundraising, which is critical to any launch. Plus, their frontend design work streamlined the development of the app, getting us to market faster than expected.”

Praxent’s team worked closely with Endex’s founders, helping them create an intuitive user experience from the first stage and create a strong, compelling brand identity. Feedback from investors and prospective users has been overwhelmingly positive. Plus, the prototype paved the way for Endex to be accepted into an accelerator, secure additional funding, pursue influencer collaborations, and strengthen brand awareness.

“People are taking their finances into their own hands, making the Endex vision for connection and collaboration timely and in demand. I’m glad we could help them with the early steps they needed to make this goal a reality,” said Tim Hamilton, CEO of Praxent. “By working with us to design and develop a seamless, modern experience, Endex has been able to take a significant step forward in preparation to launch. Since the development of the prototype, the company has been able to raise money, grow their social media presence and even explore integrations with larger brokers.”

Endex public beta launched on the Google Play Store and the App Store on March 1st and is already seeing the creation of over 30 custom indexes with various themes, ranging from tech to ESG to women-led companies and more. Endex plans to expand upon their initial offering and roll out additional features in the coming weeks such as premium features, monetization and additional brokerage integrations with Robinhood, Webull and more, before launching the full release in May. In the meantime, users can connect with like-minded investors, create and copy custom indexes, and earn rewards exclusively for beta users.

Global Shares, a leading Irish financial technology firm and provider of stock plan management software, to bolster J.P. Morgan’s wealth management solutions business

Motive Partners ("Motive"), a specialist private equity firm focused on growth equity and buyout investments in software and information services companies that serve the financial services industry ("financial technology"), announces that it has entered into an agreement, along with other shareholders, for J.P. Morgan to acquire Motive Capital Fund 1 portfolio company, Global Shares, subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions. Motive Partners invested in Global Shares in July 2018, acquiring a c.40% shareholding in the business for c.$25 million.

Founded in 2005, Global Shares has grown considerably during the partnership with Motive Partners, with an expansive client base of over 600 corporate clients that range from early-stage start-ups to mature multinational public corporations. Global Shares has grown to nearly $200 billion in assets under administration across 650,000 corporate employee participants, now with an experienced team of more than 600 employees located in 17 locations across Europe, the Middle East & Africa, North America and Asia Pacific.

Global Shares selected Motive as its partner-of-choice as a result of Motive’s financial technology expertise and its model of bringing a technology-first and execution-focused approach to investing in financial technology. Andy Stewart, Industry Partner at Motive, was appointed Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors, and Neil Cochrane, Partner at Motive, was appointed to the Board of Directors, supporting the growth agenda with the management team. During its ownership of Global Shares, Motive played a hands-on role in supporting the execution of the value creation plan, including the appointment of Motive Create technologist, Christophe Bouhon, as CIO, operational improvements, new product launches and significant client-wins in new territories.

With the accelerated competition for top talent on a global scale, Motive believed that companies would increasingly look for ways to attract, incentivize and retain employees. This, coupled with other market tailwinds, has driven what has become known as the ‘democratization of equity ownership’. The strategic combination ahead with J.P. Morgan seeks to accelerate Global Shares’ mission – to simplify employee ownership – and will provide J.P. Morgan clients with further incentivization capabilities for their clients and employees.

“At the outset of our investment partnership, we committed to the Global Shares team that we would extend access to our global network and expertise. I am delighted with the firm’s extraordinary growth in recent years, culminating in Global Shares being a leader in its field. Under Mary’s leadership, J.P. Morgan will continue to partner with Tim and the rest of the Global Shares’ management team to deliver long term value for Global Shares’ extensive client base, and I know these two great firms will have a bright future together,” said Andy Stewart, Industry Partner, Motive Partners and Executive Chairman, Global Shares.

“The addition of Global Shares is complementary across our entire J.P. Morgan franchise from new client acquisition for our Global Private Bank and U.S. Wealth Management businesses to providing new, innovative capabilities to private and public companies globally and helping their employees manage their wealth,” said Mary Callahan Erdoes, CEO, J.P. Morgan Asset & Wealth Management.

“As Ireland’s sovereign development fund, ISIF is pleased to have teamed up with other limited partners through Motive to support Global Shares on its growth journey, an excellent example of a fintech success story that has scaled dramatically in recent years from its roots in Cork to compete so effectively at a global level,” said Nick Ashmore, Director of the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (“ISIF”).

