• DivideBuy is on track to hit c£175 million in Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) by the end of 2021
• More than 500 retailers, including Cloud Nine and Simba Sleep, use DivideBuy’s technology
• Interest free credit provider will use funding to work with retailer partners to increase conversion rates at a time of immense opportunity for ecommerce

Leading buy now pay later (BNPL) provider, DivideBuy, has secured a £300 million lending facility as it continues its stellar growth trajectory. 

The funding from global investment management firm, Davidson Kempner Capital Management LP (“Davidson Kempner”), which also includes a minority equity investment, will be instrumental in driving DivideBuy’s charge as a leading player in the point-of-sale market and further bolster the disruptive fintech’s C-suite, platform investment and retailer network, both in the UK and internationally.

This follows an already successful 12 months for the Newcastle-under-Lyme business, which was ranked first place on Deloitte’s UK Technology Fast 50 2020 list and the only business outside London to break into the top 10 on the list, after reporting an average three-year growth rate of 20,733% to the year 2019/2020.

The interest free credit POS finance market, driven by agile technologies, like DivideBuy’s, was worth nearly £10 billion in 2020, and will be worth £27 billion by 2024. DivideBuy, founded in 2014, has since carved an impressive niche in the sector by adopting a customer-centric solution.

With 500 retailers, including Cloud Nine and Simba Sleep, already using DivideBuy’s technology, the company achieved a milestone £150 million in Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) earlier in the year, and is on track to hit £175 million by the end of 2021.

DivideBuy has also recently announced a brand-new partnership with recommerce experts, musicMagpie, creating a brand new rental platform for the retail giant. The proposition marks another area of growth for the business as it continues to meet growing demand from tech-savvy consumers and remains ahead of market competitors.

The additional firepower and funding flexibility enables DivideBuy to maintain its high levels of growth and keep up with the demand it is experiencing from retailers across many retail verticals. This, coupled with the evolution of DivideBuy’s business model towards a technology-centric offering, leveraging its broad platform capabilities, rich lending data and market leading underwriting engine, positions DivideBuy to emerge as a market leader in its chosen areas of focus.

Rob Flowers, Founder and CEO of DivideBuy, comments: “DivideBuy has one goal - to make buy now pay later transactions easy and accessible to retailers and customers. The sheer scale of this investment underlines the strength of DivideBuy’s business model, and how we’re revolutionising the POS finance sector by owning the full lending journey with assistive technology, automated soft credit checks and transparent lending with no hidden fees.

“The flexibility of our technology treats each customer as an individual, and also gives retailers revenue-boosting strengths such as higher checkout conversions and higher basket sizes. With this backing from Davidson Kempner, we can now make buy now pay later transactions available to even more retailers, and extend the alternate payment method to many more consumers who want greater payment choice at the POS. We’re thrilled to embark on the next stage of our expansion and achieve our ambitious growth plans”

Just two years ago DivideBuy secured over £60 million of equity investment and debt financing from prominent private equity investors, Souter Investments and Jon Moulton’s private investment vehicle, to which Perscitus LLP acts as consultant, together with two UK banks. This was used to develop its pioneering technology and provide leverage to accelerate its lending.

Unlike other POS finance solution providers, DivideBuy offers both the technology platform and the credit facility to the retailer. By cutting out traditional credit suppliers, DivideBuy enables retailers to lower their credit risk and accelerate customer onboarding with market-leading application approval rates.

After switching to DivideBuy from competitors, retailers have experienced vastly improved conversion rates, increased basket value, reduced basket abandonment and typically see an increase of up to 70% on approvals and conversions, which helps to foster customer loyalty.

Unlike other POS finance providers which offer instalment terms up to three months, DivideBuy enables customers to have instalment terms of up to 12 months, which helps consumers purchase larger-value items with affordable, interest free instalments, and helps retailers raise average basket values.  

Flowers adds: “The partnerships we’ve secured with leading businesses like musicMagpie demonstrates how much our solution resonates with consumers looking for more flexible and affordable ways to pay.

