UK fintech Zorrz™ Finance and Swedish fintech Sileon, specialised in card-based Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) functionality, have announced a partnership to enable more consumers to access BNPL solutions. 

Zorrz has developed an artificial intelligence-powered tool called MoneyInsight360™, which generates a more complete, unified view of a person’s credit history. It is also soon to launch the BlueAccess Card, its flagship credit card designed specifically for immigrants, individuals with past credit challenges, and students.

By creating its new Financial Health Score - an alternative to the credit scores given by the main credit reference agencies - as well as developing its own fintech products, London-based startup Zorrz is on a mission to democratise access to credit.  

The partnership will integrate Sileon’s BNPL SaaS solution onto Zorrz’s BlueAccess Card. The extra functionality will provide consumers with more financial flexibility if they wish to split payments for purchases when using their BlueAccess Card.  

Priyesh Mistry, Director of Zorrz, said: “We’re excited to team up with Sileon and add BNPL functionality to our products. Their powerful SaaS technology gives us the ability to meet customers’ needs for more payment choices. This partnership aligns with our mission to democratise access to credit through AI and tech.

“The cost-of-living crisis has brought people’s financial challenges into sharper focus, and access to credit is a major issue for millions of people. Tech undoubtedly holds the key to solving such issues – it will provide better ways to assess someone’s creditworthiness while reducing the barriers people face in trying to access financial products and accounts. Zorrz is proud to be driving positive change in this space.”

David Larsson, CEO of Sileon, added: “We’re thrilled that Zorrz has chosen our BNPL SaaS Platform to meet the growing appetite for instalment payments in the UK. This represents an exciting step forward as we continue expanding globally.”

The partnership between Sileon and Zorrz is set to launch in Q4 2023, which is when the first customers will begin using Zorrz’s BlueAccess Card.

Fulham Football Club is pleased to announce Ebury as the Club’s Official FX Transfer Partner for the next four seasons. 

Ebury will become the preferred service for all Fulham FC and Jacksonville Jaguars UK FX transfers.

Ebury offers solutions and services to enable businesses to trade and grow internationally quickly, easily, and securely by removing global barriers. By combining expertise with state-of-the-art technology, Ebury delivers high-impact and diversified solutions across three key areas: payments and collections, business lending and FX risk management. With capabilities in 130+ currencies and a multilingual team across 32 offices in 21 countries, Ebury empowers thousands of organisations through simplified and hassle-free solutions to support their global growth ambitions.

The four-year partnership will allow Ebury to drive its brand awareness to a global audience through Fulham FC’s extensive media backdrops and the Club’s social channels.

During the term, Ebury will also collaborate with Fulham FC to create engaging content featuring the Men’s First Team players, as well as B2B testimonials and case studies. 

Commenting on the partnership, Juan Lobato, Ebury CEO, said: "Today, we are delighted to announce our partnership with Fulham as its official FX transfer partner. This collaboration is a significant step forward for Ebury, as we have the privilege to support them both on and off the field. With Ebury as its official FX transfer partner, we are pleased to provide the necessary financial tools and expertise to help Fulham thrive in all aspects of their global operations. On behalf of our 1,300+ Ebury employees, I’m incredibly excited to announce our unwavering support for Fulham throughout the coming seasons.”

Jon Don-Carolis, Commercial Director, Fulham FC, added: "It is with great excitement we welcome a forward-thinking partner like Ebury to the Club. Ebury’s efforts to help businesses through tech innovation will drive the success of this partnership as we showcase Ebury to our fanbase and partner portfolio.” 

In recent years there has been a surge in the development of mobile applications, known as Super-apps, which offer payment and financial transaction processing for personal and commercial life. Advanced apps such as WeChat, Gojek and Grab have led the charge in providing a platform for everything from messaging and social networking to transportation and food delivery on a single platform.

According to Gartner, by 2027, 50% of the population will be using more than one Super-app, signalling a significant shift in the mobile app industry. Originating in Asia, Super-apps began as messaging apps expanding their services to include other features such as mobile payments, e-commerce, ride-hailing, food delivery, and social networking. Such apps have surged in popularity in Asia due to their simplicity, flexibility and ability to reduce clutter on mobile devices, improving financial organisation.

