Cequence Security, the leading provider of Unified API Protection (UAP), today shared details of its growth during the second half of FY23. Cequence’s unique approach to uncovering and preventing API threats that can lead to fraud, business logic attacks and data loss has resulted in the company protecting $9 trillion in assets among Fortune/Global 500 companies and more than two billion user accounts worldwide. In addition, 24% of the Fortune 500 are customers of Cequence.

Cequence achieved several major milestones in the second half of FY23, including a 555% growth in customer expansion, 230% growth in annual recurring revenue (ARR), 300% growth in new customer logo acquisition and an expanded footprint into new countries and verticals.

The company secured investments from Hewlett Packard Pathfinder and Prosperity7 Ventures to accelerate product innovation, keep up with increasing demand and expand the secure connectivity needed to mitigate business interruptions and bring peace of mind to enterprises. Most recently, Cequence secured two additional investments from Sanabil Investments, to further the company's expansion into the Middle East and The Cash Catalyst to further help CISOs, CIOs and other executives struggling with discovering and protecting their APIs.

“We are extremely pleased with the rapid adoption of our Unified API Protection platform by some of the largest organisations in the world,” said Ameya Talwalkar, founder and CEO of Cequence. “Our ability to increase valuation, raise funds and drive extensive growth across our customer base and ARR in this tough macroeconomic market is a testament to our comprehensive product offering and proven ability to land and expand at some of the largest enterprises in the world.”

“Cequence has rapidly emerged as a key and influential player in the API security market. Most recently, we were recognised as a best-in-class vendor in the recent API Security Evaluation report, earning one of the highest product scores in the history of Datos Insights evaluation reports,” continued Talwalkar.

Throughout the second half of FY23, the company also successfully implemented a strategic product update, expanded into new geographic markets and garnered prestigious awards and certifications, including:

·       Enhancements to the Unified API Protection platform: With the latest Unified API Protection (UAP) platform updates, organisations can now protect their users from online fraud, operationalise security findings with low-code/no-code API SOAR-like workflows and rapidly deploy API Security Testing with built-in Generative AI automation. These capabilities continue to set Cequence apart from other point API security, bot management, anti-fraud and WAF vendors by having the industry’s first and only Unified API Protection platform that covers the entire API lifecycle. With UAP, customers can discover with API Spyder, comply with API Sentinel and protect with API Spartan.

·       Increased Protection and Intelligence from the CQ Prime Threat Research Team: In the second half of 2023, the team saw traffic increase more than 3X year-over-year, mitigated more than 38 billion malicious API transactions, protected 50% more users and topped out with protecting 30 million unique user accounts in March. The industry-leading intel database grew 23%, with intelligence on more than 75 million malicious attacker IP addresses and more than 600,000 being ingested every day.

·       Geographic Expansion: Cequence announced the appointment of Glen Maloney as ANZ Country Lead to accelerate the company’s expansion in Australia and New Zealand. Cequence also opened a new office in India and appointed Robin Panwala as its first functional leader and head of India.

·       Industry Accolades: Cequence’s Unified API Protection solution was named the gold winner for “API Management,” “Full Life Cycle API Management” and “IT Solutions for Retail” categories in the 2023 Globee® Awards for Information Technology.

·       Industry Recognition: Cequence was recognised as a “best-in-class” solution in the Datos   Insights Vendor Evaluation: API Security Solutions report, earning one of the highest product scores in the history of Datos Insights vendor evaluation reports.

·       Increased Customer Growth and User Adoption: New customers included the biggest supermarket chain in Australia, the largest Telecom company in the Nordic and Baltic region, one of the largest airline companies and most valuable brands in Europe and one of the largest global providers of cloud-based human capital management (HCM) solutions.

·       Certifications: Cequence announced it achieved ISO 27001 certification for the information security management system in support of its Software-as-a-Service (SaaS). This certification gives clients peace of mind that Cequence’s policies, processes and standards fulfill the stringent security and compliance criteria for protecting customer data.

·       Advisors: Cequence added Dr. James I. Cash to its strategic advisory board.

Supporting Quotes

“With the increasing adoption of APIs, cloud computing, mobile applications and IoT devices, the attack surface has dramatically grown, and APIs have become the number one attack surface,” said Dr. James I. Cash, founder and CEO, The Cash Catalyst, LLC and retired board member from numerous Fortune 50 companies. “This makes API security solutions indispensable. Cequence is uniquely addressing this problem and proving their ability to protect some of the largest organisations in the world. We look forward to supporting the Cequence team and helping as they continue to scale the business.”

