·      90% increase in merchant cash advance renewals in 2021 compared to 2020

·      365 Business Finance has seen a 34% rise in the average amount funded for renewals

Specialist lender 365 Business Finance, a funder of small to medium sized businesses across the UK, has reported a 90% increase in merchant cash advance renewals in 2021, compared to the previous year.

Putting this increase into context, there has been a 40% rise in renewals when comparing 2021 to pre-pandemic times in 2019. The most common reason for applying for this form of revenue-based finance is to assist with cashflow, and this trend has remained the same throughout the past three years.

365 Business Finance has also seen a 34% surge in the average amount funded for renewals last year, compared to the previous 12 months.

Merchant cash advance customers tend to take larger advances on renewal, highlighting that SMEs are becoming more aware of the benefits of revenue-based finance and how it can help with business growth and stability, particularly during periods of uncertain trading conditions.

Managing Director at 365 Business Finance, Andrew Raphaely, said,

“Our customers are renewing more frequently, with 2021 being a record year for our renewals team. In pretty much all instances, our customers are increasing the amount of funding they apply for, mainly because the way repayments are taken means it doesn’t impact their cashflow but helps their capital position, so it becomes a straightforward choice to renew.”

Find out more about how the merchant cash advance renewal process works: https://www.365businessfinance.co.uk/blog/2022/01/05/meet-our-renewals-team/.

With no interest, fixed terms or APR, merchant cash advances are an attractive funding proposition. Repayments for this form of fast and flexible finance are taken as a small percentage of debit and credit card sales, meaning businesses only repay the advance when they take payment from their customers.

Paysend, the card-to-card pioneer and international payments platform, today announces the appointment of Jairo Riveros, as managing director of the United States and Latin America, effective 01 January, 2022.

Paysend has had an active presence in the United States since September 2020 and helps American residents securely send funds to over 100 countries in close to real-time - without visiting a physical bank location.

Mr. Riveros will be responsible for defining and implementing the regional business strategy across the U.S. and LatAm, as well as building a world-class Fintech team, and securing additional regulatory approvals, licences and partnership deals across the Americas.

Mr. Riveros is currently Head of the Office of Strategy Management at Paysend. A highly experienced payments industry professional, Mr. Riveros was the Head of Market Models and Business Strategies for MasterCard Worldwide and its advisory unit, MasterCard Advisors. He has also served financial services clients through a C-suite consulting firm, Artemis Worldwide and as a Director in Monitor, Deloitte’s Financial Services Strategy practice. Previously Mr. Riveros was the Head of Strategy for AIMCo and he led the Strategic Planning team for TIAA.

The news follows the company’s recent announcement of its growth to 5 million customers globally in under five years - with one and a half million customers joining in the last six months alone - and that it has raised an additional $125 million Series B investment round in May 2021. In November the company also announced that it has been ranked the third fastest growing technology company in the UK by Deloitte, thanks to 14,498 per cent growth.

Ronnie Millar, CEO at Paysend, said:

“We’re hugely excited to have Jairo move into this role leading our Americas and Latin America business. The Americas is a highly important and strategic region for Paysend and Jairo’s proven track record in building networks and relationships in North and South America will be invaluable as we look to grow our footprint in these crucial markets. He is a highly respected and well-liked member of our executive team and he’ll thrive in this new role. I’d also like to thank Matt Montes, our General Manager of US Business at Paysend, for his dedication and commitment, and particularly his role in helping to launch Paysend in the US.”

Jairo Riveros, Managing Director of US and LatAm at Paysend, said:

“I’m thrilled to be starting this new role in a major growth region for Paysend. The US is home to the largest global transfer market in the world and the opportunities in Latin America are undeniable. Paysend is a company with a strong track record of success as well as a state-of-the-art payments technology platform and I look forward to helping the company grow its network and customer base in the coming months.”

Atlanta Group First to Adopt Point of Quote Solution  

Insurance providers can now identify genuinely ‘new’ from ‘known’ customers at the point of quote and start to build a single customer view to help support communication, pricing and retention strategies. LexisNexis® Risk Solutions, the data, analytics and technology provider, is bringing its customer linking solution, LexID® for Insurance, into the quote process for U.K. insurers. 

LexID for Insurance is already being used to build a single customer view of existing customers, pulling together data from multiple touchpoints – quote, renewal, claims and marketing. Disparate records are linked together with a common identifier, LexID, which can be used to better understand the customer and their potential lifetime value.

This latest development ensures customers applying for a new business quote are quickly distinguished as being new to the business and are assigned a unique LexID number. This can then form the basis for building a more comprehensive single customer view to help pricing decisions at point of quote, identify upsell and cross-sell opportunities and improve customer data accuracy and communication. 

