Nuvei Corporation, the Canadian fintech company, announces today that it has launched direct local acquiring capabilities in Colombia, further expanding its presence in Latin America (LATAM) and strengthening its overall footprint in the region.

Nuvei is the first global payments company to offer direct local acquiring in Colombia, enabling local and international partners to accept card payments from their customers in the country without relying on intermediaries or third-party payment processors. Simplifying payment relationships in Colombia enables eCommerce businesses to maintain greater control over transaction flow management, as well as develop a more localized payment experience for customers.

This announcement is the latest from Nuvei as it continues to expand its global reach and enable its partners to engage with their customers more deeply through payments, wherever they are and however they want to pay. In addition to unifying international operations via a single processing platform, businesses operating in Colombia are benefitting from enhanced reporting capabilities through the consolidation of all global transaction data, making data easier to analyze and inform decision-making.

Colombian businesses looking to scale rapidly, including through quick and efficient international expansion, are also able to leverage Nuvei’s global reach to enter new markets with ease.

Other benefits of direct local acquiring to eCommerce businesses selling to customers in Colombia through their global integration with the Nuvei platform include card authorization rate uplift, reduced settlement times from days to potentially less than 24 hours, and optimized processing resource commitments.

Latin America is one of the world’s fastest-growing regions, making it an increasingly attractive region for international eCommerce businesses. Within LATAM, Colombia is the third-largest eCommerce market, reaching US$42.3 billion in volume in 2023. Annual volume in Colombia is forecasted to reach US$87 billion in 2026 at a projected compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 27%.

Philip Fayer, Nuvei Chair and CEO commented on the announcement: “Launching our direct local acquiring capabilities in Colombia augments our presence in LATAM and reinforces our commitment to growth in the region. We are already active in more than eleven markets in LATAM through direct integration into local acquirers and networks, and adding direct local acquiring capabilities in Colombia strengthens our ability to provide best-in-class services to our customers across the region.”

With local acquiring capabilities in 50 markets and connectivity to 680 local APMs, Nuvei is elevating payments to a hyper-localized level in a global setting, and supporting businesses to expand internationally while still optimizing their payments function.

Aaron Holmes, Founder and CEO of Kani Payments, comments: “Kani Payments is unique because it is a truly scalable SaaS fintech company. It also makes us a perfect match for Pismo, which shares our geographical expansion capabilities. Pismo’s cloud-based platform empowers teams to build fast and companies to launch rapidly, and as such, it shares many of our values and a core aim of helping businesses drive efficiency. As a global business, Pismo is the perfect partner to help us realise the next phase of our growth strategy, and we’re looking forward to making our solution available to a much wider market.”

Vishal Dalal, CEO (North America, EMEA and APAC) at Pismo, adds: “Having Kani Payments join our partners' network will help financial institutions to turbocharge report generations and submissions. It will unlock useful insights to help them make better, more informed decisions, shaping a new era for banking and payments.”

FinTech Wales, the independent membership association and champion of the Fintech and Financial Services industry in Wales, has today announced that Sarah Kocianski has been appointed as its new CEO.

A fintech and insurtech strategist with over a decade of industry experience, Sarah has worked with global organisations, scaleups, and startups from across the financial services industry and beyond, including major banks and insurers, health techs, and retailers.

Sarah also has experience working with several fintech membership groups, including Qorus, and sits on the committee at WVC: E, where she works with the VC industry to improve equality in the investment ecosystem, benefitting investors and founders alike.

Prior to this, Sarah led Strategic Insights at Founders Factory where she supported financial services partners including Aviva with their fintech investment strategies. She was also the Head of Competitor Strategy at 11:FS, a challenger consultancy that delivers benchmarking, research, and consultancy for banks, insurers, governments, regulators, and startups across the world.

On her appointment, Sarah said: “I’m absolutely over the moon to take on the CEO role at FinTech Wales and will be using my experience to help support the wider fintech ecosystem in Wales. Having worked with fintechs in countries all over the world, I know firsthand the harsh realities of founding and scaling a fintech business, particularly when it comes to funding and investment strategies. 

“Wales has such an amazing reputation as a fintech hub – which is thanks to the innovation and talent we have here. I can’t wait to continue the significant work that the FinTech Wales team does to support these businesses, and champion what Welsh fintechs have to offer on local, national and global stages. This is a great time for fintech and with a lot of resources already at our fingertips in Wales, as well as our inherent drive and passion, I’m confident we can do even more to make Wales an influential fintech hub on a global level.”

Outgoing CEO and new FinTech Wales Chair, Sarah Williams-Gardener, commented: “During the search for a new CEO, our aim was to find a leader with extensive experience to support and foster the growth of fintechs in Wales. Sarah epitomises this ideal, boasting invaluable knowledge in the industry. Her expertise and unwavering dedication to support fintechs underscore her alignment with FinTech Wales' mission. I am confidently handing the baton over as we embark on the next stage of evolution to ensure sustainability allowing us to continue to nurture and grow the Welsh fintech ecosystem. Sarah is joining a brilliant team and I am delighted to support her having been elected as chair.”

