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.

Synechron, a leading global digital transformation consulting firm, today unveiled research insights generated from its first Strategic Technologies Survey of 50 C-Suite technology decision-makers (Chief Technology Officers, Chief Information Officers, and Chief Data Officers) from the financial services industry across the United States, Europe and Rest of World (RoW). The survey focused on tech priorities and approach to investment in technology provision.

Some emerging trends were identifiable from the survey results:

1. Cloud computing dominates – 42% of respondents identified cloud computing and application modernization as their top priority with almost half (46%) at the stage where they were implementing solutions. An additional 18% were even further ahead having reached the stage where they were optimizing their cloud technology.

2. Cautious adoption of AI – Whilst AI dominates headlines, it seems that key decision makers are taking their time to fully explore the full potential – and risks – of this burgeoning technology across security, compliance and legal angles. A notable 58% said they were still exploring the ways in which AI could transform their business compared to just 6% stating they were at the stage where they were optimizing post-rollout. As the different applications for AI are still being mapped out, only 1 in 10 picked AI as a business priority for 2024.

3. Cybersecurity & Data Intelligence/Analytics ranked equally – Cybersecurity, as well as Data Intelligence & Analytics, tied for second place as priorities – each with a 24% share of respondents. This highlights the increasing importance of data security in the digital age and the role of technology in safeguarding digital assets. It also confirms the trend towards data-driven decision-making and monetization of data assets.

4. Investment overall remains steady – Despite recent economic fluctuations, many businesses said they were maintaining or increasing their investment in technology provision. More than half of the respondents (51%) reported their technology budget has remained the same, whilst almost 35% reported an increase.

Further trends uncovered by the Synechron survey research included nearly one in four firms (24%) exploring methods of data monetization – defined as creating value from a firm’s data assets –with another 64% either developing or already implementing a program in this area. As data-driven strategies continue to transform and redefine entire industries, the value of data has soared. North American financial services firms are ahead of their European and RoW counterparts in this area – only 8% in the United States were at the exploration phase compared to 16% in Europe and RoW.

David Sewell, Chief Technology Officer at Synechron, commented, “The results of our survey were surprising at times, given what we have been hearing on the ground from clients and contacts across the global financial services industry. For example, despite 85% of respondents claiming budgets were maintained or increasing, anecdotally we have observed some pressure on client budgets towards the end of 2023.”

He added, “Senior tech staff attitudes towards AI were also notably cautious - although the excitement and buzz around this technology continues at pace across the industry. Currently, customer service is the main area where businesses can see AI making an impact, particularly in Europe. With AI and GenAI solutions advancing at an increasing velocity, we expect to see adoption grow significantly in a relatively short space of time.”

Volt, the global real-time payments platform, today announces that Matt Henderson, former CEO of Stripe Europe, ex-Google, ex-Amazon, has joined as a Special Advisor to the board.

Henderson joins at a critical inflection point for the company,  following the successful completion of a $60 million Series B, led by Silicon Valley investor IVP. With the addition of Henderson, Volt will bolster its leadership team with extensive expertise in technology sectors including B2B SaaS, crypto, and applied AI.

During Henderson’s three-year tenure as CEO for Europe at Stripe, one of the world’s leading payment processing companies, he led the international (non-US) operation, overseeing a diverse range of functions such as product engineering, strategy, operations, and more. 

Prior to Stripe, Henderson led Product Management for Google, following on from a successful Google acquisition of his shopping analytics firm, Rangespan. He played a pivotal role in product strategy for Google Play, the company's digital distribution platform, in addition to the integration of Rangespan into the Google tech stack, and the reconstruction of its analytics product.

Henderson's career also includes his tenure at Amazon as Product Director. During his time at Amazon, he made significant contributions to the company's growth and success, interfacing directly with Jeff Bezos. 