Jeremy Baber, CEO of Lanistar, said, “The concept of Super-apps stems from a growing demand for convenience and seamless user experiences, offering multiple services in one place to provide a more integrated experience for people. This is particularly useful in a world where there are so many commercial apps and offerings from multiple businesses.

“Despite the popularity of Super-apps in other markets, Europe is behind in the Super-app race. We have seen some household names begin to explore the possibility of diversifying their apps, such as Uber, Klarna and Lydia, but have much further to go to reach Super-app status.” 

The ongoing shifts in app development have led companies to change their market approach. It is anticipated that Super-apps will provide a new channel for customer acquisition and engagement, leading businesses to reach a broader audience and offering a more seamless experience. Despite the potential benefits for businesses and end users, there is hesitancy. 

Regulators in the US and Europe have become increasingly critical of companies developing Super-apps, stating that they heighten the risk of data breaches and store more personal data to facilitate the delivery of their services. Super-apps must also be well-guarded to prevent cyber security breaches. Furthermore, users will lose access to multiple real-life services and digital applications if their accounts are lost.

"As well as navigating potential regulation and security challenges, app creators must also be mindful of their core service - and whether becoming a Super-app will overshadow their existing purpose."

Baber concluded, “Like any emerging technology, product or app, risks often come into play. Super-apps must be built with security in mind and given their vast reach across industries whilst underpinned by financial transactions, regulation is already at the top of the agenda.

“Despite this, the popularity of Super-apps will likely continue to rise. So, UK and European businesses need to hop on the train by either developing their own or partnering with existing providers to offer their services to avoid being left behind in a rapidly evolving market. The UK may be behind in the Super-app race compared to Asian competitors, but we should expect to see the emergence of this new fintech application in coming years.”

Conotoxia's partnership with Devoteam G Cloud and Google Cloud has resulted in the development of an innovative tool. Thanks to the usage of cloud technologies and artificial intelligence, global fintech is bringing customer service to an even higher level.

"Our relations with the customers are the company's most important resource. We treat them very seriously. The several product lines and the numerous countries in which we are present generate a really close network of interactions. From the beginning, our analytical processes were aimed primarily at benefiting users. We had a wide range of expertise, but with the aid of technology, we really released its potential," says Robert Blaszczyk, Head of Strategic Clients Department at Conotoxia.

However, the digital experience and customer service were transformed through the collaboration of three partners. In the first phase, Conotoxia's business needs were translated into an algorithm by engineers at Devoteam G Cloud. As a result of the work of specialists from the fintech's Big Data department and using state-of-the-art cloud and AI solutions provided by Google Cloud, a product was created that enables Conotoxia employees to analyse customer relationships in a new dimension.

The solution developed, based on artificial intelligence, is primarily used to analyse and dynamically segment the interactions that have been undertaken. The crucial thing is the result, i.e. the matching of formulated proposals to users' expectations and doing so in real-time. Understanding the accompanying emotions, in turn, makes it possible to tailor the financial services ecosystem to the individual customer's needs. The architecture has been designed so that Conotoxia can fully exploit the potential of Google Cloud resources.

“By harnessing the power of Google Cloud technology, we can now analyse our users' needs in real-time and in a systematic way to create tailored offers specifically for them. Most importantly, we also can transparently report results as they happen. The dynamics in the finance world are huge, which translates into customer expectations. The scalability and automation offered by the cloud support us in meeting these expectations,” explains Robert Błaszczyk from Conotoxia.

The European Investment Fund (EIF) and Lithuania’s SME Finance have signed a guarantee agreement under the InvestEU programme to facilitate more than €40 million in new financing in the form of loans, leases and factoring for micro and small enterprises and small mid-caps in the Baltics, Finland and the Netherlands.

Backed by portfolio guarantees of up to 80% from the EIF, SME Finance will extend lending to targeted businesses to achieve new growth by investing in innovation, sustainability or digitalisation projects. SME Finance will also provide microfinancing of up to €50 000 specifically designed for very small businesses employing up to ten employees with yearly revenues that do not exceed €2 million.

