Shieldpay, the market leader in complex high-value B2B digital payments, has announced the appointment of Diji Adu as Chief Technology Officer.

Adu, formerly Director of Technology at Shieldpay, brings over 20 years of leadership and software development experience to his new role. Prior to joining Shieldpay, Adu led projects and managed teams at BlackRock, Goldman Sachs and most recently HSBC, where he built digital banking solutions. 

In his new position Adu will be focusing on growing and developing a high-performing technology function that will become the driving force in supporting the company in its ambition to become the leading solution for high-value, complex corporate transactions.

Since joining Shieldpay in July as Director of Technology, Adu has injected a passion for innovation that has not only benefited technology delivery and reinvigorated the company’s tech strategy, but also enlivened the culture of the team. 

Diji Adu, Chief Technology Officer at Shieldpay, said: “As we look to embed new innovative technologies into the development of our payments platform and continue to lead the industry in solving problems that our customers face, I’m thrilled to be stepping into this new role. Since joining Shieldpay, I have had the pleasure of working with a world-class team and I’m really looking forward to taking the team to its fullest potential and delivering results that drive growth and satisfaction for our clients.”

Andrew Hawkins, Chief Executive Officer, UK & Europe at Shieldpay, said: "I’ve had the privilege of working closely with Diji during our time at HSBC, and I've personally witnessed his remarkable capabilities. Since joining the business in July, Diji has made an immediate and profound impact, and his promotion to Chief Technology Officer underscores our unwavering commitment to innovation and our technology first approach. I am genuinely excited to witness the transformative impact that Diji’s visionary leadership will have on Shieldpay’s growth as we continue to achieve our goals.”   

This appointment comes as Shieldpay continues to bolster its senior leadership team with the recent appointment of Jerry Wozniak as its new Chief Information Security Officer. Wozniak joins Shieldpay having held positions at Zopa and Trainline developing the company's cybersecurity strategies.   

The new appointments will support in elevating Shieldpay’s offering to solve the core challenges its customers face when managing B2B transactions. 

Travelex, a market-leading foreign exchange brand, has appointed a Global Retail Director to drive the next stage of its retail development and international market growth. 

Jackie Uhi, who joins from HSBC, will be responsible for driving strategy, delivery, expansion, and innovation across the company’s retail portfolio, which includes more than 1,100 stores and 900 ATMs across over 20 countries. Retail operations currently account for approximately 80% of Travelex’s global revenues. 

Originally from Australia, Uhi has operated at senior levels within retail banking in both the UK and APAC for over thirty years, specializing in strategic leadership and operations. At HSBC her positions included Head of UK Distribution, where she was responsible for transforming HSBC’s distribution business, and Head of Mortgage, Protection and Wealth Distribution. Before HSBC Uhi served as a Director at Barclays, Lloyds, and ANZ, Australia’s largest institutional bank. 

Uhi’s appointment comes as Travelex continues to both expand its global retail footprint and transform its retail product offering of both cash and card solutions, all with the strategic aim of increasing its global distribution network and maximizing customer convenience and value.  

Over the past 12 months, Travelex has opened dozens of new stores around the world, creating more than 1,200 new jobs in the process, with further store openings in the pipeline. The company has also piloted and introduced a range of innovative new retail solutions, including the FX industry’s first ATM click-and-collect service in the UK and Australia, and a new automated currency kiosk at Heathrow.  

As part of a wider Senior Leadership restructuring, Cameron Hume has moved to the role of Global Wholesale Director. Hume, who previously served as Chief Commercial Officer, has served with Travelex for nearly 16 years, including as Managing Director for Asia-Pacific. 

As Global Wholesale Director, one of Hume’s early priorities will be expanding Travelex’s engagement with Asian banks and clients across the globe, including through the provision of wholesale banknotes. 

Richard Wazacz, Travelex CEO, said: 

“We’re delighted to have appointed Jackie to the newly created position of Global Retail Director. Jackie is a seasoned leader in the retail banking and distribution space, and she joins at a time of increased investment, expansion, and innovation in our retail operations. Her appointment is an ambitious statement about our next stage of planned growth. 

“I would also like to congratulate Cameron Hume on his appointment as Global Wholesale Director. Cam has been with us for nearly sixteen years, and his appointment is both a testament to his contributions to Travelex and a reflection of our ambitions for our wholesale operations in the Asian market and beyond. 

Together Jackie and Cam will play a pivotal role as members of the Travelex Executive Team to drive the resurgent growth and increased profitability of the group across all the geographies we operate in.” 

myPOS is proud to announce it has partnered with Germany’s largest taxi association. Starting in January, the UK fintech will provide card readers for Taxi-München eG, which has more than 5900 drivers and operates the largest taxi association in Germany.

myPOS is known as the trusted partner of taxi organizations such as the Italian URI Services and FMS - a dominant force in the European taxi industry. The latest myPOS partnership with Taxi München eG means that drivers can take advantage of the smart device myPOS Prо, running on Android. 

