Ryft, an FCA-licensed UK fintech providing PSD2-compliant payments systems for marketplaces and their merchants, has worked with St Helena Government to enable businesses on the island to accept in-person, real-time electronic Visa and Mastercard card payments for the first time. St Helena Government aims to have multiple businesses and Government departments onboarded in the coming months, and it is hoped that the move will drive up visitor spending by 10 per cent by the end of 2024 as part of Government’s digital transformation and tourism recovery strategies.

St Helena, a British Overseas Territory in the South Atlantic Ocean more than 1,200 miles off the west coast of southern Africa, has a population of under 4,500 and its economy is heavily dependent on tourism, predominantly from the UK and South Africa. The island’s remoteness and small size have meant it has historically struggled to access international merchant payment platforms. As a result, visitors have previously only been able to conduct transactions in cash (using either Sterling or St Helena Pounds, which are tied to GBP) – and with cash withdrawals only possible in person at the Bank of St Helena on the island and neighbouring Ascension, and incurring a five per cent fee, this has been a drag on tourist spending. 

By making it easier for visitors to spend money around the island, the ability for local businesses and organisations to accept Visa and Mastercard payments should improve the visitor experience and contribute to economic growth on the island.

Mark Brooks, Minister for the Treasury, Infrastructure, and Sustainable Development Portfolio at St Helena Government, said: “Barriers resulting from our remoteness have meant that technology adoption has always been delayed on our small and isolated island – the internet didn’t arrive until 1995, and mobile phones weren’t commonplace until 2015. But digital transformation is at the heart of our plans for economic growth as we work hard to recover from the hammer blows dealt to the tourism industry by the Covid-19 pandemic. We couldn’t accept any longer the barriers our cash-based economy put in front of cruise passengers and other tourists, limiting their ability and appetite to spend with our local businesses. Many larger companies simply aren’t interested in the challenge of solving problems like these in circumstances like ours – we’re pleased to be working with Ryft, who were innovative and agile enough to take an interest and find a solution.”

Businesses on St Helena can now apply directly to Ryft to be able to accept Visa and Mastercard payments, with funds able to be deposited in Bank of St Helena and UK bank accounts. Ryft has worked to develop a bespoke and streamlined application and onboarding process to account for the fact that St Helena’s local laws and practices differ from the UK’s, preventing businesses from supplying some of the documentation that would usually be required, while maintaining compliance standards.

“We often find ourselves being approached to solve problems for partners where nobody else has been able to, so we were excited to support St Helena Government in this important and ambitious drive to transform the island’s economy. As tourist destinations around the world continue to adapt and rebound in the post-pandemic world, reducing barriers to spending and supporting local businesses is a critical part of the recovery and regrowth process. We’re pleased to be part of that for St Helena, and look forward to working together to see what we can achieve next,” said Sadra Hosseini, co-founder and CEO at Ryft.

Ryft announced its £1.2 million seed funding round, led by SFC Capital, in September 2022, and secured its FCA licence in April 2023.

Leading payments company payabl., today announced the opening of a new office in the Netherlands as part of its European expansion strategy.

payabl. is cementing its presence in Zuidas, Amsterdam, a prominent FinTech hub – ranked as the 2^nd biggest FinTech nation in the EU (behind London) – and home to a number of key global FinTech players. The new location is viewed as a gateway to Europe for FinTech, and is renowned for its strong tech ecosystem, financial sector and progress towards digital and cashless payments.

For example, the Netherlands has one of the highest rates of cashless payments in the world, with over 60% of transactions being made electronically, and debit card payments accounting for 88% of all card payment transactions. As a result, the city was an obvious choice for payabl. to expand into Europe even further, in addition to its offices in Germany, Cyprus, Italy, Poland, Lithuania, and the UK.

So far this year, payabl. has been on a growth trajectory, recently being named as the fastest growing payments company in the Middle East and Cyprus, as part of Deloitte Technology Fast 50 for the region. In addition, the business recently joined the Visa Direct Preferred Partner programme. These impressive milestones, recognitions and achievements underline payabl.’s momentum, and further expansion into Europe is the natural next step to continue this.

At the same time, the company is steadily progressing towards launching payabl.one, a new platform to cater for all financial needs of merchants, including banking services, acquiring, issuing and local payment solutions, in one place.

Ugne Buraciene, Group CEO at payabl. said: “As we continue to expand our reach and diversify our offering, international expansion will play a crucial role.  Amsterdam is the gateway into payments and FinTech in Europe, and demand for innovative payment technology in the Netherlands continues to grow. We look forward to working with businesses in the region to meet this increasing need”.

If you’d like to learn more about the expansion and payabl.’s future plans, please visit stand B246 at Money20/20 Europe from Tuesday 6^th until Thursday 8^th June, or get in touch. You can also join Ugne Buranciene at 11:30am CET on Wednesday 7th June, on the Money-Bot stage at the show, in the session on "What do Merchants Need to Do to Improve Payments?".

