• To meet rising demand for digital services, TSB launches cutting-edge, streamlined onboarding journey for new customers
• Biometric technology from Onfido provides a secure and seamless verification process
• Customers can now open accounts and access mobile banking in just 10 minutes

As demand for digital services continues to surge, TSB has launched a new customer onboarding journey through the TSB Mobile Banking App, which will enable people to access a Spend & Save current account in just 10 minutes.

At the heart of the new onboarding journey are security, speed and convenience for customers. The launch follows a dramatic shift towards digital banking – as customer behavior continues to evolve.

Currently, 90 percent of TSB’s servicing transactions and 75 percent of its sales are conducted digitally. Additionally, 80 percent of new customer sign-ups at TSB happen via a mobile device as increasing numbers of customers bank digitally.

Most secure and seamless journey to date

TSB has partnered with Onfido, a global identity verification, and authentication provider so TSB customers can sign up for a Spend and Save account simply by taking a photo of their identity document (ID) and a short video of their face.

Onfido’s award-winning technology first checks that the ID is genuine and then matches it to the user’s face using biometric technology. This ensures the ID is not fraudulent and that the person presenting the identity is its legitimate owner and is physically present – making it the most secure journey to date.

Customers can then start their digital journey anywhere, anytime, and gain access to all the benefits of the Spend & Save account. The account is underpinned by TSB’s award-winning Fraud Refund Guarantee offering customers market-leading fraud protections.

New customers also benefit from a branch network with 220 TSB branches across the UK – as TSB combines cutting-edge technology and a digital focus with its high-street presence. 

New features include:

• A 10-minute sign-up process
• Just eight scrolls on a mobile device, compared to the web journey of more than 60.
• 22 questions to open an account (down from 49).
• Email and device verification for increased fraud protection
• Digital identity verification including biometric and document verification technology provided by Onfido
• Following sign-up, customers will have instant access to the TSB mobile banking app and their account details

Accessibility

TSB worked with the Royal National Institute for the Blind to ensure greater accessibility features were at the heart of the design. As such, the new digital journey meets AA standards.

Kavin Mistry, Head of Digital, TSB, said:

“Demand for digital services is soaring, and we are proud to meet new customers’ needs with a convenient, secure and streamlined onboarding journey – with sign-up in just 10 minutes.

“Today's launch demonstrates our customer-focused digital offer that complements a modern branch network; offering customers the best in both digital and traditional banking.”

Dimitrie Dorgan, Senior Fraud Risk Manager, Onfido, said:

“Security and a smooth user experience are paramount for banks when it comes to building trust with their customers.

“With Onfido’s AI-powered technology, identity verification is streamlined for a user-friendly onboarding process while conducting strong fraud detection and mitigation in the background.

“We’re excited to be working with leading UK banks such as TSB to help them rapidly and securely evolve to meet their customers’ changing digital needs.”

Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine,  NGOs and volunteer groups in the country have raised over $4 million in cryptoasset donations. The charts in this article will be updated with the latest figures.

On February 24th alone, one NGO received over $675,000 in Bitcoin, and by 9:30am on the 25th, it had already received more than $3.4 million – over $3 million of which was sent by a single donor. This pushes the total raised by these groups since the start of the invasion to over $4 million.

As described in previous Elliptic research, volunteer groups have played a critical role in the Russo-Ukraine conflict over the past decade, and they are often very closely linked to the Ukrainian government. These groups are funded by private donors, who have used bank wires and payment apps to donate millions of dollars. Cryptoassets such as Bitcoin have also emerged as an important alternative funding method. They allow quick, cross-border donations, which bypass financial institutions that might be blocking payments to these groups.

These groups include Come Back Alive, which takes its name from the inscriptions on the bullet-proof vests that were its first donations to the army. The group now provides a range of military equipment, training services and medical supplies. It even funded the development of a drone-based reconnaissance and targeting system for Ukrainian artillery units.

Other pro-Ukrainian organizations have also appealed for donations in cryptoassets – including an NFT collection. The founders allege that the profits from any sales will be donated to Come Back Alive, although it should be noted that Elliptic hasn’t verified the claims of the creators, and therefore caution is advised.