“It has been a pleasure working with the whole Global Shares team as they continued to build a great business in partnership with Motive. The Global Shares story is a prime example of an Irish technology business successfully growing on a global scale whilst supporting the local economy. We look forward to making similar investments in Ireland with continued support from the Irish Strategic Investment Fund,” said Neil Cochrane, Partner at Motive Partners.

“Working with J.P. Morgan will expand the international reach of our leading capabilities to even more of North America, offering much greater scope to our clients across EMEA and Asia. This is an exciting phase for Global Shares clients and employees,” said Tim Houstoun, CEO, Global Shares.

Over time, J.P. Morgan will integrate Global Shares into its Asset & Wealth Management line of business, supporting the next phase of Global Shares’ growth agenda. However, the company will remain headquartered in Clonakilty, Ireland. The deal is expected to close in the second half of 2022.

Global Shares and its shareholders were advised by BofA Securities as financial advisor, Proskauer Rose LLP, led by Richard Bull, as legal counsel along with Arthur Cox LLP and EY provided due diligence/transaction support, led by Robert Hussey.

Approval Percentages at Banks and Non-Bank Lenders Are Roughly Half of What They Were at Their Peak in February 2020

Small business loan approval percentages at big banks ($10 + in assets) rose from 14.5% in January to 14.7% in January, and small banks’ approvals also increased from 20.3% in January to 20.5% in February, according to the latest Biz2Credit Small Business Lending Index™ released today.

Among several categories of non-bank lenders, approval percentages also climbed. Institutional lenders approved 25.2% of funding requests in January, up one-tenth of a percent from 25.1% in January. Alternative lenders’ approval rates rose from 26.3% in January to 26.5% in February. Credit unions remained stagnant at 20.7% in February.

“Two years ago, bank approval percentages were almost double what they are today for all categories of lenders,” said Biz2Credit CEO Rohit Arora, one of the nation’s leading experts in small business lending and FinTech. “For instance, in February 2020, big banks approved 28.3% of loan requests, while small banks approved more than half (50.3%) of loan applications.”

“Non-bank lender percentages in 2020 were even higher: institutional lenders approved nearly two-thirds (66.5%) of small business loan requests, at the time an all-time high. Meanwhile, alternative lenders granted 55.9%, and credit unions approved 39.6%,” added Arora, who has overseen Biz2Credit’s index for more than a decade. “We have a long way to go before we reach those marks again – if we ever do.”

Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 678,000 in February, and the unemployment rate decreased to 3.8%, according to the Jobs Report released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday, March 4. Employment growth continued in leisure and hospitality, professional and business services, health care, and construction. Many of these jobs are created by small businesses.

Biz2Credit analyzed loan requests from companies in business more than two years with credit scores above 680. The results are based on primary data submitted by more than 1,000 small business owners who applied for funding on Biz2Credit's platform.

 Wolters Kluwer Compliance Solutions, in collaboration with NYDIG, a leading Bitcoin company, has launched Bitcoin Risk Assessment – NYDIG Clients to provide regulatory assessments for financial institutions looking to offer their customers access to Bitcoin services provided by NYDIG.

The Risk Assessment evaluates a financial institution’s control environment related to its participation in the NYDIG Bitcoin platform. As part of the assessment, clients receive a report on how the findings fit within a range of established, relevant controls, providing clients a clearer picture of their Bitcoin activities. This helps the financial institution understand if its current controls will allow it to fulfill the relevant regulatory standards for offering Bitcoin products and services.

“Recent federal regulatory messaging and guidance has emphasized that financial institutions pursuing Bitcoin-related investments for their customers must fully understand and control for potential risks,” explained Stevie Conlon, Vice President, Tax and Regulatory Counsel for Wolters Kluwer Compliance Solutions. “A targeted assessment allows a financial institution to appropriately tailor and document its controls.”

“Federal regulators are sending a clear message,” said Steve Meirink, Executive Vice President and General Manager for Wolters Kluwer Compliance Solutions. “Financial institutions considering the potential rewards associated with Bitcoin products need to have a clear understanding of what they want to provide and how they’ll provide it. We are pleased to collaborate with NYDIG to offer participating financial institutions these assessments, which will help organizations begin their journey into offering Bitcoin to their customers.”

Consumers are increasingly expecting their banks and credit unions to offer Bitcoin-related products and services. According to a 2021 Bitcoin & Banking survey commissioned by NYDIG, 71 percent of Bitcoin holders said they would switch their primary bank to one that offered Bitcoin-related products alongside traditional banking services.