The new office can be found at Claude Debussylaan 7, 1082 MC Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Digital bank Zopa has announced the appointment of Pippa Lambert to its Board, pending regulatory approval.

A senior leader with 25 years of experience at high-growth, listed companies, Pippa will Chair Zopa’s Remuneration Committee and oversee the bank’s people agenda including culture, rewards and recognition as it matures and enters its next phase of growth.

Pippa currently serves on the Board of Aviva PLC and is a member of the UK government’s Senior Salaries Review Board (SSRB).

She was previously Global Head of Human Resources at Deutsche Bank, overseeing HR strategy for its 80,000 employees. Prior to that she was Group Head of Reward at RBS where she restructured the bank’s compensation and benefits offering.

The appointment follows last month’s call from the LSE Chief for higher UK executive pay to retain listings and an ambitious review into the UK’s listing rulebook to make London more attractive as a financial centre.

Pippa Lambert, Zopa Board member said: “I am delighted to be joining Zopa at an inflection point of its impressive growth journey. Zopa’s culture of community, collaboration and inclusion make it an exciting and inspiring place to be. I look forward to building on Zopa’s unique strengths as it enters its next phase of growth.”

Jaidev Janardana, CEO at Zopa bank added: “We are excited to welcome Pippa to the Board. At Zopa, we are building Britain’s best bank. We will only achieve it by making Zopa the most attractive, truly diverse and inclusive place to work, and by attracting and retaining the best and brightest people from across the industry.”

Launched in 2020, to date Zopa bank has attracted £3.5 billion in deposits, more than £2 billion of loans on balance sheet, and issued over 400,000 credit cards. It continues to grow its revenues by over 40% YoY.

In February, Zopa bank raised £75 million to spearhead a 2023 M&A push and completed the acquisition of BNPL provider DivideBuy.

With a score of 4.6 / 5 on Glassdoor and 92% of its employees recommending it to a friend, Zopa has one of the highest employee satisfaction scores across the UK fintech industry.

It has been voted the UK’s "Bank of the Year 2022" at the Altfi Awards, "Best Personal Loan Provider" and "Best Credit Card Provider" at the British Bank Awards, and the third most loved company in the UK by Newsweek magazine.

Vienna-based paybox Bank, a subsidiary of A1 Telekom Austria, is migrating its operations to the Avaloq Core Platform to drive the expansion of its business and to create a comprehensive suite of banking services. With this agreement, paybox Bank has the flexibility to expand into any business area as a licensed online bank, with the ability to efficiently scale as its client base continues to grow.

paybox Bank offers credit cards as well as payment solutions for private and corporate clients. The bank is now planning to expand its product range and to use EU passporting to grow in Germany and Southeast Europe. paybox Bank is wholly owned by A1 Telekom Austria AG. Since its founding in 2000, paybox Bank has focused on innovative mobile commerce solutions and was one of the first banks to launch a comprehensive commercial near-field communication (NFC) offering in 2007. With the Avaloq Core Platform, paybox can operate as an online bank in full compliance with regulations from Austria’s Financial Market Authority (FMA) and Germany’s Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin), while continuing to drive innovation in Europe’s financial sector.

Avaloq’s core banking platform, implemented by Synpulse, will automate and streamline the bank’s processes and workflows across the front, middle and back office. This ensures high straight-through processing (STP) and service accuracy rates to enhance the efficiency of paybox’s operations and minimize payment reversals. The Avaloq Core Platform also offers flexibility and a fast time-to-market for new products and services, while facilitating seamless expansion into new markets.

Michael Wilhelm, Chief Operating Officer and Executive Board Member at paybox, said: “We are excited about our ambitious growth plans, which we are jointly developing with Avaloq and Synpulse. The Avaloq Core Platform will provide the necessary flexibility to enable us to expand into any client segment or business area in the future – and to quickly launch new solutions in response to market trends. As a leader in mobile payments and innovative credit card solutions, we aim to shape the future of digital finance in Europe. And thanks to this new partnership, we can rely on Avaloq’s expertise in banking to help us achieve our growth ambitions. We look forward to working closely with Avaloq in the years to come.”

Thomas Beck, Co-Chief Executive Officer at Avaloq, said: “Our core banking platform will form the backbone of paybox Bank’s operations, supporting fundamental processes such as client onboarding, payments and settlement. This will provide a strong foundation on which paybox can develop further propositional capabilities to enable enhanced digital engagement and to help deliver on clients’ financial objectives. At Avaloq, we constantly screen the market to keep our clients compliant with evolving regulations – including those from FMA and BaFin. We are proud to partner with such an innovative bank and to help drive the ongoing digital transformation in finance.”