“With the backing of Davidson Kempner, we have set ourselves the ambitious task of growing exponentially within the interest free market, while being true to our original aim of creating greater value for retailers everywhere and enhancing the entire buying, or indeed, renting, experience for customers by creating intuitive, user-driven platforms.”

Darren Mercer, the Chief Executive Officer of the NASDAQ listed company MICT Inc. (MICT) and Non-Executive Chairman of Magpie Securities released a video interview featuring his pre-celebration of Magpie Invest (a brand-new digital investment platform to be launched in Hong Kong) at New York Times Square, where he was standing underneath a 150-foot-tall billboard featuring Magpie Securities as a division of MICT.

Darren Mercer, Chief Executive Officer of MICT Inc. and Non-Executive Chairman of Magpie Securities, pre-celebrates the soon to be launched Magpie Invest digital investment platform at Times Square in New York

Mr. Mercer said, "This is a very exciting day for us – today, with the assistance of this impressive billboard, we are announcing that Magpie Securities which is wholly owned by MICT, will soon launch a fantastic new mobile investment platform in Hong Kong called Magpie Invest, which will open up new horizons of global investment opportunities to Hong Kong."

Chirag Shah, CEO, Nucleus Commercial Finance comments on the British Chambers of Commerce latest Economic Forecast:

“Today’s figures highlight the detrimental impact of the pandemic on unemployment supply chains. With the furlough scheme set to come to an end later this month, this will have a knock-on effect on UK SMEs and ultimately the economy. 

“While we are starting to see signs of a dwindling pandemic, challenges still remain. As the economy fully opens up and companies return to business as usual, they will be facing difficult decisions and will need further financial support, over the medium and long-term. 

“This is where government and industry have a crucial role to play, in communicating the support available and helping SMEs plan for their futures. The alternative finance industry will play a big part in this, in providing businesses with the finance they need at speed, so they can thrive throughout the pandemic and beyond.”

Renaissance Capital, a leading emerging and frontier markets investment bank, held its 12th Annual Pan-Africa Investor Conference on 7-10 September 2021. For the first time ever, the event included a specialist Nigeria Tech / Fintech Conference that was held on 9 September and covered every aspect of the fast-growing and high-opportunity sector – from digital payments and digital lenders to logistic companies, to neo-banks and digital wealth management, with speakers representing incumbent companies as well as new burgeoning players.

Renaissance Capital’s 12th Annual Pan-Africa Investor Conference brought together leading companies from across Nigeria, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda. The event saw more than 150 one-on-one meetings between 42 corporates and 150+ investors, representing 70+ major international and local investment funds with total AUMs over $4.1trn. The public part of the conference provided access to macro-economic updates on the region and first-hand opinions from some of the region’s most prominent policy makers and business leaders.

The conference opened with a global economy and Africa presentation, delivered by Charles Robertson, Global Chief Economist, Head of Macro Strategy Unit, Renaissance Capital, followed by his conversation with Abebe Aemro Selassie, Director, African Department, IMF. The interview mostly focused on the hot topic of SDR allocation.

Abebe Aemro Selassie, Director, African Department, IMF, said: “One of the big things that has been happening over the past four months is a recognition by the international community that there is going to be a need for low-income countries to have access to adequate financing to support the reforms they need to do to enjoy a robust recovery and reverse a lot of deterioration in social indicators. The SDR allocation offers an opportunity to do this, but it is an exciting idea to go beyond. There is a desire at the IMF to explore long-term financing options aimed at climate change challenges or digitalisation. And if we do not want to be susceptible to more shocks, we will need to support transformation and structural change. The only way that a region can enjoy strong growth is through economic reforms, and financing can facilitate that.”

The conference proceeded with a panel discussion on ‘Navigating an economic recovery amid a pandemic’ with Tobias Rasmussen, Resident Representative in Kenya, IMF, and Dr Hassan Mahmud, Director, Monetary Policy Department, Central Bank of Nigeria.