The card reader is connected to the myPOS AppMarket where drivers can find their beloved Com4Cab app by GefoS. The app is a must for the cabs as it offers convenient acceptance of driving orders, combined with an intuitive user interface and replaces the previous radio data devices. Com4Cab is used in many cities throughout Germany –  Dresden, Braunschweig, and Lingen, to name a few.

“The possibility to run the Com4Cab App and to process payments at the same time eliminates the need for an additional smartphone in the cab,” explains Zoltan Gyenge, myPOS managing director for the D-A-CH region.

Thomas Kroker, board member of Taxi-München eG added: “Taxis are the most mobile business in the world, so carrying as little hardware as possible in the cab is important. myPOS is modern, fast, inexpensive, user friendly, and easy to integrate, which is why we are excited to vouch for it.”

Dima Kats, CEO of Clear Junction, commented: “APP fraud has grown rapidly alongside the use of real-time payments schemes in recent years. As an innovative service provider, Clear Junction is proud to be among the first few firms to tackle this challenge head on. We are committed to adjusting our controls to minimise the opportunities for bad actors to benefit from technological progress. Any incident of fraud is devastating for victims, and APP fraud methods are so sophisticated that even the most tech-savvy and security-conscious individuals and businesses can fall victim to it. That’s why we have made the CoP service available for our clients and their end users now – to thwart APP fraud in its tracks.

 

“At Clear Junction, we’ve always maintained exceptionally high compliance standards; it’s at the heart of everything we do. We have a responsibility to ensure that any payments and transactions we facilitate or make on behalf of our clients adhere to regulations. The rollout of our new CoP service is just another way that we’re enhancing security and building trust i the financial ecosystem.”

Organisations have been laser-focused on protecting their networks, applications, physical premises, and people against cyber security attacks but have neglected their exposure to suppliers. Indeed, over the past 3 years, a staggering 73% of organizations have been affected by a third-party security breach. Helping these businesses toughen their resilience against such attacks, cyber security business Risk Ledger is today announcing it has raised a £6.25 million series A funding round to strengthen supply chains. 

The funding round was led by UK investor Mercia Ventures, which joins Seedcamp, Firstminute Capital, Episode 1, Village Global as well and Finnish VC Lifeline Ventures as investors. To date, Risk Ledger has raised a total of  £9.8 million in venture funding. 

Recent cyber attacks on The Metropolitan Police and NHS Trusts through their supply chains have the potential to compromise the UK’s national security and private citizen data. A threat alert by the National Cyber Security Centre is also warning of increased state-sponsored attacks against UK critical national infrastructure. Supply chain attacks are on the rise and can have severe impacts, as the Solarwinds, Log4J, and MOVEit Transfer attacks have shown. According to recent research by KPMG, 73% of the surveyed organizations had experienced at least one significant disruption, caused by a third party, within the last three years, while 85% said that their business considers third-party risk management (TPRM) a strategic priority. The cost of global supply chain attacks is expected to reach $46 billion this year (Juniper Research). 

Organizations are increasingly trusting others with critical business functions and sensitive data, meaning vulnerabilities can appear anywhere in the supply chain, from suppliers to partners. Traditional, point-in-time cyber security risk assessments make for poor-quality data that goes out of date fast, offering little protection. 

Risk Ledger offers an innovative social network approach to supply chain risk management, allowing organizations to use the platform as both clients and suppliers, able to share with connected organizations a single profile of their controls across 12 security domains, including ESG and financial risk. This reveals relationships in many directions and allows for a unique visualization of the entire supply chain ecosystem, and the uncovering of critical interdependencies, concentration risks, and single points of failure well beyond immediate third-party connections. It also results in more accurate and real time data, giving organizations the ability to make better decisions to protect their business from supply chain threats.

Haydn Brooks, co-founder, and CEO, at Risk Ledger, commented: “The unique ability of Risk Ledger to map relationships and interdependencies in the supply chain allows organizations to understand where they sit within their supplier ecosystem and how different incidents may impact their organization given those interdependencies.”

Risk Ledger has seen rapid adoption over the past two years and today counts over 5,000 organizations with 17,000 users across large public sector and financial services organizations as customers. Client bookings have consistently doubled year on year, or more since the company launched its platform in 2020.

Risk Ledger's growing international client base includes many organizations in sensitive sectors such as critical national infrastructure, financial services, and the public sector, which face particular regulatory scrutiny and need to demonstrate how they effectively limit the risks emanating from their suppliers. Speaking about the value Risk Ledger provides, the former Divisional Information Security Officer at the UK Health Security Agency, David Malkin, stated that “Risk Ledger provides us with a more holistic, real-time view of our complex supply chain, helping to identify and remediate potential vulnerabilities and issues early.”

