United State Bank has partnered with digital banking provider, Bankjoy to deliver a world-class online and mobile banking experience for its account holders.

Founded in 1922 and based in Lewistown, Mo., United State Bank serves the financial needs of retail customers and commercial businesses throughout the communities of Northeast Missouri. By partnering with Bankjoy, United State Bank will offer its customers a more modern, intuitive digital banking experience with thoughtfully designed features that are seamlessly integrated across multiple channels.

United State Bank’s customers will gain access to Bankjoy's end-to-end digital banking platform, which includes a robust suite of mobile and online banking features, integrated loan applications, and other advanced functionalities. The bank will also implement Bankjoy’s online account opening (OAO) product, enabling United State Bank to quickly and seamlessly onboard new customers while driving deposit growth. The bank is on track to go live with Bankjoy’s new digital banking platform and OAO product in Q4 2023.

Additionally, Bankjoy’s platform will integrate directly with United State Bank’s core banking system, SHAZAM’s Cardinal Core. With more than 120 integrations with third-party vendors and other core banking platforms, Bankjoy ensures a frictionless digital banking experience across numerous channels.

"United State Bank is thrilled to partner with Bankjoy to enhance our digital banking offerings and provide a more modern digital experience for our valued customers,” said Chuck Gnuse, President of United State Bank. “With Bankjoy's thoughtfully designed online and mobile banking features, we can continue to provide the exceptional service our bank is known for and keep engaging with our communities, even outside of our branch hours."

“According to BAI Banking Strategies, consumers across generations would be willing to switch financial institutions for a better online and mobile banking experience, and many are willing to make this switch via digital channels,” said Michael Duncan, CEO of Bankjoy. “When opening a deposit account at a bank, 30% of Gen Z consumers opt for mobile and nearly one-in-four millennial and Gen X consumers would use a mobile device. United State Bank is getting ahead of the curve and addressing the digital needs of its customer base. We are thrilled to support the bank on this front.”

Paysend, the global card-to-card transfer pioneer and global payments platform, has appointed ex Ernst & Young auditor and American Express executive, Yuri Biondo as Chief Financial Officer for the Group’s US business.

Based in Miami, he will report directly to the Group CFO, Wilhelm Rohde, and work alongside Chief Strategy Officer and Managing Director for the Americas, Jairo Riveros.

More recently Global Corporate Controller at Tribal Credit in Miami after a period as Vice President & Controller for Latin America and Caribbean for Visa, Yuri brings a wealth of financial services experience to Paysend and will help to drive the successful delivery of the recently announced partnership between Paysend and TelevisaUnivision in the United States and Latin America. Yuri will also have regulatory responsibility in relation to Paysend’s Money Transfer licenses in the US.

Welcoming Yuri into the Paysend Group, Chief Executive, Ronald Millar said, “Yuri is a valuable addition to our executive team in the Americas region. The extensive experience that he brings will contribute to the growing footprint that Paysend has established both in North and South America and support the important partnership we now have with TelevisaUnivision. I am very pleased to welcome him into the Paysend family.”

Group CFO Wilhelm Rohde added, “We are pleased to add further top payment industry talent to our bench which will support our growth trajectory."

Jairo Riveros added to the welcome, “I very much look forward to working alongside Yuri. Good financial management is a key component of our business, and Yuri’s background and experience both strengthen our team in the US and bring us the disciplines that will support our expansion across the region.”

Yuri Biondo commented, “Paysend is a true success story. Over a relatively short period of time, it has become one of the leading global money transfer services, and I am delighted to be joining the Group to play my part in the continued growth, working alongside Jairo.”

Lightico, market-leading provider of digital customer interactions, today announced its acquisition of Europe’s leading customer experience technology provider, Vizolution, which positions the joint company as the global leader in B2B2C Digital Completion for the financial services and telecom industries. With a robust, combined platform, the company enables businesses to fully engage remotely with their customers through any channel in an automated and mobile-first manner.

