IntellectEU is pleased to announce that payLOCATOR, an innovative payment tracking solution enabling direct access to payment information for bank's clients and their counterparties, has recently received SWIFT gpi for Corporates label.

Within the current cross-border payments landscape there is a lack of transparency and increased time and operating costs devoted to payment investigation, dispute resolution, and supply chain uncertainties.

payLOCATOR is a unique payment tracking solution which, by harnessing the power of SWIFT gpi, provides a single window for SWIFT connected corporates to track all of their payments through the entire correspondent banking chain and even share this information with their non-SWIFT beneficiaries.

“Working with a variety of banks and corporates, has allowed us to understand the shared pain points for this community: lack of awareness of charges and possible delays, difficulties with forecasting, no confidence in the fulfillment of obligations by a counterparty.  Understanding the cruciality of these issues pushed us to the development of payLOCATOR.”, Dmytro Diachkovskyi, Product Manager for payLOCATOR said.

payLOCATOR tracks and reports the payment flows, charges, and currency exchange rates and allows clients to share payment information from the system with their business partners via a secure and simple trustline schema.

Using the dashboard, corporates connected to payLOCATOR can see in real-time how their payments move through the correspondent banking chain,  from inception right through until the beneficiary account is credited. payLOCATOR can be easily plugged into existing solutions via an API, meaning minimal implementation costs for the business.

Kseniia Ilchenko, Head of Product Analytics at payLOCATOR: Trust between the counterparties, complete understanding of the payment flow, faster supply chain and, definitely, insights - that’s what payLOCATOR is for me.

SWIFT experts completed thorough technical and functional testing and payLOCATOR successfully accomplished the gpi for Corporates integration and is now able to process and exchange gpi for Corporates-related flows.

IntellectEU’s gpi-related initiative highlights that by embracing SWIFT gpi for Corporates – the new standard in global payments – users are able to achieve full transparency over where a payment is at any given moment, improving cross-border payments across the correspondent banking network, and

not least for corporates for whom speed, certainty, and a smooth international payments experience is an absolute must. payLOCATOR brings the power of SWIFT gpi for Corporates to non-SWIFT counterparties, making it the perfect supplementary solution to the gpi family. It is a welcome addition to

the list of 2021 SWIFT Compatible Applications.

payLOCATOR's payment tracking and data sharing features create a reduction in operating costs as a result of simplified payment investigation and disputeresolution, as well as optimized supply chain cash flows. IntellectEU is proud to support its clients - banks and technology vendors - to offer payLOCATOR benefits to their corporate clients and maintain the status of innovative leaders in the payments space.

By leveraging SWIFT gpi for Corporates, payLOCATOR assists in enhancing business processes by providing payment transparency and a tracking framework for all engaged parties.

Leading LendTech company, DivideBuy, has announced the appointment of three senior hires to aid its ambitious growth strategy and continue its support for merchants who are looking to embrace innovative finance options.

The North-West based interest free credit (IFC) provider has appointed Heather Goode as Retailer Risk and Risk Oversight Manager, Jarone Macklin-Page as Business Development Manager, and Charlotte Bright as Marketing Manager.

With more than eight years’ experience across the risk arena and roles at BNP Paribas Personal Finance and the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors, Heather will lead on risk management for both DivideBuy and its retailers. Her expertise in process development and automation will align efficiencies across the critical areas of the business.

Jarone’s wealth of experience in data analytics and relationship management will be used to expand DivideBuy’s interest free credit offering into new markets and sales channels. He joins DivideBuy having worked as an Area Manager for electronics giant Samsung and as Business Development Manager for Juul.

Charlotte’s expertise in managing traditional and digital marketing channels will support DivideBuy’s overall multi-channel marketing strategy for 2021 and beyond, supporting the business’ retailer acquisition and consumer lead generation goals. She joins DivideBuy having previously worked in marketing communications at JCB.

Robert Flowers, CEO at DivideBuy, commented: “We’re excited to welcome Heather, Jarone and Charlotte to our team here at DivideBuy, where they will play instrumental roles in our plans for 2021.

“As we press into this year with these new members of the team, we’re ideally placed to continue revolutionising the payments industry, redefining the possibilities for LendTech and enabling retailers to take advantage of the many benefits that interest free credit can provide.”

