Today, investment platform Lightyear announces the launch of small business investment accounts for freelancers and sole directors in the UK. This launch comes alongside a brand new partnership with BlackRock to bring access to Money Market Funds for UK businesses without the high fees or minimum investments.

New business accounts mean freelancers can invest and earn interest on company money

In 2022, the Federation of Small Businesses estimated that the UK was home to 5.5M private sector businesses; 4.1M of which had no employees.1 This is the target market that is woefully underserved by financial institutions. Business accounts with high street banks are hard to get and pay out little-to-no interest. Freelancers and sole director businesses in particular rarely get access to these, and often must go through a long, arduous process to access the stock market. New options appeared in recent years from the fintech sector, but they often still don't allow sole directors to open business accounts, and most don’t pay out interest on uninvested cash. 

With another interest rate hike on the horizon, Lightyear’s launch of business accounts helps freelancers and sole director companies make the most of their company funds, ensuring that excess corporate cash isn’t eaten up by inflation while sitting in bank current accounts. 

Whilst sole directors are the largest and most underserved segment of the market, access to investment accounts isn’t just an isolated problem for them; the broader business investment account market in the UK is in need of a shake-up. Lightyear is looking to open up its business offering to all types of SMEs and larger startups over the coming months.

Lightyear partners with BlackRock to make Money Market Funds available to investors

For UK businesses, Money Market Funds are traditionally hard to access, with options in the market reserved for large corporates who can buy in with a £1 million minimum investment.2 These funds are normally accessed via business investment accounts that you can only open once you’re a business of a certain size. MMFs track the real interest rate, a privilege usually reserved for larger companies. 

Lightyear’s partnership with BlackRock, the world’s largest investment company (by assets under management), will give business and retail investors access to MMFs without the traditional £1m minimum investment criteria. In addition to giving 4.5% interest on uninvested GBP, the platform now has a strong product for UK investors to make the most of global high-interest rates with both cash and investments. BlackRock’s GBP money market fund currently returns 5.14% p.a (gross yield, subject to daily fluctuations and gross of fees). 

Martin Sokk, Co-founder and CEO at Lightyear, says: “The retail investment market has come a long way in the last ten years or so. Don’t get me wrong – it still has problems (which Lightyear is trying to solve) but the business market is miles behind. In fact, for the UK’s ‘solopreneurs’, it basically doesn’t exist. So, I’m particularly excited about today’s launch of our business investment accounts and MMFs; we’re helping businesses actually benefit from the increasing interest rates – something which they just can’t do with banks. We’re first focusing on the largest, but most underserved part of the market – sole owner businesses – then we’ll open this out to multi-user and larger businesses in the next few months. So watch this space!”

Taavet Hinrikus, Co-Founder of Wise and startup investor adds: “Businesses in the UK need to make sure their cash is not draining its value against inflation, but they currently don’t have enough options to do this. With today’s high interest rate climate, Lightyear’s launch of both business investment accounts and MMFs is a timely step towards helping entrepreneurs put their cash to work. Their new business accounts enable freelancers to earn interest and invest their otherwise stagnant cash, and their BlackRock MMFs partnership introduces these entrepreneurs to a whole new area of investing, previously reserved for larger corporates. With millions of businesses in the UK who can benefit from these launches, it’s a very exciting move for the sector.”

Starting this Monday, Bitso —the leading financial services company powered by crypto in Latin America— has integrated the Tron network for USDT (Tether) transactions, which will enable faster operations and at a lower cost to Bitso clients in all the countries where it operates.

Currently, Latin America is the seventh largest cryptocurrency market, with a growth of 40% compared to the previous year, according to Chainalysis, where cryptocurrencies have adapted to the needs of each country: as a form of investment, conservation of savings against inflation and for sending funds. The possibility of receiving USDT offers opportunities both for those who work remotely and for those who need to carry out transactions between territories, so this integration will expand the possibilities to do so with lower fees.

By selecting the Tron network, individual and institutional clients of Bitso will be able to make deposits and withdrawals more efficiently, which will offer an additional solution to move business or personal funds, as well as the possibility of protecting their assets from inflationary changes or unstable economic contexts. 

Until now, operations on Bitso with USDT, the stablecoin linked to the dollar, could only be carried out through the Ethereum network. Also, the recent addition of the USDC/USDT pair to Bitso has enabled digital dollar trading to be straightforward, simple and hassle-free, enhancing the trading experience.