The joint company’s solutions are already in use by leading companies in the financial services sector, including Capital One, GM Financial, HSBC, Santander, NatWest, BNP Paribas, TD Bank, and by telecom companies including, BT/EE, VMO2, and Three, to reduce transaction times, increase efficiency and improve bottom-line profitability. Customers have seen over 80% faster turnaround times, 45% improvement in completion rates and an ROI of 360%.

“As customer expectations for service companies to offer seamless, digital experiences continues to soar, bringing Vizolution into the Lightico fold will result in a more robust platform devoted to helping businesses deliver world-class digital experiences,” said Zviki Ben Ishay CEO and Co-Founder of Lightico. “With this acquisition, we are combining the leading digital completion solutions in North America and Europe to become the de facto global leader, and are well-positioned and fully funded to scale rapidly across the financial services and telecom industries where demand is at an all-time high.”

The deal will combine Vizolution’s transformational agent-assisted and self-serve solutions with Lightico’s powerful Compliant Digital Completion Platform, including its workflow-integrated eSignature, document collection, and identification & verification services. This will provide clients with a unified solution to deliver an end-to-end, seamless, digital and complete solution for the entire customer lifecycle. Additionally, Vizolution’s team will join Lightico’s organizational structure with Zviki Ben Ishay, Lightico’s CEO, at the helm and Bill Safran, Vizolution’s CEO, transitioning to Chief Strategy Officer for the 150-person strong company. Additional shareholders; HSBC Ventures, Santander, Natwest and Development Bank of Wales join Lightico’s current backers Capital One Ventures, Crescendo, Lool Ventures, Mangrove Capital, Oxx, and Spinach Angels.

“Vizolution has been providing customer experience services to market-leading enterprises to help them transform and improve digital experiences for millions of their customers,” said Bill Safran, CEO of Vizolution. “By joining forces with Lightico, we’ll leverage the best of both technologies, people and organizations to deliver a strong, scalable, cloud-based offering that will deliver even greater value to our clients and their customers.”

“As early backers of Vizolution, we’ve long believed that streamlining complex customer-facing interactions, especially in the financial services industry, is critical to success,” said Terecina Kwong, Chief Operating Officer, HSBC Bank plc and HSBC Europe and Vizolution Board Member. “Lightico’s acquisition of Vizolution is a significant step towards bringing this change to the entire industry and we look forward to continued success together.”

“Vizolution’s technology as well as the team behind it has enabled Santander Consumer Finance to provide customers with an exceptional digital consumer lending experience,” said Santander Consumer Finance CEO José Luis De Mora. “We have no doubt that consumer demand for more seamless end-to-end digital experiences will grow, and with Lightico and Vizolution combining forces, we’re confident that the new, larger company will help Santander Consumer Finance further its digital footprint and be one of the most important leaders in digitizing the consumer lending market."

Pension management company IPAS Indexo (hereinafter – INDEXO) which is currently working on development of a new bank, has chosen Nets, part of Nexi Group, to be a provider of full suite of card issuing services. INDEXO will benefit from an affiliate VISA licence under Nets VISA licence and leverage the extensive issuing knowledge and resources of Nets.

“Enabling card issuing is an important milestone for us in bank creation process. We needed a reliable partner who can combine the highest security and service standards of card issuing services, and same time remain flexible and modern to contribute to our overall product development for future INDEXO Bank customers. Cooperation with Nets will allow us to develop convenient card user experience for our customers,” says Vladimirs Bolbats, INDEXO Head of Retail banking.  

Henrik Anker Jørgensen, CEO of Nets Estonia AS and Head of Baltic Region at Nets Group added, “Nets is delighted to support INDEXO’s development of a new bank by providing critical issuing services. Entering into this partnership strengthens our position as the leading PayTech enabler in Europe, which in turn will help build up the Latvian economy, to not only improve the lives of Latvian citizens but enhance the global economy as a whole.”

As previously reported, in parallel to pension management, INDEXO has been actively working on a new commercial bank project and at the end of last year filed for a banking license. INDEXO is also working on the new banks’ product portfolio, development of its IT systems and risk management models as well as other matters related to the operations of the would-be bank.