Tobias Rasmussen, Resident Representative in Kenya, IMF, said: “As with the rest of the world, the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic was a big shock for the Kenyan economy. But from what we are seeing now, the shock appears to be relatively short-lived, with activity recovering robustly. Covid is not over of course, with case numbers still high, and only a small fraction of the Kenyan population has been vaccinated. Still, from an economic perspective, it seems that businesses and people have been to a large extent able to adjust and get on. We see improvements in many indicators on the domestic side, including output of cement and electricity and in the PMI Index. On the external side, imports have substantially increased across all categories, reflecting a general pick-up in activity and robust demand. In the financial sector, credit to the private sector has been expanding – slowly, but expanding, and the ratio of NPLs has been broadly stable. Moreover, deposits growth has been strong and the usage of mobile money has increased sharply.”

Dr Hassan Mahmud, Director, Monetary Policy Department, Central Bank of Nigeria, said: “Inflation remains sticky in Nigeria, still double-digit despite some easing recently. In the composition of CPI, food accounts for more than 50 percent, therefore food inflation has a significant role to play in that, although other factors such as prices for petroleum products or electricity are contributing as well. On the food side, we have seen the supply side shrinking due to structural issues. There is a debate as to whether the inflation number is a monetary or structural phenomenon and I won’t disagree that there is a monetary factor to it, but supply-side challenges are hard to deny. Since price stability is the primary goal of a central bank, the CBN has applied its monetary tools to address those supply-side problems, including interventions across the value chain in the agricultural sector, to ease the constraints, which has translated into the gradual moderation we are seeing in the inflation trend and positive output growth. However, I believe that for now we have reached a peak as we have witnessed a gradual decrease in headline inflation numbers for three consecutive months already.”

Day one also featured a panel discussion on ‘Nigeria and West Africa O&G outlook’ with representatives of O&G majors – The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Seplat and Kosmos Energy – and concluded with a conversation with Karl Toriola, CEO, MTN Nigeria, who was interviewed by Samuel Sule, Acting CEO, Nigeria, Renaissance Capital.

The second day of the conference started with an SSA macro update presentation, delivered by Yvonne Mhango, Head of Research Africa, Africa Economist, Renaissance Capital, who further proceeded as a moderator of a roundtable discussion ‘2022 Elections’, hosted by Danstan Omari, Advocate of the High Court of Kenya, and Charles Kerich, County Executive Committee Member, Lands, Urban Planning and Housing, Nairobi City County Government.

Danstan Omari, Advocate of the High Court of Kenya, said: “I would like to start this conversation by saying that Kenya is a democratic country and we have many political parties, we practice a multi-party system, therefore what we are seeing now is normal – political parties’ individuals, practicing their constitutional rights, so there is no political war in Kenya. The noise and headlines that you may be hearing in the political arena which the media often exaggerate is happening under the constitution that we have. In my view, the politics that we are seeing today is transitional and some political heat is only normal. Investors coming to Kenya should not be worried, this country is safe because it is governed by the constitution and the rule of law.”

Charles Kerich, County Executive Committee Member, Lands, Urban Planning and Housing, Nairobi City County Government, said: “Before the evolution of Kenya’s governance structure, the centralised government was not able to understand the needs of various regions and some regions were marginalized: Areas with potential were the ones to be developed, while areas without potential were left without resources. With a new two-tier approach in place, every region will be guaranteed a minimum amount as a share in revenues collected by the national government, and they are also expected to raise their own revenues.”

The rest of the event was taken up by the Nigeria Tech / Fintech Conference and one-on-one meetings. The conference was broadcast on a dedicated website as well as Renaissance Capital’s YouTube channel, with all the recordings saved and available.

CloudMargin, creator of the world’s first and only collateral and margin management solution native to the cloud, today announced enhancements to facilitate clients’ preparedness for the Uncleared Margin Rules (UMR) for those firms that have just fallen under the scope of Phase 5 or will fall under the scope of Phase 6 as of next September. The firm is now connected to nearly 60 custodians globally for cash, securities and third-party SWIFT settlement, in addition to its long-established SWIFT connectivity to the four major triparty agents.

In January 2016, CloudMargin became the first collateral management technology provider to offer direct connectivity to SWIFT’s global network of financial institutions.