The three new appointments follow from a year filled with success for DivideBuy, who were also recently recognised for their incredible growth by ranking top of the prestigious Deloitte Fast 50 UK list. 

“After such a turbulent 2020 - a period marked by retail disruption and a requirement for agility and rapid response - businesses are aware of the need to offer flexible payment solutions to their customers. Moving forward, we want to leverage the growth we’ve experienced to reach more retailers with our interest free credit solution, enabling them to give customers more options and increased peace-of-mind about financing their purchases in an uncertain economic climate.”

British Patient Capital announces a $75m cornerstone commitment to Balderton Capital Growth I, as Balderton Capital announces its final close today at $680m.

Balderton is one of the most established technology investors in the UK, with over two decades of experience of backing some of the country’s most ambitious founders from a very early stage. Darktrace and The Hut Group, which have both recently listed in London, are two notable Balderton successes. This new venture growth fund, one of the largest in the UK and Europe, is able to support founders as they scale their businesses with the ambition to become global industry leaders. The fund is sector agnostic, and expects to invest between $25m and $50m per company.

The commitment follows British Patient Capital’s investments in two previous Balderton Capital funds which focussed on investing at Series A. Several companies from these funds have now reached growth stage, such as AI drug discovery specialist, Healx, self-driving software provider Wayve, eco-friendly homecare product provider smol, cybersecurity specialist, Tessian, and Zego, the UK’s first insurtech unicorn. 

Judith Hartley, CEO, British Patient Capital said: “We are pleased to provide this $75m cornerstone commitment to Balderton’s inaugural growth fund. Balderton’s track record in identifying and backing some of the UK’s most successful innovative companies from seed and Series A means they now hold one of the largest growth stage portfolios in the UK and Europe. A venture growth fund builds on that momentum. This commitment is well aligned with our strategy to invest with fund managers that can back our most promising innovative companies through larger, later-stage funding rounds, and deliver compelling returns. We are delighted to help one of the country’s most seasoned technology investors bring a new venture growth fund to market.

Rana Yared, General Partner at Balderton Capital said: “We see an unprecedented opportunity for growth stage investing in the UK and Europe. Multiple maturing technology ecosystems have resulted in global winners being born and scaling from Europe. We’re looking for fifteen or so really exceptional companies that have the potential to be sector leaders and disrupt global industries.

British Patient Capital is a long-standing partner in our ambitions to support the next generation of global leaders in innovation and technology. Their cornerstone investment has been instrumental in enabling us to raise our first growth fund. We are proud to have them as an LP.”

●      Following a successful year of collaboration, Meniga has consolidated its partnership with Nordea by continuing the integration of its market-leading cashback rewards platform within Nordea’s own mobile banking app in Sweden.

●      Meniga’s cashback rewards platform - which is the largest of its kind in the Nordics - allows banks to leverage financial data in order to unlock new dimensions of customer engagement, while offering banking customers personalized cashback rewards, tailored to their individual spending profiles.

Meniga, the global provider of digital banking solutions, has signed a new partnership agreement with Nordea, one of the largest financial services groups in the Nordics, to continue the integration of its market-leading cashback rewards platform within Nordea’s mobile banking app in Sweden.

According to the agreement, Nordea will continue to offer personalized cashback rewards, which are tailored to individual spending profiles, to its customers in Sweden. 

Through the multi-bank platform, banks can seamlessly integrate - via Meniga’s cloud-based API - cashback rewards directly into their mobile banking applications, and provide their customers with various personalized, cashback rewards and discounts from some of their favorite retail brands. The platform offers merchants a way of attracting new customers and a more cost-efficient marketing tool. Fundamentally, this helps create a mutually beneficial ecosystem between banks, merchants and consumers.

As the largest of its kind in the Nordic region, Meniga’s cashback rewards platform has already been used by 650,000 end-users across Sweden, Finland and Iceland. Nordea is one of three Nordic financial institutions currently live on Meniga’s cashback rewards platform, connecting to over 250 retail partners.