“This agreement with the EIF means SME Finance will be able to offer financing to businesses on significantly better terms,” said SME Finance CEO Mindaugas Mikalajūnas. "Our flexible and digital financing solutions already cover investment projects and working capital. We now offer even better pricing, reduced collateral requirements, or even no collateral at all.”

The EIF aims to address the persistent challenges small and medium-sized enterprises face in accessing finance. For instance, a recent EU study shows that Lithuanian banks reject 32% of loan applications from small businesses, while the EU average is 7%. 

“We are fully aligned with SME Finance’s motto of empowering growth for small businesses seeking to invest in innovation, digitalisation, and sustainability,” said EIF Chief Executive Marjut Falkstedt. “These are key InvestEU priorities and in achieving them, we are pleased to support the agile online and alternative lenders helping to diversify sources of financing for SMEs in Lithuania and the Baltic region.” 

Lumera, a leading insurtech company dedicated to the digital transformation of the European life and pensions industry, has entered an agreement with Nordic life insurance and pension provider Nordea Liv to deliver a new solution for managing the company’s life and pension insurance portfolio in the Norwegian market. 

Working with Lumera, Nordea Liv Norway will establish a new cloud-based solution to enable more agile digital service development. Expected benefits include lower costs and reduced operational risk. 

“We are embarking on a comprehensive upgrade of our enterprise systems. As this is one of our largest investments to date, teaming up with an experienced provider with in-depth knowledge of Norwegian Life & Pensions was a critical requirement. We are very pleased to find that our needs are matched by Lumera’s proposal, and by their professionalism,” says Hans-Erik Lind, CEO, Nordea Liv.

During the implementation project, more than 700,000 insurance policies will be migrated from multiple policy management applications to the Lumera platform. Scheduled to be completed by 2028, the new systems foundation will enable Nordea Liv to scale their business and accommodate future services as well as regulatory requirements, while reinforcing the company’s competitive edge.

“We are proud to be selected by Nordea Liv to help facilitate their digital business development and future growth. Our assignment to provide the cloud-based solution they need to support growing volumes and future services confirms that Lumera is a preferred technology partner for Norwegian insurers,” says Mats Lillienberg, CEO, Lumera.

The Chairman of the Board for PayFix and Board Member of TÖDEB, Erkan Kork, recently shared his insights on the advancements in Turkey's fintech sector and the future of the fintech industry.

Erkan Kork, Chairman of the Board for PayFix, pointed out, "The main trends shaping the global fintech sector have been identified as; the rise of digital banks, personalized financial services through artificial intelligence and machine learning, increased mobile and cryptocurrency payments, regulatory compliance via "Regtech", the digital transformation of the insurance sector, creation of "Financial Health Platforms", the global growth of fintech firms, accessibility of fintech to individuals outside traditional financial services, and increased investments in security and privacy."

Additionally, Erkan Kork shifted focus to Turkey's place in the global fintech scene, emphasizing its progress toward becoming a regional fintech hub. He stated, "This progress is attributed to the interest of a young and tech-enthusiastic population in mobile banking and digital financial services, government regulations, investments from both local and foreign investors, a focus on fintech education, and Turkey's strategic location for regional financial transactions."

However, Erkan Kork noted that to become a global fintech centre, Turkey still faces some challenges. He outlined these challenges as "a need for inclusive and non-punitive regulations, increased investment in early-stage projects, overcoming the lack of expertise and workforce in the fintech domain, addressing the lack of necessary technological infrastructure, and simplifying the licensing and regulatory approval processes for new fintech startups."

Despite these challenges, Erkan Kork emphasized, "Turkey is on the brink of becoming a global fintech hub. With the right support, these deficiencies can be overcome, and with the correct strategies, these weaknesses can be turned into opportunities." He further expressed his confidence in the potential of the Turkish fintech sector, stressing that "with its young population and the right support and strategies, Turkey can establish itself as a fintech hub."

Promoting its "next-generation payment" slogan, PayFix stands as one of the pioneering institutions contributing to Turkey's journey to becoming a global fintech base. With over 2 million users, it serves as the digital wallet for millions, continuously supporting Turkey's digital transformation.

Highlighting his investments in the fintech sector, Erkan Kork finally remarked, "The growth of this sector will be of vital significance for the Turkish economy."

