Exactpro, a leading software testing provider for mission-critical financial market infrastructures, today announces it has been chosen by LedgerEdge, the next-generation ecosystem for corporate bond trading, to deliver functional testing and ensure the resilience of LedgerEdge’s global corporate bond trading platform powered by distributed ledger technology.

LedgerEdge aims to revolutionise the $41 trillion corporate bond market by devising a new trading ecosystem, harnessing R3’s Corda system for distributed computing, that improves liquidity and provides greater transparency.

To assess and maintain the quality of LedgerEdge’s platform, Exactpro is developing a test library using the model-based capabilities of th2, Exactpro’s next-generation toolkit for automating functional and non-functional testing of distributed transaction processing systems.

As the project continues its pilot-phase in anticipation of the expected release during the second half of 2021, Exactpro has completed a functional requirements review at this early stage of the project and carried out functional touch testing of the components and applications delivered so far.

Commenting on the announcement, Alyona Bulda, Head of the Global Exchanges Division at Exactpro, said: “We are delighted to partner with LedgerEdge on such an ambitious and innovative project. The past year has highlighted the importance of operational resiliency and Exactpro continues to develop and deliver effective testing solutions in order to meet this growing demand.”

Robert Bose, Chief Technology Officer at LedgerEdge, commented: “We are passionate about delivering the future of corporate bond trading. As we get closer to launch, it’s necessary to have a trusted partner to help us test our operational resilience and ensure we can meet the demands of the market. Exactpro’s bespoke tools and methods will enable us to achieve this, and we are excited to see the results of our collaboration.”

E-wallet specialist STICPAY is launching a cashback service for its gaming and gambling customers worldwide in early May.

The new service enables users to receive a percentage of money they have spent through cashback when they start using an online gaming partner’s services. Cashback, as the fintech firm is describing it, can be reclaimed anytime using a number of payment methods or gamers can spend their balance with STICPAY partners, which have signed-up to the program.

Initially, 20 STICPAY partners have signed-up for the service, with the London-based fintech firm saying it is looking to regularly add new gaming platform partners.

STICPAY’s customers use e-wallet services for e-commerce, transfer of funds to family members and for forex trading, both for seasoned professionals and individuals as well as playing games such as casino and poker. The firm has experienced year-on-year growth of 300% across its global user base that now numbers over 100,000. While it is headquartered in London, 60% of transactions come from Asia.

The move follows a cashback facility, which includes Google Play and Apple apps, specifically for forex traders which was launched at the start of the year.

Cashback for the gaming and gambling communities had been scheduled for a later date but STICPAY’s client service director James Bay says: ‘The forex cashback facility is proving very popular with our customers across the world, so moving the service for gamers forward is no gamble.’

Cardiff-based talent intelligence provider, Talent Intuition, has been ranked in JP Morgan Private Bank’s Top 200 Top 200 Female Powered Businesses. The list, published last week, recognises high-growth private UK businesses that have grown sales, headcount or valuation at extraordinary rates. Talent Intuition, the company behind Stratigens, is ranked 186.

J.P Morgan Private Bank, in partnership with Beauhurst, commissioned the report out of a pressing need to provide a more nuanced understanding of the role of women in UK business and enterprise. The report is the first of its kind and takes a broader approach, not only focusing on female-founded firms, but capturing a more diverse group of companies to tell a richer story.

Talent Intuition, established in 2018, has received funding from Development Bank of Wales as well as private investors and is scaling rapidly though its platform offering, Stratigens. Stratigens is a labour market analytics platform that brings together data on skills, diversity and location so companies can make smarter decisions about people and real estate. This information is more in demand than ever, post-pandemic as firms re-think their skills and real estate footprint.

Commenting on the report, Oliver Gregson, Head of United Kingdom & Ireland at J.P. Morgan Private Bank said:

“We have long focused on empowering women in the workplace and beyond by helping to expand women-run businesses, improve financial health and advance career growth. The knowledge gained through this report can help us tackle systemic challenges and enable the continued success of women entrepreneurs, female funders and businesses powered by women.”