Launched in April 2019, FinTech Wales offers help and support to its network of members, and uses the power of the collective voice to be heard by politicians, governments, and influencers in the financial services space. As well as nurturing and supporting those businesses already in Wales, it aims to develop an ecosystem that will encourage and attract new fintech companies to start or scale in the region.

Ultimately, FinTech Wales’ mission is to make Wales a globally recognised hub of fintech excellence. It is currently in the third year of its four-year strategy to support fintech in Wales, in which the organisation has focused on four key pillars, including skills and talent, ecosystem and community, funding and investment, and the promotion of Wales as a place for fintech and financial organisations to thrive.

A five-year, £1.6 million investment in FinTech Wales was announced by Cardiff Capital Region (CCR) in June 2022, with the two organisations working closely together in partnership to deliver on CCR’s commitment to establishing Wales as a leading fintech sector in the UK.

A leading payment orchestration provider, BR-DGE, has announced today its integration with PayPal to offer merchants greater payment choice and flexibility at online checkout. This collaboration between the two companies offers the latest integrations for BR-DGE merchants with PayPal’s complete payments platform (PPCP) and the PayPal Braintree platform.

PayPal’s complete payments platform (PPCP) is enabling businesses of all sizes across the global economy to drive conversion by giving them the ability to reduce friction at checkout, offering customers an easy and secure way to pay online and in-app. Through this collaboration, BR-DGE’s merchants will have access to the latest PayPal technology enabling them to offer cutting-edge payment innovations to consumers via BR-DGE Connect, its payments ecosystem connectivity tool. Merchants will be able to access PayPal’s full stack of payment methods and features, including PayPal Pay Later and Venmo in the US coming later this year, and offer consumers greater flexibility at checkout.

Recent research from BR-DGE found that 32% of consumers say the availability of payment options is a high priority in their purchasing decisions. Leveraging PayPal’s existing foothold and global strength in payment acceptance, BR-DGE can meet this demand for merchants and deliver a better payment experience for consumers via a scalable checkout solution.

As part of the integration, BR-DGE merchants will also have access to PayPal Braintree, allowing them to reach more buyers and drive higher conversion among customers. PayPal Braintree empowers consumers globally with the ability to pay how they want at leading e-commerce retailers. BR-DGE merchants can now access market-leading solutions from a trusted and experienced brand that empowers hundreds of millions of consumers and merchants across more than 200 markets, and offer these services to consumers via one single integration.

Tapping into BR-DGE’s market-leading position, PayPal will also have access to a global network that empowers merchants across travel, leisure, retail and beyond.

Commenting on the partnership, Tom Voaden, Head of Partnerships at BR-DGE, said: “We are on a mission to empower merchants with the latest payment innovations the industry has to offer. By partnering with PayPal, we are able to meet merchant and consumer needs with an easy-to-use and frictionless payment solution. As we look to process over £1.5 billion of transactions this year, this partnership will help our merchants drive revenues and provide customers with the best possible payment experience. We look forward to working with the PayPal team on this collaboration.”

Led by CEO Thomas Gillan, BR-DGE’s platform is revolutionizing online payments for merchants by offering a universe of payment options via a single point of integration. BR-DGE continues to go from strength to strength following a record year of growth in 2023.

Zumo, the B2B digital assets infrastructure that prioritizes sustainability, has announced the appointment of Jason Tucker-Feltham as the company’s new Head of Sales.  

Tucker-Feltham is an experienced crypto sales, business development, and capital introduction professional. Before joining Zumo, he worked in business development and European sales at Celsius, covering some of the largest institutional clients in the crypto space, and in advisory compliance at UniCredit, where he lobbied for proportionate MiCA regulation on behalf of the entire banking group. 

He is an active member of the international crypto community and a regular speaker at conferences worldwide. Before entering the crypto world, Tucker-Feltham spent over a decade working at global investment banks, including Deutsche Bank. He holds the Financial Risk Manager (FRM®) certification from the Global Association of Risk Professionals (GARP).

Nick Jones, Founder and CEO, Zumo said: “Jason has a rich background in financial services and deep expertise in EMEA institutional sales in the crypto sphere. He is also passionate about digital assets and their potential to transform the financial industry – and wider society – making him a great fit for our team.”

“Jason will lead our sales push at a pivotal time for our growing industry, helping us to work with financial institutions keen to create new digital asset propositions whilst protecting their customers and the environment.”

Jason Tucker-Feltham, Head of Sales, Zumo added: “Last year, the UK’s crypto industry was caught off guard when the FCA introduced new rules for financial promotions. Some industry participants even chose to exit the market due to these changes. However, there are ways to navigate the UK crypto market while staying compliant. By teaming up with Zumo, no one needs to miss out.”