The new funding will fuel future product development to equip Risk Ledger’s clients with tools to combat supply chain security attacks and allow Risk Ledger to deepen partnerships within key industries. Mercia Ventures invested from its Northern Venture Capital Trust (VCT) funds. Adam Lovell of Mercia Ventures added: “Third-party risk is a major security concern for companies as it’s a factor over which they traditionally have little control. Risk Ledger offers an exciting new approach to third-party risk management. Haydn and Daniel have made remarkable progress in developing the business to date and have a very clear view of the way forward. We are delighted to support their ambitious growth plans.”

Risk Ledger’s mission is to build a global network of connected organizations all working together to defend as one, detecting, responding, and ultimately preventing cyber attacks in real time. Risk Ledger aims to enhance security through collaboration and the exchange of information. 

Haydn Brooks added: “As we push forward towards our vision, our platform will open up new capabilities within supply chain security. Integrations and future product releases will allow organizations to both understand and react to security incidents in their supply chain, reducing the impact of such incidents and ultimately leading to a more resilient world.”

One in five Brits are now making regular payments via Open Banking (21%) according to research carried out by Moneyhub. 

Open Banking payments allow users to make a payment directly through their phone’s banking app or online banking account directly to another account, which can be a quicker and more cost-effective alternative to other payment options such as card payments, standing orders or direct debits. 

While cards remain the dominant payment method on the high street and online, businesses are exploring alternative options for their customers, often triggered by high acquiring costs and settlement delays which are impacting cashflow. 

The stranglehold that direct debits overwhelmingly have in the regular bill payment sector (where 70% of Brits use this payment method for their regular bills) will be challenged as Open Banking’s variable recurring payments become an option.

Open Banking payments are increasing in prevalence and relevance. Indeed, Moneyhub’s research comes following figures showing that Open Banking payments hit a milestone earlier this year, hitting 11.78m transactions in September, with the number of active payment users surging by 68.2% in July 2023 compared to the same month the previous year. 

This alternative payment method is increasingly being used by the younger generations with 29% of 16-24 year olds and 26% of 25-34-year-olds making payments using Open Banking. In comparison, just 13% of those aged over 55 years old use Open Banking payments. 

Interestingly, close to half of those who classed themselves as full-time students (44%) are using Open Banking to make regular bill payments.

Mark Munson, MD of Moneyhub’s Payment Division comments: “The world of payments is constantly evolving, and the Smart Payment revolution that Open Banking enables is set to shake up how we manage our regular bill payments. Fifty years ago we would have seen payment by cheques or cash as the predominant tool to pay for bills, then direct debits and standing orders grew into popularity. 

Now, Open Banking is set to join the fold. Quicker, more efficient, offering greater flexibility, and largely more cost-effective for both the merchant and customer, Open Banking payments are readily being embraced by a new generation of consumers.

With new, innovative, and more flexible propositions coming to market, Open Banking has demonstrated that early adopters of those services, not only demand a greater choice in what they are buying, but how they are buying it.   They are not wedded to payment solutions that are of their parents, or grandparents generation.”

Finfra, the lending infrastructure provider that operates in Indonesia together with its licensed peer-to-peer lending affiliate Danabijak, has announced a new partnership with Xendit that will bring automated collections of revenue-based financing to businesses across Indonesia. Xendit, the payment gateway solution designed specifically for the Southeast Asian market, has provided MSMEs with advanced payment rails and infrastructure since 2016. The partnership will bring an entirely new collections automation structure to the mass market in Indonesia, and Finfra, through its affiliate Danabijak, will be the first to roll it out to customers.

Together Finfra and Xendit have developed a new system of API-enabled bank accounts that can be opened on behalf of the borrowing party. Through these Finfra- and Xendit-built accounts, users can receive short-term loans, enabling business growth by providing needed capital and repayment flexibility that caters to their exact needs. Xendit’s Rekening Dana Fintech (RDF) feature then allows funds to be automatically debited from the borrower as corresponding revenue accumulates in their account. This circumvents the usual ratio that directs 20% of any incoming funds toward the loan repayment and keeps the remaining 80% in the borrower’s account. Borrowers agree to direct all revenues towards this account, and this revenue-based financing (RBF) product enables the lender to receive a portion of the revenues automatically until the loan is fully repaid.

The popularity of revenue-based financing has grown substantially worldwide in the last decade, and the Indonesian MSME landscape is well-suited to further adoption. Finfra has made it its mission to bring modern financing solutions to Indonesia, and this Xendit partnership is one of the most significant strides forward within that mission. As is always the case with Finfra products, greater access to credit and nationwide economic growth are at the heart of this product rollout.