Alison Ettridge, CEO of Talent Intuition said:

“This report shows that of the UK’s 33,000 high-growth companies, more than 6,000 are led, founded or managed by women and I’m proud to be one of them, especially in the tech space where we know from our own data that females are underrepresented. We are privileged to be included on this list alongside other exceptional and innovative companies. It’s a positive indication that we are on target with our ambitious growth plans.”

Banking technology company LEVERIS has announced its partnership with Marqeta, the global card issuing platform, to integrate its modern card capabilities within the LEVERIS digital banking platform.

The partnership enables LEVERIS to rapidly build, issue and deploy new payment and finance solutions through card products. It will allow banks and non-banks using the LEVERIS platform to provide card users with more control and a greater customer experience when it comes to spending.

With Marqeta’s support, the LEVERIS platform will facilitate the issuance of virtual, physical and digital debit cards for multiple use cases. LEVERIS clients will have the ability to create virtual cards in real-time and push them instantly to mobile wallets. As well as card issuance, the partnership enables greater card parameterisation, fraud mitigation in card transactions and speed to market in a variety of currencies.

Marqeta’s proprietary Just-in-Time (JIT) funding capability provides LEVERIS with full control over transactions, allowing operators using the LEVERIS platform to apply decisioning tools in real-time. A dynamic API centred on spending controls enables them to set card level parameters around card usage, with rules governing merchant categories, frequency of use, cashback, country acceptance, ATM usage and much more.

Commenting on the partnership, Conor Fennelly, founder and CEO at LEVERIS, said: “We are very pleased to announce this partnership with Marqeta. With its support, LEVERIS can help its clients launch new customised card products that have much more flexible controls and features. Both companies share the same vision to use great technology to make banking and financial services better. As LEVERIS continues to scale, this partnership will help us widen our footprint. We look forward to our teams working closely together in the months and years ahead.”

Ian Johnson, SVP, Managing Director, Europe at Marqeta, said: “Marqeta is delighted to be partnering with LEVERIS – a forward-thinking innovator in the digital banking and lending platform space. There’s a close synergy between the two companies with LEVERIS’ ambitions certain to maximise Marqeta’s modern card payment processing technology.”

The LEVERIS platform is entirely software-defined, operates in the cloud and is completely independent of legacy banking technology. As well as offering SaaS to both traditional and challenger banks, LEVERIS provides Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) to non-financial companies entering the financial services space.

Founded in 2010, Marqeta is a global, modern card issuing platform and supports some of the world’s leading innovators at scale, including Square, Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, Uber, Affirm, Instacart and DoorDash, by providing advanced infrastructure and tools for building highly configurable payment solutions. It is enabled in 36 countries worldwide and by the end of 2020, more than 270 million cards had been issued through the Marqeta platform.

Marqeta is one of several market-leading companies whose services are integrated into the LEVERIS platform, ensuring that it is a complete end-to-end, out-of-the-box proposition. The platform provides financial institutions with a foundation for building and launching, with all the key capabilities needed to run a modern digital bank built-in from the start.

Today ikigai, the premium fintech app, launches its new stocks & shares ISA.

Building on its comprehensive savings and investment services, ikigai’s stocks & shares ISA will further help people to spend well, save well and invest well. The news comes in time for the new ISA season, allowing ikigai existing, and new customers, to start investing and benefit from their first tax-free product. 

The new stocks & shares ISA will sit alongside ikigai’s premium Wealth service, giving its customers another way to save and invest their money and grow their financial nest egg. The offering will see customers able to invest all, or part of their £20,000 annual ISA allowance with ikigai, and benefit from tax-free gains on investments held in their stocks & shares ISA. When investing, capital is at risk and the value of the investment can fluctuate.

