ConnexPay, the world’s first all-in-one platform to manage PayIns and PayOuts, today announced the launch of ConnexPay Flex, a variable-rate virtual card with over 30 dynamic rates, designed to facilitate strategic supplier spend, often at a pre-negotiated rate.

Part of ConnexPay Exclusives, a suite of payment options designed to increase supplier acceptance and boost profitability, ConnexPay Flex offers clients a very broad spectrum of rate categories when paying suppliers in the United States. This flexibility allows clients to meet supplier payment preferences while driving maximum card spend and revenue.

“I’m excited to announce the ConnexPay Flex card, our newest payment capability for our valued clients,” said Bob Kaufman, Founder and CEO, ConnexPay. “With ConnexPay Flex, our clients now have over 30 payment rate options for any unique supplier payment challenge, providing them with the maximum flexibility for driving supplier acceptance while also increasing profitability.”

A premier payments provider, ConnexPay is the first payments technology company to unify B2B payments, both PayIn and PayOut, inside a single platform. Over the past year, ConnexPay has more than doubled its customer base, expanded its global footprint, and continued to launch new products and features that transform the B2B payments space.

Buddy has secured a significant boost in funding, raising $7m from 49 investors, to bring its total funding to $8m.

The recent funding round was closed in mid-January, and it saw notable investors: Sequoia Capital, Plug and Play, and Atypical Ventures contributing to Buddy’s growth trajectory.

The initial sale of the round commenced in March 2023, indicating sustained investor interest over time.

Buddy, founded by CEO Charles Merritt, insurance veteran Jay Paul, and Martin Agency alum David Vogeleer, offers its software to brokerages and insurance carriers through a subscription-based model. The platform charges a monthly fee for each insurance product available, providing a seamless experience for managing and presenting products to clients.

The startup provides accident insurance tailored for outdoor enthusiasts engaged in intensive activities like rock climbing or mountain biking.

This innovative approach caters to the evolving needs of modern consumers, offering coverage solutions for niche segments of the market.

Marqeta, the global modern card issuing platform enabling some of the world’s most innovative embedded finance solutions, today announced its new customer, Internet Travel Solutions (ITS), a leading provider of travel management software that will utilize Marqeta’s comprehensive credit card platform to launch a multi-use travel and expense (T&E) commercial credit card for the mid-sized business market.

“Building our T&E credit card on Marqeta’s platform gives us access to a full suite of credit card capabilities and the flexibility and control to develop, launch, and scale branded credit solutions that seamlessly integrate into our digital experience.”

Business travel in the US is rebounding to pre-pandemic levels, with $237 billion dollars in spending expected in 2024, almost 90% of the total in 2019. With this recent growth and the profound shift to digital services during the pandemic, businesses seek flexible expense management tools that match their evolving needs. ITS has strategically partnered with Marqeta to build customizable credit card solutions that help businesses streamline expenses, access capital and boost operational efficiency. Marqeta’s credit card platform gives ITS control over the customer experience, supported by a unified, modern tech stack and program management capabilities, enabling them to develop credit solutions tailored to individual business needs.

"ITS is redefining how we manage corporate travel expenses, and with Marqeta’s highly configurable credit card platform, we can go beyond conventional offerings to meet the specific needs of our corporate clients,” said Rick Kumpf, CEO of ITS. “Building our T&E credit card on Marqeta’s platform gives us access to a full suite of credit card capabilities and the flexibility and control to develop, launch, and scale branded credit solutions that seamlessly integrate into our digital experience.”

ITS is an industry leader and innovator in travel and expense management. Its corporate card program solutions, EasyCard, aim to enable businesses to fulfill the diverse payment service needs of their employees, spanning across all roles and functions. With Marqeta, ITS has access to real-time card issuing, live transaction data, and spend controls that allow it to create dynamic credit card offerings and rewards. Additionally, Marqeta allows ITS the flexibility and extensibility to launch on a payments platform that can support and grow their products as they expand over time.

