Rapidly-growing fintech company’s award-winning end-to-end investment platform empowers real estate entrepreneurs to create wealth and value in their communities

Fund That Flip, the New York City- and Cleveland, OH-based real estate-focused fintech platform, today announced the first close of its $20 million Series B funding round. The financing was led by GPO Fund of New York, with participation from MassMutual Ventures and Tribeca Early Stage Partners. More than 50 Fund That Flip clients also participated in the capital raise via an AngelList syndicate led by proptech investor, Jonathan Wasserstrum. Earlier investors included Edison Partners and SoundBoard Venture Fund. The investment will help further the expansion of the firm’s proprietary technology platform that provides investors access to scalable capital and passive investment opportunities. The raise will also accelerate the company’s national expansion, development of technological innovations for an underserved industry, and exploration of global opportunities.

“Real estate investors play an integral part of the economy in building homes, creating jobs, and growing businesses and communities,” said Matt Rodak, founder and CEO of Fund That Flip. “Since our inception, we have been dedicated to solving the problem so many entrepreneurs face: access to capital and technology to grow their businesses. This round of funding accelerates our mission to deliver technology-first solutions that create even more value for the local entrepreneurs who are themselves creating value in their own communities.”

With an aging housing stock and 72 million millennials seeking to transition from apartment living to single-family homes, Fund That Flip is uniquely positioned to expand its technology and track record of enabling local real estate entrepreneurs to scale their businesses with reliable access to financial services and technology. The company plans to continue to broaden its platform into an end-to-end real estate investment operating system designed to support the information and capital needs of the local real estate entrepreneur.

“With this raise, we plan to create even more innovative solutions for real estate entrepreneurs, bring them additional value through optimizing the real estate investing ecosystem with data and technology, and continue to provide unparalleled customer service to help real estate professionals drive their businesses forward. We’re thrilled to partner with GPO Fund because they have a proven model of helping companies disrupt analog markets through the creation of data-driven solutions and platforms,” Rodak said.

As part of the round, Jeff Stewart, partner and managing director at GPO Fund, will join the Fund That Flip board of directors. “I’m really excited by the way Fund That Flip is leveraging data and technology to empower a huge and underserved market. While they have grown tremendously fast over the past twelve months, we believe the opportunity in front of them is enormous,” said Stewart. “Fintech companies are transforming entire industries through vertically integrated technology solutions, and the team at Fund That Flip has an impressive track record of leading that innovation within the real estate space.”

Fund That Flip is one of the fastest-growing private companies in the U.S., on pace to grow its revenue by 300% year-over-year and doubling its customer base since 2020. Their technology platform has facilitated over $1 billion in real estate investments, with 99.1% return of principal, and has achieved profitability since the close of their Series A in August 2019. Shulman Rogers Gandal Pordy & Ecker, P.A., acted as legal counsel for Fund That Flip.

European open banking leader Aiia enters collaboration with one of the most successful software technology companies in the Nordics, Netcompany. Netcompany is launching ‘mit.dk’, a new platform to streamline digital communication between the Danish people and public and private sector companies. The platform is set to bring open banking powered payments to the masses by enabling Danish citizens to pay bills and invoices securely and safely in one place.

With an ambition of making it as easy and straightforward to act on and manage digital mail from companies, authorities, organisations and healthcare. The new digital post solution will also make it possible for more than five million Danish citizens to pay bills and invoices directly through the platform powered by Aiia’s quality-driven open banking infrastructure. 

Not only will the Danish citizens be able to have one place to find bills, doctors appointments or communication from authorities, but the platform will enable citizens to take action immediately in one place. Such as booking a doctor's appointment, communicating directly with the insurance company or paying bills of any kind with a swipe.

By integrating Aiia’s payment initiation services, Netcompany will enable Danish citizens with a hassle-free and simple method for taking action on their digital post, and will amongst other things allow for the option to pay all bills and invoices directly where the citizens receive the messages.

By adding Aiia’s payment initiation services to the platform, mit.dk will make up for countless switching between online banking and payment cards or paper based invoices, a process most people can recognize from current digital mail solutions. Moving away from existing paper based invoices is expected to initiate higher conversion and more bills paid on time for companies using the new platform to let citizens pay their bills directly through their digital post solution. 

With a potential reach of more than five million Danish citizens this collaboration is set to become a massive game-changer for open banking payments. The partnership is the first of its kind and is fully set to bring open banking powered payments to the masses with an estimated three-figure million amount of open banking payments yearly.