“Zumo offers a range of elegant solutions that open up new crypto business possibilities, including our compliant route to accessing the UK crypto market. I’m thrilled to be joining an award-winning firm that enables our clients to capitalise on the endless opportunities arising from the fast-growing digital assets sector.”

Zumo is a digital-asset-as-a-service platform and the market’s only full-stack infrastructure. It enables financial institutions to launch digital asset propositions engineered with a focus on compliance and sustainability. 

Last year, Zumo launched Oxygen, the first of its kind – a full solution for financial institutions to measure, mitigate and report on the carbon footprint of digital currencies in line with evolving regulations and investor expectations. 

Zumo was also the first digital asset platform to integrate the tech-based requirements of the FCA’s financial promotions regime for cryptoassets, underscoring its unwavering commitment to setting the highest standards in regulatory alignment and consumer protections. 

Fiserv, Inc., a leading global provider of payments and financial services technology, is partnering with Genesis Bank, one of only two diverse multiracial Minority Depository Institutions (MDIs) in the country, to drive economic empowerment and create positive impact in local communities.

Beginning this month, small businesses located primarily in low-to-moderate income (LMI) communities served by Southern California-based Genesis Bank will have access to customized technology bundles. Specifically designed to address challenges faced by these businesses, the bundles will provide access to select Clover point-of-sale (POS) technology from Fiserv with no or low entry costs and significantly discounted subscription fees.

“We are incredibly excited to be partnering with Fiserv to offer this low-cost retail solutions bundle to small- and mid-sized businesses,” said Stephen H. Gordon, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Genesis Bank. “As the underlying nature and complexity of technology continues to evolve, gaining access to advanced POS systems has become essential for businesses to effectively operate, compete, and grow. Genesis Bank recognizes cost burden as being a significant barrier to gaining access to such essential technology, especially for the diverse small business owners and entrepreneurs that have historically been underserved. Accordingly, we believe this affordable Clover offering will further support our mission to make an impact in the diverse, entrepreneurial LMI communities we serve across Southern California, extending our collective reach into those businesses in need of such essential technology.”

“The best way to help small businesses is to meet them where they are, and many of our MDI clients are already there,” said Neil Wilcox, Head of Corporate Social Responsibility at Fiserv. “By partnering with Genesis Bank, we can support their growth and help maximize their impact by providing critical financial technology resources to the businesses that play a meaningful role in creating the vibrant and entrepreneurial communities that comprise Southern California, the second largest and most diverse demographic in the U.S.”

Plum, India’s leading insurtech platform offering group health insurance and business insurance solutions to over 3500+ corporations, has shared a report card of its proprietary  PolicyGPT tool which was launched in April 2023. The AI-powered bot has seen a threefold increase in adoption (from launch), successfully resolving 68% of customer inquiries and empowering customer success agents to focus on personalized claims support to deliver a superior customer experience.

PolicyGPT has been built upon a sophisticated architecture called RAG (Retrieval Augmented Generation) powered by OpenAI’s most capable GPT model and is used to provide users with information about their health insurance policy purchased from Plum. It has access to user policy details and general knowledge of health insurance, with the primary goal of educating users about their policies' benefits and instilling transparency in an otherwise hairy industry.

Saurabh Arora, Co-Founder and CTO of Plum said, “The integration of technology and insurance is crucial for simplifying complex issues and driving efficiencies. PolicyGPT represents a significant step in empowering consumers with seamless and swift resolution of their queries. Plum's endeavor to advance its technological capabilities adds value to customers' lives by ensuring they can navigate the complexities of insurance easily and confidently. Industries such as health and insurance often evoke feelings of anxiety among consumers when faced with problems or emergencies. The ability of PolicyGPT to promptly address these concerns without the need for human intervention can significantly alleviate these sentiments."

The future of LLMs lies in increasing bot-led interactions and decreasing response time. Even with PolicyGPT, the goal is to scale by increasing the ticket deflection rate and reducing manual responses - this will help with customer delight for the overall claims process. Some of the areas identified (based on customer queries) include:

• Medical coverages - diseases, treatments covered

• Policy inclusions, exclusions

• Claims processes and how to file claims

Debankur Biswas, Senior Vice President and Head of Operations at Plum expressed, ‘’PolicyGPT highlights Plum's commitment to change customer service and experience in the insurance industry. Insurance is a business of customer-centricity, trust and timeliness, and PolicyGPT has proven to be a powerful tool in addressing these aspects. With  a ticket deflection rate of 68%, PolicyGPT  helps the customer service team to save up their valuable time, allowing them to focus on resolving more complex and challenging inquiries, ultimately enhancing the overall quality and effectiveness of customer service operations." 