“As corporate travel ramps up, it will be critical for businesses to have access to individualized credit solutions that remove friction for users and simplify expense management capabilities,” said Todd Pollak, Chief Revenue Officer, Marqeta. “Marqeta is proud to partner with ITS, a pioneer in travel technology, delivering on our promise to provide dynamic and embedded credit experiences that transform customer loyalty and establish lasting relationships.”

Iliad Solutions, the world’s foremost payment testing company has announced a strategic partnership with Enqura, the Turkish-based experts in financial services digital transformation. 

From the outset the companies will work collaboratively offering Iliad’s payments testing capability to all existing Enqura customers, where relevant, providing an end-to-end testing capability. As both companies extend their international reach they will work in partnership on new customer opportunities.

Iliad Solutions’ products and services, used by leading financial institutions around the globe, help to minimize the risk when deploying new payment technology, reducing the costs associated with testing and improving the speed of launching new systems.

t3, orchestrates and simplifies the process of payment testing and certification. Sophisticated controls can be applied to projects at every level, with real-time data available via intuitive dashboard views. Customers can test complex transactions with schemes simply and with efficiency - tests are fully automated and can run at up to 15000 transactions per second. 

Anthony Walton, Iliad Solutions CEO commented: “We are delighted to be partnering with Enqura, it’s a collaboration that will benefit both businesses and our respective customers. The partnership effectively extends the reach of our end-to-end payment testing capability giving Iliad wider access to financial institutions in Turkey, the Middle East, and beyond.”

Walton adds: “Those licensing the newly enhanced t3 testing platform will be able to bring their digital payments and transaction solutions to market quicker and more efficiently via the high-level of automation and configurability the t3 platform provides.”

Metin Karabiber, Founder, CEO of Enqura added: “We too are very excited to join forces with Iliad. This partnership will enable us to offer our customers a comprehensive and robust testing capability for their payment systems, ensuring quality, security, and compliance. 

In addition, we will be able to showcase our innovative product EnQualify, a remote ID verification & digital onboarding solution, to Iliad’s customers and partners. EnQualify is powered by AI on Mobile Edge technologies, and provides a seamless and secure digital identity verification experience. We believe that this partnership will create new opportunities and value for both Enqura and Iliad in the fast-growing fintech market.”

IDnow, a leading identity verification platform provider in Europe, joins a consortium of five partners including the IOTA Foundation, walt.id, SPYCE.5, and Bloom Labs with the goal of making Crypto Asset Service Providers (CASPs) and self-hosted wallets compliant with the European Anti-Money-Laundering Regulation and the Transfer of Funds Regulation (TFR). 

The new TFR regulation in the EU mandates that all cryptocurrency transactions will need to carry identifying data of the sender and the receiver. According to the new rule, compliance with TFR is mandatory for all CASPs. Additionally, the new AML Regulation will require all CASPs to comply with similar AML rules as other financial institutions. For example, when a user opens an account and registers a wallet with a CASP, an identification process is required to comply with the new AML Regulation and TFR.

One challenge for CASPs to adhere to the new rules lies in GDPR compliance, as personally identifiable information (PII) should not be stored on blockchains or Distributed Ledger Technologies (DLT). However, to comply with the new regulations, CASPs need to know with whom they are doing business and continuously verify this information.

Raising trust and transparency in crypto asset transactions

To address this challenge, the partners have formed a consortium to propose a system where a trusted party tokenizes an identification process it has witnessed, allowing CASPs to have confidence in this process, without revealing any PII. The resulting soul-bound token (SBT) can be used for blockchain processes, enabling web3 native interactions. Furthermore, the trusted party can reveal the identity information, if requested by an authorized party, such as law enforcement, as well as revoke the SBT, if needed.