Reinis Simanovskis, co-founder and CTO at Finfra, said: “There’s quite a bit of ground to make up in order to truly modernise the lending landscape within Indonesia, and offering automated RBF loans is a major step forward. Xendit’s specific focus on Southeast Asia made them an ideal partner, and we’ve worked closely with them to make sure this product addresses the needs specific to this region. We see this as bringing an innovative new product to a market that is more than ready for it, and yet another way we’re supporting Indonesian SMEs in a global context.”

Mikiko Steven, Managing Director at Xendit, said: “We’re incredibly excited about this partnership with Finfra through its affiliate, Danabijak, and this product, which finally provides the Indonesian market with the modern RBF program it needs. Simplifying and modernising payments has been at the core of our work since we founded this company, and we see this as a new implementation of that focus. To that end, it matters to us that we’re partnering with a company as focused on Southeast Asia and Southeast Asian SMEs as we are, and I’m extremely confident about the future of this product and this partnership.”

DKK Partners, a leading FinTech company that specializes in emerging markets (EM) and foreign exchange (FX) liquidity, has appointed Clifford Mettle as Executive Chairman of Ghana to help bolster their West African service offering and support their plans to provide the entire Africa region with innovative and fast payment solutions.

The new appointment represents DKK Partners’ ambitious plans to grow and act as a global leader in FinTech, allowing customers to unlock access to new territories and currencies, as well as EM liquidity, democratizing the payments industry and supporting emerging markets as they develop, providing much needed FX and financial services such as virtual IBAN accounts.

Mettle is a seasoned banker and brings with him three decades of experience with a background in African financial services and has had stints with Ghana International Bank, London and Citibank, NY. As the Chairman of the Banking Commission of the International Chamber of Commerce, Ghana, and past President of the Chartered Institute of Bankers, he will offer skills in marketing strategy, consulting, and leadership which will significantly help drive DKK Partner’s future plans.

The appointment follows DKK’s expansion into the African market, opening its Ghana operation last year to complement its existing operations in Cameroon, which was followed by them obtaining the CONSUMAF license, and Mettle will help to accelerate DKK’s plans to serve as a hub for the booming African market.

Clifford Mettle, Executive Chairman of DKK Partners Ghana, commented:

“I am excited to join the DKK Team and I hope to bring to the table varied and relevant leads and networks for the growth and development of DKK Partners. My thorough understanding of global markets, treasury functions, investments and currency movements will help to propel the business to optimal performance and efficiency, enhancing their commitment to making FinTech accessible to all.”

“I truly believe in the DKK vision, and I am excited to use my expertise and experience to support their fantastic work in such a growing and relevant sector and geographical location. The FinTech industry is booming, and I look forward to supporting businesses worldwide as they implement new and emerging technologies to help bolster their operations and success.”

Khalid Talukder, Co-found of DKK Partners, commented:

“As DKK Partners expands further across emerging markets such as the African one, we hope to continue building our team of experts and we are delighted to bring Clifford on the team as a well-respected and experienced individual within the industry. We are looking forward to driving our plans forward, offering FX and payments technologies to those who need it, promoting business growth worldwide. We are excited for what is to come and very much look forward to seeing what our new Executive Chairman of DKK Partners Ghana brings to the team.”

In response to increased demand from asset managers to drive distribution efficiencies and optimize performance in an increasingly competitive environment, global Fintech leader Broadridge Financial Solutions Inc. announces the launch of DistributionAI and Global Demand Model.

"DistributionAI and Global Demand Model are the latest examples of Broadridge's ability to harness AI-enabled analytics to create innovative solutions for clients," said Nigel Birch, Global Head of Product, Data and Analytics, Broadridge. "These powerful new technologies are super-charging data analysis and making it much quicker and easier for asset managers to interpret and apply data-driven insights across critical decision-making functions."

DistributionAI is a digital analyst tool within Broadridge's Distribution Insight platform, which provides access to unique and proprietary global asset management market intelligence and research reports to help asset managers optimize distribution, product development, and sales and marketing. DistributionAI enables natural language interrogation of thousands of specialist proprietary research documents focused on the themes and trends defining success in the global asset management industry.

Broadridge's new Global Demand Model measures and analyzes demand for asset management products today and in the future. It tracks over $100 trillion of global assets and delivers a total market view of demand, driven by proprietary data across public and private markets, and retail and institutional channels. Global Demand Model uses next-generation AI-driven models to understand the relationship between asset flows and thousands of predictive capital market and macroeconomic features, married with human-in-the-loop (HITL) systems from Broadridge's team of global experts. The result equips asset managers with more confidence in the analysis of current and future product demand.