Commenting on his role as Special Advisor at Volt, Matt Henderson said: “I have always been impressed by Volt’s approach to solving the fragmented infrastructure problem of account-to-account payments. They manage performance at the most granular level, yet abstract away complexity for their customers. I’m excited to join the team.”

Founder and CEO of Volt, Tom Greenwood, commented: “Matt’s deep knowledge of the sector, combined with his track record of success, will be pivotal for Volt. As we prepare for global expansion, having Matt onboard will be instrumental in helping us shape our product roadmap in order to help realize our mission for real-time payments everywhere.”

Henderson currently serves as an advisor and portfolio Non-Executive Director at Apollo Global Management, Inc., a leading global alternative investment manager. In this capacity, he provides strategic guidance and expertise to support the firm's investment activities. As an angel investor, Henderson has actively supported tech start-ups for over nine years. His investments primarily focus on fintech, B2B SaaS, crypto, and applied AI.

Mangopay, a platform-specific payment infrastructure provider announces a new partnership with Aria, a leading provider of deferred payment infrastructure for B2B marketplaces and platforms. The collaboration aims to empower B2B marketplaces and transactional Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) companies with robust tools to manage their payments and credit efficiently.

As momentum in the B2B marketplace and SaaS industry builds, the payment experience continues to play a key role in the domestic and international growth of businesses in the space. In Mangopay's latest fintech innovation for B2B marketplaces, its agreement with Aria combines its modular payments offering with Aria’s credit technology and lending solutions.

As the B2B marketplace and SaaS sectors continue to grow, the quality of the payment experience is increasingly crucial for businesses expanding both domestically and internationally. Mangopay's recent update in its financial technology offerings for B2B marketplaces is a partnership with Aria. This partnership integrates Mangopay's flexible payment services with Aria’s expertise in credit assessment and lending solutions.

Aria’s B2B offering includes immediate payment options, deferred payment collections, the efficient disbursement of funds to vendors, and the meticulous handling of marketplace operator commissions, helping to reduce credit and payment risk. Business buyers can purchase goods and Pay Later for up to 90 days while sellers receive payment upon the shipment of goods, which can increase sales volume and support cash flow management for both sellers and business buyers. Crucially, allowing the marketplace to own their customer experience and provide a highly tailored checkout experience.

The partnership between Mangopay and Aria launched today highlights both companies’ commitment to driving payments innovation for B2B marketplaces - an industry with complex payment needs and dynamics. Through a combination of modularised marketplace payment infrastructure and  comprehensive credit solutions, the companies’ shared vision is to empower marketplaces with unmatched control over their payment strategies, complemented by easy access to trade credit.

“Our partnership with Aria is the latest powerful example of Mangopay’s unwavering commitment to fintech innovation for B2B marketplaces. Aria's dedication to optimising B2B payments and credit aligns perfectly with Mangopay's ambitions,” explains Luke Trayfoot, Chief Revenue Officer at Mangopay.” Our aim is to power the payment infrastructure and operations of the world's largest and most innovative marketplaces and platforms. Our solution enables them to build, operate and evolve their payments stack in a way which powers the growth of their business. Together with Aria, we believe in paving the way for a future where payment solutions are not just seamless but also transformative.” 

“At Aria, we are delighted about this partnership with Mangopay, which is the result of a shared vision between our two companies and natural synergies in our respective solutions,” said Clément Carrier, CEO of Aria. “Our partnership with Mangopay, a major player with extensive reach in B2B marketplaces, better positions us to deliver a market-leading customer experience. It demonstrates how two innovative fintech organizations can work together to simplify access to necessary payment options for B2B marketplaces.

Openpay, a fintech firm based in Denmark, has partnered with Yapily, an international open banking API provider, to facilitate seamless cross-border, peer-to-peer money transfers.

When the EU open banking legislation mandated financial institutions to grant non-banking third parties access to their APIs, the team at Openpay saw an opportunity to bring the benefits of this initiative to the Nordic region.

