Crystal, a leading blockchain intelligence firm focused on compliance and risk monitoring for cryptocurrencies, announced the appointment of Navin Gupta as its new Chief Executive Officer. Gupta takes over from Marina Khaustova, who moves into the new position of Chief Operations Officer at Crystal.

Gupta joins Crystal from Ripple, where he successfully drove growth for the firm in the MEA and South Asian markets. His roles at HSBC and CitiBank, and entrepreneurial experience as co-founder of a commercial transport technology platform, make Gupta the perfect candidate to steer this next phase of expansion for Crystal.

With crypto assets becoming increasingly mainstream due to key regulatory and market developments, Crystal appointed Gupta to expand its blockchain intelligence solutions to a global audience of regulators, VASPs, TradFi sectors, and stakeholders in cryptocurrencies.

“Recent developments like the Bitcoin ETF approval have set the stage both for an increased appetite for digital assets and for compliance tools to keep pace with regulatory expectations,” said Brian Brooks, Bitfury Board member and former head of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. “It is imperative that regulators and financial institutions worldwide equip themselves with the best toolset and intelligence to keep pace and be fully prepared to tackle any potential risks from this asset class.”

Gupta said, “Marina and Crystal has been at the forefront of developing an exceptional blockchain intelligence solution. As we continue to see adoption grow, we are committed to leveraging new-age tech to stay ahead of the curve. Regulators need superior intelligence and cutting-edge tools to navigate these changes, and TradFi institutions are seeking to manage risks effectively as they enter the digital assets market. Our goal is to stay insanely customer-centric, bringing our solutions to every corner of the world.”

Since 2019, Crystal has expanded its presence into key financial hubs including North America, UK, Europe, and MEA, empowering financial institutions, investigators, and regulators with blockchain analysis, compliance and risk monitoring solutions. Crystal’s customer base doubled in 2023 by focusing on delivering its unique solution to enforcement and supervisory bodies. The product offers real-time indirect risk assessment, monitoring over 50,000 entities and organizations and offers proprietary training programs for professional cybercrime investigators.

Criminals successfully stole over half a billion pounds over a period of just six months in 2023 through fraud, according to new research from UK Finance. The threat of fraud, coupled with the various regulatory demands placed on banks and financial institutions, means protecting customers and their data from outside threats is an increasingly tall challenge.

Ensuring that this sensitive data remains encrypted and protected, while still being able to draw insights from it, is crucial. According to Simon Bain, CEO at OmniIndex, achieving this can help banks and financial institutions unlock huge potential and limit the threat of fraud and other criminal activity.

“Insights from financial data can drive profit and improve customer satisfaction. However, the most valuable data is often encrypted and siloed due to its highly vulnerable and regulated nature and is therefore unavailable to analytics and other productivity solutions,” Bain explains.

“The finance and insurance industries have strict regulatory data compliance needs, as well as stringent security measures. Not only will leaks lead to damage to reputation and customer relationships, but businesses that fail to keep customer data secure will be hit with huge fines.

“Across the market currently, data is stored away from users and criminals with traditional models like in-house servers and hybrid-cloud technology. These systems have meant that it is currently difficult to run queries and analytics on data because it is often compartmentalized and siloed with the most valuable data encrypted and not added to the workflow. What’s more, secure and simple sharing between departments is not always possible as a result, causing a reduction in both long-term data monetization and day-to-day efficiency with crucial information taking additional time to access    

“Through the use of web3 technology and innovative homomorphic encryption, computations can be performed on fully encrypted data, providing actionable insights without exposure. This technology makes it possible to securely and easily add encrypted data to other tools that can be used to create live data visualizations and dashboards. These can then be shared with your team and between colleagues so the insights can be actioned without the source information ever being readable and exposed to anyone at all.

“For example, you can use a Small Language Model (SLM) to perform real-time AI analytics of the fully encrypted data round the clock to identify patterns and anomalies in the data which could reveal potential fraud. As the data remains encrypted at all times, the insights can help combat these threats without the sensitive and confidential information ever being readable or vulnerable to exposure. 