CloudMargin clients and their partners are able to leverage the network of custodians out-of-the-box. They can issue instructions automatically, with real-time settlement status consumed back into the platform, allowing firms to maintain tight control of their risk and liquidity as they meet their new margin requirements for non-centrally cleared derivatives.

Simon Millington, CloudMargin Head of Business Development, said: “We successfully onboarded a whole host of clients that fell under the scope of Phase 5 onto UMR-ready features to ensure compliance in time for the 1 September deadline that just passed. A number of these clients wanted to connect to custodians, and we anticipate this will be a growing trend as we move into Phase 6 that impacts so many more firms. By continually adding custodians to our market-leading network, we’ll help our clients meet the challenges of connecting not only to their third-party custodian of choice but also to those of their counterparties for UMR. For banks, in particular, with a large number of in-scope counterparties, this capability can significantly reduce the connectivity burden. For the buy side there is also significant appeal; they can leverage our triparty connectivity for their bank counterparty relationships, and we likely are already connected to their custodians.”

Millington added that UMR readiness can take time, and CloudMargin can help Phase 6 firms take steps immediately to ensure they have put all of the proper procedures in place for a smooth transition.

Other CloudMargin platform enhancements since the UMR Phase 4 deadline include the rollout of a robust reporting suite that gives firms open access to centralised, structured trade and collateral data, facilitating their ability to meet regulatory reporting requirements and achieve greater credit risk transparency.

Seasoned cybersecurity professional and industry thought leader named company’s CISO

Menlo Security,  a leader in cloud security, today announced the appointment of Devin Ertel as Chief Information Security Officer (CISO). In this role, he is responsible for providing internal cybersecurity direction and policy insights to both the company and Menlo Security customers. As CISO, Ertel will also spearhead global efforts to reduce the company’s risk and security exposure.

Ertel is a seasoned information security professional with nearly 20 years of experience. Prior to joining Menlo Security, he served as CISO at BlackHawk Network, a multi-billion-dollar global FinTech leader in the prepaid gift cards and payments industry, where he managed a global team responsible for security, risk, and compliance.

“Organisations are often under the impression that productivity or user experience must be sacrificed to achieve security and that is simply not true anymore,” said Ertel. “I’m eager to build a security program that not only addresses industry challenges, but also enables our customers to do the same for their respective businesses. Menlo Security provides a unique, differentiated approach to securing work for the modern business and I’m excited to be a part of the journey.”

Previously, Ertel was the head of Security and IT at Guidebook, a venture-backed global SaaS company where he built and oversaw the security program. Ertel has held security positions in several Fortune 100 organisations. He also worked at Mandiant and the U.S. Federal Reserve where he had hands-on experience mitigating large, high-profile breaches and dealing with highly motivated global threat actors.

“Our leadership team is made up of unrelenting cybersecurity professionals and Devin is no exception. He brings the perfect blend of hands-on experience as a security practitioner with a proven track record of building and scaling successful security programs,” said Poornima DeBolle, Menlo Security co-founder and CPO.  “As a security company that aims to secure work for everyone, we’re thrilled to have Devin onboard to enhance our own security program as Menlo Security’s CISO.”

A respected thought leader, Ertel is a sought-after security advisor to early-stage companies, a frequent speaker at industry events, and has served as a technical editor of multiple top-selling security books. Ertel holds a Bachelor of Science in MIS from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

For more information on this appointment, please visit https://www.menlosecurity.com/blog/why-i-joined-menlo/

• TrueLayer’s PayDirect platform provides Cazoo with instant payments and refunds capabilities ensuring a fast, transparent and frictionless ecommerce experience.

• Customers selling their car through Cazoo’s car buying service can receive instant payments after their vehicles pass assessment.

TrueLayer, Europe's leading open banking platform, today announced its industry-first collaboration with Cazoo (NYSE:CZOO), the UK’s leading online car retailer, which makes buying or selling a car as seamless as ordering any other product online, to offer instant payments and refunds for its customers.