With sanctions enforced against the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, financial organizations need to stay ahead of developments that might expose them to risk. Download our Sanctions Compliance in Cryptocurrencies guide to understand the sanctions risks posed by cryptoassets, and the tools and techniques that can be used to overcome them.

• QUA Granite is the first company in its industry to invest in the Metaverse universe.
• QUA Granite will now be Metaverse neighbours with the likes of Marco Verratti, Kingsley Coman, Stan Wawrinka and Dan Holzmann.
• Capital Block CEO, Tim Mangnall: “We are delighted to have advised QUA Granite, another world-scale company, on a pioneering investment in the Metaverse. QUA Granite is committed to being a forward-thinking, innovative brand, and it is proving that through investment in land in the Metaverse alongside huge names from across the globe.”

Capital Block can announce that it has advised Qua Granite, Turkey’s largest and the world’s second-largest ceramics company, on its purchase of an island in the Metaverse.

Capital Block is one of the foremost NFT consultancies and has extensive experience advising Turkish companies on cryptocurrency, NFT and metaverse strategies and transactions. Capital Block is QUA Granite’s dedicated agency for dealings in the cryptocurrency space.

The company works closely with the likes of Galatasaray, the major Turkish sports team, and Boru2039, the film and television production house.

Qua Granite has purchased one of the 25 islands sold, and joins a list of big international superstars in purchasing islands. Qua can now count as ‘Metaverse neighbours’ the likes of PSG star Marco Verratti, FC Bayern Munich winger Kingsley Coman, Swiss Tennis Star Stan Wawrinka and FC Basel Shareholder Dan Holzmann.

Buying land in the Metaverse is becoming increasingly common, with world-class brands like Gucci and Adidas rapidly investing to take part.

Through its acquisition of land in the Metaverse, QUA aims to create new interactions, new experiences and unique benefits for its customer base. In addition, QUA is the first company in its industry to invest in the Metaverse universe. In doing so it has proved its assertiveness and broad vision both in the global market and in technology.

As a result of the land purchased in the Sandbox Metaverse in partnership with Exclusible, QUA Granite will benefit from the following services:

• Belonging to a luxury tropical digital club with an active community
• Customising islands through QUA Granite brands and products, down to the smallest details
• Accessing to celebrity and big-name events and parties across the Metaverse and in real life, enabling QUA Granite to connect with a new and specific demographic that aligns with its brand image
• QUA Granite will also be able to host special events reflecting their brand and the entire island will be designed with QUA Granite products using detailed graphic design

Tim Mangnall, CEO of Capital Block, comments: “We are delighted to have advised QUA Granite, another world-scale company, on a pioneering investment in the Metaverse. QUA Granite is committed to being a forward-thinking, innovative brand, and it is proving that through investment in land in the Metaverse alongside huge names from across the globe.”

Serkan Önem, Member of the Board of Directors and General Manager of Allbatross Venture Capital Investment Trust, within the body of Ercan Group of Companies, said: “Moving to Metaverse for QUA Granite, which will grow even faster in the digital world with its rapidly growing and future-oriented vision, was a step in line with our company DNA. We will offer value-added benefits, new and more natural interaction methods and brand new experience areas for our investors and customers. I would also like to thank the entire Capital Block team for their support and strategic consultancy on the Metaverse island sale, which was made for the first time in our industry in Turkey, as a further step in these efforts.”

Thibault Launay, Exclusible Co-Founder and CEO said: “We are excited for QUA Granite to be Metaverse pioneers in their industry and join the exclusive community of the Exclusible Private Islands. Our design team will be working hard to conceptualise a luxury island that fits QUA Granite’s reputation as a tastemaker in its sector.”

FactSet and BlackRock today announced that they have entered into a multi-year partnership to integrate Portware’s execution management system (EMS) capabilities with the Aladdin^® platform, BlackRock’s end-to-end investment management and operations platform. The joint offering will provide common clients with a seamless experience across multi-asset portfolio and risk management, and trading execution, including access to Portware’s high-performance electronic trading and automation capabilities via API.

FactSet’s Portware is best known in the listed assets and Foreign Exchange markets, and recently added fixed income trading capabilities; and the Aladdin^® platform is leveraged by BlackRock and Aladdin clients to power informed decision-making and operational scale, supporting all aspects of the investment process on a single platform. The turnkey integration of Portware with the Aladdin^® platform enables common clients to power their trading workflows using capabilities of both systems – including data-driven trade automation and at-trade decision support across asset classes.