Disclaimer: Bank (credit institution) license is subject to authorization granted by the European Central Bank based on the Bank of Latvia proposal.

DJUST, a B2B eCommerce SaaS platform created by ex-founding member of Mirakl, Arnaud Rihiant, today announced that it has raised €12M in a Series A growth funding round to accelerate market expansion. The funding round was led by New Enterprise Associates, Inc. (NEA), with additional participation from ELAIA Partners.

Founded in 2020, the Paris-based B2B Commerce platform enables professional buyers and sellers to have a frictionless buying experience, achieve greater productivity and accelerate growth. In contrast to larger B2C-focused platforms such as Adobe Commerce, Salesforce Commerce and Shopify, the DJUST solution is purpose-built for B2B needs, empowering industries such as Distributors, Franchising, Wholesalers and Manufacturers. The platform supports all B2B scenarios: online catalogs, B2B eCommerce, eProcurement, and Marketplace connectors.

“The B2B eCommerce journey has been upended over the past decade, and behaviours and expectations on both the buyer and seller end have significantly changed the way B2B companies need to acquire, convert, retain, and expand customers. Yet many B2B companies are left to deal with these shifts on their own, supported only by outdated solutions that don’t fit their current needs,” said Arnaud Rihiant, Founder and CEO, DJUST. “We want to free all businesses of the hassle of building, launching and running B2B commerce. That will happen when companies stop making small adjustments to outdated systems and instead embrace an integrated, modular and powerful platform. In turn, that future-proofs new growth opportunities and excellent customer service.”

“The B2B eCommerce market is estimated to be up to five times the size of the B2C market. And while there are many well-known software tools facilitating B2C eCommerce, today’s B2B technology stack remains outdated. DJUST’s simple yet powerful technology is an ideal match for the needs of today’s B2B businesses, whether they’re building their own eCommerce platform, working with suppliers, simplifying their procurement processes, or increasing the effectiveness of their sales operation,” said Philip Chopin, Managing Director, NEA UK. “The company’s rapid growth and ability to quickly demonstrate value for customers across different industries like retail, construction, fashion and pharmaceuticals give us confidence that they can scale sustainably over the long-term.”

“Just as the consumer can now order anything at any time in only a few clicks, we believe that anyone should be able to place orders for their companies and replenish their stores just as seamlessly. DJUST’s SaaS solutions are the best answers on the market for B2B companies to bring their e-commerce operations to the same level as the e-retailers. We are very happy to welcome NEA, whose international network will help the company accelerate on the international scene, and to continue to support DJUST’s management team, which we believe has both the track record and the ambition to achieve this revolution in the B2B world,” explains Xavier Lazarus, Managing Partner at Elaia.

Combining a SaaS platform with B2B Commerce yields endless possibilities for businesses and buyers. For businesses, time-to-market is reduced significantly, full end-to-end visibility of orders, processes and deliveries becomes possible, and powerful data insights are made available via user-friendly dashboards. Together, this lets businesses adapt to new buyers, who have sky-high expectations regarding their online experiences. The DJUST platform offers powerful customization on the front-end, with drag-and-drop functionalities and data syncing of old and new channels, enabling shifts and adaptations for new markets and buyers.

Alongside co-founders Alexis Delplanque (Co-founder and Head of Sales) and Eric Gaudin (Co-founder and Head of Technology), Arnaud Rihiant launched DJUST with €4M in seed funding from European investor Elaia in 2020. With the €12M raised today, the company plans to expand into markets across Europe, the UK and the US and invest more aggressively in developing solutions for its core product. Over the past year, DJUST has doubled its headcount from 20 to 40+ employees and more than doubled annual recurring revenue through more than 15 new deals with leading distributors and manufacturers across Europe, empowering them to go from offline to online rapidly and connecting all existing systems to one central platform of truth.