Brite Payments today announced that it has expanded its product coverage to bring Brite Instant Payments to Belgium, extending the company’s presence in the Benelux region and complementing its existing coverage in the Netherlands. Further highlighting Brite’s commitment to the Benelux countries, the instant bank payments provider has appointed industry veteran Philippe Rousseau to spearhead growth in the region.

With a population of more than 11 million located at the intersection of Europe’s largest economies and a mature digital economy, the Belgian market is primed for the uptake of open banking-powered instant bank payments. Merchants and businesses across a wide range of verticals can now offer Brite Instant Payments, which delivers improved customer UX by eliminating payment redirects. Brite’s ‘Single Sign’ also makes it possible for consumers to complete payment up to 40% faster, using top-of-mind information and circumventing the need for account creation or registration. 

Brite Payments is one of Sweden’s fastest-growing fintechs, and has leveraged its Brite Instant Payments Network (IPN) to bring open banking-based instant payments to the Belgian market. The purpose-built proprietary network helps equip merchants and businesses with a complete, out-of-the-box instant payments and payouts solution. The availability of Brite Instant Payments in Belgium complements existing instant payouts coverage, which enables businesses to disburse payments – whether refunds, payouts or withdrawals – in real-time. Additionally, Brite offers full product coverage in the Netherlands, as well as Brite Instant Payouts in Luxembourg.

Supporting Brite’s product expansion and commercial growth in the region will be Philippe Rousseau, who has been appointed Head of Benelux. An industry veteran who has held senior commercial positions at SOFORT and Klarna, Philippe’s deep knowledge of account-to-account (A2A) and open banking payments equip him to drive Brite’s ambitious growth plans in the Benelux countries. 

“Awareness of the benefits of instant bank payment solutions is growing amongst merchants, and we’re delighted to offer more comprehensive coverage across the Benelux region with a superior customer experience and seamless instant payments,” said Philippe Rousseau, Head of Benelux, Brite Payments. “It’s an exciting time to join Brite and I’m looking forward to driving our growth in this dynamic region through the rest of the year and beyond.” 

“Benelux is an important region to our development and it’s fantastic to have Philippe on board to lead the charge. Extending our coverage demonstrates the continued growth of Brite and reaffirms our commitment to bringing a true out-of-the-box instant payments offering to merchants across Europe,” added Lena Hackelöer, Founder & CEO, Brite Payments. 

Match-Prime, a Liquidity Provider for CFD Brokers, operating under CySEC regulations, has proudly announced a strategic alliance with SquaredFinancial, a multi-regulated award-winning FinTech firm offering its customers access to more than 10,000 financial instruments in CFDs to trade.

Regulated by CySEC, SquaredFinancial brings 18 years of financial technology and trading experience to offer international trading solutions to traders of all generations wherever they are in the world. Wanting to reinforce its efforts to offer a seamless experience to its clients, the company has signed a long-term collaboration with Match-Prime Liquidity. By joining forces with the Cyprus-based liquidity provider, SquaredFinancial expands its range of liquidity sources and further optimise execution speed. By accessing Match-Prime’s liquidity pool, SquaredFinancial will be able to provide its clientele with over 2000 trading instruments and 9 asset classes, including more than 50 Crypto CFDs, to further answer the needs of its rapidly growing client base.

Acquiring this strategic client, Match-Prime Liquidity continues its good streak after being named the 2023 Best Multi-Asset Liquidity Provider during the Ultimate Fintech Awards. 

“We are delighted to onboard SquaredFinancial, a leading brokerage firm that has established itself in the industry. Match-Prime has a very similar culture to SquaredFinancial, putting its clients needs first. Therefore, I believe that we have a long and fruitful cooperation ahead of us. We provide tailor-made solutions that help companies like SquaredFinancial better adjust to their clients’ requirements in a dynamic and competitive industry. We aim to provide our clients with the best possible trading conditions and we are honoured to hear that our service standards are the main reason why clients choose us as their liquidity provider. Our collaboration with the SquaredFinancial team has been excellent so far, and we look forward to helping them expand at a faster pace”, said Stavros Economides, Chief Operating Officer at Match-Prime Liquidity.

“We take pride in partnering with Match-Prime Liquidity and adding it to our list of institutional clients. It is yet another step towards expanding our global reach, underlining SquaredFinancial’s commitment to offering its clients a seamless trading experience”, added Philippe Ghanem, Founder and CEO of SquaredFinancial.

NatWest, the UK’s biggest bank for business, has increased the interest rate on one of its business savings accounts from 2.10% to 3.50% gross rate - the highest rate of interest offered by any major lender on equivalent accounts1, as part of its wider support package to help business customers facing challenges posed by inflation and the cost of doing business.

