Nationwide provider recognized for excellence in supporting more than 10,000 small businesses with fast, flexible funding

Provenir, a global leader in AI-powered risk decisioning software, today congratulated its customer Reliant Funding for being recognized as a LendIT Fintech Industry Awards 2021 finalist.

The fifth annual LendIT Fintech Industry Awards honor the world’s leading influencers and innovators in 14 unique categories. Reliant Funding was named a finalist in the “Top Small Business Lending Platform” category, which honors organizations based on a combination of loan performance, volume, growth, product diversity and innovation.

Winners will be announced at an awards ceremony and dinner on Feb. 8, at the Dealmakers Summit held during the LendIt Fintech Nexus event at the Lowes Miami Beach Hotel in Miami.

Reliant Funding provides customized, short-term funding to small businesses nationwide via its Merchant Cash Advance (MCA) offering that is based on a company’s cash flow. Since 2008, more than 10,000 businesses have trusted Reliant to provide them with fast, flexible funding to fuel their success.

During the last year, Reliant transformed its funding process to be a more robust online experience enabling small businesses to apply, receive customized offers, and receive funding in their account in a matter of hours. As a result, Reliant has seen an increase in both the number of applicants and fundings.

“We are honored to be named a finalist in the prestigious LendIT Fintech Industry Awards, which is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our employees,” said Steven Kietz, Chief Executive Officer, Reliant Funding. “We are proud to employ leading edge technology, as with our partnership with Provenir, to help address the small business lending needs of our customers to foster their growth and further their business goals.”  

“Reliant Funding continues to set the industry standard with the speed in which a small business can apply for working capital lending to have funding available within hours,” said Kathy Stares, Executive Vice President, North America, Provenir. “We congratulate Reliant Funding on being named a LendIT Fintech Industry Awards finalist and look forward to continuing to support the company by providing the technology to quickly evaluate credit risk and deter fraud to better serve its customers.”

Provenir’s AI-powered decisioning software is the industry’s first, true risk-decisioning ecosystem. It provides a comprehensive real-time view of unified decisioning-performance, third-party and historical data, as well as integrated advanced analytics through AI models. Through one unified digital experience, users can create the platform-as-a-service (Paas) cloud solution that best fits their business needs.

Partnership delivers a frictionless financing process to meet working capital needs.

Gregg Lund

 

Gregg Lund

Struxtion, LLC has partnered with Solid Financial Technologies, Inc. ("Solid") to utilize the Solid FinTech-as-a-Service (FaaS) platform to provide embedded banking functionality - creating a frictionless financing process for the commercial construction industry.

This partnership brings together two innovative FinTech companies. Struxtion's continued focus on revolutionizing financing for commercial construction contractors is made more powerful thanks to the Solid FaaS platform.

"Working with Solid has been a great win for both teams. The Solid platform provided us with all the infrastructure pieces to offer a robust and comprehensive FinTech platform in record time. Struxtion is on a mission to serve the commercial construction industry," said Gregg Lund, CEO at Struxtion.

The robust set of APIs on the Solid platform cover all mainstream and edge cases allowing Struxtion to provide embedded banking, collateral management, and banking functionality all in one platform.

"Solid has a deep engineering mindset, and combined with a strong customer focus, they balance the needs, priorities, and functionality of Struxtion. Our engineers have enjoyed using the platform," said Karl Gouverneur, CTO at Struxtion.

"We are pleased with the speed at which Struxtion has adopted the Solid platform and harnessed its power. We are a practitioner's platform that allows FinTechs to accelerate growth while focusing on the specific industry and cohort they are targeting. Exactly what Struxtion is doing," said Arjun Thyagarajan, CEO Solid.  

"Struxtion is a great example of a modern, digital-first, FinTech company - that has adopted the Solid platform to radically improve money flows for their commercial construction clients. Struxtion is part of a rapidly growing cohort of FinTechs leveraging Solid - to transform the way modern money experiences are built and delivered," said Raghav Lal, President Solid.

Following the company’s success and popularity in European markets, APEXX Global aims to continue its rapid global expansion into the U.S.

• APEXX Global, the multi-award-winning global payments platform, announced their entrance and introduction of their industry-leading payments orchestration and processing platform to the U.S. marketplace. Today, the company forecasts to be processing roughly $20 billion with some of the biggest ecommerce brands, by the end of 2021.
• As the Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) market heats up in the U.S., APEXX Global is stepping in to help new and existing payment services providers meet growing demand. As a first-of-its-kind platform in the global payments marketplace, APEXX Global accelerates the average time to market by 90% and increases trading volumes by as much as 20%.
• APEXX Global has become a staple in European markets, with over 120 integrated partners, and multiple enterprise clients including ASOS, eShopWorld, XE.com, Swoon, AirSeychelles and many more. APEXX Global currently operates across more than 70 countries saving users an average of 15% on processing costs.