Mambu, the leading cloud banking platform, has appointed Fernando Zandona as Chief Executive Officer (CEO). 

After serving as interim CEO since June - having previously held the role of Chief Product and Technology Officer at Mambu - Fernando will now spearhead the business as it enters its next phase of growth.

Fernando is a proven technology and product leader with more than 20 years’ experience in various organisations, including Microsoft and Amazon. Before joining Mambu in 2022, he was General Manager of AWS Fargate and Amazon Linux where he was responsible for the success of the company’s product strategy and roadmap. 

Fritz Oidtmann, Chairman of the Mambu Board, said: "During his time as interim CEO, Fernando has demonstrated deep industry and technical expertise, combined with a natural aptitude for leadership. His in-depth understanding of cloud technology, experience working in customer-centric businesses, and track record of developing high-performance teams focused on innovation are a natural fit with Mambu. We’re confident he’s the right person to take the business forward on a permanent basis, as we continue to transform the banking industry and help our customers to deliver delightful financial experiences.”

As permanent CEO, Fernando will be based at Mambu’s head office in Amsterdam and will continue to collaborate closely with Mambu customers and the company’s global team to drive forward his vision for the business.

Commenting on his appointment, Zandona said: “I’m truly honoured to take on the role of CEO. At Mambu, we’re shaping the future of financial technology and having a lasting impact on the industry. I’m excited to lead the company through this next phase of growth, leveraging our team's expertise and commitment to innovation to deliver real benefits for customers."

Mambu is the leading provider of SaaS cloud banking technology globally. With more than 280 customers, and over 120M end users worldwide, the company remains committed to developing its product offering as it powers the creation of new banks, lenders, and fintechs, and supports existing financial businesses to migrate onto more modern tech stacks.  

iDenfy, a fraud prevention startup specializing in identity verification and compliance solutions, announced a new partnership with Florida-based Beyond the Pines Productions, a full-service video production company offering video consulting and equipment rental services. iDenfy's comprehensive ID verification solution will be used for customer onboarding, as it has been seamlessly integrated into the automated rental checkout process.

Implementing an in-person Know Your Customer (KYC) process involves expenses related to physical infrastructure, staff, and administrative tasks. According to iDenfy, calculating the cost of KYC is a complex task involving various factors, such as accounting for the hours spent on manual processes, expenses related to hiring staff, and the cost of compliance tools. For example, Glassdoor data shows that the average annual salary for a compliance specialist is approximately $61,773 per year.

iDenfy suggests solving this challenge by using a remote process, and the company can significantly reduce these operational costs. According to the KYC startup, advanced digital verification technologies use AI and machine learning algorithms to verify the authenticity of documents and detect fraudulent activities in real-time. This leads to minimized manual workloads, time to verify customers, as well as higher accuracy and security compared to manual in-person checks.

However, since the identity verification software market has become more significant than ever, KYC costs aren’t the only challenge companies face. In its search for an ID verification service provider, Beyond the Pines Productions had a specific objective: to develop a remote onboarding process for its equipment rental customers starting from scratch. This goal required finding a solution that wouldn’t make customers abandon the platform while ensuring both security and a frictionless experience. 

Through its collaboration with iDenfy, Beyond the Pines Productions transitioned to a comprehensive remote client verification process. This process now applies to individuals seeking to rent the West Palm Beach studio or engage the company's team for upcoming virtual or corporate projects. As claimed by the company, they opted for iDenfy due to the KYC solution’s ability to simplify our rental process, particularly with the Magic Link feature. According to Beyond the Pines Productions, this tool facilitates a simple and straightforward identification process, aligning perfectly with the company’s needs.

In the context of user experience, a magic link is a URL that instantly verifies a user's identity upon clicking, eliminating the necessity for extra information, passwords, or additional identification steps. iDenfy claims this feature simplifies the integration process because it doesn’t require additional programming. Consequently, instead of generating a distinct link for each customer, Beyond the Pines Productions will send a universal verification link to all its clients. Upon clicking this link, users will be directed to the verification page and proceed with simple verification steps: uploading a government-issued ID photo and a live selfie. 

iDenfy’s KYC software validates a user's physical presence, ensuring that only actual faces – not static photos – are approved during the onboarding process. This mechanism provides Beyond the Pines Productions with confidence that fraudulent attempts to bypass verification will be declined. Collaborating with iDenfy has facilitated a smooth ID verification process, reducing obstacles for Beyond the Pines Productions and allowing quicker customer onboarding. According to the video equipment rental platform, the newly integrated verification solutions align with the expectations of its users, who want a swift process. 