The Openpay app allows users to execute immediate, cost-free money transfers without caps on transaction volumes. It also offers expense sharing and settlement functionality, beneficial for group budgeting or expense tracking. This wide array of features is what distinguishes Openpay from its nearest competitor, MobilePay. The company says it is on a mission to democratize the movement of money.

Initially available to account holders in Denmark, the service is set to roll out to Sweden, Norway, the UK, and Germany later this year. Currently, the app integrates with 23 banks, such as Danske Bank, Nykredit, and Jyske Bank, with new banking partnerships being added every month.

CEO Aske Behrsin revealed plans to launch a debit card service in 2024 and to introduce merchant services thereafter.

When asked about the story of the app’s birth, Aske commented, “The moment I heard that MobilePay was discontinuing WeShare, an expense-sharing app with 1.2 million users in Denmark, I knew that I had to build an alternative solution. Since then, we have grown steadily, reaching 7500 users even before our official launch. It warms my heart to see such trust from our users, some of whom have started transferring sums up to DKK 10,000. As we approach the season of Julefrokost and big Christmas gatherings, our app becomes particularly useful for those looking to effortlessly manage shared expenses."

To reach its ambitious goals, Openpay has partnered with Yapily, the UK’s leading open banking infrastructure provider, to enable connection to over 2000 banks across 19 European countries. 

“Yapily’s vision is to create better, fairer financial services and Openpay embodies this sentiment with their ambition to provide a true cross-border P2P payment experience. We are looking forward to supporting their growth plans as they expand across Europe.” Lisa Gutu, Vice President Europe, Yapily.

This partnership between Openpay and Yapily marks a significant development in the Nordic open banking landscape. It gives people convenient options for an instant, free cross-border money transfers, and day-to-day payments.

Italian fintech Qomodo has raised €34.5m in a seed funding round led by Fasanara Capital. Qomodo is introducing a suite of smart payment solutions to physical retailers, including a Buy Now Pay Later formula for essential yet often unexpected expenses, increasing both customer peace of mind and business turnover.

Founded by Gianluca Cocco and Gaetano De Maio, two entrepreneurs with successful exits in Europe between 2018 and 2022, who have previously played a role in boosting the turnover of physical stores through the distribution of new digital products in Italy.

Qomodo is positioned as a "simplifier" that enables retailers to expand their businesses by ensuring immediate, secure, and transparent collections, while also increasing the spending opportunities for their loyal customers through interest-free installments. 

Physical stores are left out in the cold when it comes to competing online stores, partly due to their limited offering of flexible payment options. Qomodo aims to level the playing field by providing the necessary tools, like its Buy Now Pay Later solution, to physical retailers. Furthermore, bricks-and-mortar stores currently face challenges such as managing customer payments, which causes stress, and hinders their ability to focus on core operations. Qomodo streamlines this process, allowing retailers to concentrate on their businesses.

Qomodo is on a mission to solve this problem. It positions itself in the digital payments market as an "all-in-one" payment methods aggregator, allowing physical commercial operators to safeguard and expand their cash flow and offer Buy Now Pay Later payments to customers, in addition to one-time payments. Qomodo focuses on merchants providing services for essential yet often unforeseen expenses, which typically involve a higher transaction value.

The industry has responded with enthusiasm, as over 500 merchants adopted Qomodo during its stealth mode operation. Additionally, several agreements are in progress, set to onboard thousands of physical retailers in the coming months through API-based integration. Notably, these figures encompass both independent businesses and major retail chains.

Gianluca Cocco, CEO and co-founder of Qomodo, commented: “We've developed an "all-in-one" product that offers merchants all the payment solutions they need today: from SmartPOS for card acceptance to Buy Now Pay Later, Pay-by-Link, and Tap-to-Phone. This way, we're introducing innovation to many sectors that often suffer from technological delays and endure slow and bureaucratic processes. Qomodo aims to bring the advantages of online payments to physical stores, focusing on essential expenses that significantly impact people's lives. Motivated by strong early market signals, investor trust, and international partner interest, we've assembled a team with fintech experience to capture the opportunity for growing our customer base by hundreds, even thousands, of new merchants each month".