“The use of AI is simply impossible with legacy systems because of the regulatory and confidentiality needs of this financial data, however by using the innovative Web3 and fully homomorphic encryption technologies available today, businesses can really start to tackle some of the biggest threats to customer data today. 

“The potential applications of this technology are not limited to fraud detection but also include risk mitigation and regulatory compliance, real-time customer sentiment, quality control, and insight generation including for new product development.”

Conferma, formerly known as Conferma Pay, a pioneer in virtual card technology, has announced a major rebranding initiative with a mission to make it simple for any company, anywhere in the world, to connect and do business.

Driven by the vision to streamline payment processes globally, Conferma aims to empower businesses across diverse ecosystems to seamlessly connect and pay. Recognizing the challenges posed by outdated payment systems, Conferma commits to delivering innovative solutions that enable faster, simpler payments, unlocking untapped opportunities for businesses worldwide.

Jason Lalor, CEO of Conferma, emphasized the company’s dedication to driving digital transformation in payments: “Our goal is to apply technology to break down barriers and advance connectivity in the global business landscape. With our extensive ecosystem and unparalleled footprint in the travel marketplace in particular, Conferma is uniquely positioned to serve as a central network facilitating seamless transactions between businesses and their banking partner of choice. 

“Having been in position at Conferma for the last 12 months, it’s clear that we have incredibly talented people and industry-leading products. Conferma has been the leader in driving virtual payments growth for almost two decades. Our focus is to continue to strengthen and serve that travel ecosystem while also utilizing our underlying technology to connect new ecosystems in areas such as Account Payables and procurement. Additionally, we will continue to invest and lead in invoice reconciliation with our Snap + product, here in 2024 and beyond.”

In line with its commitment to enhancing customer experience, Conferma has introduced an enhanced customer service function, providing round-the-clock dedicated support 24/7, 365 days a year. This initiative underscores Conferma's commitment to ensuring the smooth and simple use of its virtual card technology by businesses worldwide.

Conferma's reshaped commercial team, led by Chief Commercial Officer Sonya Geelon, is poised for further growth and expansion in key regions. With the appointment of Ben Alderman as Regional Director of North America and Head of Travel, and the promotion of Adam Williams to Head of Commercial in Asia Pacific, Conferma is well-equipped to innovate and drive its offerings to new heights.

Discussing the bolstered team, Jason commented: “These senior appointments put us on a really strong footing to innovate and expand our offering, and I’m delighted that they are part of our growing expert team.”

The rebrand comes after leading travel software and technology company Sabre’s acquisition of Conferma in August 2022, which was followed by Mastercard making a minority investment in Conferma in November 2022.

UK travelers will soon be able to claim back VAT on purchases made abroad automatically using their phones, thanks to a technology developed using AI.  

Each year more billions in VAT and similar taxes are left unclaimed by UK shoppers in Europe – because typically the recovery procedure is clunky, confusing, and difficult to access.  

The UK fintech company Revenir AI can automate the process through partnerships with tax authorities and financial institutions and with innovative technologies enabling banks to generate revenue and add value to their digital interface.  Increasingly, banks collaborate with fintechs to drive innovation and enhance customer experience where these overcome concerns around information security and regulatory compliance.  

Founder and CEO Shawn Du came up with the idea after queuing for hours to make a VAT claim at Heathrow following a family holiday, then developed the concept during his MBA. Shawn met Co-Founder, Miles Covers whilst studying at Imperial College London where they had the idea of developing innovative technologies for an international market, and established Revenir to save money and cut paper use for tourists.

They and their experienced team have since developed a white-label app for banks so that they can automatically refund VAT to their retail customers via their debit or credit cards, in an average of 48 hours.  Whereas airport reclaims currently take hours of queuing and can incur fees of 40-70% and digital processes take weeks and involve much paperwork and copies of receipts, with commission typically 35% or more. 