There are no additional fees for opening and funding a stocks & shares ISA with ikigai, which is included in its £10 flat monthly fee. New customers looking to open a stocks & shares ISA with ikigai, simply need to open an account and pass the investor profile. Once passed they can choose to create a goal and choose to make it a stocks & shares ISA. 

ikigai’s stocks & shares ISA investment portfolios are curated following a series of questions that take into account customers’ attitudes to risk, their investment goals, and the amount of money they wish to invest. 

Edgar de Picciotto, co-founder of ikigai, says: 

“We are very excited to announce the launch of our new ISA. Our new stocks & shares ISA is an important step towards giving our customers a comprehensive choice when it comes to investing their money. What makes ikigai’s stocks & shares ISA different from others on the market is all savings, spending, and investments are in one space for the client's convenience and transparency. This, along with the personal point of contact via a relationship manager each client is introduced to on signing up, gives the client confidence and insight into what their money is doing for them.” 

Full integration with ikigai’s Everyday, Nest and Wealth features means customers will be able to easily split the money into their stocks & shares ISA alongside their other spending, saving and investing accounts. Each customer will also have exclusive access to a relationship manager when setting up a stocks & shares  ISA, ensuring a high-touch, personal experience for all their investment needs. 

The new stocks & shares ISA launch comes during ikigai’s crowdfunding campaign, which kicked off in April, in which it aims to raise a further £1.2 million. Previously, ikigai raised £2 million from private and angel investors in a pre-seed round completed in 2020. 

It is important to know that before creating and opening an investor profile and stocks & shares ISA with ikigai, the following criteria must be met:

• You must be a UK tax resident and over 18

• You cannot have opened and funded another stocks and shares ISA this tax year (i.e. since April 6th, 2021. Customers can fund a pre-existing ISA, but cannot fund two ISAs opened in the same tax-year.)

• You must have contributed less than this year’s ISA allowance (£20,000) to any other type of ISA. Tax treatment depends on the individual circumstances of each client and may be subject to change in future.

Personal loans, also known as signature loans, unsecured loans, and signature-based financing, allow a borrower to borrow funds from a lending institution with the loan amount not backed by any collateral. Unsecured personal loans typically have lower interest rates, lower fees, and longer repayment terms than credit cards or payday loans. Additionally, unsecured personal loans are usually easier to obtain than other types of loans.

It Can Be Used for Anything

Personal loans are available in amounts ranging from a few hundred dollars to hundreds of thousands of dollars so that you can use yours for anything. Whether you're planning a trip around the world or redoing your bedroom, there's a loan for that.

If you have the means to make regular monthly payments and have worked for at least two years, you will likely qualify.

You Can Repay It Quickly

Unlike some loans, you don't have to wait 30 years to pay off your personal loan. When you need a new set of wheels, it's tempting to finance them with a car loan. But once you do that, you've got to start paying interest immediately. It's not unusual to spend four or five years paying every month to pay off the interest.

It doesn't have to be that way.

If you use a personal loan, you can repay it quickly. And there are several ways to do it. Pay off your loan more quickly by sending in extra payments. You can do this at any time by just sending in extra money with your payment or by scheduling payments for a specific date and amount. In most cases, if you make an extra payment, we'll apply for that money directly to the principal of your loan, which will cut down on the total amount you pay.

You Can Repay Over Time

Even if your business doesn't have a steady income stream, that doesn't mean you can't secure a personal loan. You may be surprised to learn that you can qualify for loans without a steady income. Some lenders prefer to work with self-employed borrowers because they know it's an investment in a future stream of income. If you run your own business, don't rule out a personal loan just because you don't have a set salary. The alternative to applying for a personal loan is usually relying on the bank for a line of credit – which may not be available or could come with unreasonable terms and fees.

Refinancing. Often, getting a personal loan can be used to refinance a business loan and reduce the monthly interest payments on an existing loan.