“As a global provider of integrated financial information, analytical applications, and industry-leading service, FactSet is committed to building our front and middle office solutions with advanced technology and engaging key partners to remove the burden of integration from our clients while enhancing their workflows,” said Rob Robie, EVP and Global Head of Analytics and Trading, FactSet. “Offering flexible access to Portware through the Aladdin platform effectively advances our open data and platform strategy while answering the growing demand for personalized workflow solutions.”

“Our partnership with Portware reflects BlackRock’s ongoing commitment to providing Aladdin clients with choice, flexibility, and access to efficient capabilities in their daily workflows,” said Daniel Gourvitch, Managing Director, Global Head of Platform for Aladdin at BlackRock. “This partnership reinforces our strategy to add deep integrations with leading technology providers so that clients can choose the capabilities that best fit their needs while maintaining seamless workflows. We’re excited to take this next step with Portware in collaborating and delivering an enhanced experience for our mutual clients.”

The new capabilities will become available on the Aladdin^® platform to mutual clients starting March 2022, with additional capabilities to be rolled out throughout 2022 and 2023.

What Is an ISA?

ISAs are an all-purpose savings or investment account, which can be used to put money away, either for retirement or for any other financial goal. They come with great tax benefits. Money in an ISA grows tax free in the same way that money in a pension grows tax free. Except the ISA has the added bonus that money isn’t taxed when you decide to take it out.

The ISA allowance is £20,000-a-year and the great thing is that you can dip in and out of it whenever you want. Unlike a pension your money isn’t locked away until a certain age.

There are a variety of different ISAs available, with all of them offering different perks and benefits, so it’s important to look into them all, to see which suits you best. Helpfully, Investing Reviews has published a list of the “Best ISAs UK”.

What Is a Pension?

Pensions are designed as retirement savings and come with special features to encourage us to save more. When saving into your pension, you get “free money” in the form of tax relief on your contributions. For basic rate taxpayers, that means a 25% top-up. So if you’ve paid £100 into your pension, HMRC immediately adds another £25 bringing the total contribution up to £125.

Pensions are often part of a workplace scheme, and the employer usually contributes to your pot too.

However, with a pension, you can’t access the money until you are approaching retirement. Currently, you can start to access your pension fund from the age of 55, but in 2028, that age will change to 57. At that age you can take 25% as a tax-free lump sum.

Currently you invest 100% of your income into a pension up to a cap of £40,000.

In addition to your workplace pension, you can also set up a personal pension through an investment platform which may give you greater investing choice than the workplace pension.

ISA v Pension

Below is a comparison between an ISA and pension, to help understand which is the better option for you.

Pensions:

·         Access-

You can’t access your pension until you’re 55, which will rise to the age of 57 in 2028.

·         Tax-

You get tax relief on pension contribution and the money grows tax free. When you reach the age where you can access the pot, 25% can be taken as tax free lump sum. The rest is taxed as income at your marginal rate of tax, based on your total taxable income for the year.

·         Allowance-

100% of your income, capped at £40,000 every year.

·         Investment choice-

Contributions can be invested into cash, bonds, shares, funds, with the choice of varying them too.

ISAs:

·         Access-

Money in an ISA can be accessed anytime you want, unless it’s a fixed rate cash ISA.

·         Tax-

Money in an ISA grows tax free; no tax will be payable when you take money out of it either.

·         Allowance-

You can put up to £20,000 a year into an ISA.

·         Investment choice-

Just like a pension, contributions can be invested into cash, bonds, shares and funds.

Which is best?

So, which is the best option for you when it comes to your money and the future?

In many ways, pensions and ISA are similar so it all comes down to your savings goals and when you want to access your money.

If you’re saving purely for retirement, then a pension is usually the best option. Tax relief on contributions creates an instant compounding effect. So it’s a great way to build up money.

On the other hand, ISA pots are easier to access meaning you can spend your money when you want.

Although an ISA comes with many great benefits that a pension doesn’t offer, it is often best to have both. Whilst you’re working, it’s easy to contribute to your pension fund every month from your wages so you won’t even notice the money going out. Then when it comes to retirement age, you have a pot of money ready and waiting. However, it’s also a good idea to have an ISA in place to use a savings pot for anything you want or need in the future too. They’re a great way to save money, which can be accessed whenever needed.