LexID for Insurance finds common threads across customer records by pulling on a wide range of data sets, comprising circa 2.3bn records processed by LexisNexis Risk Solutions, including public and insurance policy history data, to help build the picture of the individual to support all parts of the policy lifecycle, from marketing through to claim. 

Atlanta Group, one of the fastest-growing brokers in the U.K. market, consisting of brands including Swinton, Autonet and Carole Nash, is among the first to adopt LexID for Insurance at the point of quote. 

Atlanta Group said:

“We have been using LexID for Insurance since the start of 2021 to create a single customer view across all our brands. Our business can now access a holistic view of each customer, based on our history, company-wide, with the individual. The next stage is to apply LexID for Insurance to new customers at the point of quote. In this way, we can continue to build our understanding of our customers to better serve their needs and immediately identify any past relationships with an individual.”

James Burton, senior director of product management, insurance, LexisNexis Risk Solutions, U.K. and Ireland, said:

“Attaining the single customer view has been a goal for many insurance providers challenged by legacy systems and disparate customer databases as a result of merger and acquisition activity. LexID can help to solve this problem.  Gone are the days when policies are sold purely on the basis of the information supplied at quote. LexID for Insurance provides the foundation for building a clearer, more informed picture of the customer. Bringing this customer linking solution into the quote process will help insurance providers like Atlanta Group to offer a smoother quote journey, more accurate pricing and deliver products and services better suited to the needs of their customers.”   

-       NFTs and blockchain create first-of-its-kind movie funding platform Moviecoin.com, set to revolutionize the movie industry

-      The launch kicks off with a reduced cost seeding round for early-bird investors on January 10th and an impressive road map rich in utility from there on in

-       Russell Crowe and Mel Gibson top the bill as stars appearing in blockbusters part-funded by new platform

Today brand-new crowdfunding platform Moviecoin.com announces its Initial DEX Offering, giving early-bird investors a chance to invest in a ground-breaking platform which is set to revolutionize funding in the global movie industry.

By combining the technology of NFTs and blockchain, Moviecoin.com has created a first-of-its-kind funding platform, tokenizing movie investment into unique one-of-a-kind NFTs rich in utility; with profit rights attached for mid to long term investors.

Finance for the film industry typically derives from large film production studios, wealth funds, and private equity investors who often claim full artistic control of the creative and narrative. The launch of Moviecoin.com will enable directors and producers to claim back creative freedom, exposure and expression - and for lesser-known directors and producers to have their movies funded.

With an impressive road map being rolled out at launch, from March Moviecoin.com is giving fans a chance to own a unique part of movie history, and to create some passive income for as little as $10. This will include an exclusive NFT sale of the movie ‘Prizefighter’ featuring Russel Crowe and Ray Winstone.

The move will give investors unparalleled control over the movies they wish to see created and to enjoy the benefits of the movie's wider success, whilst movie makers are able to open the doors of funding to their fans.

Unlike any other service before it, Moviecoin.com is giving investors the right to receive an equal share of profits of each movie relative to their initial investment, alongside the potential for unlimited profit-share of the movie forever.

The new business venture is chaired by Jamie Jessop ex head of film finance from Ingenious, a specialist investment firm with extensive expertise in media and movie financing, along with serial tech entrepreneurs James Mackie and Daniel Pittack who sold their cloud tech business on AIM for 8 figures.

Daniel Pittack says:

“Our Movie Coin DEX offering presents a unique opportunity for investors to reap benefits of the success of Moviecoin.com in the mid to long term, and to play a hand in democratizing the problem surrounding funding in the movie industry. We’re seeing an increasing appetite from investors for these sorts of utility rich investment options and are proud to be giving more power to both movie fans and movie makers as part of this process. The response we’ve seen from market experts and the support from the wider film industry has been incredible.”

On January 10th Moviecoin.com will launch with an Initial DEX Offering (IDO) for early investors with 5 million $MOVIE coins distributed to investors. The Initial DEX Offering will be available HERE, with further information of the product road map available HERE.

Leading mortgage technology provider Twenty7Tec today announces that it has integrated it’s CloudTwenty7 platform with Specialist lender Together to make its award-winning products available to thousands more intermediaries.

Users of CloudTwenty7  now have access to Together’s mortgage, secured and bridging loan products, enabling them to source the right product before referring applications to their preferred specialist distributer partners.

The SOURCE module of CloudTwenty7, analyses product, criteria and lender affordability, allowing advisers to deliver the best outcomes for their clients making the application process faster, simpler and more efficient.