“NYDIG’s research clearly shows that consumers expect their banks and credit unions to provide access to Bitcoin,” said Patrick Sells, NYDIG’s Chief Innovation Officer. “With Wolters Kluwer’s expertise and NYDIG’s best-in-class platform, banks can confidently provide the Bitcoin products clients want in a safe and compliant manner.”

Wolters Kluwer is a NYDIG Preferred Consultant for risk assessments conducted by financial institutions related to the NYDIG platform. In 2021, the two companies announced a strategic arrangement in which Wolters Kluwer agreed to provide regulatory compliance solutions and services—such as Wolters Kluwer Bitcoin Deposit Disclosure Program-NYDIG Accounts for interested financial institutions that want to gain added confidence that their account disclosures used with NYDIG are compliant and meet regulatory requirements.

Wolters Kluwer Compliance Solutions is a market leader and trusted provider of risk management and regulatory compliance solutions and services to U.S. insurers, banks and credit unions, and securities firms. The business, which sits within Wolters Kluwer’s Governance, Risk & Compliance (GRC) division, helps these financial institutions efficiently manage risk and regulatory compliance obligations, and gain the insights needed to focus on better serving their customers and growing their business.

Wolters Kluwer’s GRC division provides an array of expert solutions to help financial institutions manage regulatory and risk obligations. Wolters Kluwer Compliance Solutions’ eOriginal® suite of purpose-built, digital lending solutions, for example, helps lenders digitize their transactions and features electronic signatures, collateral authentication and an electronic vault. Compliance Solutions’ OneSumX® for Regulatory Change Management tracks regulatory changes and organizes them to create structured, value-added content through a single data feed that is paired with an easy-to-use software solution. Wolters Kluwer Finance, Risk & Regulatory Reporting (FRR), meanwhile, is a global market leader in the provision of integrated regulatory compliance and reporting solutions. The division’s legal solutions businesses are Wolters Kluwer CT Corporation and Wolters Kluwer ELM Solutions.

Net zero is a priority for four fifths (80%) of start-ups, with 72% working to achieve carbon neutrality and 8% already carbon neutral or negative according to research from Innovate UK, the UK’s innovation agency.

Innovate UK found that while start-ups are passionate about their climate impact, they are divided over whether it should be a priority over business growth. Nearly half (45%) of start-ups believe they should balance growth and sustainability, versus four in 10 (42%) believe growth is more important, but start-ups should try to be sustainable in their activities where possible.

Start-ups believe that the number one thing a company can do to reduce its carbon footprint is to innovate around a solution which combats climate change (38%), followed by encouraging sustainability in its supply chain (24%) and reducing emissions from its operations (17%). Just 15% of start-ups suggested that restricting business travel by choosing online meetings was most important.

Start-ups view renewable energy infrastructure (30%) as the most important innovation to long-term sustainability. This is closely followed by recycling, waste management and sustainable materials (29%). Only 8% of start-ups cited renewable and energy efficient transport, such as electric vehicles, as the most important area for sustainable innovation.

Jonny Voon, Head of the Sustainable Innovation Fund at Innovate UK, says: “Pioneering entrepreneurs are unsurprisingly future-focused, and recognise the need to balance growth and sustainability.

“It’s incredibly promising to find that so many early-stage companies recognise the need to achieve net zero in their operations and are passionate about innovating towards climate change solutions. They serve as an important reminder that profitability and sustainability are increasingly closely aligned and through innovation we can achieve both.”
 

• MCB and Mobiquity improves customer experience for digital banking with the implementation of Backbase platform and launch of mobile banking application
• The digital transformation partnership will enable MCB to appeal to younger age groups 

Mobiquity, a full-service digital transformation enabler, announces its partnership with Mauritius Commercial Bank (MCB) to transform MCB’s digital banking offering for its one million client base.

The partnership will enable MCB to improve customer experience by optimising its online retail banking offering, creating a banking lifestyle app that is easy to use, enhances customer experience and appeals to a greater number of younger age groups.

With the help of Mobiquity’s team of A-list talent, MCB’s Juice 4.0 mobile banking application released over 30 innovative features, including cardless withdrawal, scan-to-pay and PayPal integration. As a result, the application will allow customers to seamlessly access and complete their banking transactions. Next to this, Mobiquity is also working on a Corporate Banking solution, together with MCB, to provide a better user experience to existing and new corporate banking customers.