Now, the integration with the Tron network adds to the company's efforts to meet the needs of the crypto community in Latin America, as well as for institutional clients, who will be able to carry out operations with cryptocurrencies between territories in real-time and at more profitable rates.

“The Tron network is known for its speed and efficiency and thanks to this integration, USDT transactions will be confirmed in seconds, allowing our clients to take full advantage of market opportunities with significantly lower transaction fees. This project is aligned with our mission to make crypto useful by promoting use cases that solve the real needs of people in the countries where we operate” commented Andrés Salcedo, Head of Crypto at Bitso.

Since its founding in 2017, the Tron network has entered the world of cryptocurrencies, promoting more agile transactions with stablecoins around the world and with minimal cost, compared to networks like Ethereum.

The stablecoin market capitalization is currently dominated by the Ethereum network with 59.9%, followed by the Tron network with 27%, according to CoinGecko's 2023 Stablecoin Report, so this integration will diversify the market. way to transact with dollar-denominated cryptocurrencies in the region.

Corserv, a company that empowers banks and fintechs with payment programs, has implemented a unique credit card program with Greenwich, CT-based Fieldpoint Private, to improve their clients’ banking and wealth management experience.

Fieldpoint Private provides services from private banking to wealth and trust advisory that are catered to successful individuals, families, entrepreneurs, businesses and institutions. With Corserv’s Account Issuer program, Fieldpoint Private will offer wealth management credit cards with high rewards and features like concierge service and access to airline lounges. Fieldpoint Private will also offer commercial cards to their business clients with modern features including self-issuance of additional cards, extensive spend controls, virtual cards, expense reporting, and cash-back rebates. 

“Our clients come first, and with the integration of Corserv’s program we will be able to offer an improved and personalized credit card experience for our clients,” said Russ Holland, President and CEO of Fieldpoint Private. “The program was engineered to transform the complexities of life and business into the simplicities of reward and the clarity of customized expense management.”

Fieldpoint Private will provide personalized service to clients through their Private Bankers, but will also leverage card support services from Corserv including a 24x7 call centre, and handling of disputes, chargebacks, payments, fraud prevention and investigation. Fieldpoint Private’s staff will access Corserv’s administrative portal to manage credit decisions, access reporting and assist customers.

“We are thrilled to partner with a unique financial institution like Fieldpoint Private, to provide the right wealth management and commercial card products to meet the needs of their successful clients,” said Anil Goyal, CEO at Corserv.

Finastra, a FinTech enterprise owned by Vista Equity Partners, has successfully secured a groundbreaking private loan package.

This colossal amount of $5.3bn is being provided by renowned private lenders, notably Oak Hill Advisors, Blue Owl Capital, and HPS Investment Partners, as detailed in a recent Bloomberg report.

Delving into Finastra’s operations, the firm stands out as a leader in financial technology, harnessing innovative solutions to shape the future of finance. Their services span across multiple financial domains, aiming to create a seamless and integrated experience for users.

The intention behind this impressive capital injection is to refinance Finastra’s existing debt. This is in contrast to many similar large deals, which typically aim at financing buyouts. This strategic move by Finastra distinguishes its $5.3bn loan from the likes of the prior $5bn record held by Zendesk and other notable deals like the unused $5.5bn package for Cotiviti and the $3.4bn venture by Galway Insurance.

Additional specifics from the report by KBRA DLD shed light on the loan’s constitution. It is comprised of a hefty $4.8bn unitranche, an amalgamation of senior and subordinated debt, supplemented by a $500m revolver facility. Notably, this arrangement marks the largest private credit loan in the history of the US.

Highlighting Finastra’s financial journey, the company had previously amassed debt in both the US and European leveraged loan sectors, which it now seeks to refinance with this new loan.

Nium, the leader in real-time global payments, and OZ Câmbio, today announced a new strategic partnership during the first day of the EVOLVE conference in São Paulo, Brazil. OZ Câmbio (OZ) will use Nium’s global payout infrastructure to help Brazilian businesses move money seamlessly from Brazil to major markets, such as China, Hong Kong, the U.S., the U.K., and beyond. 

For more than 20 years, OZ Câmbio (OZ) has established itself as a leader in the highly regulated Brazilian foreign exchange market. Its services include an international B2B trade platform, mass payments and settlement, and FXasS (foreign exchange as a service). 