Gaetano De Maio, COO and co-founder of Qomodo, added: “Through a simple, transparent, and secure platform, Qomodo empowers stores to free themselves from the stress associated with managing customer payments—a particularly delicate aspect today—enabling them to fully concentrate on their businesses. Qomodo is a suite of tools to grow their businesses, foster customer loyalty, and acquire new customers. Simultaneously, thanks to the Buy Now Pay Later option without interest and costs, consumers can fulfill their needs by accessing services that were previously inaccessible, especially in the world of physical stores. 

In essence, we're facilitating an easy and immediate transition to the digital realm, a landscape full of opportunities for many operators who have not yet embraced innovation in this direction."

Francesco Filia, CEO of Fasanara Capital, remarked: "Buy Now Pay Later has revolutionized online shopping in recent years. Qomodo is placing this technology at the service of physical retail in previously underserved sectors, offering additional payment solutions that enhance the experiences of both stores and consumers. We have great confidence in the team put together by Gianluca and Gaetano in a nascent market offering substantial growth potential."

Antonio Assereto, CEO of Proximity Capital, stated: "The payments sector provides various opportunities, particularly in vertical markets that currently lack customized solutions for their needs, especially in the offline context. We believe that Gianluca and Gaetano, with the team they are assembling, possess the vision, experience, and skills necessary to develop a solution perfectly tailored to the sector's needs, generating significant impact and making a decisive contribution to digitization."

Davide Fioranelli, CEO of Lumen Ventures, added: "While many companies may underestimate the potential of distributing fintech products through offline channels, Qomodo stands out as an exceptional opportunity. Two key factors underpin this success: proprietary scoring technology and a unique position as a 'cash-in software.' This innovative approach is transforming the experience for both merchants and consumers in physical stores, particularly during 'the purchases that matter'. Qomodo's forward-thinking approach and the team’s proven track record make it a compelling investment opportunity in the fintech space."

This is one of the most substantial pre-seed funding rounds in Italy to date. An assembly of local and global venture capital firms joined the round as follows: Exor Ventures, Proximity Capital, Ithaca Investment, Lumen Ventures, The Techshop, Primo Ventures – along with the early-phase programs of Notion Capital, Octopus Ventures, and Plug&Play. Notable angel investors include Mark Ransford, Luca Ascani, Attilio Mazzilli, Simone Mancini (Scalapay), Benedetta Arese Lucini, Kai Hansen (Lieferando), Giorgio Tinacci (Casavo), Stiven Muccioli (BKN301), Freddy Kelly (Credit Kudos), Christer Holloman (Divido), Raffaele Terrone (Scalapay), Andrea Gennarini, Giuseppe Lacerenza, Pietro Invernizzi, Serge Chiaramonte, William Neale. 

Executives expect a cashless future as soon as 2028 and are preparing to embrace a new, digital currency future, according to the results of a new survey by global consulting firm Protiviti conducted in collaboration with the University of Oxford. The survey is part of the newest installment of VISION by Protiviti, the thought leadership series that focuses on the future of money through 2033 and beyond. An executive summary of the survey results is also available.

The survey found that executives are preparing for the extinction of paper and coin money. Nearly a third of executives expect this shift to happen in the next five years, and 85% of executives expect it will happen within a decade. Leaders know that this shift will change the global economy permanently and, in turn, how businesses operate. Most business leaders (87%) are anticipating that digital currencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Tether will have an impact on their business over the next 10 years, but the scale of its impact is still uncertain.  