“APIs are a huge attack surface that unfortunately are being more frequently exploited by attackers,” said Deepak Jeevankumar, Managing Director, Dell Technologies Capital. “It’s therefore imperative that CIOs and CISOs have an API security strategy. As an early investor in Cequence, we are very pleased by continued growth even during this tough macroeconomic market. From the beginning, Cequence took a unique approach to the API security problem and went beyond just testing and detecting to prevent an attack. They also have proven their ability to protect some of the largest organisations in the world. With the Unified API Protection platform combined with the unique expertise of the CQ Prime Threat Research team, Cequence is providing the only solution on the market that covers the full API security lifecycle.”

With the resumption of travel, international business, and major sports events in China, Mastercard announced today that its cardholders can link their cards to WeChat Pay, or as it’s locally called, Weixin Pay, a mobile payment service within the Weixin app, as a new payments option that further improves the digital payment experience of international travellers when visiting the country.

Expanding on a partnership established in 2019 to offer enhanced digital payment solutions to both consumers and merchants, the latest development gives Mastercard full access to Weixin Pay’s merchant network in China and provides another safe and convenient way for international travellers to pay like a local when travelling around the Chinese Mainland.

The extended merchant network includes categories such as dining, transportation, shopping, accommodation, and more. International travellers with Mastercard cards can now utilize multiple payment methods through Weixin app, such as scanning QR codes, presenting payment codes, Mini Programs, and in-app payments, enriching their payment experience online and offline.

For merchants, especially small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), the Weixin Pay-Mastercard tie-up gives them more opportunities to transact with international travellers who now have access to one of the most widely accepted payment methods in China, allowing them to get around easily, without hassle.

According to the latest Mastercard data insights, consumer spending has shown resilience with a continued focus on experiences and travel. During the 2nd Quarter of 2023, cross-border travel was robust, reaching 154% of 2019 levels, up 6% from the previous quarter. Moreover, China’s improvement in inbound cross-border travel reached approximately 50% of the levels seen in 2019. As China anticipates major international sporting events, such as the Asian Games, the country embraces the prospect of welcoming more international travellers.

VNX, a Liechtenstein-based company registered by the Liechtenstein Financial Market  Authority (FMA), has partnered with Burrito Wallet, developed by a subsidiary of Bithumb,  a leading Korean crypto exchange, to introduce South Korean users to the digital assets VNX  Gold, VNX Euro, and VNX Swiss Franc, opening up exciting new opportunities within the crypto space. Notably, this integration will not only enable Burrito Wallet users to trade VNX  tokens but also grant them access to the transformative Web 3.0 world of opportunities. 

Now, Burrito Wallet users can unlock more opportunities for diversification with VNX Gold,  VNX Euro, and VNX Swiss Franc. These tokens offer a unique gateway into the world of tokenized traditional assets in Europe, promising users unparalleled stability, security, and seamless transaction experiences. Backed by real-world assets, VNX tokens combine the benefits of traditional assets with the efficiency and transparency of blockchain technology.  As Burrito Wallet users buy VNX tokens, they gain the flexibility to effortlessly convert them to traditional fiat currencies or even physical gold, utilizing the capabilities of the VNX  platform. 

VNX Gold (VNXAU) is a multichain token that offers investors direct ownership of the  LBMA-certified physical gold stored in high-security vaults in Liechtenstein, a country with a stable economy and an S&P AAA rating. Each VNXAU token represents one gram of physical gold, making it a convenient option for those looking to participate in the gold market. In its turn, VNX Euro (VEUR) and VNX Swiss Franc (VCHF) are multichain tokens referencing respective currencies and opening various opportunities in the crypto space with traditional currencies. Thanks to its multichain capabilities, Burrito Wallet users have access  to tokens on several blockchains, expanding their choices for engaging with the crypto market. Furthermore, the platform allows users to seamlessly switch the token chain within the VNX platform, granting them enhanced flexibility and convenience in managing their assets. 

“We are delighted to announce our collaboration with Burrito Wallet, which further strengthens our global reach and facilitates enhanced accessibility of VNX Gold, VNX Euro,  and VNX Swiss Franc for users in South Korea" said Alexander Tkachenko, CEO and  Founder of VNX. 