“We wanted the customer onboarding process to be as frictionless as possible, avoiding manual, time-consuming measures. With iDenfy, we’ve automated the KYC process and enhanced our internal email system, where all rentals are easily processed online,” said Dominic Anaya, the CEO of Beyond the Pines Productions. 

Domantas Ciulde, the CEO of iDenfy, added: “We’re glad to assist Beyond  the Pines Productions in speeding up the customer onboarding process and enabling users to complete the verification process safely and timely.”

Translucent, the accounting platform solving the financial management problems of multi-entity and multi-national businesses, has raised a £5M seed round co-led by Chalfen Ventures and LocalGlobe. This follows a £2.7M pre-seed round less than six months ago, bringing its total investment to £7.7M. 

This accelerated fundraising reflects the significant demand Translucent is experiencing for its multi-entity accounting and financial management platform. 

Translucent was founded in London by CEO Michael Wood, who co-founded Dext (formerly Receipt Bank), which was acquired by leading software investor Hg in 2021 for several hundred million GBP, one of the UK’s largest SaaS exits. Dext is used by over 10,000 accounting firms worldwide, with over 1 million users.

Translucent is backed by prominent angel investors, including Co-founder and former CTO of Xero Craig Walker, and Co-founder and former Managing Director of Xero UK, Gary Turner, as well as founders from fintech and accounting-tech leaders, such as GoCardless, Jeeves, Karbon, Libeo, ComplyAdvantage, Ignition, Hubdoc and KashFlow. 

The Translucent platform allows multi-entity businesses to unify their financial data and workflows for the first time, by providing a suite of apps on top of existing accounting software such as Xero, QuickBooks and Sage. The first app, 'Search', is available today, the second app 'Group Reporting' is now in Beta, and the third app 'Live Sheets' will soon be available to testers. The funding will be used to develop further apps including 'Intercompany Transactions', 'BI & Analytics' and 'Financial Close'.

Truly Multi-Entity Accounting in a ‘Default Global’ World

The impact of globalisation and COVID-19 has dramatically accelerated the trend of companies becoming multinational or multi-entity earlier than ever before, as outlined by Andreessen Horowitz’s ‘Default Global’ thesis. However, SMB accounting systems are designed to hold the data of a single company in a single location, so this trend has forced finance teams to stitch together a patchwork of SMB accounting software which creates numerous problems including fragmented, siloed, and messy data.

Translucent enables businesses to continue to use the SMB solutions they currently use but unifies their financial data into a single location where it can be seen, used and edited. Translucent is being used by businesses around the world, from software companies to restaurant groups to property developers. 

A Single Financial System of Record

Translucent integrates with existing accounting solutions, stores all the data in a single location and harmonises the data to provide clients with a single financial system of record. It then provides a suite of apps to make use of the data; Apps include Group Reporting, Intercompany Transactions and Financial Close. Translucent will use the additional funding to build out its platform and suite of apps. 

Michael Wood, Founder and CEO of Translucent, comments: “Since announcing Translucent in March we have been delighted by the volume of interest we have received. This fundraising allows us to further build out our platform and solve the accounting and finance problems faced by multi-entity businesses.”   

Mike Chalfen at Chalfen Ventures comments: “Translucent’s insight is that unified accounting data can be the basis of financial and operational insight for every multi-entity business. Michael is the best entrepreneur in the world to build a business based on this insight. And the opportunity to create a compound startup that drives insight for multi-entity businesses is huge; so joining the Translucent family fits perfectly into my mission of backing software startups whose technology will fundamentally alter the way companies operate.”

Remus Brett at LocalGlobe VC comments: “The demand from multinationals for Translucent is as significant as it is unsurprising. Michael and his team have built a platform that is solving a very real problem for an ever-growing number of businesses around the world, and we’re delighted to be backing him again.”