Provenir, a global leader in data and AI-powered risk decisioning software, today announced the appointment of Richard Kern as Senior Vice President of Global Professional Services.

As the head of Provenir's global professional services team, Kern is responsible for overseeing client delivery services, including implementation and design, strategic consulting, and training services for all Provenir customers in 50 countries worldwide.

Kern is an experienced global services leader with a demonstrated history of working with leading companies in the banking and financial services sector. Prior to joining Provenir, Kern was Vice President, Head of Implementation and Professional Services at Alkami Technology, a leading provider of digital banking services. Prior to this, Kern held senior-level positions managing professional services for Fiserv, Thompson Reuters (now Refinitiv) and Citigroup.

“We are pleased to welcome Rick to Provenir,” said Geoff Miller, Chief Commercial Officer for Provenir. “He brings a wealth of industry knowledge and experience from his work with some of the world’s leading brands in the financial services sector, along with a proven ability to lead diverse teams and deliver significant value for customers. Rick’s role is crucial in supporting our global growth, as we support our customers’ efforts to grow and transform their businesses, and to help them realize value from their investments in the Provenir platform.”

“Disruption in the financial services sector is unprecedented and banks, credit unions and fintechs must boldly move forward with their data initiatives and AI-driven digital transformation efforts,” said Rick Kern, Provenir’s Senior Vice President of Global Professional Services. “I’m excited to lead Provenir’s talented team of global services professionals, and to work alongside the leadership team to continue to build out our global resources and contribute to the company’s continued success.”

Exchange-traded funds (ETF) investment platform, InvestEngine, and leading open banking payments network, TrueLayer, have today announced a new partnership to utilise variable recurring payments (VRPs) in ETF investing.

The move powers InvestEngine’s new Savings Plans feature for customers, allowing both new and experienced investors alike to easily and efficiently save for their future.

VRPs currently facilitate a process known as “sweeping”, the movement of funds between two accounts owned by the same person. Widely considered the next big innovation for payments in the UK, Open Banking Limited (OBL) says VRPs will “herald a new era in consumer and business banking” and offer “a more seamless and secure way to pay for goods and services”.

The UK’s nine largest banks have been mandated by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to implement sweeping VRPs for their customers. Since this mandate began, TrueLayer has established itself as a market leader in VRPs. The first company in the UK to deliver open banking VRPs, it surpassed 1 million total VRP transactions in June.

By partnering with TrueLayer to implement VRPs on its platform, InvestEngine is enabling people to automatically top up weekly, fortnightly or monthly from a bank account of choice, without having to routinely renew the mandate. This provides a faster, smoother and more secure experience compared to direct debit and card transactions.

Once received, funds will be invested based on a client’s chosen investments through InvestEngine’s innovative AutoInvest feature. It ensures any uninvested cash is invested automatically each day, based on the investor’s chosen portfolio weights so that their money is always being put to work.

Combining this feature with Savings Plans and ETFs creates numerous benefits, including lower costs, greater diversification and easy access. It gives investors the best chance to grow their portfolio, while avoiding the risks and costs associated with stock-picking and expensive legacy platforms.

Andrey Dobrynin, Co-founder and Managing Director at InvestEngine, said: “ETF savings plans have grown significantly in popularity around the world as a simple, low-risk way for people to invest little and often.

“By partnering with TrueLayer on our new Savings Plans, we’re bringing the latest innovations in payments to the world of investing, overcoming the biggest pain points people experience, and making it easier for everyone to grow their wealth.”

Mariko Beising, VP Financial Services and Partnerships at TrueLayer, said: “VRPs are the next step in open banking innovations, giving consumers a faster, smoother and more secure way to make recurring payments.

“We’re pleased to be partnering with InvestEngine on its new Saving Plans feature, harnessing the benefits of VRPs to help more people invest regularly and with flexibility.”

ETF savings plans have become increasingly popular in other countries as a way for people to invest and save for their future. Germany, for example, has seen significant growth in ETF savings plans and is projected to hit 20 million plans by 2026 – equivalent to a quarter of the population. 

The launch of new Savings Plans by InvestEngine looks to replicate that success in the UK, giving investors significantly more flexibility in how they invest in ETFs

Form3, the cloud-native account-to-account platform, today announced that is among the first in the industry to complete testing and certification for the FedNowSM Service, the Federal Reserve’s new instant payment offering that launched on July 20, 2023.

The FedNow Service is the Federal Reserve’s new instant payment platform, which will provide financial institutions of every size, and in any location across the nation, access to safe and efficient instant payment services in real time, 24 hours a day. The launch of the FedNow Service marks a significant step forward in the US payments landscape, providing substantial benefits for consumers and businesses, such as rapid access to funds and managing cash flows.