VNX token’s generation and all services related to tokens are carried out by a company registered with the Liechtenstein Financial Market Authority. By adhering to stringent standards, VNX guarantees a secure and trustworthy environment for its users. The reserves supporting the tokens undergo regular audits and are openly accessible on the company's website, bolstering stability and providing investors with a sense of confidence and assurance. 

“The introduction of VNX Gold, VNX Euro, and VNX Swiss Franc on Burrito Wallet reflects our commitment to meeting the evolving needs of our users. By offering a diverse range of stable assets from Europe, Burrito Wallet empowers investors to explore new horizons and capitalize on emerging opportunities in the global market.” – Max Shin, CEO of  Burrito Wallet.

HPS, a leading multinational leader in electronic payment solutions and services, is setting up in Montreal to support the modernization of the payment activity of one of the main Canadian banks. This first establishment in North America is an important step in the acceleration of HPS Group activities in Canada and the United States over the coming years.

This new office will initially house a team of fifteen people who will manage the payment activity of one of the main Canadian banks in processing mode from the Amazon Cloud in Canada. This team will be rapidly reinforced to accelerate the Group's development in North America, which is one of the largest and most dynamic markets in the world in terms of electronic payments.

Abdeslam Alaoui Smaili, CEO of HPS, said: "We are looking forward to starting this new challenge with one of North America's leading banks. The location of our office in Montreal is ideal given the importance of the region in our growth strategy, but also to participate in the ecosystem of innovation, new technological and industry trends, Canada being known for its technological advances, its renowned universities and its important business opportunities."

Swiss-Israeli fintech startup Okoora, developers of the Automated Business Currency Management (ABCM™) cloud-based platform for managing the currency lifecycle, has partnered with Paysend to enable the global payments platform and card-to-card payments pioneer to enter the Israeli market.

Paysend enables millions of consumer and business customers to send money easily and instantly worldwide using the Paysend Payment Network. Consumers can send, request, and receive money anytime in 170 countries, while businesses get access to multi-currency accounts.

The partnership gives Paysend API access to the Okoora ABCM artificial intelligence (AI)-powered hub to facilitate payments to all Israeli clearinghouses, enabling precise and efficient business transactions into the country. Paysend will use the Okoora Virtual Israeli Shekel (ILS) international bank account number (IBAN) solution for Shekel transactions, bypassing the complexities of traditional banking. The partnership enhances liquidity and conversion services for Paysend, facilitating efficient transactions involving ILS at competitive rates.

Earlier this year, the Israeli government published a bill regarding the Regulation of Engagement in Payment Services and Payment Initiation. This sees the Israel Securities Authority (ISA) designated as the country's regulatory body for payment services. The law introduces a rigorous licensing process for both local and international entities offering, or intending to offer, payment services in Israel. These services range from payment applications and electronic wallets to business-specific payment clearing services.

“The Okoora ABCM system identified a heightened business risk environment. By adhering to Okoora's risk management recommendations, organizations and businesses have successfully mitigated these risks,” said Benjamin Avraham, CEO and Founder of Okoora.

Okoora ABCM is designed as an overlaying financial infrastructure for providing complete visibility into a user’s currency accounts and transactional activities. To date, Okoora has signed on more than 7,000 enterprise and SMB customers with the ABCM platform, processing tens of thousands of transactions totaling billions of dollars.

"Okoora's mission is to simplify global currency operations and instill confidence in businesses worldwide," said Avraham. “ABCM is to managing finance, as ERP is to integrating business processes, and CRM is to navigating customer relationships. Through the ABCM platform, Okoora provides users with a conceptual shift in thinking about how SMBs should plan, organize, manage, and execute their multi-currency transactions. The partnership with Paysend further illustrates the effectiveness of Okoora solutions to democratize access to advanced banking capabilities.”

Okoora ABCM is a unified command center for controlling foreign currency cash flow, sending and receiving payments with fee-less efficiency, and creating informed hedging strategies on the fly that significantly reduce a party's exposure to fluctuating exchange rates. Its advanced AI-based risk management system continuously analyzes customers' activities, unique characteristics, and the business environment to mitigate against any potential regulatory and other challenges proactively.