Maxpay’s team continues improving the security policies and services to make its platform safer and user-friendly.

Maxpay is now GDPR compliant with the scope “Risk management and payment processing platforms for government-regulated financial institutions and any other online businesses”.

Not so long ago, our team also attained the ISO 27001 certificate, which greatly contributed to Maxpay’s GDPR compliance efforts!

What it means for Maxpay’s clients

The General Data Protection Regulation was established by the European Union and enforced on May 25, 2018. It is a set of regulations aimed at protecting the data of the EU citizens or residents, as they apply to any organization that collects and uses said data, no matter its location.

Now, when Maxpay payment gateway service provider is GDPR compliant, merchants can be sure that their data is safe with us. You will know exactly, what the information their clients provide is used for and can request that they erase it from their databases.

Maxpay’s recent security-related technical and policy upgrades made Maxpay more resistant to data breaches than before. And Maxpay team is not planning to stop with the security upgrades, as these are necessary to keep up with compliance requirements.

If you have any questions regarding the GDPR certification or any other services Maxpay provides, feel free to contact us!

Europe’s top financial executives and payment strategists will gather in London this June to debate the future of payments, conference organizer Reuters Events said today.

Payments Summit Europe 2022, at the Hilton Tower Bridge on June 28 and 29, will see the industry’s foremost digital experts coming together to share intelligence on how to monetise data and drive revenue in a world dominated by digital, open, real-time transactions.

Already confirmed at the event are Citi Europe, Middle East and Africa Head of Payments and Receivables Mark McNulty, Bank of England Head of Future Technology Will Lovell, La Banque Postalet Head of Payments Régis Folbaum and NatWest Head of Payments Marion King.

The more than 30 speakers scheduled for the event will also include Starling Bank Ireland Country Manager Elaine Deehan, European Commission Head of Retail Financial Services Eric Ducoulombier and European Savings Banks Group Head of Innovation & Payments Diederik Bruggink.

“COVID-19 has changed the payments industry forever, catapulting it into an open, digital, real-time environment,” said Adam Minkley, Head of Fintech Portfolio at Reuters Events.

“Bringing together more than 200 industry executives, Payments Summit Europe 2022 aims to act as a meeting point where banks, fintech companies, e-commerce providers and government bodies can debate this transformational shift.”

The two-day event will feature more than 20 hours of networking and an agenda that covers:

• Generating revenue from payments, including the opportunities of open payment ecosystems, using data to build a more profitable customer proposition and creating value by moving money faster and more efficiently than ever before.

• Cross-industry collaboration, looking at where the most progressive regulatory schemes are heading, creating value in each step of the payments journey and how banks can manage their cost bases while modernising their infrastructure.

• Driving better customer journeys, embracing how automation can radically improve customer service, enhancing cross-border offerings to provide frictionless and secure international payments and embedding finance solutions into consumer journeys.

• The future of payments, featuring payments in an open and digital world, solutions that provide choice for consumers and better outcomes for merchants, and taking a low-code or no-code approach to optimise merchant and consumer experiences.

• Protecting customers in a digital world, covering cutting-edge regulatory technologies to help comply with regulations, keeping payments safe to maintain customer trust while delivering a hassle-free experience and ensuring inclusion in a cashless future.

• Driving back-end efficiencies, from using artificial intelligence to cut costs through to automating decision-making to reduce headcount and using digital technology to drive refinements to payments processing operations.

“Featuring board-level insights, exclusive Reuters editorial interviews and a unique one-to-one networking service, this will be the most important event of the year for European payments specialists,” said Minkley.

Payments Summit Europe 2022 is scheduled for June 28 and 29 at the Hilton Tower Bridge in London, United Kingdom. For more information, visit https://bit.ly/3JOe89W or write to adam.minkley@thomsonreuters.com.

The assurance and pensions firm will administer more than £40 billion of assets on the Temenos fund accounting platform

Temenos, the banking software company, today announced that Canada Life UK - a subsidiary of Canada Life Group - has gone live with Temenos Multifonds to support its UK investment accounting operations.