Revenir explains that taxation is a fertile environment for innovation as reclaiming tax is an information-intensive process that depends on the decisions of several parties occurring in sequence, culminating in a single event – repayment. Revenir analyses the different data involved in real-time, using artificial intelligence and machine learning to make calculated decisions throughout the process, greatly increasing the quality of the outcome while making the process much easier for the tourist. 

Revenir has raised £2.5m from shareholders to disrupt the £100bn global tax reclaim market with its AI-driven technology. The London firm is expanding the platform, adding new destinations globally and in Europe. Directors are talking to potential partners who are attracted by the opportunity to add significant value to their service, boosting customer acquisition, retention, and satisfaction.  

Shawn Du said: “We’ve used AI to transform a complex, rather off-putting process into an easy, fun way for bank customers to claim back tax while making travel more rewarding. The amounts can be small or large, but we believe almost everyone will use it in the coming years.” 

Miles Covers, the CFO, added: “Many people don’t know they’re eligible to reclaim VAT on shopping in Europe; others don’t bother as it is too much hassle – so some 80% of VAT is left unclaimed by UK travelers abroad.” 

While the UK is among the few countries to have stopped VAT refunds on international shopping, UK residents can claim for travel abroad and are well placed to do so at the Paris Olympics, where tourists are predicted to spend €4 billion this summer, with Britons among the biggest spenders.  

Revenir, based in Clerkenwell, is committed to positive environmental and social outcomes, reducing paper use by dispensing lengthy forms and through the digital receipt eco-system. In the UK 11bn paper receipts are issued a year, most going to landfill.  Revenir joins the impressive cohort of fintechs who have and are changing the way the UK makes payments and has embraced mobile banking. That same technology is now being used by Revenir to make claiming overseas taxes possible at the click of a button.

Mollie, one of the fastest-growing financial services providers in Europe, today announced the UK launch of Mollie Capital - a fast and flexible way for SME merchants to access funding. Mollie Capital gives UK retailers the opportunity to bypass traditional lenders and access up to £250,000 to help drive growth. In Europe, where the service launched in late 2022, SMEs have used Mollie Capital to take advantage of deals to acquire cut-price inventory and boost marketing spend during peak shopping periods.

In the UK, SME merchants are underserved by traditional lenders. They have to produce reams of financial data, are put through lengthy application processes, and are forced to wait weeks for a decision and then the funds that follow. 

Unlike these lenders, once a merchant has been processing payments with Mollie for 90 days, they are immediately eligible to apply for funding. The application process takes as little as five minutes, and once a decision is made the funds are transferred within 24 hours. This enables merchants to take rapid action to changes in business circumstances and capitalize on growth opportunities. Mollie Capital features a fixed one-time fee with a repayment plan based on a percentage of your daily sales.

To date, Mollie Capital, which is offered in conjunction with YouLend, has provided loans exceeding €50 million to over 5,000 SMEs in the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany. Funding applications are highest during peak shopping periods, such as Black Friday and the festive period. The success of Mollie Capital in Europe underscores the latent demand from SMEs for fast financing and wider money management services. This includes new businesses, companies requiring smaller funding amounts, and those that prefer revenue-based financing.

Sebastian Bakker, General Director of Dutch e-commerce brand CookingLife, an early customer of Mollie Capital, explained: "We used Mollie Capital while renovating our new head office and warehouse. It helped us pre-finance more activities during construction to invest more in our new warehouse. This will benefit us later during the year-end rush."

“Mollie Capital is our first financial service to launch in the UK - the first of many designed to eliminate financial bureaucracy for SMEs,” said Mia Hunter, Managing Director of Mollie UK. “For too long, small and mid-size UK merchants have been neglected by incumbent payment services providers, lenders and banks. They just don’t invest in the simplicity and flexibility  SMEs need to manage their finances. Mollie Capital fills a critical gap in the UK market. In Europe, we have customers repeatedly using, and paying back, this new source of funding to drive impressive levels of sustainable growth.” 