"Every business should be thinking about the future of money and the implications for their operations," said Cory Gunderson, Protiviti executive vice president, Global Solutions. "While it's easy to take for granted, the transition to a cashless society and the ongoing transformation of the global monetary system could cause significant disruptions for business operations worldwide. Leaders need to think of ways to get ahead of the curve and prepare for the unknowns so that they can best serve their customers and clients. Now is the time to start planning for these shifts."

Digital Currency Poses Risks, Executives Are Prepared

A transition from cash to digital currencies poses risks: 88% of executives say they expect at least a moderate increased business risk to accompany changes to the monetary system, and about half of those quantified the risk as moderate.

When it comes to the specific risks, customer and client privacy comes to mind for most executives. An overwhelming majority (89%) of business leaders say they are concerned about their ability to protect customer and client data in a digital currency-based future. With new technologies expected in the next 10 years to help secure data and decrease fraud and financial crime, there is a potential for lowered risk, but 61% of executives still say that they expect that crime, fraud , and corruption will be prevalent in financial transactions over the next 10 years, raising concern for both businesses and their customers.

"While digital currencies offer the promise of improving access to and lowering the cost of global money transfers, much more work remains to be done from a fraud and security standpoint to increase user confidence," said Mike Brauneis, Protiviti's global financial services industry leader. "Contrast crypto transfers to mainstream banking and credit card transactions, which benefit from decades of development in regulatory frameworks and insurance schemes that limit consumers' liability for unauthorized transactions. Price volatility in many digital assets has created a further barrier to adoption as a reliable store of value.  Although there are many promising innovation efforts underway to address all these challenges, we think the lack of global regulatory coordination in this area is going to extend the timeline for solving them." 

Despite the fact that the extinction of paper money will likely disrupt traditional financial systems, two-thirds (64%) of executives are comfortable embracing digital currencies in the future, and the same number of all global executives say that their companies are somewhat prepared for significant disruption in monetary policies and structures.

Executives Are Still Confident in the U.S. Dollar

One risk that executives are not worried about is a change in the world's reserve currency. Nearly four in five (79%) of respondents believe that the U.S. dollar will still be the world's dominant medium in 10 years' time. The shift to a cashless society will uproot the global monetary system, but the U.S. dollar is expected to provide ongoing stability.  

Although innovative digital tools including blockchain and NFT are gaining popularity as a method to reduce risks, emerging digital currencies do not hold the same weight as business executives. When asked what currency might replace the U.S. dollar, the majority of executives (58%) opted for the euro, while less than 5% selected Bitcoin.

"I think it's safe to say the U.S. dollar is here to stay for the foreseeable future, at least according to the global business leaders we surveyed," said Dr. Vlad Mykhnenko, Associate Professor at the University of Oxford, and co-author of the report. "As the survey findings show, new, digitized currencies will continue to gain popularity, but executives remain extremely confident the dollar will remain the world's reserve currency over the next decade."

The study surveyed 251 board members, C-suite executives, and other business leaders across North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific about the future of money, currency, and value exchange. Survey data was collected between July and September 2023.

More information about this survey will be discussed at a webinar, "Exploring an Uncertain Future of Money," on Wednesday, November 15, 2023. More information and registration information is here

Provenir, a global leader in AI-powered risk decisioning software, today announced that it has been named winner of the “Data Initiative of the Year” category for the 2023 US Fintech Awards. Winners were unveiled during an awards ceremony at The Edison Ballroom in New York City on Nov. 2.

The US Fintech Awards is a key benchmark by which financial services modernization and technological progress in the world’s premier financial services center are judged. The awards program is organized by FinTech Intel, the global market intelligence platform for financial services technology.

“This is a tremendous honor for Provenir and we thank the judging panel for recognizing the innovation our technology delivers to financial institutions in decisioning at every turn throughout the customer lifecycle,” said Kathy Stares, Executive Vice President for North America, Provenir. “Through a unique combination of universal access to data, simplified AI, world-class decisioning technology and holistic case management capabilities, Provenir provides a cohesive risk ecosystem to enable smarter decisions across the entire customer lifecycle.”