Within the consortium, the IOTA Foundation, a non-profit foundation supporting the development of the IOTA protocol, will provide the underlying network as the proposed solution will be implemented on an Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM)-compatible IOTA Smart Contract Chain. walt.id, a leading open-source vendor of decentralized identity and wallet infrastructure, will develop, provide, and maintain the trusted witness service for creating and verifying SBTs like identity proofs, while IDnow will deliver the identity verification solution to onboard users into the wallet solution. Bloom, an all-in-one wallet for the IOTA, Shimmer, and EVM ecosystem, will provide the capabilities for users to store, present, and prove ownership of the SBT. SPYCE.5, specializing in the integration of hybrid blockchain technologies, will provide the essential infrastructure for seamless interchain communication and transaction validation, ensuring the system’s overall efficiency and regulatory compliance.

Statements

“We are excited to be part of this forward-thinking consortium alongside highly esteemed crypto asset industry players to address a pressing need for crypto wallet solutions that comply with the latest EU regulations. Crypto companies are facing a race against the clock to implement new requirements, which is why we wish to submit this proposed solution to the EU for consideration to address the technological and regulatory challenges around AML, KYC and TFR in crypto,” says Rayissa Armata, Director Global Regulatory and Government Affairs at IDnow.

“We are thrilled to be working with such incredible partners to create a truly seamless user experience and to provide the underlying distributed ledger technology. Identity verification in Web3 environments should be simple and straightforward, without sacrificing privacy or security. As regulatory requirements grow, we need innovative solutions that are easy to use for both businesses and everyday users,” says Dominik Schiener, Chairman of the Board of the IOTA Foundation.

“We have been building decentralized identity and wallet solutions for many clients across various industries, but this project is particularly interesting as it shows new ways of onboarding and verifying users for crypto and DeFi use cases that have traditionally been struggling with regulatory compliance,” says Dominik Beron, Founder of walt.id.

“Bloom is excited to be collaborating with the partners in this consortium. This project will ensure our users and the crypto ecosystem can benefit from a self-hosted wallet that complies with EU regulations,” says Nicole O’Brien, Co-founder of Bloom Labs.

“We're proud to be part of this groundbreaking consortium, leveraging SPYCE.5's hybrid chain architecture to navigate the complex landscape of EU regulations. Our innovative approach ensures not only compliance but also maintains the integrity and efficiency vital in the crypto space,” says Holger Köther, Managing Director of SPYCE.5.

In today's dynamic and time-sensitive financial market, instant access to a web-based trading platform is crucial. It enables traders to swiftly identify opportunities and execute trades, ensuring they can effectively respond to market changes. 

Thanks to technological advancements, award-winning platforms like MetaTrader 4 WebTrader have emerged. T4Trade offers its clients the MT4 WebTrader platform allowing immediate trades from anywhere in the world with just a few clicks. 

Connect with the markets - fast

The MT4 WebTrader platform eliminates the need for memory-intensive software installations or time-consuming updates, as it is a 100% web-based platform that can be launched directly from an internet browser meaning that trading starts instantly, hassle-free, without any delays. Additionally, the platform is compatible with all major internet browsers, ensuring quick logins regardless of the device or operating system in use. Whether using Chrome, Firefox, Safari, or any other browser, T4Trade's MT4 WebTrader is readily available to help traders catch market opportunities when they arise.

One of the most significant advantages of T4Trade's MT4 WebTrader is its convenience. It adapts to traders’ diverse lifestyles, enabling them to access their trading accounts from various locations and during different activities, such as commuting, attending meetings, or relaxing at home. 

This real-time responsiveness not only makes trading potentially more efficient but also seamlessly aligns it with the fast-paced nature of the financial markets, transforming it into a fluid experience, where traders are not confined by time or place constraints.

T4Trade's MT4 WebTrader redefines convenience in online trading, breaking down barriers and offering flexibility and efficient execution of orders so as to match traders’ schedules and preferences.