Administration of life and pensions funds is highly governed and poses particular challenges in meeting the competing needs of diverse stakeholders with distinct accounting views. Temenos worked with Canada Life UK to deliver specific functionality for the UK market, including support for UK SORP, UK Tax, Solvency II, and unique company reporting requirements. With this functionality in place, the firm successfully migrated over 800 funds over a single weekend and will administer more than £40 billion of assets on the Temenos platform.

The implementation follows the successful migration of Canada Life’s Canadian business to Temenos Multifonds and consolidates both books of business totaling $160bn in assets onto a single, scalable global fund accounting platform. With an open architecture accessible via APIs and built on cloud-native components, Temenos future-proofs the firm’s technology investment and provides a path to future cloud deployment.

Daniel Shaughnessy, Operations and Process Improvement Director of Canada Life UK, commented: “The move to Temenos Multifonds frees us from legacy constraints to accelerate our digital transformation and increase operational efficiency.”

Oded Weiss, Managing Director of Temenos Multifonds, said: “Canada Life UK is a major player in the UK pensions and life market, and we congratulate them on this successful go-live with Temenos Multifonds. Our close collaboration delivered a smooth implementation and a fund administration platform specifically designed for the UK life market. The work we have done with Canada Life UK in developing Temenos Multifonds opens up new opportunities for other life companies in the UK to join our platform.”

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.

1. Sweater closes $12 million in new funding to fuel the venture capital revolution 

Sweater, a fintech company building the first fully-managed venture capital fund that is open to everyday investors, closed a monumental $12 million series seed round of funding. The round was co-led by Motivate VC and Akuna Capital, with participation from Jeffrey Cruttenden (Co-founder of Acorns), Eli Broverman (Co-founder of Betterment), Litquidity, MRTNZ Ventures, Bison Venture Partners, Spacestation, First Chair Ventures, Zilliqa Capital, Monsen Ventures, Nick Perez, Jeb Bush Jr., Ryan Holtzman, Aaron Wolko, as well as YouTube creators Peter Hollens (2.6M subscribers), Andrei Jikh (1.9 M subscribers), Nate O'Brien (1.2M subscribers), and Jake Tran (924K subscribers), among other super angels.

2. Fintech NayaPay secures $13 million as it polls out digital payments revolution in Pakistan 

NayaPay, a Pakistan-based fintech platform, has raised $13 million in one of the largest seed rounds in South Asia. Bringing together a diverse mix of leading global institutional and angel investors, the round was led by Zayn Capital, global fund manager MSA Novo and early-stage VC Graph Ventures from Silicon Valley. Singapore-based Saison Capital, Waleed Saigol’s Maple Leaf Capital, and Warren Hogarth, CEO Empower Finance, also participated in the round, alongside a major investment from the sponsors of the Lakson Group – a Pakistani conglomerate with interests in media, telecom, industrials, financial services as well as controlling stake in Colgate-Palmolive Pakistan and McDonald’s Pakistan.

3. Niyo raises $100 million in series C round led by Accel and Lightrock

Niyo, the consumer neo-banking platform, has raised $100 million in its Series C round of funding. The company will be using the funds to accelerate its mission to transform banking in India and to provide convenient and hassle-free financial services to digital native customers. This Series C round of funding was led by Accel & Lightrock India with participation from Beams Fintech Fund. Existing investors Prime Venture Partners, JS Capital are also participating in this round along with others.

4. Skale-based 3air and K3 Telecom secure $10 million investment to expand in Ethiopia

Shortly after announcing its move to the SKALE network, a fully EVM-compatible multichain solution based on the Ethereum blockchain, 3air followed with news about the next step in its rollout in Africa. 3air and telecom partner K3 Telecom are going to expand operations to Ethiopia. An MOU was signed on February 17 which includes an investment of $10 Million USD to build out K3’s Telecom infrastructure in Ethiopia, starting with its capital Addis Ababa.

As the official partner of K3 Telecom, 3air is contributing to this expansion and is looking forward to the large potential this new market represents.

5. Weavr closes $40 million in Series A funding to accelerate expansion of Plug-and-Play Finance

Weavr, a London-headquartered technology provider that enables businesses with Plug-and-Play financial solutions, announced the close of a $40 million Series A funding round led by Tiger Global. The company is disrupting the current banking-as-a-service (BaaS) model -- which can serve only a limited audience because of its heavy costs, compliance, and technical burdens as well as long implementation times--by making embedded financial services available to any business with a digital presence. The financing will support Weavr’s international expansion plans, beginning with an official U.S. market launch and including continued growth in the UK and Europe.