Mollie initially launched in the UK in early 2021, licensed via the Temporary Permissions Regime for EU-based financial services firms. Mollie was granted a Payment Institution license from the UK's Financial Conduct Authority in June 2023. 

Klarna, the AI-driven global payment provider and shopping assistant, has launched "Sign in with Klarna" to offer consumers a smoother shopping experience with increased control over their data. The service saves time for consumers by fast-tracking the online purchase process and, if they consent to share their data, unlocks personalized offers from merchants. 

The service is now available in 23 countries: USA, UK, Ireland, Canada, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Germany, Austria, Belgium, Netherlands, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Poland, Czech Republic, and Romania. 

Challenging American tech giants in the multi-billion industry 

Apple and Google’s elimination of third-party cookies has made it harder for payment services to automatically fill in customer details to speed up online checkout. 

Sign-in with Klarna solves this for both consumers and merchants and presents a challenge to tech giants Apple, Facebook, and Google in the global verification industry – which is expected to almost double in size from 10.16 billion USD today to 18.12 billion USD by 2027.

Phenomenal Success in Sweden

The service has now launched globally after launching first with the restaurant app Maitres and the marketplace Tradera during a test period. After just a few months, the service has become the second most popular login method on Tradera, with 20% of the total social logins demonstrating its usability and ease.

"We immediately get a complete profile with just a couple of clicks from the consumer, whereas similar services from Apple, Facebook, and Google create a profile the customer needs to complete since it lacks information such as address and phone number. The vast majority of Swedes already use Klarna, and the new login service thus significantly simplifies registration for most of our customers," says Stefan Öberg, CEO at Tradera.

Klarna already sees great interest among merchants wishing to implement the service. Since the turn of the year, the service has been implemented at Rusta, Casall, and NA-KD, which have rolled out the functionality in Norway, Finland, Denmark, Netherlands, Austria, and Germany.

The service gives consumers more control over their data and is expected to become as common as Klarna's payment solutions. Sign-in with Klarna enables consumers to choose which data Klarna shares with the merchant for a personalized shopping experience. For example, data regarding purchase history enables personalized product recommendations based on interests as well as sizes, and style and color preferences for clothing.

"With our new login service, we add another dimension to improving the customer journey for consumers and our offering towards merchants. We give consumers control over their own data, making it easy for them to choose what to share with stores for a more personalized shopping experience. The product has enormous growth potential, and we believe that it will become as familiar a feature in global online retail as our payment solutions in the near future," says Raji Behal, Head of Western and Southern Europe at Klarna. 

How "Sign in with Klarna" works:

Consumers save time by logging in or registering with just a few taps for a quick and smooth checkout. On registration, the customer chooses what data they wish to share with the merchant, and sign-up to any membership or bonus programs offered by the merchant. Merchants gain access to personal data with consent from the consumer and can use it for memberships and to give consumers personal recommendations based on their purchase history. The verification of the consumer's data is entirely handled by Klarna, which means a cost-saving for merchants who do not need to pay third-party services to confirm the customer's identity via email or SMS.

Awash Bank S.C, the first and the leading private financial institution in Ethiopia, has partnered with Mastercard, a leading global technology company in the payments industry, to introduce the Awash pre-paid cards. The Mastercard-branded international prepaid plastic card was launched during a press conference at Awash Bank’s Headquarters. This collaboration marks a significant milestone in Ethiopia’s card business, as the cards enable customers and merchants to make and receive payments online from anywhere in the world.

The plastic card will offer added flexibility and convenience to customers as it is enabled to make contact or contactless transactions on ATMs and POS machines. Customers can also use the plastic card to withdraw cash from ATMs, pay on POS terminals, and shop online at any merchant locations worldwide where Mastercard is accepted. The virtual card also offers customers the freedom to make online purchases at any merchant website worldwide where Mastercard is accepted.