Cashback rewards are amongst the fastest-growing performance marketing channels across the globe - with more than 100 million active cashback rewards users in the US alone and cashback transactions growing more than 100% per annum according to the CardLinx Association. As cashback rewards continue to grow around the world, Meniga has experienced a notable increased interest from banks, financial institutions and other fintechs willing to collaborate and participate in the multi-bank, cross-border rewards platform.

Georg Ludviksson, CEO & co-founder of Meniga, comments: “We’re delighted to have renewed our contract with Nordea Sweden. At a time when neo-banks and fintechs alike are increasingly launching their own cashback rewards platforms, it has never been more important for banks to follow suit if they wish to stay relevant and compete in this new financial landscape. Our rewards service presents a perfect illustration of how financial institutions can take advantage of the opportunities provided by open banking, in order to open up their digital channels, extract value from their users’ financial data and create a mutually beneficial ecosystem with their customers and other industry or non-industry players.”

Gunter Saurwein, Managing Director of Meniga Sweden AB, comments: “Having Nordea Sweden’s continued trust and backing is a testament to how seamlessly our cashback rewards platform has integrated into Nordea’s digital properties, and how well it has been received by consumers and merchants right across Sweden. We’re excited to further collaborate and work closely with Nordea on continually improving our rewards platform, as we look to grow and expand the product to the Nordics, Europe and beyond.“

London-based fintech LemonEdge (formerly LemonTree Software), has secured funding of $2.5 million USD in a heavily oversubscribed fundraising round led by Sidekick Partners, a venture firm with deep ties to the North American private equity industry. Sidekick Partners is joined in this round by investors Tikhon Bernstam, founder of Parse and Scribd, and Lauren Iaslovits, founder of Investran and a pioneer of private capital market technologies.

LemonEdge enables firms in the private equity and financial services industries to digitise complex accounting, many of whom still run on old, ‘insecure’ legacy systems or spreadsheets. The Global Financial Services Application Software Market is worth $144bn and expected to grow by 8% by 2025^[1]. Modern technology platforms will be at the heart at this transformation. They’re growing at 45% CAGR in a market projected at $54bn by 2024^[2]. It’s predicted that by then, 67% of the medium and large organizations will be using low-code tools to speed up application delivery at reduced costs^[3].

LemonEdge’s low code platform is fully customisable and automates the complex and time consuming tasks required for shadow accounting, LP specific performance calculations, and fund administration.  The platform also enables real-time scenario modelling with its unique Canvas function. Analysis that typically requires days or weeks on legacy platforms can be completed in seconds using LemonEdge’s platform.

LemonEdge founders Gareth Hewitt (CEO) and Jamie Nascimento (CCO) draw on 20 years of financial, business & marketing experience each, honed from founding previous software companies managing over $50bn of alternative assets across three continents. They will use the funding to recruit top talent for development, implementation, and sales in the company’s London and New York offices.

Gareth Hewitt, Co-Founder and CEO of LemonEdge, commented: “We are pleased to have completed a highly successful funding round, and to have the support of such well-renowned investors. For more than 20 years, I’ve seen an astonishing amount of financial data inside legacy applications or spreadsheets that do not communicate and that are insecure. LemonEdge’s low-code platform delivers the next generation of private equity performance and accounting software, without dependence on workarounds. LemonEdge is 10x faster to develop and deploy, and it is scalable, adaptable, and secure.”

Lauren Iaslovits founded Investran, the widely used private capital markets technology solution, and sold the business to Sungard (currently FIS) in 2004. Iaslovits currently serves as special advisor to CEPRES, a platform for private market investment professionals.  Iaslovits commented: “LemonEdge brings a complete no- and low-code solution to the challenges of general ledger accounting for the private capital market. The ability to simulate scenarios without risking reporting data is fundamentally empowering, and I can see clear benefit to fund administrators in terms of cost and time saving in the enterprise data space. This is the natural evolution of private capital technology, driven by a dynamic team.”

Tikhon Bernstam founded technology companies Scribd (private) and Parse, which he sold to Facebook for $85 million. Bernstam commented: “LemonEdge is the first instance of proper low-code, platform-led software to address the needs and development challenges faced by financial services. The ability to rapidly deploy off-the-shelf solutions, and to empower a 10x reduction in development time, will open up this hugely under-served segment in the same way that low-code platforms empowered the mobile software boom.”