NatWest’s 95 day Liquidity Manager Notice Account is ideal for business customers who want to earn higher returns on their savings, and don’t need immediate access to funds. There is no minimum deposit required to open the account, and there is no maximum balance limit. Interest is calculated on the account’s daily balance and applied on the last business day of each month.

James Holian, Head of Business Banking at NatWest, said:

“As the UK’s biggest bank for business, we are delighted to be able to offer our business customers a market-leading interest rate on this account. If you want to earn higher returns on your savings, and don’t need immediate access to them, then this account could be ideal. We hope this incentive will help businesses build their financial reserves and support them in making higher returns on their hard-earned savings.”

Tonik, the Philippines' pioneering all-digital bank, is proud to announce that it has surpassed a significant milestone by onboarding over one million clients since its inception.

This achievement illustrates the bank’s successful contribution to improving financial inclusion in the country, while highlighting the emerging trend of digital banking in the region.

"We are thrilled to celebrate this momentous milestone, as it stands as a testament to the robust customer-centric model that Tonik has to offer," said Greg Krasnov, CEO and Founder of Tonik. "Achieving one million onboarded clients in such a short span is a validation of the growing trust and confidence of the Filipino community in our digital banking services."

Since its launch, Tonik has been committed to reshaping the traditional banking landscape by leveraging cutting-edge technology and a customer-focused approach to democratize financial services.

The bank has successfully provided individuals and families, particularly those previously underserved by traditional banking institutions, with accessible, secure, and user-friendly digital banking services. In a country where nearly half of the adult population remains unbanked, Tonik's growth signals a shift towards more inclusive banking practices.

The digital platform's seamless onboarding process, wide range of financial products, and innovative services have played a significant role in driving this change.

“Financial inclusion has always been at the heart of our mission,” Krasnov said. “We are proud to be part of the solution in bridging the gap for those who previously had limited access to banking services. Through Tonik, we are enabling more Filipinos to manage, save, and grow their money in a manner that is most convenient for them.” 

Tonik continues to innovate and enhance its digital offerings to better serve the diverse needs of the Philippine market.

The bank is committed to its mission of bringing banking closer to Filipinos, in a modern and convenient way, creating a more inclusive and financially empowered society.

Castle Trust Bank has renewed its contract with Phoebus for another five years and will be transitioning to the software provider’s latest core banking servicing platform.

The two firms have worked together since 2016 when Castle Trust migrated its entire mortgage book of loans onto a bespoke Phoebus system. 

Upgrading to the Phoebus core servicing solution will allow Castle Trust to utilise the full range of additional functionality available. This includes the Phoebus award-winning originations and migrations API and the option to implement any number of the other 60-plus suite of "standard" Phoebus APIs.

In total, almost 50 new capabilities and enhancements will become enabled for Castle Trust to deploy, including the option to access the Phoebus AI-powered and predictive, next-generation user interface.

Adam Oldfield, chief revenue officer at Phoebus, said: “We have always had a great relationship with Castle Trust and understand the workings of their specialist areas of lending. It now makes complete sense for Castle Trust to transition from the bespoke system we built for them seven years ago to our market-leading, core servicing platform with all its additional functionally and contemporary, digital capability. 

“The team at Phoebus looks forward to completing this transition within a four-month timeframe. We will then continue to work closely with the bank in support of its on-going lending servicing requirements, delivering significant operating cost savings whilst helping enhance its growth ambitions."

Barry Searle, managing director, property at Castle Trust Bank, commented: “The Phoebus bespoke mortgage servicing system has served us well to date, but the scale and scope of digital innovation created within the Phoebus core banking servicing platform is where we want and need to go to next.

“As a specialist lender, we are always looking to create new products to fit an ever-complex lending market and the latest Phoebus software solution can help us to realise our future growth and business objectives.”

Provenir, a global leader in data and AI-powered risk decisioning software, today announced its Data and Decisioning Platform has garnered Banking Tech Awards USA 2023 top honors in the FinTech of the Future – Data & Insights category.

The Banking Tech Awards USA recognizes outstanding achievements in the banking and fintech industry across the United States.

“We are excited and proud to be recognized for our market-changing solutions designed to help financial services providers deliver the best customer experience while minimizing risk and fraud,” said Kathy Stares, Provenir’s Executive Vice President for North America. “With Provenir’s AI-Powered Data and Decisioning Platform, financial institutions gain access to an array of third-party data sources and decisioning expertise on-demand to make more accurate credit decisions in real-time, and without the high-dollar overhead of credit decisioning infrastructure.” 

Provenir’s AI-Powered Data and Decisioning Platform brings together a curated range of data and data solutions covering the whole customer lifecycle with data types such as identification, AML, document verification, open banking, PEPs/sanctions, bureau data, mobile data, email data, device verification, facial biometrics, and social media validation. This data enables businesses to make smarter decisions across key areas such as KYC, origination, credit risk, financial inclusion and fraud.