Necessity Is The Mother Of Invention

A personal loan can be used for many reasons, including paying for a wedding, starting a business venture, or paying off unexpected bills. A personal loan provides the much-needed flexibility in your monthly budget to handle various expenses that arise.

Know Your Terms

Personal loans are generally amortized over 3 to 7 years, and payments are usually made monthly. Some lenders will allow for payment in two instalments monthly, which helps to lower the interest rate. Also, it is important to understand how much you are being charged in terms of an Annual Percentage Rate (APR) and the repayment schedule. Make sure you understand all the terms before agreeing to any loan

You want to start or grow your business.

Starting a business is tricky and hard work. For some of us, taking on a loan is an opportunity to get serious about growing our businesses. If you plan to grow your business significantly, working with a small business loan company can help you achieve your goals faster than ever before.

Conclusion

Personal loans are an amazing way to acquire the things you need, have or want. They can enable you to buy a new computer, go on a fabulous trip, or remodel your home. Personal loans are especially great for those who have good credit and qualify for a low-interest rate. You can apply for a personal loan from your bank, or from a third party lender such as Prosper or LendingClub or from a  payday loan online. If you have good credit, it's practically guaranteed that you will be approved for a loan from one of these companies.

The average interest rate for a personal loan is between 9 and 15 per cent. If you can afford to pay it back within two years, a personal loan can be a great way to get your hands on money. But if you know that it will take you longer than two years to pay back the money, it may be better to try other options.

Having a business loan may seem necessary if you're trying to expand your company. For whatever reasons you're getting a loan, you should be careful where you apply for one. Even if loans and borrowing money from licensed moneylenders have been a thing since decades ago, people still get scammed and cheated on. In Singapore, you can search up the list of legitimate money lending agencies to know which licensed money lender are you going to apply to. 

Although bad credit business loans are available, there are plenty of scammers out there looking to take advantage of distressed business owners. As a consequence, it's important to understand how to determine if a lending firm is legal. Here is a reliable guideline to assist you in determining legitimate money lenders:

Upfront Fees are Questionable

This factor is probably one of the most straightforward approaches to determine whether or not a lending firm is legal. A reputable lending firm would never require you to pay a fee or make a request until you collect your loan, but if they do, you can stop communicating with them. Don't be fooled into thinking that making an initial deposit would guarantee you a loan.

If it's "Too Good to be True", Start Doubting.

When it comes to having a loan, we all want the best offer possible, but we still need to be rational. You should be cautious if a lending firm promises you a fantastic offer that is cheaper than anywhere else. You may have known of the offers, and the company would have had more coverage if a company would genuinely deliver deals as well as they think they can. If a fake money lending agency wants to get an individual's attention, they'll ensure that they will offer the most convenient plans to them. If you start to notice that the loan deal is becoming TOO convenient for you, you should start asking questions. 

Ensure the company has a Physical Office

If the lending firm you're working with has an office, staff, and a customer service phone number, you can be assured that they're a legitimate money lending agency. If the organization has no physical location, no proof of actual staff, and no phone number, it would probably be best that you inquire in another company because there is no way to verify that they are a legitimate money lending company. Although there are several legal online-only lending firms, you must exercise caution in this area because it can be challenging to tell which ones are legitimate and which are not.

Research About the Company

When you're struggling to figure out whether a lending firm is real, the first thing you can do is to research the money lending agency. A decent way to start is by searching for the business name on Google. This will provide a wealth of knowledge, not just about the business itself but also about what people are talking about it. However, simply because they have a website and testimonials or reviews does not guarantee that they are genuine.

These testimonials are quite easy to write up. That's why you should be careful with that. It is best to tread carefully and follow the advice of others whether you see posts worrying, wondering, or telling that they are a scam. If they have a website and you're still not sure if you can trust them, you can look up their name and websites. Besides, the internet has pretty much everything. Better yet, call up a specialist so they can inform you what you're really dealing with.