“We are excited that early adopters of all sizes across the country are making strides in their operational readiness for live transactions through the system,” said Ken Montgomery, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston first vice president and FedNow Service program executive. “Completing certification is a key milestone for participating organizations to validate their ability to deliver instant payment services."

To achieve certification, Form3 met the requirements of the FedNow Service testing program and attested that it is prepared to meet the requirements to successfully operate in a 24x7x365 instant payments environment. Form3 has also participated in the FedNow Service Pilot Program since July 2022.

Form3's enterprise-grade, managed, payment technology platform is available to help early adopters connect to the FedNow Service, offering banks and financial service providers in the US the opportunity to take the next step on their journey by expanding their reach and product range.

Form3’s innovative and industry-leading approach to backend payment technology is built on the company’s deep experience of the instant payment industry in Europe. Form3 has been working with leading banks and financial institutions in the UK on the Faster Payments System (FPS) network since 2016. 

Form3's scheme-agnostic API will help to drive the broader roll-out of instant payments in the US. Form3's instant payments simulator is available for banks and financial service providers to use to test out instant payments, ensuring a seamless onboarding process to institutions that want to connect to the FedNow Service and TCH RTP.

"We are delighted to have achieved certification for the FedNow Service, marking yet more progress on Form3's journey to becoming the premier provider of US payment gateway connectivity," said Dave Scola, US Chief Executive, Form3. “Our scale and experience in mature instant payment markets such as the UK means we are the perfect partner for US banks and financial service providers that want to move on to the next stage in their growth.”

Paymentology, the leading global issuer-processor, today announces its strategic global partnership with Monese’s XYB, an end-to-end ‘coreless’ banking platform provider, launched in May 2023, and poised to shake up the banking industry.

The platform enables banks and non-banks to break down the barriers to building and providing financial services in record time, addressing a market gap in the core banking space of high dependence on costly yet incomplete traditional core banking.

The platform is built on an extensive ecosystem of partners, including banks, non-banks, service and technology providers, like Paymentology. As a result of the support from this collaborative network, XYB extends its capabilities beyond conventional technology infrastructure, offering a dynamic and interconnected platform.

With this strategic partnership with Paymentology can now extend it’s clients an end-to-end banking platform beyond card processing and XYB can now provide banks, non-banks, and fintechs with a seamless card processing experience in over 60 countries. This collaboration enables faster transaction processing, best-in-class fraud monitoring, and virtual cards linked to any major scheme, including Visa.

Furthermore, Paymentology delivers a real-time data feed that offers detailed insights into customer spending patterns, enabling coreless banking customers of XYB to continually tailor their offerings for end-users.

Atul Choudrie, CEO at XYB commented on the announcement: “We’re delighted to welcome Paymentology to XYB’s coreless banking ecosystem as an issuer processing partner. Together we can empower financial institutions to seize new opportunities and provide personalised financial services that cater to a wide range of customer needs. This transformative approach revolutionises the delivery of financial services, fostering innovation and reshaping the future of banking for both traditional and non-traditional players.”

Abe Smith, Co-CEO at Paymentology commented: "XYB aims to address the £700 billion global banking technology and embedded finance market. However, as is the collaborative nature of the fintech industry, they can't tackle it alone. That's why we're excited to provide our next-generation card processing services to XYB and its customers. With our support, they can make their coreless banking vision a reality and open up a whole new world of possibilities for growth in the financial services industry."

Marie-Elise Droga, SVP and Head of Global Fintech Partnerships at Visa commented: “Expanding access to financial tools and services is core to Visa’s purpose – uplifting everyone everywhere – and we’re excited to work with Paymentology to support our shared customers like Monese.”

Azentio Software (“Azentio”), a Singapore-headquartered technology firm owned by funds advised by Apax Partners - offering a range of innovative software products - has been featured in Celent’s recently published Technical Capabilities Matrix, a part of the report, Financial Crime Compliance Technology: AML Transaction Monitoring Edition – 2023. Azentio’s AML Transaction Monitoring has been identified under the ‘Noteworthy Solution’ category in the report published by Celent, the leading research and advisory firm focused on technology for financial institutions.

The report analyzes the capabilities of AML transaction monitoring systems of software providers worldwide, to support the evolving technology requirements of financial institutions. It aims at helping them and other regulated companies better understand the vendor landscape and compare providers’ solutions, and is based on Celent's ABC methodology to position systems across three dimensions, namely, Advanced Technology, Breadth of Functionality, and Customer Base & Support.

The ‘Noteworthy Solution’ recognition by Celent came on account of the capabilities and effectiveness of the Azentio ONEBanking Risk & Analytics platform, which is used by over 100 financial institutions across the globe.

