By collaborating with Visa, Detected and Visa are filling a critical gap in KYB compliance

Detected, the critical infrastructure component for next-generation KYB compliance, today announced that it has joined Visa Fintech Partner Connect Program in their Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa Region. 

Through a new collaboration with Visa, companies will be able to use Detected’s Connected Compliance API to search and locate business credit, corporate and director information from around the globe in seconds. From there, ID verification, UBO information and company documentation can all be gathered and linked to the business’ profile. 

Detected fills this critical KYB gap in the payments technology stack with its ‘Find Company’ algorithm – the ability to find any registered company globally with minimal information – API-first technology for seamless deployment, and advanced capabilities to ease customer onboarding. 

Liam Chennells, CEO at Detected, said: “Where money moves, compliance is a problem – especially when trying to validate the credentials of a business. If a company, anywhere on earth, is registered with its local authority or government, Detected can find it with less data input than any other solution. We are excited to be working with Visa and its partners to pioneer this category.”

“Businesses want a simpler experience onboarding sellers so they can offer their customers a more diverse range of products from around the world,” said Alex McCrea, Head of Fintech Partnerships – CEMEA at Visa. “Detected offers businesses a seamless compliance solution that enables them to grow and remain competitive. We are delighted to welcome Detected into Visa’s Fintech Partner Connect program.”

Today, BSO, a global pioneering infrastructure and connectivity provider, has announced the appointment of Laurence Saunier as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Virginia Petrou as Global Marketing Director.

Laurence is based in Paris and will be reporting directly to Michael Ourabah, Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Laurence comes from QuantHouse (now part of Iress group) where she was CFO from 2011 to 2021 and in charge of Finance, Legal and Human Resources. Prior to QuantHouse Laurence was the CFO for GL Trade for 9 years and started her career as an Auditor at Ernst & Young. Laurence graduated from the ESSEC business school and holds a Master’s-Level Diploma in Accountancy (DESCF).

Virginia is based in London and will be reporting directly to Fraser Bell, Chief Commercial Officer (CCO). Virginia comes with 12 years in B2B marketing and customer loyalty and has extensive experience leading global marketing organizations. Virginia joins BSO from Temenos, where she was the Global Head of Marketing Demand Centre. Virginia comes from a multicultural background which is an asset when working in a company with a global reach and speaks English, Italian and French and holds a Bachelor of Law (LLB).

Commenting on the announcement Michael Ourabah, Chief Executive Officer, BSO said:

“At BSO, we never settle and constantly challenge ourselves to improve and create value for our customers worldwide. We have always had a very customer-centric approach, which has only been reinforced as we have seen customers accelerating their digital transformation journeys during this pandemic.

With Laurence joining our team as CFO, we have a very strong team in place. Laurence brings a unique skill set across technology, finance, and strategy. I am confident we will be able to build on the strong performance over the last few years and continue successfully executing our strategic plan, delivering significant value as we enter our next phase of growth.”

The appointment of Virginia will enable us to build on the strong brand we launched earlier this year as she brings her wealth of expertise in financial services and customer loyalty, to further drive our customer focused agenda and continue to position BSO as the network, cloud and hosting provider of choice for mission-critical applications.”

Laurence Saunier, Chief Financial Officer, BSO:

“I am delighted to be joining BSO as CFO. I have followed the company for several years and have always believed in its strategy and potential. I am very excited to have the opportunity to contribute to and help shape the growth of the company. I look forward to meeting and working with all our stakeholders over the coming years to achieve our strategic vision.”

Virginia Petrou, Global Marketing Director, BSO:

“The pandemic has shown us the importance of leveraging technology and moving quickly on digital transformation. I am pleased to be joining BSO, a company that has the skills and capabilities to truly support our customers on their journey with reliable and scalable offerings. As a strong advocate for customer loyalty and marketing operations I am looking forward to building on the strong brand that has been established and driving our marketing efforts to new heights.”

ECI makes five promotions within its Investment, Commercial and Origination teams

ECI Partners, the leading growth-focused mid-market private equity firm, today announces five promotions across its Investment, Origination and Commercial Teams. This news comes following a strong 2021 performance, delivering multiple successful exits throughout the year.

Rory Nath and Isa Maidan have been promoted to Investment Director within the Investment Team. Rory played an integral role in ECI’s recent sale of CPOMS, the leading provider of SaaS safeguarding to schools, to Raptor Technologies, the leading US provider of school safety software. Rory’s other investments have included KB Associates and Investis Digital. Isa joined ECI’s Investment Team in 2018 and has been instrumental in investing in and working with high quality businesses including Arkessa, ATG, Moneypenny and Tusker.