The further development of the partnership is to allow all Danish citizens to make different types beyond bill and invoice payments, adding options for splitting up payments and initiating subscription payments.
 
The partnership is the first of its kind and is fully set to bring open banking powered payments to the masses. The further development of the partnership is to allow all Danish citizens to make different types beyond bill and invoice payments, adding options for splitting up payments and initiating subscription payments.

Commenting on the collaboration of utilizing open banking payments, André Rogaczewski, CEO of Netcompany, said:  

“We are proud to bring an innovative payment solution to millions of citizens and businesses. We unite and innovate digital post and modern payment options on the mit.dk platform. When you receive a message on mit.dk, you must be able to respond to it immediately - even when a bill has to be paid. The platform will be at the forefront with a seamless payment experience for both sender and recipient. With Aiia as payment provider, we ensure a strong, stable and future-proof solution with the user experience in focus. We hereby make it easy, safe and straightforward to pay all types of bills from a single overview in one place.”  

Rune Mai, CEO & Founder of Aiia, also commented on the collaboration saying:

“We’re honoured to power a nationwide platform with our thriving payments platform and show that open banking powered payments is maturing to move into the masses. Together with Netcompany we’re creating an entirely new foundation for payments between Danish citizens and companies making it smooth, straightforward and intuitive to pay bills and invoices where it is received with their bank account. This will enable a high-converting payment flow and be increasing convenience massively for the end-users of mit.dk”

Financial Data and Technology Association (FDATA), a leading fintech industry lobbying organisation, has partnered with Open Banking Expo, the largest global community of Open Banking and Open Finance executives driving one of the biggest digital transformations across the financial services sector.

The two global organisations have joined forces to help support, promote and foster a global Open Banking and Open Finance community.

FDATA works closely with government, regulatory authorities, policymakers and industry to unleash the benefits of Open Banking and Open Finance to the benefit of customers across the world. In addition to holding seats on policy working groups, expert advisory groups and task forces related to Open Banking, FDATA provides a collective voice for a broad array of fintech companies, whose innovative financial applications and services empower customers to take better control of their financial lives. 

Richard Prior, CEO of FDATA, said: “We are delighted to formalise our relationship with Open Banking Expo. FDATA is a global members organisation at the forefront of the campaign for Open Finance in multiple jurisdictions. Open Banking Expo’s market reach and deep quality of content offers an ideal opportunity, via this strategic partnership, to amplify and enhance FDATA’s engagement in shaping mission-critical policy initiatives in the delivery of Open Banking and Open Finance.”

Adam Cox, co-founder of Open Banking Expo, said: “We are thrilled to join forces with FDATA to put more weight behind building and supporting the fast-growing Open Banking and Open Finance movement across the globe. This partnership will provide a perfect platform to exchange global expertise at a more meaningful level and build relations with decision and policymakers across the globe.”

FDATA is the UK fintech industry’s most influential association shaping the future of the financial sector by opening it up to the benefits of the intersection between financial data and technology.

The latest announcement follows Open Banking Expo’s recent partnership with Open Vector designed to launch community meet-ups to bring together financial institutions, regulators and industry leaders to accelerate the proliferation of open banking in Latin America. 

Vermeg, the leading global provider of regulatory reporting and collateral management solutions, announces that Bank North, the UK's first truly regional business bank of the modern era, has signed a multi-year licence for its flagship regulatory reporting platform, AgileREPORTER.

Bank North is a new regional business bank which was granted a banking licence (Authorised with Restrictions or ‘AWR’) by the UK’s Prudential Regulation Authority (‘PRA’) in August this year.  The bank operates via seamlessly-integrated, cloud-native banking technology, which powers a network of regional ‘Pods’, where experienced bankers and relationship managers will deliver committed finance to businesses. It will start lending to SMEs later this year with the opening of its first lending ‘Pod’ in Manchester. Lending services will then be rolled out across the UK.

Working closely with Bank North since 2020, Vermeg has been helping to establish the bank’s reporting processes, so it has robust and thorough systems in place to ensure regulatory compliance. With the implementation of Vermeg’s flagship regulatory reporting product, AgileREPORTER, Bank North is benefiting from an automated, scalable and AWS cloud-based reporting system. The intelligent software ensures the most accurate and efficient reporting possible, and through a user-friendly interface, the finance team is able to manage approvals and workflows, enabling a more efficient finance function and clear oversight for senior management.