The platform is equipped with a range of advanced features to enhance traders’ trading experience. Below are some of the platform’s key features and benefits:

One-click Trading Operations 

When time is of the essence, the one-click trading feature simplifies the execution of trades to just a single click of a button. This feature eliminates the need for multiple steps or confirmation dialogs, enabling traders to swiftly enter or exit trades. Whether scalping the markets or taking advantage of short-term opportunities, this feature ensures that traders can act quickly and capitalize on market movements at will.

Tying in with this innovative feature, the platform offers a user-friendly interface, suitable for both novice and experienced traders, providing a highly reliable and secure trading environment.

Setting Stops, Entry Limits, and Direct Orders

Risk management is an important aspect of trading, and MT4 WebTrader offers a range of tools to help traders manage their positions effectively. The platform features stop-loss orders, take-profit orders, and entry limits directly from the interface. This means that risk parameters and trading strategies can be defined upfront, without the need for additional software or manual calculations. 

By setting stops and limits, traders can better protect their capital and ensure that their trades are executed according to their desired parameters, even if they are away from their trading station.

Advanced Charting Capabilities

Technical analysis plays a vital role in the decision-making process of traders, and MT4 WebTrader provides advanced charting capabilities to support this. The platform has a wide range of charting tools and indicators to analyse market trends, identify patterns, and make informed trading decisions. Whether the preference is for candlestick charts, line charts, or bar charts, the MT4 WebTrader platform has a variety of options to suit each trading style. Additionally, the charts can be customized according to traders’ preferences, making it easier to spot trading opportunities and execute trades with confidence.

T4Trade's MT4 Webtrader platform has even more features to support traders. It includes 30 built-in technical indicators, 23 analytical objects, and various tools to assist in decision-making for buying or selling. Additionally, traders can set trailing stops and receive trading signals. The platform also provides pre-installed Expert Advisors and over 50 technical indicators for automated trading. 

T4Trade prioritizes the security of financial and data transactions, ensuring that all communication between the server and the MT4 platform is encrypted for high levels of protection.

Multiple Timeframes

Traders can choose from 9 timeframes to better understand the trend of the assets they are trading, instilling confidence in their decisions. Additionally, reviewing longer-term charts can help traders confirm their strategies or warn them when separate time frames are in disagreement. Narrower timeframes also assist traders in improving their entries and exits, ultimately leading to a better understanding of market trends and more reliable trading signals.

T4Trade’s MT4 WebTrader also ensures fast trade execution, and low latency, and supports multiple execution modes, enabling traders to react quickly to market changes.

In summary, T4Trade's MT4 WebTrader has transformed online trading by offering a convenient and efficient platform that facilitates instant trading from anywhere in the world. With its one-click trading operations, risk management features, and advanced charting capabilities, the MT4 WebTrader caters to the needs of both novice and experienced traders. 

The compatibility with various devices and internet browsers further enhances its availability, ensuring that traders can quickly log into their trading accounts and execute trades on the spot. Whether new to trading or looking to enhance their trading experience, T4Trade's MT4 WebTrader is a reliable solution for traders who are looking for a combination of efficiency and advanced features to empower their trades.

Launch T4Trade's MT4 WebTrader today and take your trading to new heights!

Startupbootcamp Australia (SBC Australia), one of the world's largest industry-focused accelerators, has appointed Tim Poskitt as its new Managing Director for Fintech in the APAC region. 

This strategic appointment bolsters SBC Australia’s commitment to nurturing the next generation of digital talent in finance, with a particular focus on sustainability and technological innovation. 

Mr Poskitt has over 20 years of global experience in financial services, including a decade in fintech inside the APAC region. He will run SBC Australia’s Sustainable Fintech Accelerator Program, which supports an annual cohort of 10 early-stage fintech founders to achieve rapid scale, while also being aligned to one or more of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. 