Based on a microservices architecture, the domain-agnostic platform uses advanced analytical and investigative tools that transform routine data into actionable intelligence to detect and counter potential fraudulent activities. It leverages machine learning-based predictive analytics to help easily identify suspicious activities at both the transaction and customer levels. It enhances the transaction monitoring processes with its profile deviations and pre-defined rules to identify suspicious transactions; graphical link analysis module to identify both static and transactional links between entities; and a remittance module to monitor online payment transactions.

Complimenting Azentio on the recognition, Neil Katkov, PhD, Director Risk at Celent, and also one of the authors of the report, said, “Azentio’s AML Transaction Monitoring solution offers price performance, machine learning-enabled detection, a large rules library, network analysis, and regulatory reporting capabilities across many jurisdictions. Azentio’s implementation and support capabilities in particular are rated highly by Azentio’s clients.”

L Guru Raghavendran, Senior Vice President, Banking & Capital Markets at Azentio Software, stated, “Today’s complex transaction monitoring requirements call for robust and exceptionally agile technology platforms that are critical in helping financial institutions analyse large volumes of data to identify fraudulent activity patterns well in advance. Azentio has been investing significantly into its financial crime management solution to ensure features such as business intelligence and machine learning benefit our clients, while also driving customer satisfaction and business growth for them. In this context, it is an honour to recognise the strength of our AML solution in Celent’s comprehensively researched and acclaimed transaction monitoring technology report.”

The report, authored by Neil Katkov and Ian Watson, features profiles of 17 incumbent and new entrant providers of behaviour detection solutions, and includes Celent's analysis of the software products, key features and analytics, selling and servicing details.

Dubai’s Trigger Software agreed to work together with Sigma Software Group on projects in the digital banking space. The strategic partnership between the two aims to fast-track projects in the digital banking sphere, empowering financial institutions to serve their clients more efficiently. With Trigger's cutting-edge solutions already aiding over 10 million clients worldwide and Sigma’s deep fintech expertise, this partnership signifies a new era in digital banking.

Trigger Software develops its own proprietary technologies: Trigger Neobank Engine (TNBE) and Trigger API Gateway (TAG).

TNBE includes 300+ pixel-perfect visual layouts and 150+ ready-made business processes, such as KYC, payments, loans, and more. Trigger offers the Trigger Interface Constructor (TIC) for easy iOS and Android app interface configuration without updating the app on App Store or Google Play. TAG allows quick production-ready API deployment with authorization, supporting various databases and AI integration for natural language API requests.

“Trigger Neobank Engine helps banks, fintechs, credit unions, retailers, telcos to launch their own digital neobank. Customers can have a digital neobank up and running in 6 months at a fixed cost, with an opportunity to easily develop and add new features in future. We are very happy that Sigma Software now places its trust in our transformative technology”, says Max Bondar, CEO & Founder of Trigger Software.

Sigma Software is recognized as one of the Top 100 leading IT service providers globally by IAOP and is a trusted partner for numerous companies in the Middle East. With a strong expertise in various industries, Sigma Software has further enriched its capabilities in fintech and blockchain through a merger with Ideasoft in 2021. As a result of this partnership, Global Ledger, a startup offering an effective solution to combat money laundering and cybercrime while enabling banks to seamlessly engage with cryptocurrencies, was successfully facilitated.

Another noteworthy success story is Datrics.ai, providing intelligent AI-powered growth solutions to accelerate financial services. Recently, they announced a strategic partnership with the NEAR Foundation.

"With extensive fintech expertise and a wide network, we identify cutting-edge products that foster digitalization for our finance and banking industry clients. At Sigma Software, we unite such innovative solutions within our partner ecosystem, delivering time- and cost-efficient answers to meet the demands of our customers, – notes Mahboob Subuhani, Director – IT Solutions, MEA & APAC at Sigma Software Group. The integration of Trigger Neobank Engine will empower us to offer comprehensive digitalization services to our clients, enabling the swift provision of banking services through digital channels at remarkable speeds".

Ledgible, the prominent digital asset data, tax, accounting, and tokenization platform, is excited to announce its partnership with Security Token Advisors, a leading advisory firm in the security token industry. The collaboration between these two industry leaders will enhance the capabilities and offerings in the rapidly evolving field of tokenized accounting & data.

Ledgible has established itself as a pioneer in providing comprehensive solutions for managing digital assets, empowering businesses and individuals to navigate the complexities of blockchain-based technologies. With its advanced suite of tools and services, Ledgible simplifies the process of tracking, auditing, and reporting on digital assets, while ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements.

Security Token Advisors, renowned for their expertise in the security token sector, offers a wide range of consulting services to companies and investors navigating the complexities of tokenized securities. Their deep understanding of security token offerings, compliance frameworks, and industry best practices makes them a trusted partner for organizations seeking to harness the potential of blockchain-based securities.