David Broadbent, CFO, Bank North said: “With ambitious growth plans and a unique de-centralised model, where loans are tailored to the circumstances of each business at a local level, Bank North needs regulatory reporting software that can scale and integrate seamlessly with our cloud-native systems. AgileREPORTER meets this need perfectly and access to Vermeg’s experts in the UK is invaluable in helping to ensure we are implementing all the right processes.”

Malcolm Arnold, ‎Global Head of Regulatory Product, Vermeg said: “It’s very rewarding to see Bank North secure its banking licence after working to ensure they have all the required reporting systems in place. Our UK-based Regulatory Strategy team have delivered a regulatory reporting solution that supports the bank’s advanced banking model and can be easily scaled up as the business grows. We look forward to a long and successful partnership, working to ensure the Bank North compliance team has the highest level of confidence and control over its reporting at all times.”

Financial prudence appears to be the current theme in the UK cards market with spending down and percentage of payments to balance up – but will this positive attitude remain as COVID savings dwindle?

Highlights

• September sees third decrease in spend in 2021, falling £3 month on month – although £49 above pre-pandemic levels
• Percentage of payments to balance increases to a new eight-year high
• Missed payment rates also continue to drop year on year
• The pattern for increased cash usage continues – 6.5 percent month on month increase although still 56 percent below September 2019 levels

Global analytics software provider FICO today released its analysis of UK card trends for September 2021 and the contrasting conditions that have been seen throughout 2021 continue. The month saw average spend fall, growth in payment levels and falling missed payment rates, all suggesting a current state of strong financial prudence. For lenders, however, focus needs to remain on reacting quickly to consumer changes in spend and payment behaviour which might indicate whether they can service their debt.

UK Card average spend falls for third time in 2021

The average spend on UK credit cards in September 2021 decreased £3 to £708. However, it was still £49 on September 2019, suggesting that consumers are still relying on lockdown savings.

An eight-year high in percentage of payments to balance

Another indicator of the continuing role of pandemic savings is the eight-year high in the percentage of payments to balance. Year on year it is 22 percent higher and 26 percent above 2019 levels.

While average card balances grew £1 in September 2021, they remain 4 percent lower than a year ago and 11 percent below pre-pandemic levels (in September 2019).

This September, credit card holders moved from paying less than the amount due or the amount due to paying more than the amount due or the full balance (over a two-year high). This created the highest ratio of percentage of payments to balance in eight years.  

Missed payment rates fall to new over two-year lows

The percentage of accounts missing payments fell 2.2 percent in September 2021. Their associated balance as a percentage of total balance decreased 2 percent, indicating the power of the savings and perhaps consumer restraint with an uncertain few months ahead.

The percentage of accounts missing payments is 30 percent lower than two years ago, and the percent of total balance is 17 percent below.

Only average balances on accounts missing one payment increased during the month, although these were 3.1 percent below September 2019. However, average balances on card users missing two or more payments are above pre-pandemic levels.

Compared to September 2019:

• Average balances for cardholders with two missed payments are 7 percent or £150 higher.
• Average balances for cardholders with three missed payments are 16 percent or £404 higher
• Average balances for cardholders with four or more missed payments are 15 percent or £406 higher.

This indicates that although a lower proportion of consumers are missing payments, those that do have higher average balances.

Spend over card limit stabilises

Compared to two years ago, far fewer cardholders are spending over their card limit, but those who do are spending even more over their limit than cardholders in September 2019. The percentage of accounts going over their limit stabilised, perhaps due to the drop in average spend, and remains 54 percent below September 2019 levels. The average amount being spent above limit remained the same month on month, however this is 12 percent higher than two years ago.

Cash usage long way from reaching pre-pandemic levels

The percentage of consumers using cash on their credit cards increased a further 7 percent in September 2021. However, cash usage is still 56 percent lower than pre-pandemic levels.

Looking Ahead

October could be a pivotal month in consumer spending and payment behaviours. It was the first month with no furlough support and also marked the end of extra benefit payments, plus the increase in the energy cap level and continuing rises in fuel and food prices are all likely to have an impact. The contactless limit increase that was implemented mid-month, from £45 to £100, may also influence consumer use of credit.

Although lenders will be working on their 2022 strategic approach and perhaps getting back to business as usual in customer management, collections will remain at the forefront, along with ensuring any available or new credit is affordable for their customers. 