Jamie Nascimento, Co-Founder and CCO of LemonEdge, added: “We drive informed decision-making with the future of tailored and complete accounting solutions. Our product is best-in-class, and we are focused on building the best possible team to help grow LemonEdge. Our customers are the next generation of financial services professionals who have grown up in an ever-smarter and more connected world – they expect solutions which not only match their needs, but empower their capabilities.”

Etrading Software (ETS), global provider of technology-led solutions designed for financial institutions and industry initiatives, acting as the selected Registration Authority for the new International Organization for Standardization’s (ISO) standard ISO 24165 for Digital Token Identifiers (DTIs), and the Association of National Numbering Agencies, (ANNA), a global member association seeking to foster standardisation within the financial industry and ISO Registration Authority for ISO 6166 International Securities Identification Numbers (ISINs), today announce a new joint task force to identify potential synergies between the DTI and ISIN.

The Digital Token Identifier Foundation (DTIF) was created by Etrading Software to provide ISO standard identifiers for digital assets based on open data principles. The task force with ANNA and individual National Numbering Agencies, (NNAs), was established in April and is due to run for 12 months. 

Sassan Danesh, Managing Partner of Etrading Software, said, “Etrading Software is keen to ensure that ISO DTI 24165 will be integrated and seamless with existing industry standards. We want to integrate the DTI with other relevant standards which have different functions but are intrinsically linked. This will reduce the operational complexity and costs of the DTI and provide a clear link between an asset and a digital token that represents the asset.”

Stephan Dreyer, Managing Director of the Association of National Numbering Agencies, said, “The Association of National Numbering Agencies has its own permanent working group on digital assets, and this topic is a core priority of ours. We collaborate with industry and other standards bodies to ensure that standards within our responsibility are harmonized and interoperable with complementary standards, leading to efficient usage and greater accessibility for market participants. In that regard, we are very happy to be working with Etrading Software, the registration authority for the ISO 24165 DTI standard, to look for synergies and interoperability between the ISIN and the DTI.” 

Vipin Y.S. Mahabirsingh, Managing Director of the Central Depository & Settlement Co. Ltd., Mauritius, said, “The work between the DTIF, ANNA and NNAs will provide a solid foundation for the identification of digital tokens as the market continues to grow. By collaborating early on in the process, we will be able to ensure a truly interoperable and complementary nature of the identifiers which will benefit the industry as a whole.”

A key deliverable of the task force will be to produce a set of recommendations on areas of collaboration to the ETS and ANNA boards, including an outline implementation plan. These might include aligning DTIs and ISINs, automatic notifications between issuing authorities or white-label access and/or federated models for the allocation of the identifiers to digital assets. The task force charter, meeting agendas and minutes will be publicly available on the DTIF website: https://dtif.org/anna-ets-dti-task-force/.

 Airtel Uganda, The Smartphone Network with the most affordable and reliable mobile financials services has been recognized and awarded for its continuous innovation under the Airtel Money services that has accelerated financial inclusion in Uganda. 

Airtel Uganda scooped the 2021 FinTech Innovation Award at the prestigious 18^th Annual East Africa Com Virtual Awards, 2021 Awards ceremony held recently in Nairobi - Kenya together with Comviva, the global leader in mobile solutions catering to digital financial services, customer value management, messaging and broadband solution and digital lifestyle services.

According to East Africa Com, the awards organizer, The Fintech Innovation Award honours top companies and products leading in Financial Technology (FinTech) innovations in East Africa. Airtel Money is one of Uganda’s top financial inclusion drivers that enable mobile phone subscribers, especially the financially underserved population, to transact in the digital economy.

Powered by Comviva’s mobiquity platform, Airtel Money provides a mobile wallet to consumers linked to their Airtel mobile number, allowing them to transfer money, get loans and make payments instantly, easily and securely, anytime, anywhere. Airtel Money can be accessed via USSD *185# or mobile App, 'My Airtel App.’

Speaking about the Award, Amit Kapur, Chief Commercial Officer at Airtel Uganda said, “We are very excited about winning the 2021 Fintech Innovation Award. This win is a result of hard work and continued investment in tech-driven reliable and affordable innovative solutions aimed at giving our customers the desired experience as they transact using a wide range of products and services we offer.”