“The first product we’re integrating and building new business with alongside Nium is our new white-label platform for SMEs,” said Rodrigo Xavier, CEO of OZ Câmbio. “We chose Nium for its advanced technology and broad payouts reach in 190+ countries around the world –  including some of the most mature economies such as China, Hong Kong, the U.S. and the U.K. That, combined with the real-time speed of their payments at considerably lower transaction costs compared to older global payment rails like Swift, makes Nium our ideal strategic partner to handle payouts abroad from Brazil to the rest of the world.”  

“With our combined forces, Nium and OZ are disrupting global money-exchange rails for the better,” said Christina Hutchinson, VP Business Development, LatAm region for Nium who previously served as the regional director and in-country manager for SWIFT in Brazil for a decade. “Not only do we accelerate the rate of transfers - from two to three business days to just two hours or less – we are providing transformational levels of transparency, traceability, and automated compliance.”   

In Brazil, LatAm’s largest economy, traditional banks and financial institutions do not cater to SMEs (small to medium-sized enterprises) - which is one reason for why the region has established such a reputation for fintech innovation during the last decade. Fintech innovators such as Nium and OZ have greatly sped up global payments so they take just minutes, instead of days, or even more than a week in some instances. They have automated compliance, added transparency, and substantially reduced transaction costs. 

“Nium and OZ will serve SME customers desperately in need of payment solutions that are fast, safe, affordable, and compliant for each region,” said Volker Steinle, SVP and General Manager, Americas Region for Nium. “Nium provides much more than payments. We’re a trusted partner. Our growing roster of customers and partners in Latin America look to Nium to drive their cross-border payments growth. We’re one of the world’s leading money movers with a distinct  combination of global reach and in-market expertise, including regional best practices and how to meet compliance guidelines most effectively.” 

“The new frontier of Brazil’s fintech revolution is about winning business customers, not individuals,” according to The Brazilian Report last month. Brazil now has more than 21 million small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and they’re the “main target of digital banks and lending fintechs today, as they remain underserved by large banks – even more so at the moment of high-interest rates and creeping default rates,” per the analysis. 

Based on the latest data from the Central Bank of Brazil, the number of legal entities with a bank account rose by nearly 35 percent from 11.4 million to 17.5 million between 2018 and 2022 - the largest jump on record since 2005. That growth rate is close to double the increase in the number of individuals with bank accounts which advanced 18.9 percent in the same period. 

OZ recently launched its SME Cross Border Platform offering, proving ideal for processing international transactions for SMEs. It’s an ideal FX solution for import/export operations, developers/ IT professionals who work for foreign contractors, and companies with extensive international payrolls. It can settle payments made with Brazil’s popular Pix, TED, credit/debit cards, or boleto. The platform is a white-label solution that can be offered to other business partners such as Autonomous Investment Agents (AIA), fintechs and financial institutions. This new product will be expanded with further geographic reach through this partnership. 

“Through our new partnership, Nium provides our customers with a new payments rail that knocks out a lot of the time, complexity, and cost of conducting global business,” said OZ CEO Rodrigo Xavier. “One of our larger business sectors today, Brazilian importers doing business with exporters from Asian giants such as China and Hong Kong, will now be able to transact business almost instantly and much more affordably. For example, our combined customers will pay as little as 30 percent of what it costs for an international transaction using SWIFT, and the payout recipients will receive it within minutes vs. days.”  

Provenir, a global leader in AI-powered risk decisioning software, today announced that it has been named a finalist in the “Fintech of the Year” and “Data Initiative of the Year” categories for the US Fintech Awards 2023.

This marks the second year back-to-back that Provenir has been named finalist in both categories for the US Fintech Awards. The US Fintech Awards is a key benchmark by which financial services modernization and technological progress in the world’s premier financial services centre are judged. The awards program is organized by FinTech Intel, the global market intelligence platform for financial services technology.

“Provenir is honored to be named a two-time finalist for both ‘Fintech of the Year’ and ‘Data Initiative of the Year,’ for the US Fintech Awards which honors the most innovative fintech companies and individuals in the United States of America,” said Kathy Stares, Executive Vice President for North America, Provenir. “In today’s fintech market, there exists tons of data – often residing in siloed environments – making it difficult to access and costly to integrate into credit decisioning. Provenir brings together the power of decisioning, data and AI to drive instant decisions, foster financial inclusion, reduce risk and prevent fraud.”

A key tenet of the Provenir AI-Powered Risk Decisioning Platform is Provenir Data. Provenir Data is a global data and intelligence platform that makes accessing data fast and easy. Through a single API, it brings together a curated range of data and data solutions known as the Provenir Marketplace.