“We are going from decentralized to centralized with DJUST B2B Commerce. Our business processes are automated on the platform, and we can connect our ERP to the solution. This was a huge differentiator when we chose to partner with DJUST,” said Remi Beranger, Vice President of Global Procurement & Supply Chain at deSter.

Arthur Caron, Head of Supply Chain at Franprix, one of France’s leading retailers, adds: “With a modern B2B Commerce solution, we can increase productivity, customer satisfaction and gain more visibility by centralizing all procurement and reassortment operations. We can offer our franchisees a B2C-like experience.

”With a young and out-of-the box mindset, DJUST offers more than just an order and procurement platform but a genuine partnership with their clients and a transparent product roadmap.

“We needed a B2B expert who could offer a flexible solution that can grow and build with us – someone who thinks out of the box. This would not have been possible with a more traditional solution vendor,” said Henri Danzin, Director of Marketing and Commerce at Socoda, a leading French network group of distributors of construction tools, parts and steel.

One of the reasons why DJUST has seen huge success over the last year is because of the platform’s ability to integrate with any existing tech stack and channels. This frees teams from time-consuming data consolidation and repetitive, manual data transfers, while allowing companies to keep existing systems as they shift to a complete digital business.

“The DJUST B2B Commerce solution and project approach allow us to progressively transform digitally. By giving us the tools to sell and trade effectively, we can concentrate on making a better buying experience rather than on managing a technology,” said Nicolas Rigot, Procurement Director at Eiffage, a leading European Construction company.

Global technical body EMVCo has announced the appointment of Tim Stuart to the role of European Liaison.

Tim brings with him over 20 years of experience in the payments industry, holding various senior positions at Mastercard. His roles have included delivering EMV® Chip and EMV Contactless solutions, as well as addressing emerging industry trends such as IoT payments and digital identity.

As European Liaison, Tim will serve as EMVCo’s key point of contact in Europe in its engagement with stakeholders and institutions, in support of its work to develop globally adopted specifications that promote innovation and address marketplace needs.

Key responsibilities include representing EMVCo with key stakeholders across the European payments industry such as the European Payments Stakeholders Group (EPSG) and European Payments Council (EPC), as well as with principal European institutions including the European Central Bank (ECB) and the European Commission (EC). Tim will also support initiatives to educate on the role of EMVCo and the benefits of the EMV Specifications.

Leigh Garner, EMVCo Executive Committee Chair, said: “I would like to welcome Tim to EMVCo. The European Liaison role reflects EMVCo’s ongoing commitment to engagement and collaboration, and we look forward to working together with governmental institutions and industry stakeholders across Europe in support of our mission to promote secure and seamless payments for consumers, merchants and businesses.”

Global banks are losing one in five (20%) of their customers due to poor customer experience, having overlooked what truly matters, according to new research by 10x Banking.

The landmark study commissioned by 10x, the transformational cloud-native SaaS core bank operating system founded by former Barclays CEO Antony Jenkins, revealed that banks in key markets across the globe are shedding large numbers of their customer base to rivals. One in eight banking leaders (12%) state they have lost 30-40 per cent of their existing customers for this very reason.  

Surveying more than 150 senior decision-makers and more than 150 product managers, business analysts and project managers, across eight markets (UK, South Africa, the Nordics, Australia, New Zealand Germany, India and Vietnam), 10x’s study sought to understand the decision-making process within the world’s leading banks when it comes to digital transformation, specifically their ability to adopt new technologies, respond to market change, roll out new products, and prioritise resource appropriately.

Commenting on the findings, Jenkins said: “Over my career I have learnt banking is about customers, but the reality is most of the banking industry has overlooked what matters, taking a product-focused approach rather than focusing on the customer. Banks need to think about solving problems in a way that makes customers’ lives easier. This is a good thing for the bank and the customer, who will be more loyal over time as a result.

“Banks often mistake transformation for innovation. Innovation is a linear series of marginal improvements, whereas true transformation is a non-linear step-change in improvements, beginning with a material improvement in customer experience. Many banks might convince themselves that releasing an app or going digital means they have been on a journey of transformation, but the reality is that very few banks are undergoing true change at their core.