Trevor Townsend, CEO of Startupbootcamp Australia, welcomed Mr Poskitt to the team, saying: “Tim has extensive experience and wide connections in the financial services industry and is ideally placed to accelerate the growth of the fintech startups in our program. He has a passion to help founders succeed and is dedicated to Startupbootcamp Australia’s mission to empower impactful innovation globally that contributes to Net Zero by 2030.”

Mr Poskitt will also work closely with SBC Australia’s investment team to meet the financial objectives of the A$5,000,000 Sustainable Fintech Fund, which supports the program. Over three years, the fund aims to invest in 30 global fintech startups that are dedicated to addressing one of the most pressing issues of our time: driving sustainability through finance.

Tim Poskitt shared his enthusiasm for the new role, saying: "I’m extremely excited to be joining the SBC Australia team to spearhead the APAC fintech program and catalyze change for a more sustainable future. I’m loving working with the current cohort and looking forward to receiving expressions of interest for our next round.” 

The specific investment themes of interest are Generative AI, Fraud Prevention, Embedded Finance, DeFi & Blockchain, Sustainable Finance, and Financial Services in the MetaVerse. 

Mr Poskitt was previously the regional head of Envestnet | Yodlee’s operations in APAC and has also held senior roles at illion.  

Finastra, a global provider of financial software applications and marketplaces, and Tesselate, a global digital transformation consultancy and integrator, today announced the launch of an end-to-end pre-packaged service for faster and easier trade finance digitalization. Tegula Trade Finance as a Service, powered by Finastra Trade Innovation and Corporate Channels, enables US banks to automate manual processes and adapt to new demands with a quicker time to market and value. Via Finastra’s FusionFabric.cloud, banks can also seamlessly integrate fintech applications that use the latest technologies such as artificial intelligence, blockchain, and automation tools.

“Trade finance is a complex industry that is still reliant on manual and often fragmented processes,” said Jim McMahon, Managing Director, Head of Enterprise Sales and Strategic Partnerships, Americas at Finastra. “Our combined service with Tesselate delivers the automation and intelligence needed to increase efficiencies and decrease processing times, risk, errors, and total cost of ownership. Importantly, the all-in-one solution promotes interoperability of trade finance processes to reduce friction and complexity, while giving banks the agility to enhance existing or launch new services. We are bringing together Finastra and Tesselate’s industry-leading solutions, services, and expertise to make digitalization as seamless as possible for banks.”

Corporate Channels is a digital banking platform that provides banks with a single portal to unify trade, cash, supply-chain finance, lending, and treasury services for corporates. Trade Innovation is an end-to-end solution for frictionless trade and supply chain finance that uses straight-through processing, digitization, and data analytics to support growth and agility. Tegula is a scalable, cloud-hosted, and fully-managed Trade Finance as a Service platform that can be easily integrated within a bank’s organization. The combined cloud-based service and access to Finastra’s wider fintech ecosystem means US banks can future-proof their business, increase revenue streams, expand into new markets, and strengthen security.

“Adopting new technology can be costly at every stage, and it can be challenging to resource IT teams with the right skills to manage it,” said Alexandre Arnoux, Chief Revenue Officer and Managing partner at Tesselate. “By delivering our all-in-one joint solution as a highly secure managed service, banks do not need to invest in significant amounts of additional resources or take them away from their core business to pursue digitalization. Banks can take a modular approach to implementation for better cost and resource control, and we provide the ongoing updates, enhancements, and new capabilities at speed. Finastra and Tesselate are natural partners; we are working together to accelerate trade finance digitalization for any size of bank.”

Tuum is pleased to announce the appointment of Raquel Guillot as the new Sales Partner Director, a significant addition to our leadership team with a laser focus on the Southern European market. Raquel brings to Tuum a wealth of experience, with over 19 years in the financial services industry where her client-centric approach and passion for technology have driven impressive results.

Raquel’s expertise, cultivated from a career at the forefront of fintech and core banking entities like GBG Group, ACI Worldwide, Temenos, and Thought Machine, equips her with an exceptional ability to spearhead new business ventures, cultivate key partnerships, and execute strategic sales.