“As Airtel Uganda, we pride in being a financial service partner our customers can trust as they send and receive money using safe, secure and affordable Airtel money services, further added Amit.

Commenting on the award, Suresh Khosla, Head of Airtel Business at Comviva said, “We are delighted to win this joint award with Airtel Uganda. We firmly believe that Airtel Money has been truly transformative as it provided the key to increase financial inclusion and create a digital economy. This award also validates our ability to bring innovative fintech services to the forefront in emerging economies. We are happy that mobiquity® Pay is leading the way in digitizing economies and impacting lives of millions of people globally.”

The increased demand for cashless transactions has spiraled a steady growth of the mobile financial services in Uganda. According to the Uganda Communications Commission 2020 4^th Quarter Market Performance Report, active mobile cash transaction wallets increased to 22.5 million between October and December, 2020 from 20.9 million in Q1 2020, demonstrating the fast growth in uptake of mobile cash transactions in Uganda.

During the same period, active mobile agents increased from 227,736 in September 2020 to 235,790 agents in December 2020, to support increasing demand in mobile cash transaction services.

About East Africa Com Awards - With over 18 years of celebrating pioneering individuals and companies in the region, in addition to hosting the largest event on the continent, the coveted East Africa Com Awards identify leaders in the tech and telecommunications market in East Africa for their outstanding performance.

Mphasis, an Information Technology (IT) solutions provider specializing in cloud and cognitive services, announced today that it has achieved Amazon Web Services (AWS) Migration Competency status. This recognition is a testimony of the work Mphasis has been undertaking, in migrating several of its clients in highly regulated industries to AWS through a foundations first approach that accelerates modernization and refactoring of mission critical apps.

Achieving the AWS Migration Competency differentiates Mphasis as an AWS Partner Network (APN) Premier Consulting Partner that provides specialized proficiency and proven customer success with specific focus on AWS Migration Consulting with experience across all 7Rs (refactor, re-platform, repurchase, rehost, relocate, retain, and retire). To receive the designation, APN Partners must possess deep AWS expertise and deliver solutions seamlessly on AWS. This achievement is complimentary to Mphasis existing AWS DevOps Competency, AWS Financial Services Competency, AWS Security Competency, and AWS Travel & Hospitality Competency designations.  

“We are delighted to be recognized by AWS for our years of experience in enabling our clients to move to cloud on AWS in a cost effective and efficient way. We are committed to empowering our clients with the agility and fast-paced innovation AWS infrastructure delivers, leveraging latest AWS Migration toolsets and methodologies, such as AWS Cloud Adoption Framework, AWS Application Migration Services, AWS Cloud Readiness Assessments, and AWS Well-Architected Reviews. We use our state-of-the-art Cloud automation platforms for migration and modernization to deliver business agility, innovation, and cost optimization. Our work with leading enterprises, in highly regulated industries, covers the entire life cycle of cloud migrations from assessing an application ecosystem to securely migrating not just the apps and data but the entire business process and operating model. Achieving the AWS Migration Competency stands as a testimony of Mphasis success in enabling enterprise digital transformation with AWS,” said, Elango R, President, North America-New Clients Acquisition Mphasis.

AWS offers scalable, flexible, and cost-effective solutions from startups to global enterprises. To support the seamless integration and deployment of these solutions, AWS established the AWS Competency Program to help customers identify Consulting and Technology APN Partners with deep industry experience and expertise.

About Mphasis:

Mphasis applies next-generation technology to help enterprises transform businesses globally. Customer centricity is foundational to Mphasis and is reflected in the Mphasis’ Front2Back™ Transformation approach. Front2Back™ uses the exponential power of cloud and cognitive to provide hyper-personalized (C=X2C2 TM=1) digital experience to clients and their end customers. Mphasis’ Service Transformation approach helps ‘shrink the core’ through the application of digital technologies across legacy environments within an enterprise, enabling businesses to stay ahead in a changing world. Mphasis’ core reference architectures and tools, speed and innovation with domain expertise and specialization are key to building strong relationships with marquee clients. Click here to know more.