One of the key features of Awash Mastercard is that customers can load funds onto the card as needed at Forex bureaus. making the new card an ideal choice for international payments and travel-related expenses.

"This innovative offering is a testament to Awash Bank's commitment to delivering convenient and secure financial solutions to our customers," said Yohannes Merga, Senior Chief, Marketing Officer for Awash Bank. "Awash Mastercard empowers travelers with the freedom to manage their finances seamlessly while exploring the world," he added.

Along with the card, the bank will also introduce Mastercard’s Payment Gateway Services (MPGS) which will diversify and expand Awash Bank’s service offering. Mastercard’s Payment Gateway allows local merchants that have mobile applications or websites to integrate with it and accept international payments online. Customers from all over the world can place online orders and reservations and pay merchants that are integrated with MPGS using their cards.

“This collaboration with Awash Bank is driving our commitment as Mastercard to enable financial inclusion across Africa. Our technological advancements in the payments landscape, enable consumers to be connected to endless possibilities, when transacting, in a safe, secure, and simple manner, which places power and convenience in their hands,” said Shehryar Ali, Senior Vice President and Country Manager for East Africa and Indian Ocean Islands at Mastercard.

Awash Bank’s international prepaid card is available to any traveler above the age of 18. To obtain the card, interested individuals simply visit Forex Bureau and open a bank account. They are required to bring along essential travel documents such as a passport, visa, and flight ticket.

The introduction of the Awash Mastercard and Mastercard’s Payment Gateway Services plays a vital role in the implementation of Ethiopia's digital transformation strategy by enabling smooth cross-border payments.

Velo Labs is excited to announce landmark partnerships between its Orbit crypto merchant network and leading Point-of-Sales (POS) networks and plans to achieve 500,000 users in Orbit by the end of the year — marking a significant leap toward the integration of cryptocurrency in everyday transactions.

This partnership mirrors the convenience of traditional payment giants like Visa and Mastercard but innovates by enabling payments through QR code scans, allowing customers to use cryptocurrencies instead of swiping a card.

Orbit, a technology developed by Velo Labs, facilitates a seamless crypto transaction experience for merchants and consumers alike. By partnering with POS networks, Orbit is bridging the gap between traditional retail payment systems and the burgeoning world of cryptocurrency, offering a versatile and secure payment solution comparable to the convenience of Visa and Mastercard.

Through this partnership, merchants connected to these POS networks will gain access to Orbit's crypto payment processing capabilities. This allows for a broad spectrum of cryptocurrencies to be accepted at points of sale and instantly converted to fiat currency to ensure merchants receive payments in a stable and familiar form. This dual functionality not only opens new revenue streams for businesses but also caters to the increasing consumer demand for flexible digital payment options.

At the core of this initiative is Orbit's advanced technology platform, which integrates seamlessly with existing POS systems, enabling quick and secure QR code-based crypto transactions. This innovative approach ensures that both merchants and customers enjoy a smooth and efficient payment process, mirroring the ease of use associated with traditional payment methods while leveraging the unique benefits of blockchain technology.

This partnership exemplifies Velo Labs' commitment to expanding financial inclusivity and innovation. By connecting Orbit's crypto merchant network with traditional retail POS systems, Velo Labs is not just facilitating another payment method but is actively participating in the evolution of global financial services, making digital currencies an integral part of daily commerce.

Velo Labs' initiative is a testament to the company's commitment to fostering a more inclusive financial ecosystem. By enabling crypto payments, Velo Labs is not only expanding the utility of cryptocurrencies but also providing merchants and consumers with more choices and flexibility in how they transact.

Looking ahead, Velo Labs and Orbit are committed to expanding their network of partnerships, aiming to include more merchants and POS providers. This will further enhance the accessibility of crypto payments in retail and solidify Velo Labs' position as a leader in the convergence of decentralized finance (DeFi) and traditional financial ecosystems.