Banks are museums of technology, with every generation of software and hardware, much of it now off support and towards end of life. Prioritising digital transformation is critical if they want to stay relevant and compete effectively.”

Not only do senior decision-makers within banks recognise they are losing valuable customers, but an alarming two-thirds (64%) admit that their slow rate of digital transformation has directly resulted in them missing out on winning new customers.

This direct impact on banks’ bottom lines, coupled with the current economic uncertainty within the banking sector, has resulted in three-quarters of banks (74%) attempting to accelerate their digital transformation this year, which offers some encouragement that decision-makers are seeking to address the issue.

“The findings from our study reflect exactly what we are hearing in conversations with customers and prospects,” added Dr Leda Glyptis, Chief Client Officer at 10x. “While innovation is flourishing, true transformation is hard to come by, and the customers of some of the world’s leading banks are becoming frustrated.

“There are many human and structural obstacles to digital transformation. To overcome these, bank leaders need to embrace a fresh mentality to bring about the changes in banking and financial services that consumers increasingly demand.”

This research is part of 10x’s latest industry report, “Global banks and the transformation illusion slowing their progress”. 

Experian today announces a new service which will help banks and building societies identify and close ‘money mule’ accounts which are used to house fraudulently-obtained funds.

Money mules are individuals who have agreed to let their bank accounts be used by criminals in exchange for cash. According to new insights from Experian, 42% of first-party current account fraud is now mule-related, with the fraud rate for current accounts rising by 13% in the first three months of the year.

Money laundering is estimated to cost the UK economy more than £100 billion each year, while Authorised Push Payment (APP) fraud losses reached £485 million in 2022.**

The funds deposited in these accounts are often the proceeds from APP fraud – with the victim is tricked into transferring money to various mule accounts to hide the origin of money – before then being distributed onto the fraudster’s own accounts.

Currently, banks and other account providers don’t have information on where the money is being received from or being sent to except for confirmation of the payee, making it difficult for them to identify and investigate accounts potentially being used in this way.

Experian Mule Score aims to solve this problem. By analysing account opening history and turnover activity, Experian bureau data, and the modelled characteristics of more than 200,000 confirmed mule cases, the machine learning-powered solution enables banks to assess their entire portfolio so they can easily spot questionable account activity.

In proof-of-concept trials, the solution was able to identify accurately more than 50% of the highest risk ‘mule’ accounts. The solution will help banks avoid onboarding suspicious accounts at the point of opening, reduce fraud losses and operational costs, support consumers who are at risk, as well as preventing fraudulent funds entering the mainstream financial system.                                                                                              

Eduardo Castro, Managing Director, Identity and Fraud, Experian UK&I, said: “The level of fraud and financial crime in the UK represents a threat to financial institutions and their customers. Experian, thanks to our data, analytics and technology, is uniquely placed to help. We are committed to helping eliminate financial crime and ensuring safe financial access for all.

“Mule Score is the first solution of its kind, giving financial companies a comprehensive view of account activity, helping prevent them from onboarding potential mule accounts and detect already opened accounts which are suspicious.”

Funds held in a mule account are typically moved to between two and three others before being transferred to international accounts, or in some cases, crypto wallets, and then reintegrated back into the UK financial system. Accounts being used for mule activity tend to be newly-opened, but the holder will have a number of older accounts that can continue to be used to transfer funds if the newer one is closed.

Experian Mule Score was developed by Experian DataLabs, an in-house team of data scientists driving innovation by using the latest cutting-edge data analysis techniques to build products and solutions which help businesses meet numerous challenges across sectors.

Experian is showcasing the solution at London Tech Week. Taking place at the Queen Elizabeth II Centre from June 12 – 16, the event brings together the country’s technology leaders to celebrate how technology and innovation is transforming society.

Experian is a market leader in fraud prevention technology and prevented more than £1.8bn of fraudulent transactions in 2021.