These card performance figures are part of the data shared with subscribers of the FICO® Benchmark Reporting Service. The data sample comes from client reports generated by the FICO® TRIAD® Customer Manager solution in use by some 80 percent of UK card issuers. Issuers wishing to subscribe to this service can contact staceywest@fico.com.

New Macrobond Viewer gives Aviva Investors the ability to share ‘live’ research across its organisation instantly

Macrobond, a leading provider of global economic, aggregate financial and sector data for finance professionals, has teamed up with Aviva Investors (“Aviva”), to develop the Macrobond Viewer, a new way to seamlessly disseminate information across business lines using the Macrobond platform. 

The tool allows Aviva Investors economists and portfolio managers to confidently share ‘live’ charts with one another, knowing that everyone will be viewing the same data at any given moment in time. The Macrobond Viewer has proved particularly valuable to portfolio managers monitoring key positions.

Sharing and analysing vast amounts of data and charts across multiple teams can be challenging for large organisations. With information and models updating constantly, it can quickly lead to loss of version control and compound inefficiencies. Knowing that everyone has the same up to date information across the organisation has eliminated this time-consuming process. 

To drive better collaboration across the company, Aviva Investors asked Macrobond to develop a solution, which resulted in the Macrobond Viewer. 

Michael Grady, Head of Investment Strategy and Chief Economist at Aviva Investors, said: “What's really been the game changer for us is the way in which we've been able to engage the portfolio management teams. It has allowed us to get that ‘single source of truth’ and because it's live, we have the confidence to know that we are looking at the most up-to-date information. This really matters when you're trying to make those investment decisions.”

Grady added, “One of the biggest benefits that Macrobond provides to somebody like me who is undertaking the research and the analysis, is the incredible efficiency gains over using other spreadsheet-type packages. I see this with all the new hires who come into my team who may not have come across the product before. They just see how much efficiency they can gain.”

Howard Rees, Chief Commercial Officer, Macrobond, said: “Listening to and acting on feedback has always been core to our success, so actually partnering with a key client to address a workflow challenge they had felt like a natural next step. It’s been a great pleasure to work with Michael and the guys at Aviva, to realise their vision of bringing better collaboration and increased efficiencies to their teams. We are incredibly excited to now be able to provide Macrobond Viewer to all our customers so they too can collaborate more effectively with their teams.”

finova, the leading mortgage and savings tech provider, today announces its partnership with Quantum Mortgages – an intermediary-only specialist lender supporting landlords across the UK. finova and Quantum expect to launch formally by Q1, 2022.

finova acquired BEP Systems and its SaaS originations platform, Apprivo², in October 2021. Quantum will leverage finova’s Apprivo² platform to initially support buy to let lending before considering other types of lending.

The platform will be fully integrated to various APIs from launch, including:

• Docu-sign (e-signatures)
• GB Loqate (Address and bank account look ups)
• Barclays payment gateways

In addition to this, finova will be working with BCM Global, which is acting as the mortgage servicer for Quantum. Other digital services and APIs will be added post-launch to provide further automations.

Jason Neale, Managing Director at Quantum Mortgages, comments:

“Although common sense, human underwriting is at the heart of our proposition and we wanted to combine this with the very best and latest technology to create a unique experience for intermediaries and their clients”.

“Our partnership with finova allows us to do this and we were really impressed by the power of the Apprivo² platform as well as its remarkable intuitive interfaces. finova’s determination to deliver out-of-the-box processes, combined with the benefits of Apprivo², will provide us with the flexibility to customise our offering going forward. These are exciting times for the business, and we look forward to further consolidating our partnership with finova.”

Chris Little, Commercial Director (Core Banking Platform) at finova, comments:

“We are delighted to add Quantum Mortgages to our ever-growing list of Apprivo² users. Once again, we have demonstrated the power of the Apprivo² platform and our ability to grasp our clients’ growing requirements. Our partnership with Quantum symbolises another great step forwards for finova, as we expand our efforts to provide seamless digital journeys.”

VoxSmart Ltd., the global leader in communications surveillance, has today cemented its APAC presence with the opening of a new office in Queenstown, New Zealand, further building on the global growth of the firm over the last year.

Based in the heart of Queenstown, the city is an ideal location for VoxSmart’s presence on the ground in the APAC region due to the investment that the city has put into the new innovation hub, with the goal of turning the city into a global leader in technology. This new office will be headed by VoxSmart COO & kiwi native, Adrienne Muir.