Okoora has branched out its services to include Banking-as-a-Service, forging strategic partnerships with foreign financial institutions and Israeli organizations. This collaboration enables millions of end customers to leverage Okoora's solutions within their existing financial infrastructure. Through this value proposition, Okoora will enable Paysend to leverage its payment network to make fast, cost-effective payments in Israel. Paysend customers can easily collect and settle in the same currency while reducing unnecessary transaction conversions and fees.

“Working with Okoora provides Paysend with comprehensive regulatory coverage using the ABCM environment, which is underpinned by an in-depth understanding of Israeli financial regulations. Paysend has the peace of mind that it can operate within a safe, secure, and compliant environment,” said Steve Vickers, Chief Operating Officer at Paysend. “Okoora's API access also paves the way for seamless system integration, optimizing business operations for Paysend.”

Founded in August 2021 by Benjamin Avraham, a respected entrepreneur and the founder of Ofakim Group, Israel's leading financial risk management company, Okoora currently operates with a dedicated team of 70 professionals across Israel, Switzerland, Germany, and India. In anticipation of its continued growth and market expansion into further European countries, Okoora plans to double its workforce to enhance its capabilities and deliver exceptional service to its expanding customer base. Okoora operates as a bootstrap without external investments and achieved profitability in 2023.

Rego Payment Architectures, Inc. (“REGO”), announced today the appointment of fintech leader, Scott R. Meyerhoff, to its Board of Advisors. With over 25 years of experience in executive financial and operational leadership roles, Meyerhoff brings significant expertise in scaling technology companies, with special emphasis in Fintech.

Meyerhoff spent over 10 years at InComm Payments where he held several leadership roles including Executive Vice President, Chief Operations Officer, and Chief Financial Officer. As InComm CFO, he led teams across all finance and operations functions including Call Center, Warehouse, Distribution and Merchandising, helping grow the company from $200 million to $2.6 billion in revenue with global reach in more than 30 countries. Meyerhoff’s distinguished tenure at InComm also includes his leadership in raising over $1 billion in investment capital. Prior to InComm, he was the CFO of Intercept, Inc, which he took public as well as participated in the sale to Fidelity Information Systems (“FIS”). In addition, he was Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Intersect, Inc. and was also the Executive Vice President and CFO for Infor Global Solutions.

“REGO’s strategy to offer its white-labeled family digital wallet platform to financial institutions has tremendous potential,” said Scott Meyerhoff. “I’m excited to join REGO’s team to help them scale in this rapidly growing youth banking segment.”

“We are extremely fortunate to add a leader of Scott’s caliber to our team,” said Peter S. Pelullo, Chief Executive Officer at REGO, “His impressive track record and accomplishments speak for themselves. He has extensive fintech experience across many disciplines with a keen ability to drive growth. Scott will undoubtedly be a major asset for REGO in achieving our strategic objectives.”

Technological innovations in fintech are continuing to evolve, as we reach the halfway point of 2023. Gen Z is leading the way for fintech service adoption as physical cash continues to diminish, whilst digital wallets, robust blockchain offerings and super apps grow in popularity.

With the ever-evolving fintech space in mind, Jeremy Baber, CEO of Lanistar discusses the current trends leading the fintech revolution.

Digitisation

Baber says: “European nations continue to drive towards a cashless society, for example in Norway, 95% of the population use mobile payment apps and fewer than 5% of point-of-sale transactions are now paid for by cash. The UK is expected to hit this mark by 2026, with just 17% relying on cash at present.

“Gen Z is bridging the gap between the digital and traditional economies, with older generations slowly recognising the convenience and flexibility digital technology payments can offer.”

Super apps

All-in-one platforms for payments, messaging and shopping, better known as super apps, are on the rise, with a market value of $61B in 2022 and is expected to expand to $426B by 2030. 

Baber continues: “The Asian financial market has benefitted from the introduction of ground-breaking platforms such as Alipay and WeChat. Elon Musk recently announced his plans to turn Twitter into a super app or, in his words, an everything app on the back of a recent rebrand, a first for the United States. Yet, super app creation and integration in Europe, North America, LATAM and Australasia has failed to materialise, meaning the potential for super apps, especially in the West, remains untapped. 

“Super apps will aid enterprise fintech, enhance customer experience, generate diversified revenue streams, offer valuable data insights, streamline operations and reduce costs, with many drawn to super apps due to their proposed simplicity offering a convenient, seamless experience across various services.”