“Payment service providers (PSPs) are struggling with the speed of change and offering their customers the solutions they want in the markets they serve - especially among those in the BNPL industry,” said Rodney Bain, Co-founder and CSO at APEXX Global. “At APEXX Global, we’re confident in our ability to aid the US’s fragmented and rapidly-growing demand for cutting-edge payments solutions through our single-stop platform of leading payments providers.”

Core to this entrance into the U.S. market is the growing popularity of BNPL options and providers. The BNPL industry has modernized flexible payment options, allowing consumers to create installments on individual transactions and is set to reach $680 billion in transaction volume worldwide by 2025. APEXX Global’s payment orchestration platform boasts an integrated BNPL solution with more than 14 BNPL providers. This allows merchants and PSPs to access multiple BNPL providers across more than 40 markets through a single consolidated API.

“The global B2C e-commerce market is set to reach $6.54 trillion by 2023, and online shopping is one of the most popular online activities in the nation, but poor checkout experiences means e-commerce businesses risk losing billions in potential revenue at the point of sale due to outdated and cumbersome legacy systems and processes,” continued Bain. “As U.S. consumers continue their adoption of BNPL, APEXX Global’s unique API and orchestration platform are one of the only systems that can handle the coming wave.”

Leading global AI-powered credit decision platform provider, Scienaptic AI announced that Class Act Federal Credit Union has selected its AI-powered platform. The implementation will equip the credit union with enhanced underwriting capabilities to make stronger, faster credit decisions and strengthen financial options for its members.

Class Act Federal Credit Union was established by a small group of Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS) teachers in 1954 to serve the personal finance needs of teachers and other school employees. At that time, teachers had very limited access to loans or credit of any kind. The credit union filled this need and did so at competitive rates. Other area school districts expressed interest, and within a few short years, the credit union was serving all public-school employees in the Metro Louisville area as well as employees from a sizable number of private schools. In 1994, Class Act’s field of membership expanded to include the University of Louisville by way of a merger with the University of Louisville Student & Alumni Credit Union.

“Today, although the banking industry has changed dramatically, the credit union’s mission remains virtually the same – to serve the personal finance needs of our local educational community,” said Stephen Green, Vice President of Lending at Class Act Federal Credit Union. “Scienaptic's AI-powered credit decisioning platform will enable us to empower our local educational community. We can say ‘yes’ to many more educators, serve them with smarter loan decisions, and be their first choice for a lifetime of financial service.”

“Our partnership with Class Act Federal Credit Union will help us further our mission to foster a better life for all members and empower lenders to make AI-driven loan decisions and open up credit,” said Pankaj Jain, President of Scienaptic. “Not only will our platform broaden their member base, but it will also improve the member experience.”

Acquisition of Cloud-Based Trading Infrastructure Further Strengthens Leadership Position in Retail Futures Industry

NinjaTrader Group, LLC, a leading provider of trading software and brokerage services to active traders, today announced that it has acquired Tradovate Holdings, LLC, a leading online futures brokerage firm and trading technology provider, for $115 million.

Founded in 2003, NinjaTrader is the industry’s leading retail futures broker supporting over 500,000 traders with best-in-class trading software, award-winning brokerage services, multilingual support, and robust educational programs and resources. Tradovate, launched in 2016 and founded by industry veteran Rick Tomsic, pioneered a cloud-based trading infrastructure and innovative pricing model for futures which helped accelerate the transformation of the brokerage landscape. 

The acquisition creates one of the most formidable retail futures brokers with combined trading volume in 2021 of approximately 100 million futures contracts. 

Martin Franchi, CEO of NinjaTrader Group, LLC, commented,

“NinjaTrader’s and Tradovate’s shared vision to transform retail futures is at the heart of this transaction and will accelerate our goal to make futures more accessible, mainstream and modern. The combination of the largest and fastest-growing market leaders and our commitment to continued investment in the businesses will unlock innovation and scale, which will ensure we rise to meet the growing demand of the trading community for innovative products and services. Together we look forward to continued advocacy and support of the rapidly expanding retail futures community.”

Tomsic will join NinjaTrader’s Executive Team as its Chief Strategy Officer and will be integral in defining the strategy and vision for continued transformation of the futures industry. He will also serve on NinjaTrader’s Board of Directors.

Tomsic said:

“We’re extremely proud of the role Tradovate has played in offering self-directed futures traders a truly different choice, with robust, easy-to-use cloud-based trading technology designed specifically for their needs and a pricing model unlike any previously seen in the futures industry. This acquisition is the culmination of that effort but only the beginning of the story as we leverage our combined technology, vision and talented teams to take new and experienced traders to the next level of client experience. I believe that the futures industry has barely scratched the surface in individual investor participation. We aim to be the number one retail futures brokerage in the world, not just by client numbers but by pushing the boundaries and leading through innovation with technology and exciting new ideas.”