Commenting on the partnership, Dylan Slome, Product Owner in the Digitalisation Programme, MCB said:

“We have been extremely fortunate to work with Mobiquity who have assisted us in the delivery of our Mobile Banking application MCB Juice. This partnership has allowed us to share and learn valuable insights into the world of application development and more importantly to position ourselves as a leader in the digital payment space.”

Thierno Diallo, VP of Client Delivery, Mobiquity said:

“We are delighted to partner with MCB to help strengthen their online banking offerings, and enable them to deliver an innovative mobile application to their customers. This is a great example of a bank that listens to their customers and takes the necessary steps to not only solve frictions, but also go the extra mile and exceed customer expectations.”

Apex Group Ltd. (“Apex” or “The Group”), a global financial services provider, announces today the expansion of its Digital Assets capabilities with the acquisition of a majority stake in Fund Admin Chain (“FAC”), a distributed ledger-based network for launching, distributing, trading and settling collective investment funds.

FAC is designed to connect fund investors, fund managers and their service providers in a digital distributed ecosystem. In addition to simplifying and streamlining the investment funds’ value-chain, FAC delivers additional revenue opportunities for funds industry participants.

FAC is a pioneer in the application of new technologies to the funds industry and Apex’s position as majority shareholder will accelerate the adoption of these technologies and set a global standard for the tokenisation of funds.

This proprietary technology will facilitate greater productivity and efficiency for the Group’s clients, in particular enabling the faster and cheaper launching and distribution of funds, the ability to trade tokenised funds secondary Decentralized Finance (“DeFi”) markets, as well as delivering improved experiences for both fund managers and investors. FAC has also extended their roadmap to deliver and operate a regulated exchange for digital funds.

Peter Hughes, Founder and CEO of Apex Group comments: “Recent developments in Distributed Ledger Technology and Digital Asset Tokenisation are driving significant transformation within the asset management industry. Our majority shareholding of FAC will allow us to harness the potential of these new technologies, and drive the adoption of tokenised funds, and improved ways of launching, distributing, trading and settling funds for our clients. This investment further demonstrates our focus on delivering an ever-evolving single-source solution, underpinned by innovative, flexible and best-in-class technology.”

Brian McNulty, CEO, FAC further comments: “As a global financial services provider, Apex is uniquely positioned to leverage new technologies to offer clients more flexible and efficient fund services. We see their investment in FAC as an exciting opportunity to collectively shape the future of the funds industry.”

Napier, provider of leading anti-financial crime compliance solutions, has announced a commitment in 2022 to invest further in its EMEA operations as the market for AI-enhanced AML technology continues to grow at pace. 

As part of this strategy, Graham Hogan is the new Head of Sales EMEA, while Sebastian Vedel will lead efforts in the Nordic and Baltic regions. Napier recently appointed Royal Bank of Canada and Fenergo veteran Kevin O’Neill as Chief Revenue Officer, and Natwest alumni Will Monk as Chief Product Officer. The addition of Hogan and Vedel to the team forms part of O’Neill’s strategy to boost adoption of Napier’s next generation SaaS financial crime solutions for financial firms and regulated institutions globally.

Hogan joined Napier in London with over 15 years’ experience in senior EMEA leadership roles at firms such as Wolters Kluwer, AxiomSL, and FIS; specialising in regulatory reporting, risk management, and capital market solutions. Meanwhile, Vedel’s former financial crime compliance roles within the Danish offices of EY and Danske Bank will help boost Napier’s presence in the Nordic and Baltic regions.

O’Neill said “Expanding our EMEA footprint underlines our commitment to the region. Building on our strong customer base there, we’re now placing our experts closer to key markets across the continent. Europe is home to some of the world's leaders in fintech, neo-banking, and payments, as well as several established banks and financial institutions. By strengthening our local presence, we will be better positioned to help our clients through digital transformation and to scale by taking advantage of the cost efficiencies and full compliance functions that our next-generation technology offers.”

Napier’s highly configurable financial crime compliance solution is used by a variety of market participants, including banks, payment providers, asset managers, asset servicers, FX specialists, insurance firms, and other regulated institutions. Headquartered in London, Napier’s global presence also includes offices in Sydney, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Dubai, London and New York.