Provenir brings together the power of decisioning, data, AI, and case management via its AI-Powered Risk Decisioning platform. This unique offering gives organizations the ability to power decisioning innovation across the full customer lifecycle, driving improvements in the customer experience, access to financial services, business agility, and more.

refurbed, who have achieved 1bn in GMV in June 2023 since its founding, has announced a $57 million (EUR 54M) investment led by existing investors Evli, C4 and Speedinvest, with significant participation from All Iron and several new backers. This Series C investment brings the total investment since the company's inception in 2017 to USD130mn, EUR115.8mn, following successful seeding in 2018 at just under USD 2mn (EUR1.8mn), Series A in 2020 (USD17mn, EUR13mn) and Series B in 2021 (USD54mn, EUR47mn) since the company’s inception in 2017.

With this Series C investment, refurbed will continue to drive its mission to become the leading platform for sustainable products and services to empower consumers to purchase refurbished technology in a more accessible, risk-free, and sustainable manner.

“This milestone not only marks a significant achievement for refurbed but also signals the wider market's shift towards embracing sustainability in consumer choices,” said Peter Windischhofer, co-founder and CEO of refurbed and added. “Our scalable business model enables us to both grow profitably and make consumption more sustainable. A win-win for us and our planet.”

Refurbed is the leader in their markets, driving expansion across Europe, including Italy, Sweden, Denmark, Ireland, the Netherlands, as well as Germany and Austria. The Austrian-born company has experienced exponential growth while prioritizing a shift towards profitability in a volatile market environment. In its inaugural markets - Austria and Germany - refurbed has reached profitability in 2022 ahead of schedule.

Co-founder of refurbed, Kilian Kaminski added: “Our vision is to increase consumers’ trust in refurbished products. Refurbishment must become the “new normal” and we as consumers must rethink our consumption in order to reduce the impact on the environment.”

“We are incredibly proud of our exceptional team, a mix of talent nurtured from within and experts we've brought in. Their dedication and passion have powered our remarkable journey, turning our dreams into reality. Equally, the network of, and close relationships with, our professional partners across Europe is crucial to supply high-quality, desirable products of multiple product categories”, Kaminski continued. 

With sustainability and circularity at the core of its mission and operations, this year refurbed’s impact has been made measurable in collaboration with Fraunhofer, Europe's largest application-oriented research organization delivering innovative data to business and wider society. This research has provided concrete data illustrating the efforts of refurbed to create tangible, long-term impact: 160t CO2e, 34bn litres of water, and 495t of e-waste that were saved within the 6.5 years that refurbed has been operating. It is thereby directly contributing to accelerating the transition to the circular economy.

Speaking on their investment decision, Riku Asikainen, founder and Managing Partner of Evli Growth Partners stated: "We are thrilled to announce our participation and support for Refurbed in this $57 million funding round. The exceptional team led by Peter Windischhofer, Kilian Kaminski, and Jürgen Riedl has demonstrated unparalleled dedication to advancing the circular economy in Europe. We are confident that this investment will propel Refurbed to even greater heights in the refurbished electronics market."

Boris Bakech, Managing Partner at C4 Ventures added: “Many founders looking to scale their companies are met with many hurdles, and in light of the challenges many tech companies had to face in 2023, this proved to be a difficult year for many. In this demanding environment, Refurbed not only thrived but also excelled within their sector while also keeping sustainability at the heart of every decision they made along the way. At C4 Ventures, we are excited and proud to play a part in refurbed’s promising journey.” 

Refurbed has recently been named the winner of the Tech Tour Growth50 Sustainability Award, competing against over 300 European companies, and Kaminski, Riedl, and Windischhofer have been named the “EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2023”. The company is at the forefront of assisting customers in reducing their carbon footprint and e-waste.