Blockchain Technology

According to recent reports, the global fintech blockchain market is set to reach $43.1 billion by 2030, from $1.4 billion in 2022. 

“Fintech blockchain has been vital to business growth, providing a cost-effective solution for businesses by offering firms a new level of security and freedom, while optimising operations and improving their workflows and productivity. 

Many have been quick to adopt blockchain technology as transactions are stored publicly and do not require third parties to verify. Transactions are processed and validated immediately across all the nodes in the blockchain networks, improving efficiency and security as the blockchain ledger cannot be tampered with.”

Embedded Finance 

As the appetite for frictionless payment services continues, the excitement surrounding embedded finance is thriving and pushing aside the conventional wisdom surrounding banks, with the market forecast to grow from US$54.3 billion in 2022 to US$248.4 billion by 2032. This continued growth will further accelerate a shift away from incumbent banks in the payments space.

Baber continued: “In 2023, embedded finance has given opportunities for big tech players with extensive reach and financial liquidity to make daring integration plays, as the number of fintech’s with banking licences playing in embedded finance continues to increase.”

Artificial Intelligence

AI is taking fintech by storm, with 90% of fintech companies already using solutions transforming the way fintech start-ups operate, from algorithmic trading and fraud detection to data analysis, and is expected to be valued at $49.43 billion by 2028.

“AI solutions have been beneficial for the analysis of consumer behaviours on transaction histories and product purchases to draw a more precise client risk profile, and are anticipated to reduce the operational expenses of banks by 22%, by 2030.”

Baber concludes: “Traditional processes are diminishing year after year as fintech enhancement continues to shine, reducing unwanted friction across finance and banking. Consumers are becoming more aware of the benefits of financial technology, with the majority digitising with digital wallets and opting to pay on their devices.

“Physical cash use will disappear in the coming years as leading countries continue their drive towards cashless societies and older generations shy away from traditional payment methods. Organisations are enhancing their processes as they integrate fintech tools with early adopters continuing to reap the benefits. The trends outlined are improving fintech offerings removing unnecessary barriers by streamlining processes allowing for frictionless and streamlined services for users.”

EMVCo has released security requirements to support the development of multi-factor authentication (MFA) solutions capable of preventing or detecting attacks that could compromise the security of payment authentication. The ‘Multi-Factor Authentication Solutions for Payments Security Requirements’ document is publicly available from the EMVCo website.

MFA is an authentication method that requires the payee to provide two or more factors to confirm their identity. There are three types of authentication factors: ’knowledge’ (things you know), such as a PIN or password; ’possession’ (things you have), such as a smartphone; and 'inherence’ (things you are) such as biometrics.

As the use of MFA solutions in payments increases, EMVCo has defined a set of security requirements for MFA solutions to address the security threats that could compromise the security of those solutions.

The work leverages EMVCo’s existing Security Evaluation Infrastructure, enabling solution providers to test their products and demonstrate that they meet payment industry expectations.

“As remote payments continue to gain traction, such as e-commerce transactions, it is paramount for consumers to be able to securely prove their identity and authenticate their transactions,” explains Joy Huang, Chair of the EMVCo Executive Committee. “EMVCo recognises that MFA plays a crucial role in not only achieving this, but also giving the industry flexibility in how it wants to authenticate consumers using different credential combinations in different payment scenarios.”

EMVCo MFA Security Requirements supports:

• developers of MFA solutions for payments, to enable them to gain security evaluation certificates for their product components and solutions.
• testing laboratories, to offer a clear evaluation process.
• merchants, acquirers and payment service providers, to share valuable and practical information on security performance characteristics and the ‘suitability’ of MFA products.

Huang adds: “It is vital to recognise why this is important – the evaluation process essentially works to assist developers in preventing and protecting against attacks using their devices or infrastructure, which could adversely impact other payment participants. Optimising EMVCo’s expertise and framework is an effective way to address this issue. EMVCo MFA Security Requirements builds on an established and proven infrastructure offering vendors access to EMVCo’s laboratory network to achieve the standards needed to protect consumers and the wider payments ecosystem.”

EMVCo MFA Security Requirements covers payment authenticators used in a variety of consumer devices, including smartphones, laptops, vehicles and IoT devices. The supporting security evaluation processes tests software and hardware components involved in the collection, processing, storage, transmission, and verification of data used for authentication during payment use cases.

Download the security requirements.