Phil Quinn, head of national accounts at Together, said:

“The current economic uncertainty is driving more and more borrowers to specialist lenders, as their circumstances may have changed during the pandemic.“That why it’s crucial that intermediaries whose day-to-day business is from the mainstream mortgage market, and who may not be familiar with the specialist sector, have instant access to specialist products through sourcing systems such as CloudTwenty7.

“On the flip side, the platform offers data analytic tools that help us track in real time what brokers are searching for, which products are popular in the market and future trends, allowing us to tailor our own products and propositions to even better suit borrowers’ needs.”

He added:

“Flexibility is always important in specialist lending but this has to be supported through improved technology such as sourcing systems to deliver an even better application journey for brokers and their clients.”Nathan Reilly, director of lender relationships at Twenty7tec, said: “Through our data analytics module, INSIGHT, we’ve seen a rise in the number of searches being conducted for customers with more complex requirements. This makes the addition of Together, a lender that has a proven track record in the specialist lending market, a timely one for CloudTwenty7 users”

Organizational change aligns software technology, services, sales and marketing for faster delivery of innovations to serve the decision management needs of customers

Global analytics software leader FICO today announced that Stephanie Covert has taken on an expanded role as executive vice president for software. In a move designed to improve alignment and accelerate the company’s platform strategy, she will be responsible for all elements of the company’s software business, including software technology, product management, service, sales and marketing functions.

“Our top software priority is to extend our position as the #1 analytic decisioning platform that enables businesses to optimize consumer interactions across all decisions,” said Will Lansing, FICO CEO. “Under Stephanie’s strong leadership, our Sales, Marketing and Services organization has helped many enterprises achieve their digital transformations with data-driven decisioning powered by FICO Platform. By placing all elements of our software business under Stephanie’s leadership, as we did years ago for our scores business under Jim Wehmann, we can better align our field-facing and software technology priorities, and thus strengthen our ability to address the critical decision management needs of our customers.”

Stephanie Covert was named executive vice president for Sales, Marketing and Services in 2020, having previously served as vice president of Global Sales Operations. Before joining FICO in 2014, she held leadership roles at Apttus, Oracle, and RightNow.

“The bottom line for our customers is that we will bring our innovations to them faster, give them better visibility into our innovation cycle and deliver greater value to their business,” said Stephanie Covert. “With this change, we align all our resources to accelerate the development of our market-leading analytic decisioning platform.”

FICO® Platform provides the ideal decisioning foundation companies need to successfully achieve digital transformation. It provides unprecedented insight into customers’ immediate and future needs by eliminating data silos and enabling interoperability between enterprise applications. FICO Platform goes beyond any single use case to give firms true customer-centricity with deep, real-time, 360-degree insights into every customer touch, across all channels, for the full duration of the customer lifecycle. FICO was named a leader in The Forrester Wave: Digital Decisions Platforms, Q4 2020.

Tier1 Financial Solutions (“Tier1”), a leading provider of client relationship management (“CRM”) solutions, AML compliance and fraud prevention solutions, has appointed Megan Howe as Managing Director, North America Sales. Howe will be responsible for driving compliance software and buy-side CRM sales in North America, delivering a range of client lifecycle management solutions.

Howe has over a decade’s worth of experience as an accomplished, ambitious software sales leader in the compliance and financial services industry. Before joining Tier1, Howe was Vice President of Sales at Oversight Systems, where she managed sales and client relationships for its fraud prevention and reporting solutions. Prior to this, Howe was a Senior Sales Leader at Paycom.

“I’m delighted to have Megan on board as Tier1’s Managing Director driving expansion of our Alessa compliance software and Satuit buy-side solution sales across North America,” said Tier1 Financial Solutions CEO, Jiro Okochi. “With her expertise in and knowledge of managing client relationships in the fraud prevention industry, Megan will be invaluable to propelling our compliance software suite across North America.”

“With financial and business operations becoming increasingly electronic and a wealth of data to track, regulatory authorities have remained stringent on compliance protocols, making it even more critical for firms to meet their obligations,” said Howe. “I’m excited to join the team at Tier1, who are connecting AML compliance and client relationship management, providing an efficient, seamless and compliant client experience.”

Megan Howe joins the Company just as Tier1 announced new equity financing from a group of investors led by Wavecrest Growth Partners and MassMutual Ventures. This latest investment in Tier1 coupled with Megan’s onboarding will help drive the next generation of connectivity between compliance workflows and the customer experience – enabling Tier1 clients to create integrated, end-to-end journeys efficiently, cost-effectively and reliably for their customers.