The Provenir Marketplace, which includes more than 100 data partners, is a comprehensive fintech data and intelligence ecosystem covering the whole customer lifecycle with data types such as identification, AML, document verification, open banking, PEPs/sanctions, bureau data, mobile data, email data, device verification, facial biometrics, and social media validation.

Winners of the US Fintech Awards 2023 will be unveiled during the Nov. 2 awards ceremony at The Edison Ballroom in New York City.

EBANX, the technology company specializing in payment solutions for rising economies, announces the appointment of two Vice Presidents to lead its technology and governance initiatives. The announcements represent yet another important step by EBANX on the path of increasingly strengthening technology and governance at the core of its global solutions, in line with its mission of connecting the largest brands in the world to rising markets such as Latin America and Africa. 

With seven years at the company, Kalecser Kurtz takes over the position of VP of Product and Engineering at EBANX. Since May 2021, Kurtz held the position of VP of Software Engineering at the company, leading the teams that develop the EBANX global platform, which allows payin, payout, global settlement, integrations with more than 100 payment methods in 18 countries, serving more than 1,600 merchants across verticals such as SaaS, streaming, digital gaming, online retail, and travel. In his new role, Kurtz will combine his expertise with building up products, bringing the basis of development closer to the creation and testing of new solutions. 

"We have a mission in the areas of Product, Business Intelligence, Engineering and Data at EBANX, of making technology present at the basis of our solutions to a greater extent. The goal is to empower our merchants with technological tools to increase their performance and scale their businesses in the world's fastest-growing digital markets, so they can focus on their fields while we take care of payments with excellence," said Kurtz. "EBANX already has a powerful legacy of product development, and my role will be to continue to offer solutions that are increasingly consistent and customer-centric," he added. 

Another important appointment is that of Valério Zarro, who takes on the position of VP of Governance, Risk and Compliance at EBANX. He has more than 20 years of experience in these areas, in the top leadership of large companies across financial, payments and delivery sectors. Zarro comes from the position of Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Chief Risk Officer (CRO) at MovilePay, as well as Financial Director of iFood's Fintech business unit. Previously, he was Executive Director of Finance and Risk at PicPay, and before that, CRO at Alelo Brasil. His professional career also includes more than three years as CRO at Banco Digio and EloPar, in addition to a history of more than

35 years at Banco do Brasil. Zarro's arrival reinforces EBANX's commitment to strengthening its internal governance and guaranteeing solid and efficient processes. 

“EBANX is an ecosystem composed, in essence, by the merchant, the payment and financial players, and the merchant's customer. There is a vast complexity in this ecosystem, in addition to all the regulations specific to each country in which we operate. It is a great challenge to align governance, risk and compliance in such a diverse environment and, certainly, this is one of the reasons that motivated me to join the EBANX global team. I arrive here in a structure that has already been doing brilliant work, and my role will be to further strengthen this foundation, unifying these areas that are so relevant and strategic for the existence and sustainability of the business,” said Zarro. 

The appointments of Kalecser Kurtz and Valério Zarro follow the arrival of Fabio Scopeta as Chief Product Technology Officer (CPTO) earlier this year coming from Microsoft, where he was General Manager of Digital Innovation. They also happen in line with João Del Valle, co-founder of EBANX, taking over as CEO in 2021, after more than three years as Chief Operations Officer (COO), preceded by almost seven as Chief Technology Officer (CTO). 

“Having professionals who are references in their fields is very important in this continuous journey of EBANX's international expansion into important markets. Kalecser and Valério will further strengthen what was already being built by the entire EBANX team, always focusing on creating access through technology and the best financial solutions, to connect our merchants to the largest digital markets in the world,” said Daniele Fonseca, Chief People Officer (CPO) of EBANX. 

Recent survey data reveals challenger banks show a concerning lack of commitment when it comes to screening new customers against sanctions or politically exposed persons (PEP) lists. Only a quarter (24 per cent) say they always verify new customers, while more than half (54 per cent) also freely admit to performing such checks only “on occasions”.

The comprehensive survey conducted by digital compliance firm, SmartSearch, sheds light on various aspects of compliance practices within high-street and challenger banks, crypto platforms, property developers and gambling firms.

After a year of Russian sanctions, the survey indicates that firms are failing to take their onboarding procedures seriously. In fact, just over a third of challenger banks (36 per cent) have made changes to their compliance procedures since sanctions. But incumbent banks display a little more urgency with 6 in 10 (60 per cent) of high street banks taking additional measures. 