Rich Pearce has been promoted to Investment Director within the Commercial Team. This follows his role in developing ECI’s People and Culture Toolkit, which is leveraged to improve culture and staff engagement at ECI and across its portfolio. Rich’s current investments include Tusker, Travel Chapter, CIPHR and MiQ. Additionally, Max Jackson has been promoted to Investment Manager within the Commercial Team following involvement in several investments since joining ECI in 2018, including MThree, CIPHR and CPOMS.

In the Origination Team, Hamish Paget-Brown has been promoted from Analyst to Associate. Hamish has led on the development of Amplifind™, ECI’s AI opportunity sourcing and prioritisation tool, and works with ECI’s portfolio including Content + Cloud, Peoplesafe, and CIPHR to help execute their M&A strategy.

David Ewing, Managing Partner at ECI, said: “We are delighted to announce these promotions following a successful 2021. We place a great deal of importance on creating a culture that allows people to develop and progress in their career whilst at ECI, and these promotions are proof of this. All five have contributed significantly to ECI’s recent success and we look forward to them continuing to support and develop our three teams, as well as the wider ECI strategy.”

 LPA Group (LPA), the capital market technology and advisory firm, announced the hire of Alexander Ehmann, who is responsible for LPA’s asset management business across the UK, Ireland and the Nordics. In his role, Alexander oversees sales and business development, especially for the newly rebranded Capmatix Regulations, previously known as acarda, LPA’s platform for cross-border fund regulatory reporting solutions. 

Alexander joins LPA from UK fund data provider FE fundinfo, where he was responsible for sales and business development  for the entire product range in Germany, Austria and Luxembourg. With a focus on complex fund data and document automation solutions, he was one of the key drivers behind fund data dissemination. 

Having started his career as a Fund Analyst at Morningstar, Alexander was one of the first analysts responsible for the Morningstar Qualitative Fund Rating. Shortly after, he joined the sales team as a Sales Director for Austria and Germany.

Commenting on his appointment, Alexander Ehmann said: “I am very excited to join LPA and help increase its footprint among asset management companies in the UK, Ireland and the Nordics. Asset management is ripe for innovation – many firms have been slow to adapt advance data, analytics and automation technologies, but in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic and facing an increasingly complex regulatory landscape, asset managers have started embracing innovation at an accelerated pace. LPA is the leader in report automation for fund-based financial products in Europe and it’s my ambition to ensure that our solutions are found in more British, Irish and Nordic firms.”  

Peter Schurau, CEO of LPA, commented: “LPA has seen a year of immense growth and opportunity in 2021, and the addition of Alexander to our team will strengthen our proposition in the UK, Ireland and Nordics. His experience in regulatory fund reporting and in-depth knowledge of the fund distribution value chain are a real asset to us and will help us better serve the asset management sector.” 

• Dee Janssens, previously at Netflix and Uber, joins Juni as Vice President of People 

• The news comes as Juni was listed as Europe’s fastest-growing fintech startup in 2021, with a 644% team growth and employees spread across over 30+ countries

• With Dee at the helm, Juni aims to increase their workforce with an additional 140+ people in 2022, a YoY growth of over 200% 

Today Juni, the financial companion for ecommerce entrepreneurs, announced the expansion of its leadership team with Dee Janssens joining as Vice President of People. 

Dee has years of experience in HR operations, talent acquisitions and employee engagement, most recently as the Head of Talent Experience & HR Operations EMEA at Netflix, where she played a key role in expanding HR’s office presence from 2 to 11 locations in the EMEA region, and as People Operations Specialist EMEA at Uber, where she supported employees spread over 45+ countries. 

Juni grew its team by 644% in 2021, from 9 to 67 employees as of December 7, and its employee base is currently spread across 30+ countries. With Dee leading the People team, Juni aims to increase its workforce with an additional 140+ people in 2022. That is a year-on-year increase of over 200%. 

Samir El-Sabini, Co-founder and CEO, Juni, says, “We’re absolutely thrilled to have Dee join as Juni’s first VP. Her wealth of experience will be invaluable as we continue to grow our team at rapid speed, focusing on attracting the best global talent and building a people-first company culture. We want Juni to redefine what it is like to work in fintech and we give our people the same thing we’re building for our customers: freedom.” 

Founded in June 2020, Juni was born remote-first and flexible working is part of its DNA. As a company set up to navigate our new reality, Juni offers its employees a number of benefits, such as a happiness stipend of €8,500 per year to spend on whatever makes you happy, and €500 per month towards using co-working spaces. Employees can also work from home in any location of their choice within 6 hours of Central European Time. 