FAQs About Loan Companies

In some cases, there are loan scam agencies that are still able to get away with their naughty tricks. If you're planning to consult with a specialist, better prepare some questions! Here's what you can ask them:

Is it normal for the loan company to ask for access to my bank account?

In certain situations, a lender will request your bank account details in order to determine where the loan funds should be sent after your application has been accepted. It is, however, unusual for a bank to request your online banking login details in order to validate your account. If this occurs, it's likely that a scammer is attempting to gain access to your account in order to make a withdrawal or conversion to their own. Asking about your bank details immediately a red flag, and you should cut them off at that point.

Do loan companies normally ask for upfront fees?

Like what we've mentioned earlier, legitimate money lenders do not ask their clients to pay an upfront fee before they can obtain their loan. For the processing of your loan, certain lenders charge an origination fee. This fee, on the other hand, is usually deducted from your loan disbursement. Before you can get access to your assets, no legal lender would require you to pay them the fee upfront. If they start to ask you to pay unnecessary fees, then it's best that you look for another money lending company.

WhatsApp users in Brazil can quickly, conveniently, and securely transfer money directly on the app

Starting today, Mastercard cardholders in Brazil can send and receive money to and from friends and family through WhatsApp. Mastercard debit cardholders with cards issued by Banco Inter, Itaú, Nubank and Sicredi will be able to use the innovative P2P WhatsApp service. The payments service on WhatsApp is enabled by Facebook Pay and processed by Facebook Pagamentos and Cielo.

The announcement comes after the Brazil Central Bank officially granted a Payment Initiator license to Facebook Pagamentos do Brasil Ltda and approved Mastercard's new transfer scheme. Additional banking partners are expected to join the program soon.

The service leverages Mastercard Send™ to enable real-time* payments for millions of WhatsApp users in Brazil who can now transfer money to friends and family in a fast, simple and secure manner. Mastercard Send is part of Mastercard’s multi-rail proposition, and enables people and organizations to send and receive money how, where and when they choose, across both card and real-time payments rails, providing increased choice, access and financial control.

Every payment made on WhatsApp is protected by multiple layers of security. Mastercard tokenization solutions leverage the bank authentication to ensure the WhatsApp user is the card owner. Tokenization protects the cardholder's information by replacing the original 16-digit card number with a unique alternative number, or ‘token’, which is associated with the individual debit card number for each WhatsApp user and will not work elsewhere. Consumers create the token, then enter their Facebook Pay security PIN or device biometrics whenever they want to make a transaction.

In a survey on real time payment methods conducted by Mastercard, about 75% of Brazilians would like to be able to make payments in real time, regardless of the financial service provider, while 53% would like to make this type of payment using messaging or social media apps.

“This partnership with Facebook illustrates our ability to offer new and innovative ways to send and receive money in Brazil, with the needs of our customers at the core of our business strategy. By 2030, 55% of Brazilians expect all financial transactions to be made in real time (with funds available immediately). To make this possible, we will continue to work on developing interoperable solutions and standards focused on efficiency and user experience”, said João Pedro Paro Neto, Mastercard President for Brazil and the Southern Cone.

“We are excited about the availability of this service. Facilitating the sending and receiving of money safely could not be more important at this time, as it not only decreases people's exposure to the pandemic, but also helps loved ones stay connected, broadens access to financial services and enables more people to participate in the digital economy,” said Matt Idema, WhatsApp's Chief Operating Officer.

"Inter's goal is to simplify every aspect of daily life, where payments play an important role. We believe in easy and safe ways to provide payments solutions to our clients and using WhatsApp to do this is a great user experience", says Ray Chalub, Inter COO.

"Nubank always believed in reducing complexity in people's lives. Using technology, we shortened the barriers that left millions of Brazilians without access to financial services. With this partnership, our customers will have another option to make payments as easily as they talk to friends and without paying anything extra for it," says Cristina Junqueira, cofounder of Nubank.