Challenger banks run the risk of facing substantial fines and significant reputational damage associated with Anti-Money Laundering (AML) breaches.

An FCA review last year raised concerns over the weaknesses in customer due diligence (CDD) declaring that most challenger banks did not obtain details about customer income and occupation. The FCA concluded that this resulted in an incomplete assessment of the purpose and intended nature of a customer’s relationship with the bank.

Commenting on the survey data, Martin Cheek, managing director of SmartSearch, said: "The figures reveal a larger problem with challenger banks and their unwise complacency towards compliance.

“These firms face the arduous task of keeping up with ever-changing compliance requirements, but simply screening new customers 'on occasions' is not enough."

Mr Cheek further emphasised the rise of PEPs in mainstream media, first through the sanctions related to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and later Nigel Farage’s crusade against Coutts. It highlights that not all PEPs are necessarily on sanctions lists or associated with criminal networks, leaving firms with the need to make an informed decision. As PEPs require personal banking services and the freedom to engage in property transactions, firms must exercise caution when dealing with them.

Outlining the complexities of identifying PEPs, Mr Cheek explained: "The truth about PEPs is that they are not all easily recognisable; many of them are faceless names on a bank account. As a result, banks need the ability to not only flag PEPs but also make informed decisions on who they choose to do business with." 

To mitigate the risks of compliance breaches, firms are urged to adopt robust digital compliance solutions that can efficiently flag PEPs and provide the necessary data to make informed decisions. By implementing these solutions, banks can effectively minimise compliance risks and enhance their due diligence processes, aligning with the recommendations outlined in the 2020 Money Laundering and Terrorist Finance Act.

SmartSearch has recently launched its next-generation platform which includes a seamless new interface as well as a host of features and a level of configurability never before available. Its digital compliance solution supports more than 6,000 clients and 55,000 users across the world, helping them deploy millions of complex identity checks in seconds.

The survey is the third in SmartSearch’s continuing Electronic Verification Uncovered campaign, which aims to make regulated firms aware of the dangers of relying on flawed, old-fashioned methods of identity verification. The campaign argues that regulated businesses should use digital compliance to ensure they properly identify and screen clients - as recommended by the Government in the 2020 Money Laundering and Terrorist Finance Act - to stem the flow of dirty money into the UK and protect firms from the fines and reputational damage which come with breaches.

The research was conducted by Censuswide with 500 compliance decision-makers, aged 18+, who are in crypto (exchanges, OTC traders), gaming (casinos, online betting platforms, high-street betting shops), property development and banks (including challenger banks) between May 26 and July 2, 2023. Censuswide abides by and employs members of the Market Research Society, which is based on the ESOMAR principles, and are members of The British Polling Council.

True Digital Group, provider of the industry’s first digital vendor optimization network that supports financial institutions in their discovery,  implementation, and monitoring of technology vendors, today announced a strategic partnership with Ncontracts, the leading provider of integrated vendor, compliance, and risk management solutions to the financial industry. The partnership will provide banks and credit unions with a more robust and comprehensive vendor management and optimization solution.

Through this partnership, True Digital and Ncontracts will collaborate closely on their complementary solutions to enhance the structure and organization of vendor information, benefiting their financial institutions. Banks and credit unions that use Ncontracts will be able to share their data with True Digital in a more seamless fashion, eliminating the need for financial institutions to manually enter vendor or product information. They will also be able to have their existing records cleaned and have their vendor information maintained and updated on a go-forward basis.

Michael Berman, CEO of Ncontracts, said, “Our collaboration with True Digital empowers financial institutions, giving them the ability to easily identify and select the most viable vendors as well as connect with peer institutions. Our Nvendor solution complements the True Digital platform with efficient vendor risk management software, services, and automation that supports every step of the vendor management life cycle to reduce third-party risk. By automating these tasks, banks and credit unions increase efficiencies while uncovering opportunities to reduce internal and external vendor costs.”

By forming this collaboration with Ncontracts, True Digital can offer a turnkey integration onboarding process for their bank and credit union customers. Further, the alliance creates a more comprehensive ecosystem for vendor management and optimization.

“Ncontracts shares our vision to help banks and credit unions leverage technology more effectively,” said True Digital Group Co-founder and CEO, Patrick Sells. “We are committed to making it easier for institutions to discover and partner with the right technology vendors. By combining our strengths, we can now provide a more comprehensive solution.”