Dee Janssens, Vice President of People, Juni, says, “I’m excited about joining Juni as everything this company represents aligns with the values of what I believe makes a great company. Juni aims to become the financial companion for ecommerce and simultaneously is building a community of incredibly smart, empathic, compassionate, resilient people from everywhere.  What has impressed me most is its well thought out perspective to continue to build an environment where everybody can be their best selves and feel that they belong. I’m looking forward to bringing this vision forward to make Juni the best place to work.”

While remote-first, team Juni loves to meet up regularly and schedules onsites at new locations around the world every quarter and teams are encouraged to meet up in person every 8 weeks. 

• Turkey’s largest fintech Papara partners with BlindLook, the organisation developing freedom technologies for the blind, to make all financial services audio-enabled and fully accessible for the visually impaired 
• The co-operation enables the blind to independently manage their finances, making it a key milestone in driving Papara’s mission of financial inclusion and freedom for all
• Papara’s partnership with BlindLook positively impacts the lives of 5m people, to include the families and close friends of the visually impaired users

Papara, the market-leading Turkish fintech with over 11m users, has partnered with BlindLook, the social enterprise developing freedom technologies to create independence for the world’s 285 million blind, to make Papara’s products and services fully accessible for the visually impaired.

Papara provides instant, free, multi-currency transfers and financial services for its users. Through BlindLook’s voice-oriented technology, visually impaired users will be able to use the Papara app and website without any external assistance, allowing them to manage their finances safely and independently for the first time.

Papara has rapidly grown since inception five years ago – the business has achieved a 82% year-on-year increase in registered users. Coinciding with its fifth anniversary, Papara hit the 11 million users milestone in August, all with no external investment to date. This growth is set to continue as Papara expands into Europe next year.

Ahmed F. Karslı, founder and CEO of Papara, comments on the partnership:

“Making our services fully accessible for the blind is a huge milestone for us, and one we’re immensely proud of. Those with visual impairments have traditionally struggled to perform basic financial services like opening a bank account or transferring money, independently.

“At Papara, breaking down these barriers to financial inclusion is at the very core of what we do. By embedding BlindLook’s audio technology into our digital platform we have come one step closer to achieving our ultimate mission of providing financial freedom and equality for all, regardless of age, gender, economic background or disability.”

Sadriye Görece, BlindLook co-founder, added:

“As the largest and most popular fintech in Turkey with over 11 million users, Papara’s adoption of our audio technology marks a significant commitment to improving the lives of the blind in Turkey.

“In fact, Papara’s initiative has positively impacted the lives of five million people, to include the families and friends of the visually impaired who now no longer need support in managing their finances. We would like to thank Papara very much for being a partner in realising our dream of an equal and barrier-free world for all.”

Through this partnership with BlindLook, Papara has become a certified blind-friendly brand (EyeBrand), alongside tech giants like Google and Amazon Turkey. Blindlook also presented EyeBrand symbol to Papara which makes its website and mobile application blind friendly with BlindLook’s Audio Simulation technology.

As Papara continues to scale and expand internationally next year, it is set to continue adding to its user base and further its mission of driving financial freedom for all.

Nucleus Commercial Finance, the fintech revolutionising how UK SMEs access finance, today announces the appointment of Gurinder Mandir as Business Development Manager for the Midlands as it looks to extend its support to businesses across the UK.

Gurinder joins Nucleus from Reparo Finance, where he served as Senior Business Development Manager, responsible for unsecured and secured lending deals. Gurinder brings with him nearly a decade of banking and finance experience, having worked previously at Barclays as a Relationship Manager, where he had a portfolio of 200 clients, and Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank as a Business Development Manager, supporting businesses across all industries.  

As Nucleus looks to drive growth and support for UK SMEs, Gurinder will be responsible for building strong broker relationships in the Midlands and educating the broker network on Nucleus’ product range and offerings. 

Gurinder Mandir, Business Development Manager comments: “I am delighted to be joining Nucleus Commercial Finance and becoming part of this successful team where I will be able to support a wide range of clients with a strong array of financial products. Having seen the important role Nucleus has played through the government support schemes over the past two years, I look forward to helping more SMEs as they look towards recovering and thriving in 2022.”

Yasmine Holliday, Business Development Director, adds: “We are delighted to welcome Gurinder to Nucleus as he brings a wealth of experience with him. He has performed at both high street banks as well as alternative finance providers and will be a valued member of the team. Gurinder will be supporting the Midlands region and will be reaching out to introducers over the coming weeks.”