Raquel’s proven ability to merge financial industry expertise with technological innovation to solve client’s current and future needs positions her as a key asset to Tuum. This combined with her experience of solidifying relationships with top-tier financial institutions in regions including LATAM and the Iberia Peninsula will be instrumental to Tuum’s mission to expand our presence and influence within the dynamic Southern European financial sector.

On her new role at Tuum, Raquel commented, “Joining Tuum was a natural step for me, aligning seamlessly with my professional ethos and passion for introducing cutting-edge financial technologies into new markets. In my new role, I’m set to harness my comprehensive experience in sales and partnership management to not only enhance our partnerships and direct sales but also to embody and advance Tuum’s vision of reshaping the future of banking. It’s my intention to foster a synergistic ecosystem that not only drives Tuum’s growth but also catalyzes the evolution of financial technology, mirroring the innovative spirit at the heart of Tuum.”

Jean Souto, VP of Global Partnerships at Tuum, commented stating, “Bringing Raquel into the Tuum family is a testament to our commitment to broaden our horizons within the European financial ecosystem. Her rich industry acumen, impressive history of generating strategic sales, and nurturing impactful collaborations are the keystones that will help us become the leading next-generation banking provider in Europe and beyond.”

Temenos has been recognized again as a global sustainability leader according to the most reputable ESG ratings. Temenos achieved the top score in the Software industry for the second year running in the 2023 Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI) and was the only company in the industry awarded top 1% distinction in the S&P Global Sustainability Yearbook for 2024. Temenos was also classified as low risk in Sustainalytics ESG Risk Rating Report, while retained its platinum medal by EcoVadis for its sustainability performance.

These latest achievements reflect Temenos’ commitment to sustainability as the company leads the transition to SaaS, with more than 700 clients on Temenos Banking Cloud, helping banks reduce their carbon emissions by up to 95% compared to using on-premise IT infrastructure.

Banking is an IT-intensive sector, and the dependence is increasing with pressure to deliver new digital offerings, process growing transaction volumes, leverage new technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, and maintain vast data repositories. By migrating banking operations to the cloud and SaaS, banks can significantly reduce their environmental impact and operate more sustainably.

Temenos’ new end-to-end SaaS Enterprise Services, enabling banks to quickly deploy software solutions and take advantage of a leaner, agile, and more efficient banking system, is a further step towards decarbonizing the banking industry. Temenos recently announced Leap, a new AI-powered offering that helps banks modernize faster and seamlessly and quickly move to the latest cloud-native Temenos technology.

Temenos also continues to improve the efficiency of its code to minimize its environmental impact, by 32% in the latest software release validated by GoCodeGreen.

Kalliopi Chioti, Chief Marketing and ESG Officer, Temenos, said: “Temenos is leading the transition to SaaS and a more sustainable banking industry. To be recognized once again as a leader in the most prestigious ESG ratings worldwide, such as DJSI, S&P global, Sustainalytics, and EcoVadis, demonstrates our commitment to sustainability and the positive impact we have supported our clients in their transition to a low-carbon economy and achieve their ESG goals on Temenos Banking Cloud.”

Temenos extended its leadership in the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices with the highest CSA score (76/100) in the 2023 S&P Global Corporate Sustainability Assessment (CSA) out of 359 companies assessed in the Software industry. Only 759 companies are included in the 2024 S&P Sustainability Yearbook out of more than 9,400 companies assessed, and Temenos is the only Software company that achieved top 1% distinction. The company also ranked top 1% in Sustainalytics out of 443 companies assessed in Enterprise and Infrastructure Software sub-industry and the top 1% in Ecovadis out of over 85,000 companies assessed from all industries worldwide.

An overview of Temenos’ environmental roadmap towards a net zero economy and more information about the company’s ESG achievements are available here.