2021 was the year of recovery and opportunity for many, following months of disruption caused by the pandemic. But whilst many industries have struggled to bounce back from the disruption, many Fintechs have managed to thrive in a somewhat hostile economic climate as a result of innovation, digital disruption, lucrative funding and a vision for how products can change the lives of consumers whilst helping businesses grow. 

From a personal perspective, it’s been wonderful to see that as an industry we have shown our continued resilience and ability to pivot to customer needs which has seen the likes of open banking and contactless payments boom in the wake of the pandemic. The agility and disruptive mindset of both established players and emerging disruptors meant that competition has only become fiercer, making everyone work harder and smarter which ultimately pushes the boundaries of what is possible. 

Its therefore no surprise that UK FinTech funding more than doubled to $11.4 billion in H1 of 2021 alone, indicating investor confidence in the industry. This will pave way for further opportunities to innovate and disrupt financial services for the better. 

2021 for IFX was one of the best years to date since our inception in 2015. We’ve expanded our capabilities, worked with new partners and bolstered our team with great success. All of which we aim to amplify even further this coming year.  

As we look forward into 2022 it’s important to consider the new emerging trends and movements set to shake up the industry and how as a business we can play our part in what is set to be another trailbrazing year.

2022 Trends 

1. Embracing Fintech Partnerships. In 2022 we’ll see greater collaborations between services providers across a host of industries. Being a collaborator, rather than a competitor, is key to being successful in this sector as we all look to identify a means of fitting into a modular ecosystem. As a starting point, every business has to recognise that success comes from leveraging the strengths of others to amplify their own. Businesses must admit that they can’t be best at everything and counter that by creating strategic partnerships that will reign supreme. Ultimately, collaborating with and embracing other specialists within the sector allows fintechs to expand their capabilities and set themselves apart from competitors. As the industry grows, to be the best in the field, means not offering the cheapest cost or the tightest margin, but integrating value-add propositions that make the product more appealing to its customer base. For instance, this year IFX have successfully partnered with Volt connecting IFX’s virtual IBANs with Volt Connect allowing UK and EU-based merchants to realise the full potential of open payments. 

2. Changing Consumer Payment Habits via Open Banking. Open Banking has been a hot topic in 2021 and we know the work will continue in the space this year. Whilst the majority of the work in the last year around Open Banking was rather conceptual, it paved the way for some innovative ideas and an enhanced customer experience. Without doubt, there are many benefits of Open Banking, settlement is faster, and rails are cheaper and arguably safer for customers but now it faces the challenge of encouraging customer adoption by competing with the convenient and simple UX of card payments afforded by smart phones and computers. As such, I expect that changing the mould of how people make payments will dominate the majority of the conversation and work we do as an industry in the coming year.

3. Elevating Regulation. At IFX we always aim to set industry best practises through our regulatory expertise, and ultimately break the mould of malpractice that has blemished the FX industry historically. Whilst regulation has definitely taken centre stage, and took over most senior level discussions, I anticipate a greater focus on PSPs and EMIs with both safeguarding and operational resilience being tested to ensure customer funds are adequately protected. Being stringent in terms of regulation is a way for payments and fintech companies to separate themselves from the pack. The FCA is also sure to take further regulatory action as they start to clear the covid backlogs, which in my opinion will be a welcome move to help combat some of the issues we have seen this year. Firms need to be sophisticated when it comes to making sure they’re compliant with regulations. Safeguarding client money correctly is a challenge which requires consistent attention so we’re likely to see this being an obligation that firms invest in significantly. 

4. Introduction of the UK Central Bank Digital Currency. This is likely to be the door for many banks to embrace crypto-related technology. Blockchain infrastructure is an incredibly powerful tool that can revolutionise the industry through a host of features not limited to instant global settlement and transaction monitoring capabilities. The hesitancy to embrace this infrastructure, alongside a number of crypto assets, appears to come from the dark web usage of old, where assets were used for illicit purposes and money laundering; but then again, so is cash. Ultimately, we shouldn’t be afraid of the capabilities that this revolutionary development can carry due to the negative connotations. Instead the focus in 2022 should be on education and equipping our industry on understanding the power of the blockchain so that everyone can understand the good that it can do, the risks it carries and how to mitigate those.  

So What Now?

2021 saw great innovative strides taken in the payments and fintech industry, but as we look ahead into 2022 it doesn’t look as if this cadence is likely to plateau. The industry will continue to adapt and grow to cater to the changes in consumer and business habits, and we’ll see Partnerships, Open Banking, Regulation and Digital Currency as key strategic milestones across the board. At IFX, we are constantly striving to be the best in our fields and through partnering with other brands, tightening our regulation processes, and constantly educating ourselves and others on developments in the industry, we look forward to experiencing even greater growth in 2022 and beyond.