Plum has introduced several innovative features in the past to improve customer experiences, such as WhatsApp claims, paperless reimbursements (e-imburse), and its highly-rated mobile app, which currently holds a 4.1 rating on Android and a 4.3 rating on iOS. With PolicyGPT and the adoption of GenAI, Plum continues to lead the way in the insurtech industry, providing exceptional value to its consumers.

BABB, a socially focussed P2P mobile banking platform, today announces the ReDeFi project – a new decentralized FMI (Financial Market Infrastructure) platform that redefines our current financial system, by merging the reliability of traditional finance with the immutability of blockchain technology. ReDeFi eliminates many of the traditional barriers to financial inclusion, ushering in a new era of enhanced transparency, efficiency, and affordability in financial transactions.

Central to ReDeFi's vision is the Onchain Money model, a first-of-its-kind tokenized deposit system that preserves the Singleness of Money principle (the idea that all types of money should carry equal worth in a given denomination, be universally recognized for transactions, and be freely exchangeable with any other currency form without diminishing in value). Onchain Money distinguishes itself from the volatility of cryptocurrencies and the limitations of stablecoins by offering a blockchain-based representation of fiat currencies like GBP, directly mirroring funds in traditional bank accounts without necessitating token issuance.

Onchain Money integrates smart contracts into the existing infrastructure that banks and financial institutions use, providing value and convenience, while Onchain Money can be sent to and received from any supported bank (local or overseas) using traditional account details.

With Onchain Money, transactions are reduced in cost, occur seamlessly and near-instantaneously around the world, and fully adhere to regulatory standards. The platform also eliminates the need for middlemen, such as banks and brokerage firms, therefore further reducing transaction costs. 

Furthermore, Onchain Money transaction fees are also transparent and verifiable on the blockchain, regardless of geographical location or currency. Unlike today’s financial systems, where fees vary based on currency and merchant bank location, Onchain Money utilises its own blockchain network to solve that problem. This eliminates the complexity and extra costs associated with cross-border transactions, making financial exchanges simpler and more cost-effective for all parties. Currently remittance costs average 6.8%, disproportionately affecting communities in developing economies.

ReDeFi will be launching its layer-1 blockchain with Onchain Money to follow, before the IDO and token sale this year.

ReDeFi and Onchain Money is the brainchild of BABB, a fintech mobile banking platform established in 2018 that promotes financial inclusion and social impact by enabling cost-effective financial solutions.

Rushd Averröes, Founder and CEO, ReDeFi, said:

“At the heart of ReDeFi is Onchain Money, a new model that blends traditional banking with the efficiency of blockchain technology, thereby reforming and augmenting - rather than replacing - existing monetary systems. We are hugely excited about the potential of this new model for everyday people, businesses, banks and governments around the world.”

Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, a leading financial institution, announced the successful launch of a new payment hub that allows customers to conduct their transfers in a quick and efficient manner. ADIB has worked with the real-time payment solutions company, ProgressSoft, to ease the integration of Cross-Border Services and accelerate cross-border remittances.

With the new payment hub, customers can now seamlessly process transfers, providing a solution that transforms payment processing capabilities. This redefines the speed, security, and efficiency of ADIB's payment services across diverse channels and third-party networks.

ADIB, committed to fostering innovation and surpassing customer expectations, has strategically implemented ProgressSoft's Payments Hub, marking a significant upgrade in its technologies, and facilitating a seamless migration from legacy payment systems to a robust platform.

Commenting on the launch, Fernando Plaza Lopez, Chief Digital Officer, ADIB, said: “The successful implementation of ProgressSoft’s Payments Hub Platform comes at a time when ADIB is focused on driving digital-first solutions throughout the bank’s operations. This robust new platform will transform the way ADIB’s payment services function across the board. In line with our commitment to delivering digital excellence for our customers, ADIB will continue to develop its digital capabilities to offer bespoke solutions for all our stakeholders.”

The dynamic platform aligns with ADIB's vision for expanding digital services at the front end as well as global payment corridors at the back end. With advanced and scalable features, ADIB also gains the flexibility to adapt effortlessly to market trends, enabling the introduction of additional payment services with minimal disruption to its back-end systems. This robust and scalable payment infrastructure solidifies ADIB's position as a leader in the digital banking landscape, paving the way for its ambitious growth strategy in the UAE and beyond.

“This successful launch signifies the culmination of a shared vision between ADIB and ProgressSoft,” stated ProgressSoft’s Chief Executive Officer, Michael Wakileh, “Together we have launched a transformative platform that not only addresses the demands of today but also anticipates the needs of tomorrow, reinforcing our joint commitment to delivering excellence in banking services.”

This significant milestone marks the inauguration of ADIB and ProgressSoft’s partnership, ushering in a new era in banking where pioneering strategies and customer-focused solutions stand as the driving forces.