6. Automata raises $50 million in Series B financing to accelerate automation in life sciences 

Automata – the automation company helping life sciences rapidly innovate, diagnose and discover at scale – announces it has raised US$50 million in Series B funding. The investment round was led by Octopus Ventures with participation from returning investors Hummingbird, Latitude Ventures, ABB Technology Ventures, Isomer Capital as well as strategic investors such as In-Q-Tel, amongst others. This investment will enable significant development, in the UK and beyond, of Automata Labs for scientists working across diagnostic, drug discovery, and biotech.

7. Blend Network secures from top business and finance figures in latest £10 million funding round 

Market-disruptive property lender Blend Network has secured £10 million in funding in its latest investment round. The funding round was capped at this level following an oversubscription. Blend’s backers in this funding round are led by emerging VC investor Nico Paraskevas, a former senior executive at Glencore, while existing investors, who also participated in this round, include Cyrus Ardalan, former Barclays Vice Chairman and current Chairman of both OakNorth Bank and CAF Financial Solutions Limited, and Jean-Philippe Blochet, co-founder of macro hedge fund Brevan Howard, which as of October 2021 has $20bn in assets under management.

8. Relief secures $15 million in Series A funding to help consumers combat the credit card debt crisis 

Relief, the personal finance startup committed to helping everyday people achieve financial freedom by eliminating credit card debt, announced it has raised $15 million in Series A funding, bringing its total funding to date to $17 million. The round was led by Nava Ventures and includes a range of strategic investors, including Ken Chenault, former CEO and Chairman of American Express; Vikram Pandit, former CEO of Citigroup and The Kraft Group. Other leading venture capital groups include Interplay, Animal Capital, Necessary Ventures, and Brand Foundry Ventures, among others.

9. B2B fintech unicorn Tipalti raises $270 million at a valuation of $8.3 billion

Tipalti, the leading global payables solution, announced it has raised $270 million in series F funding at a valuation of $8.3 billion, bringing the total funding raised to date to just over $550 million and placing Tipalti among the most valuable private fintech companies in the world. Tipalti will use the funding to accelerate its product roadmap and customer operations, as well as expand globally to transform global financial operations for high-velocity customers.

Led by G Squared, the Series F round also includes significant investments from new investors Marshall Wace and funds and accounts managed by Counterpoint Global (Morgan Stanley), in addition to current investors Zeev Ventures, Durable Capital Partners, 01 Advisors and others.

10. OCR Labs secures $30 million in Series B round led by Equable Capital

OCR Labs has announced a $30 million Series B round led by New York-based Equable Capital to expand its team in North America and EMEA. OCR Labs is headquartered in London. Viewed as a technology leader in the digital identity verification space, OCR Labs solves major challenges including identity fraud and regulatory compliance, using its proprietary technology. The end-to-end solution supports Anti Money Laundering (AML) and Know Your Customer (KYC) regulations and improves customer identity verification while reducing fraud.

11. Cryptocurrency firm Amber gets funding from Singapore’s Temasek at $3 billion valuation

Singapore state investment firm Temasek Holdings was among investors in a funding round that valued cryptocurrency-trading platform Amber Group at US$3 billion, just weeks after the city-state cracked down on marketing by crypto firms. Existing shareholders, including Sequoia China, Pantera Capital, and Tiger Global Management, also took part in the US$200 million financings, Singapore-based Amber said in a statement on Tuesday.

12. Nigerian fintech Canza Finance raises $3.27 million seed round to empower underserved Sub-Saharan Africa SMEs

Canza Finance, an emerging markets neobank that is building the world’s largest non-institutional-based financial system, announced the completion of its $3.27M seed round. The fundraising round was led by Fenbushi Capital, with participation from Dominance Ventures, Bixin Ventures, Consensys, Protocol Labs, Emergo Ventures, MEXC Global, NGC Ventures, XanPool, Hashkey, the founders of Celo, and others. This funding enables Canza to continue headcount growth and expand its service offering in Nigeria and other growth regions including  South America and Asia.