“This is another solution that creates convenience for our more than five million members, as WhatsApp is an application that is already very present on people's day and now also adds the transfer feature in a simple and safe way”, comments Gisele Rodrigues, Superintendent of Payment Solutions at Sicredi.

By enabling payments between people on WhatsApp, Brazilians will now be able to send and receive amounts conveniently and securely by registering their debit card in the country's most loved messaging app, minimizing the risks and inefficiencies associated with other payment methods, including cash.

Learn how to use the new service here: www.whatsapp.com/payments/br

The Canadian fintech surpassed the 2 million user mark in its home country, up from around 1.5 million when it last reported the figure in October. Wealthsimple unveiled the user updates alongside a CAD$750 million ($559.2 million) funding round on Monday, which values it at CAD$5 billion ($3.73 billion)—more than triple the CAD$1.5 billion ($1.12 billion) valuation it reached after its previous round in October. The fintech has experienced significant product growth over the past 14 months: Adoption of its free stock trading offering has grown, it rolled out cryptocurrency trading last August, and it introduced its peer-to-peer (P2P) money transfer app earlier this year.

Wealthsimple’s growth comes as it delves into the neobanking space in Canada—while facing powerful entrenched incumbents.

• The fintech’s product suite overlaps with neobanks’. Wealthsimple’s lineup now includes investing, savings, and money transfers, likening it to neobanks operating in Canada. These players have been struggling: UK-based Revolut, for example, pulled the plug on its beta in the country, although it plans a return next year. 
• But Canada’s entrenched incumbent banks make it hard for challengers to win market share. Just five big banks dominate Canada’s banking sector: BMO, TD Bank, RBC, CIBC, and Scotiabank. Digital banking is on the rise—the proportion of adults who use a digital channel at least monthly is projected to reach 72.0% in 2021—but the digital-only space is controlled by two incumbent-backed players: Simplii and Tangerine. 

Despite the headwinds, Wealthsimple’s continued user and product growth are positive signs that it could become a significant challenger. The company’s emerging banking play is similar to measures taken by US-based Venmo, which has evolved beyond P2P mobile payments into products such as cryptocurrency trading, mobile check cashing, and a credit card. Revolut is also straddling the fintech and neobank areas, with a lineup that includes investing, checking and savings accounts, and insurance. Wealthsimple plans to use its latest proceeds to expand both its offerings and user base, suggesting that it will continue its foray into neobanking, which is already off to a promising start.

Leading mortgage technology provider Twenty7Tec today announces that Halifax Intermediaries has been added to its APPLY module, and following a successful trial, is now available to all users of the CloudTwenty7 platform to enable them to submit decision in principle applications to Halifax without the need for re-keying.

The APPLY integration with Halifax supports decision in principle requests for residential applications, as well as broker authentication, decisioning and case tracking. Further, if the decision in principle is accepted, the adviser is able to pick up the case in the Halifax portal and complete the full mortgage application.

James Tucker, CEO of Twenty7Tec commented:  "We are excited to be able to now extend our APPLY integration with Halifax Intermediaries to all users of our CloudTwenty7 platform. Our pilot phase saw well over 1,000 applications submitted to Halifax Intermediaries via APPLY, and we expect that number to grow exponentially over the coming weeks and months."

Tucker added “The feedback that we have received from advisers during this pilot phase, both in terms of time saved and efficiency of process, has been exceptional. I have no doubt that all our users will benefit greatly from our partnership with Halifax Intermediaries.”

Ian Wilson, Head of Halifax Intermediaries, added: “We are delighted that this functionality will now be available to all Apply users.”

About Twenty7Tec:

Twenty7Tec’s CloudTwenty7 platform is designed to make the process of searching, applying for and obtaining a mortgage simpler, faster and more efficient. The platform is used by all participants in the mortgage market, from lenders to mortgage advisers, to comparison sites and even end customers.