NinjaTrader was advised by Long Ridge Equity Partners, Choate Hall and Stewart LLP, D.A. Davidson & Co. Tradovate was advised by Sidley Austin.

The company plans to accelerate expansion and scale up its product teams to grow the issuance of OneCard

• Series C round led by QED Investors, Janchor Partners, Sequoia Capital India, Matrix Partners, Hummingbird
• The next steps for the company are to grow the product teams, strengthen the consumer value proposition and scale up operations

FPL Technologies, a fintech start-up based in Pune, has raised $75 million as part of its Series C funding round, led by its existing investor - QED Investors along with Janchor Partners, Sequoia Capital India, Matrix Partners and Hummingbird Ventures. Fresh equity is raised at a post-money valuation of $750 million.

In February 2019, FPL Technologies set out with a vision to build a community of credit aware customers through simple, transparent education and giving them access to digitally enabled state-of-the art credit consumption products & experiences. They first launched OneScore - a no-spam, digital credit score platform offering free credit score checks and personalised insights with which customers can monitor and manage their credit health in a simple, secure manner. The scoring platform is widely popular and has acquired more than 10 million users within just two years of its launch.

OneCard, India’s first exclusive mobile-first, metal credit card was their next launch, in June 2020 in partnership with banks.  It is built on a full-stack proprietary technology platform in India. It is powered by a slick, smart app, through which customers can seamlessly transact, swipe-to-pay, make easy in-app repayments, lock the card and much more. Backed by the principles of simplicity, transparency, and giving back control to the user, OneCard has re-imagined credit and payments to offer a highly tech-enabled, customised credit card experience, using modern technology.

The current funding comes in within 10 months after the company raised its Series B funding of $35 million. The latest round of investment brings FPL Technologies’ total funding since launch to approximately $125 million. FPL will use the fresh infusion of capital to strengthen their consumer value proposition, scale up its product teams, to grow the issuance of OneCard & expand its consumer base aggressively.

Speaking on the development, Mr. Anurag Sinha, Cofounder & CEO, said,

 “The growing customer inclination towards digital and contactless payments in our country has presented a promising opportunity to introduce mobile-first credit consumption products. But alongside that comes the responsibility of educating these customers and making them a credit aware community too . The young digital-savvy customer is increasingly seeking simple, seamless, smooth yet heightened experiences in their lives and this is exactly what we offer through our products. Leveraging our technology prowess, we constantly innovate and offer highly personalized, slick, swanky, state-of-the-art products which are simpe and easy-to-use, to our customers.”

OneCard in the recent past has partnered with multiple banks, to extend the digitally augmented experience of a new-age credit card to tech savvy Indians across the country. Its recent partnerships include leading banks such as - Federal Bank, SIB, SBM and BFSL.

Hotel Tech Report honours Cloudbeds with five awards, including Best Places to Work, Top 10 Hotelier’s Choice, and Channel Manager Finalist

Cloudbeds has been recognised for the fourth consecutive year as one of the industry’s top technology providers by Hotel Tech Report. The 2022 HotelTechAwards honours Cloudbeds with five awards: Best Property Management Systems, Best Hotel Management Software, Channel Manager Finalist, Top 10 Hotelier’s Choice, and 10 Best Places to Work. 

The industry’s only data-driven awards platform, the HotelTechAwards determine winners based on product reviews from verified customers, along with key proprietary data signals such as integration compatibility, organisational health, market share, partner network strength, and customer support quality. This year's HotelTechAwards has been the most contested, with 513,600 visits from hoteliers and 11,622 new verified product review contributions, making it even more challenging for those competing. 

“We are deeply humbled by the positive feedback from our customers and our partners. To win HotelTechAwards several years in a row is a testament to both the strength of our technology and the exceptional service and support provided by our dedicated professionals,” said Adam Harris, CEO and Co-Founder of Cloudbeds. “The feedback we get from our customers only inspires us to work harder to ensure that the Cloudbeds Hospitality Management platform continues to be one of the best in the industry.” 

“We’re thrilled to highlight the value that the world’s leading software solutions deliver to their customers. By building a platform around the voice of the people actually using these hotel tech solutions, we’re able to deliver actionable, peer-to-peer insights that potential buyers can trust,” said Jordan Hollander, CEO of Hotel Tech Report. “Winning a HotelTechAward is the highest achievement in the industry because it’s based on data.”