• Built in partnership with SBM Bank India and Visa, the LazyCard boasts the largest pre-approval base    of 62 million consumers

• LazyCard will enable thin-file borrowers to build their credit worthiness with its ‘booster’ feature

• -Strategically designed reward structure of LazyCard drives value for money with every transaction

LazyPay, India's preferred Buy Now Pay Later solution by PayU Finance, today announced its partnership with SBM Bank India to launch LazyCard, a prepaid payment instrument backed by a credit line, foraying into the card segment. The card aims at empowering financially underserved Indians with easy access to credit. Powered by Visa and SBM Bank India, LazyCard is built with a strong rewards structure, creating value for customers in every transaction by offering bigger, better cash back rewards and offers like never before. Digitally linked to the LazyPay app, the card uses robust technology to ensure security and a hassle-free experience in managing payments.

Available to the 62 million pre-approved users of LazyPay, LazyCard will empower customers with a credit limit of up to INR 5 lakh.  Consumers may avail the card at zero joining fee and zero annual fee. It also offers users multiple transactional benefits and reward-earning potential such as welcome rewards, retention rewards and Visa Platinum Rewards in the form of cashbacks. The credit line provided by LazyCard is also boosted by the rewards received on every transaction. Users have an opportunity to earn 1% to 5% cash back on every transaction, making it one of the most rewarding cards available in the market.

Commenting on the launch of LazyCard, Prashanth Ranganathan, CEO, PayU Finance, said, “As per various industry reports, today only 3 in every 100 Indians owns a credit card, creating a massive credit gap in our economy. We are excited to launch ‘LazyCard’, to empower and elevate the underserved, by giving them means to carry out financial transactions without worrying about their bank account balance. Backed by our proprietary credit underwriting capabilities and data science muscle, the card boasts the largest pre-approval base of 62 million customers, helping more people qualify, particularly in the pandemic’s strenuous economy. We aim to reach corners of the population and give a card in the hands of all underserved Indians.”

LazyCard’s ‘Booster’ feature is useful for thin-file borrowers to rebuild their credit score or establish their credit history. This feature enables users to get access to the card by setting up a fixed deposit with RBI-regulated SBM Bank India in a fully digitized two-minute app flow. ‘Booster’ feature allows users to get three benefits (1) Money security via fixed deposit, with higher interest rates than savings for boosting wealth (2) Cashbacks & offers on LazyCard that boosts the credit line (3) Improve credit score over time to strengthen their eligibility for future credit needs. As the user continues to transact using the card and build his creditworthiness, LazyPay will start unlocking the credit line. The user is then free to withdraw the deposit and continue enjoying access to enhanced credit and rewards on the card.

The card, which is an extension of the services offered by India’s most popular deferred payments options LazyPay, comes in a physical and a virtual avatar and offers customers the same level of convenience, speed, and flexibility in their buying experiences across all touch points, online and offline. Cardholders will have access to the credit line across the LazyPay credit universe, which includes products like LazyPlus (UPI), LazyPay (BNPL) deferred payment and LazyPay app. 

Commenting on the partnership, Neeraj Sinha, Head – Retail & Consumer Banking, SBM Bank India, said, “There is a need to solve for the credit needs using Smartbanking solutions that are available, accessible, and affordable. SBM Bank India is endeavouring, as a part of its comprehensive SmartBanking solution set, in partnership with LazyPay, to introduce the Visa powered LazyCard. Further this Card will smoothen the entire loan processing capability at LazyPay’s end thus helping to bring them towards better financial inclusion. We are elated to partner with LazyPay towards this prepaid card.”

Speaking on the launch of the card, Sujai Raina, Head – Business Development, India, Visa, said, “Fintechs like PayU Finance have, in recent years, been at the forefront of driving innovation and financial inclusion of new consumer segments in India. We are excited to launch the LazyCard program to make credit more accessible to existing LazyPay customers as well as new-to-credit users. This Visa-powered LazyCard is issued instantly, available in physical and virtual form, and offers users a readily available credit line, rewards and Visa Platinum benefits, enabling seamless and secure payments across millions of merchants that accept Visa cards.”

Currently, the card is available to select LazyPay customers, and will be broadly made available soon. All customers interested in early access are invited to sign up for the LazyCard waitlist today. Applying for a LazyCard is an easy process. To get this instant credit prepaid card, users need to download the LazyPay app and visit the LazyCard tab where they can input their KYC details for review. The entire onboarding process is fully digital and paperless and is completed within minutes, with instant issuance and activation. The physical card would then get delivered within stipulated days .