Cazoo’s quick and haggle free car buying service gives sellers an offer within seconds which is guaranteed for 7 days. Customers can either opt to have their car picked up from their home in as little as 48 hours or drop the car off at their nearest Cazoo Customer Centre with payment made directly to the seller’s bank account on the same day, usually in under an hour.

Cazoo turned to market leader TrueLayer to overcome costly issues most commonly associated with traditional card payments. Increasingly, ecommerce retailers are experiencing high failure rates that occur due to card payment limits, potential fraud and chargebacks, and slow refund mechanisms that can sour the customer experience. For retailers with high order values, these issues can add up to a significant impact on the bottom line and further erode profit margins.

TrueLayer’s PayDirect platform has been integrated by Cazoo to offer instant payments, powered by open banking that removes costly card and interchange fees, and delivers an instant transaction confirmation. Customers experience a quicker, easier checkout, by securely connecting to their bank to confirm payment. PayDirect also supports Cazoo’s return policy, offering instant refunds to the purchaser should they change their mind, compared to up to 5 days for refunds for card-based payments.

To ensure selling a car matched the industry-leading experience it has created for buying a vehicle, Cazoo has also implemented instant seller payments, using TrueLayer’s open banking platform. This authenticates a seller by comparing the account holder name to their bank details in just three clicks, rather than the traditional method of uploading bank statements that can take days to be reviewed and validated. With the seller’s details pre-populated and verified, Cazoo can make instant payout via TrueLayer and eliminate the risk of failed transactions arising from invalid bank details.

Jonathan Howell, Chief Technology Officer at Cazoo said: “With refunds there is a high level of financial anxiety if you don’t get thousands back in your bank account right away. The ability to return that money in a quick, transparent and frictionless way creates a superior customer experience. Open banking, delivered by TrueLayer’s technology, provides us with that.”

Roger De’Ath, head of ecommerce at TrueLayer, added: “Cazoo appreciates that consumers are increasingly dissatisfied with the traditional ways of buying or selling a used car. They’re an industry innovator, determined to make the end to end process, including the checkout and payments, as hassle free as possible. With TrueLayer supporting instant bank payments for purchases and the ability to process instant refunds through PayDirect, it has created an incredibly powerful proposition. We’re proud to be working with such a forward-thinking business and look forward to collaborating with Cazoo to ensure the best possible experience for its customers.”

• Ophelos partners with Credit Kudos to utilise Open Banking to make the collections process fairer, supporting individuals with debt to achieve better long-term financial health.
• The partnership will enable the introduction of personalised, affordable repayment plans, creating a less stressful journey for individuals - with Ophelos already seeing 68% increase in customer satisfaction.
• There is an acute need for a customer-centric debt collection model, as one in five financially vulnerable individuals are now in arrears.

Ophelos, the customer-centric debt management platform, has chosen Open Banking credit reference agency, Credit Kudos, as its Open Banking partner to ensure customers with debt are only committing to repayment plans they can afford, in order to help them improve their long-term financial health and break the debt cycle.

Ophelos will use Credit Kudos’ Open Banking insights to better understand the current financial position of individuals who have been referred for debt collection by lenders. This will enable the FCA-authorised company to identify repayment solutions that best fit someone’s current circumstances, helping people manage their financial situation more quickly, easily and with less stress.

Ophelos, which was founded to create customer-centric debt collection products and services, is integrating Open Banking to deliver better outcomes for customers. Already, just two months into deployment, Ophelos has recognised a 68% improvement in customer satisfaction, a 26% increase in recovery rates, and 25% decrease in cost to collect.

In the aftermath of the pandemic, a new debt collection model that enables better outcomes for borrowers, is needed more than ever. One in five (18%) of people considered vulnerable by the Financial Conduct Authority have missed payments or gone into arrears over the last 12 months, with 14% taking on further debt as a result. 

Freddy Kelly, CEO and founder at Credit Kudos, comments: “The pandemic has pushed many people into arrears, and there is an urgent need to support these individuals to regain control over their finances and avoid long-term debt spirals. Time and time again, we’ve seen the immense power of technology when it comes to driving better outcomes for consumers, and the collections sector is next in line to reap the benefits of innovation. Ophelos is leading the way in putting borrowers first through the use of Open Banking insights, and we are delighted to be working alongside them as they blaze a trail for a fairer future.”