•         PIONEER IN AI-DRIVEN INVESTING REPORTED STRONG GROWTH IN 2021
•         NEW YORK OFFICE AND ASSETS UNDER ADVISORY TO DOUBLE
•         SERIES-B AND HIRES LED FINTECH’S AI TEAM TO BECOME THE LARGEST IN EU
•         FINTECH’S AI AWARDED IN AIFIN’S BEST FINANCIAL INNOVATIONS OF 2022

Over the last year, Fintech doubled headcount and became Europe’s largest AI-focused investment team after raising a Series-B round that brought total funding to about $10M. Investments significantly grew MDOTM’s in-house research capabilities, which over the last year benefited from the inclusion of the UK-based Mercurius’ data science team and new research partnerships for MDOTM LAB - the company’s research laboratory.

2021 saw Fintech becoming the first AI-driven advisor to sign the UN-sponsored Principles for Responsible Investment (UNPRI), joining the global network of financial institutions to include ESG considerations in their investment process. This commitment was further reflected in MDOTM’s inclusion in Lund and Gothenburg University’s application to MISTRA – the Swedish foundation for strategic environmental research – call on Biodiversity and Finance.

In the same period, the company reported a twofold increase in assets advised by ALICE^®, MDOTM’s proprietary AI-driven methodology, used to deliver Portfolio Advisory and Asset Allocation services. The result comes from new client wins, including large insurance companies and asset managers launching new products or benefitting from ALICE^® insights to enhance their investment process.

The past year’s activity puts MDOTM in a strong position, as the fintech’s technology was awarded in March 2022 among AIFIN’s financial innovations of the year. By the end of the year, the company plans to accelerate growth, bringing headcount to more than 50 people and becoming the global player in the AI-driven investment solutions market. It will also open an office in New York in Q3 2022, with AuA expected to surpass two billion euros by Q4 2022.

Tommaso Migliore, CEO and founder of MDOTM, commented: “2021 has been a pivotal year in our growth. In just six years, we became Europe’s largest team of AI in investing, raising about $10 M. We are planning strong growth in 2022, including opening a New York office and hiring 20 more people to bring our team north of 50 data scientists, engineers and finance professionals. More clients are waking up to the benefits of using AI to support their decision-making. As first movers and pioneers of AI in investing, we are well-positioned to convert this strong growth into a big jump in our Assets under Advisory.”

This partnership will enable AZUL merchants to accept contactless payments via a new mobile app 

Phos, the fintech behind the leading software-only Point of Sale system (SoftPoS), has partnered with AZUL, to launch ‘Tap’, its SoftPoS enabled mobile app in the Dominican Republic and the insular Caribbean.

The partnership with  AZUL (the commercial arm of Servicios Digitales Popular part of Grupo Popular,  its parent company ) means phos’ innovative SoftPoS technology will be available to merchants in the Dominican Republic for the first time.

This will enable AZUL customers to turn any NFC-enabled Android device, such as a smartphone or tablet, into a contactless payments terminal - all without the need for merchants to invest in costly physical terminals or other additional hardware.

The new ‘Tap’ payment platform uses NFC (Near Field Communication) technology for both Visa and Mastercard cards. It is available for devices with an Android operating system, through a mobile application that records the transactions processed by a customer business. 

Benefits for merchants include versatility in terms of mobility, allowing businesses to set up additional payment stations in their commercial locations, as well as enhanced security when processing payments, as the customer keeps custody of their card at all times.

The merchant or individual receiving payments through the ‘Tap’ mobile application can send the payment receipt to their customers via email or by displaying a QR code, which the customer can scan on site. 

Mr. Eugene A. Rault Grullón, General Manager of Servicios Digitales Popular, assured that: “With this new application, AZUL continues its promise to evolve the payments market in the region, implementing methodologies available internationally and thus benefitting all commercial sectors and the end customer.

"AZUL will leverage this new service to expand its reach to the retail community, focusing especially on small and micro businesses that still only accept cash, helping them to digitise with a solution that can be installed and implemented quickly, without the need for an additional device," said the executive.”

Brad Hyett, CEO of Phos, added: "We’re proud to be helping AZUL implement this technology for the first time in the Dominican Republic. It means that AZUL customers can quickly transform their businesses, facilitating contactless payments using existing hardware to improve the shopping experience".

This new collaboration with AZUL is the latest in a string of partnerships for phos globally, including collaborations with Dutch neo bank bunq, conversational commerce platform CM.com and JCC Payment Systems in Cyprus.

The London-headquartered business recently secured €2 million (approximately £1.7 million) in equity funding in August of last year. The new capital is enabling the fintech to expand its operations into new markets and make new hires in its development team.