This recognition by Hotel Tech Report is a reflection of the company’s commitment to building a platform that is best-in-class not just in one category, but across all of them. Combining tools for operations, revenue, distribution, and marketing with a marketplace of third-party integrations into one seamlessly integrated platform, Cloudbeds is designed to elevate every aspect of a property — the business, the staff, and the guests. 

Cloudbeds continues to expand its platform and services, launching Cloudbeds Websites and Cloudbeds Payments in 2021, as well as introducing Cloudbeds Horizon, a new educational partners program designed to empower hospitality schools to upskill students in cloud-based hospitality technology.

Get a free demo of Cloudbeds here

• Successful financing round is co-led by a consortium of specialized blockchain and fintech investors, including Altive, Ordway Selections, and Summer Capital, as well as DeFi Technologies, a NEO listed leader in decentralized finance. Alameda Research, a global cryptocurrency quantitative trading firm and liquidity provider, as well as core partner of FTX, also participated in the round

• Funding to fuel expansion in APAC and the Middle East and to drive institutional business growth through investment in product offering and technology

• Round was significantly oversubscribed, with existing investors, including Julius Baer, increasing their investment, reinforcing the future-proof business model of SEBA as bank of the new economy

SEBA Bank, a fully integrated, FINMA licensed digital assets banking platform, today announced that it has secured a successful Series C funding round, raising CHF 110 million. The round was co-led by a consortium of specialized blockchain and fintech investors, comprised of Altive, Ordway Selections, and Summer Capital, as well as DeFi Technologies, a NEO listed leader in decentralized finance. Alameda Research, a global cryptocurrency quantitative trading firm and liquidity provider, as well as core partner of FTX, also participated in the round. The round was significantly oversubscribed, with demand far exceeding the initial funding target. Existing investors, including Julius Baer, increased their positions in the funding round. 

This funding round will further accelerate the considerable growth that SEBA Bank has achieved over the past year. SEBA Bank is currently supporting over 25 markets globally, having strengthened its presence in APAC earlier this year by appointing an APAC CEO to solidify its presence in Hong Kong and Singapore; along with other priority markets in the Middle East including a dedicated office in Abu Dhabi. The company also deepened its executive talent with a number of appointments to the senior leadership team, and will further grow its headcount and expand into new markets.

Guido Buehler, CEO at SEBA Bank, said, “This funding represents a significant milestone for SEBA Bank, is a testament to our foundations, and confirms our vision of being a global leader in new generation finance, enabled by blockchain technology and our comprehensive banking licence. With the support of such a strong group of investors, offering depth and breadth across the domains of finance, fintech, and blockchain, SEBA Bank is privileged to access a wide range of new skills and capabilities to fast-forward our growth plans. This funding will allow us to further develop our digital asset banking platform and strengthen our presence in markets across the globe by attracting new talent.”

This funding round solidifies SEBA Bank’s position as the best-in-class regulated digital asset banking services provider. With strategic backing from specialist fintech and blockchain investors, including, Altive, a renowned alternative asset management company for technology, consumer and healthcare sectors, and part of a leading Asia-based private investment group with a successful track record of investment in blockchain companies; Ordway Selections GmbH, the private investment firm of an established and highly-successful family office in Zug which deploys capital into blockchain and digital assets, health and wellness, and food and agricultural technology; and Summer Capital, a multi-strategy investment management company focused on fintech, healthcare, and technology; and DeFi Technologies, one of the first publicly listed (NEO) blockchain investment companies for traditional investors specializing in decentralized finance. By leveraging the strategic expertise of these specialist partners, SEBA Bank will maintain its commitment to innovation and excellence in its digital asset banking and investment services.

Cheney Cheng, Managing Partner of Altive, said,

“Given the global regulatory trend of digital assets, we envision that regulated crypto financial institutions like Swiss licensed SEBA Bank would become the cornerstone of the future finance. We are honored to have joined the company’s mission to make digital assets more accessible to the general public.”

Jonathan Ordway Fackelmayer, Chairman of Ordway Selections, said,

“Ordway Selections identifies and invests into best-in-class digital assets and core blockchain infrastructure, such as SEBA Bank. We are delighted to be part of the “lead-investor” consortium alongside Altive and Summer Capital, who both hold a deep knowledge of financial services and technology applications. Our consortium believes SEBA Bank is uniquely positioned to respond to the needs of the ever growing and demanding pool of cryptocurrency investors worldwide.”   

Russell Starr, CEO of DeFi Technologies commented,

“We strive to be at the forefront of innovation in DeFi and blockchain and support the development of services in the digital asset industry which will form the backbone of the next iteration of our financial system. Our investment in SEBA Bank is both a testament to SEBA Bank’s industry leading digital asset banking services and the importance of blockchain as a core technology in the future development of our financial system.”