By joining forces, Ledgible and Security Token Advisors will bring together their unique strengths to offer a holistic solution for digital asset management, tax planning, accounting, and tokenization. This collaboration will enable clients to streamline their operations, improve transparency, and mitigate regulatory risks in the increasingly complex digital asset landscape.

"We are thrilled to be partnering with Security Token Advisors," said Kell Canty, CEO of Ledgible. "This collaboration aligns perfectly with our vision of providing end-to-end solutions for businesses and investors operating in the tokenization space. Together, we will help our clients harness the transformative power of blockchain technology while ensuring compliance and optimizing their financial strategies."

The partnership between Ledgible and Security Token Advisors marks a significant milestone in the digital asset management industry. Together, they are poised to shape the future of blockchain-based finance by providing innovative solutions that bridge the gap between traditional financial systems and the emerging world of digital assets.

For more information about Ledgible, please visit Ledgible.io and for Security Token Advisors, visit securitytokenadvisors.com/.

ASA is an embedded fintech platform that connects financial institutions with customer-facing fintechs in a secure, compliant and easy-to-implement marketplace. The company today announced that industry pioneer Travis Oliphant, CEO of OpenTeams and Venture Partner with Quansight Initiate, has invested in and partnered with ASA, helping unlock open innovation in banking.

Oliphant and OpenTeams will connect ASA to its broad open-source community, which the company will leverage to build fintech and provide expertise in machine learning and AI strategy and architecture. Oliphant has an impressive background in transformative technology; he is the creator of NumPy, Scipy and Numba and, in addition to Quansight, is the founder of Anaconda, NumFOCUS, OpenTeams and OpenTeams Incubator.

“We are impressed with ASA’s commitment to helping fintech entrepreneurs engage more easily with existing banking technology, all while empowering account holders with greater control of their data,” said Oliphant. “We see strong potential for financial institutions to unleash the power of innovation that can bubble up from open-source communities into fintech solutions. ASA is transforming the industry, and I look forward to collaborating with the team as they grow.”

With ASA’s embedded fintech model, financial institutions and fintechs work together, enabling banks and credit unions to be the secure gateway to the technology that customers and members crave – all without ever having to share any regulated data. Oliphant and Quansight join an impressive roster of existing ASA investors such as former CIO of JP Morgan Chase Austin Adams and former CEO of BECU Benson Porter.

“We firmly believe that, if approached the right way, embedded fintech has the power to redefine bank and fintech partnerships, and the backing of industry powerhouses such as Travis reinforces the value of our technology,” said Landon Glenn, CEO and co-founder of ASA. “Our team is already benefitting from Quansight Initiate’s deep expertise and insights, and we are confident that we can accelerate the collaborative banking movement together.”

Medius, a leading provider of accounts payable (AP) automation, has today announced that the acquisition of expense management software company Expensya is complete.

Now that the acquisition of Expensya has been wrapped up, Medius can bank on the Tunisian startup’s powerful AI-enabled, mobile-first, employee spend management capabilities that complement Medius’s strengths in areas such as autonomous AP, payments, procurement, sourcing, contracts and supplier onboarding. 

By taking Expensya under its fold, Medius forms a one-stop shop for CFOs as they look to gain a holistic viewpoint on their financial performance. The acquisition is also a further step-forward in Medius’s strategy to be the leading provider of AP automation with robust payment capabilities and industry‑leading control and fraud detection. 

Not only that, but the acquisition of Expensya has taken Medius to new geographical frontiers adding product strengths that accelerate the ability to grow and cross-sell in highly competitive business application markets like France, where Expensya has developed a leading employee spend management solution. Medius can also capitalize on the French e-invoicing mandate, which is due to come into effect on July 1st 2024.

The acquisition represents a landmark moment for fintech advancement in North Africa, and gives an essential boost to the Tunisian fintech sector.

Jim Lucier, CEO of Medius, comments: “Expensysa’s growth has been astronomical over the last two years - and why wouldn't it be - as the founders, Karim and Jihed, have built powerful AI-innovation that will take us to new heights in spend management. This partnership already puts us in and amongst the biggest players within the spend management space and together we can offer CFOs solutions that can help them transform finance while empowering their teams. We are delighted to have the team on board, and have already started working with them to amplify the Medius offering.” 

Karim Jouini, CEO of Expensya, comments: “In a sector as quick-footed as expense management, you can either wait for disruption to attack your business, or you can be the disruptor. With this acquisition, both Expensya and Medius come as disruptive forces ready to revolutionize the industry. Expensya’s AI capabilities, employee spend management solution, and payment cards, with Medius’s AP automation platform, means we can now cover the whole indirect spend of companies and can apply the power of AI to help finance teams to optimize cost and processes across the board.”