Amon Ghaiumy, CEO and Co-Founder, comments: “Our vision at Ophelos is to help create a world where everyone is financially educated, empowered, and equal. Debt collection is often upsetting and stressful, but we are reimagining this process by putting customers at the heart of what we do, and Open Banking is an incredible opportunity to allow us to achieve this goal. Using Credit Kudos’ advanced Open Banking insights, we can give customers a simpler, fairer and faster experience, create a repayment plan that is manageable for their personal financial situation and set them on the path to better financial health.”

Ethiopia’s leading bank partners with Xpert Digital (XD) to implement Temenos Infinity digital banking platform for retail and corporate banking

Bank of Abyssinia, Ethiopia’s leading and fastest-growing bank in the region, has announced its partnership with Xpert Digital (XD), a certified Temenos Professional Service Partner for the Middle East and Africa, to implement Temenos Infinity. XD will revamp the bank’s existing retail and corporate banking to offer feature-rich and innovative digital banking services for BoA’s customers across both segments.

Bank of Abyssinia (BoA) plans to accelerate customer growth by implementing Temenos Infinity, the world’s #1 best-selling digital banking platform. Temenos Infinity will enable the bank to increase digital revenues and reduce customer onboarding time significantly. Temenos Infinity will give BoA customers the ability to have seamless, reliable, easy-to-use, and secure mobile banking services. The implementation is part of BoA’s commitment to offer a unified and superior omnichannel experience to its customers across all touchpoints and facilitate true, anytime-anywhere banking.

Xpert Digital (XD), with years of digital banking experience and a successful track record for numerous implementations, will help transform BoA’s retail mobile banking and SME digital banking experience. XD will help assist the bank to use Temenos Infinity and embark on a digital transformation journey to hyper-scale its digital footprint and provide a modern online banking platform. With an integrated, seamless customer experience, covering the entire customer lifecycle from customer onboarding to usage using both prebuilt and customized digital banking experiences.

“We are committed to our customers, who are our number one priority. And our focus remains the same, which is to cater to our customers with a world-class experience. We are one of the leading banks in Ethiopia and are excited to announce that we will be using Temenos Infinity as our platform to kick off our digital journey. To help us achieve our aim, we carefully and thoroughly reviewed Temenos’  partners and decided to select Xpert Digital (XD) as our digital transformation partner. Xpert Digital seems to perfectly fit the criteria for our innovation and breakthrough in the digital world. XD’s ongoing projects and previous experience show the knowledge and dedication they have about digital banking. We believe this partnership will lead us to become one of Africa’s leading banks.” Sosina Mengesha Rundassa, CDO, BoA

“When BoA decided to select Temenos Infinity for their digital banking transformation, they needed an experienced, committed, and reliable services partner who understands digital banking challenges and with proven Temenos Infinity implementation experience. We are thrilled to announce the start of our partnership with Bank of Abyssinia. XD’s proven Temenos knowledge, skilled team, and regional banking experience will accelerate the deployment time and enhance BoA’s digital customer experience. Temenos Infinity’s out-of-the-box integration adaptors and XD’s integration experience will help BoA consolidate back-end systems to offer its customers a unified, omnichannel experience. We are glad to become a strategic partner for BoA’s digital transformation journey and will continue to support BoA and Temenos Infinity customers globally by offering a best-in-class digital experience to their customers.”

Hammad Rasool, Co-founder & Director, Xpert Digital (XD)

“Bank of Abysinnia is joining the world’s most customer-centric banks in choosing Temenos Infinity to transform their digital banking. Today’s consumers expect the same kind of responsive experience for their banking needs as they get from e-commerce sites. With Temenos Infinity, BoA can get to market fast with a modern digital bank that offers exceptional, personal customer experiences combining digital technology with a human touch. Ultimately, enabling the bank to increase digital revenue, cut customer onboarding time and achieve higher customer satisfaction.”

Jean-Paul Mergeai, President International Sales, Temenos