VoxSmart currently has employees across the region, including offices based in Singapore and Melbourne, as well as New Zealand. The opening of a new central office in Queenstown further builds on the expertise already being delivered to local clients, and better positions VoxSmart to take advantage of the expanding role of regtech in the region.

Commenting on the new office, Adrienne Muir, COO of VoxSmart said: “With New Zealand fast becoming a hotspot for tech innovation, and Australia on our doorstep, it makes sense for us to be serving our clients locally on the ground. Having our team dispersed in Singapore, Melbourne and now New Zealand is fantastic for our growing number of clients in APAC. As the region enters a period of tech revolution, our job is to ensure clients have direct access to our expertise as and when they need it.”

Olivia Wensley, CEO at Queenstown Lakes further added: “We're thrilled to have a company the calibre of VoxSmart establish an office in our region. The tech companies who have established offices here enjoy the unparalleled lifestyle the Queenstown Lakes region has to offer. Having an office here has been a great way for our tech sector to attract talent because of our region's desirability.”

Oliver Blower, CEO of VoxSmart, pointed to the global vision of the firm: “The opening of our new APAC office is central to our long-term strategic vision and global management model. Not only will it help us to serve our local clients to an even higher standard, but also demonstrates our ongoing commitment to having a truly global reach and presence.”

This news marks a period of rapid growth for VoxSmart, following a $25 million growth equity investment injection from Toscafund and senior hires in North America earlier in the year, in addition to the recent acquisition of GreenKey Technologies.

This strategic partnership will combine Bain’s industry leading management consulting with Aura’s innovative global luxury blockchain solutions

The Aura Blockchain Consortium, founded by LVMH, Prada Group, and Cartier, part of Richemont, and OTB Group, are pleased to announce that they have entered a Global Strategic Partnership with Bain & Company. The addition of Bain & Company as the exclusive knowledge partner will guarantee a world-class onboarding as well as strategy development for luxury brands working with the Aura Blockchain Consortium.  

Over the last twenty years, Bain & Company has earned the reputation as the absolute market leader in management consulting in luxury. The firm has worked on hundreds of projects globally for luxury brands both upstream and downstream especially with regards to the industry’s push towards sustainability. Bain offers expertise underpinned by proprietary tools and the Future of Retail Framework across every facet of the value chain. Bain also publishes closely watched reports on the evolution of the luxury market, including the annual Bain-Altagamma luxury market monitor that is one of the most quoted and recognised reports on the industry. 

The Aura Blockchain Consortium is a non-profit organization created with the vision that collaboration can coexist within a competitive environment, driven by common objectives for the greater good. Aura through its innovative blockchain technology has built a comprehensive suite of solutions that covers the entire luxury lifecycle, upstream and downstream. The customer journey and experience is at the heart of the solutions which include provenance sourcing, tools to communicate authentication, sustainability, digital tokens and NFTs, providing a personalized service that creates a new layer of engagement for luxury brands direct to their consumers.

The Consortium develops standards and provides tools to enhance transparency and trust through sustainable blockchain solutions and related technologies. 

Founded by luxury brands, Aura strives to make these technologies easily accessible to all luxury brands irrespective of size and location. Through its activities focused on leveraging blockchain technology throughout the manufacturing and supply chain process, Aura promotes innovation and authenticity within the luxury sector. 

Daniela Ott, Secretary General of Aura Blockchain Consortium, said: “Bain & Company has long been recognised as the leading management consultancy that is helping companies transform and define the future of luxury and fashion brands. Today Aura is the only blockchain solution that covers the entire lifecycle of luxury production and consumption. We share a common goal and are delighted to welcome them as our newest global strategic partner.  Our members will now have access to world-class management consultancy to support them as they embrace the opportunities to transform their business using our blockchain solutions”.

Federica Levato, a Bain & Company Partner and Head of EMEA Luxury Practice commented, “We are delighted to join the Aura Blockchain Consortium as the exclusive knowledge partner. The advent of blockchain and non-fungible tokens (NFT) has led to a whole new paradigm of how brands engage with their customers. As a company at the forefront of innovation and change for the luxury industry, we look forward to work hand in hand with members of the Aura Blockchain Consortium to navigate the myriad of opportunities presented by this technology and help them craft and execute their strategy for this exciting new frontier of luxury”.