Encompass Corporation, the leading provider of dynamic Know Your Customer (KYC) process automation, has been selected to join a major international trade mission, led by Austrade, which aims to showcase growing FinTech businesses and strengthen global relations.

Austrade, the Australian Government’s international trade and investment body, is partnering with Investment NSW, Invest Victoria and Global Victoria to connect FinTechs founded in Australia with businesses across the UK and Europe to promote collaboration and highlight the rapid global acceleration of the industry.

The 10-day 2023 FinTech Program includes briefings with the Department for Business and Trade (DBT), UK regulators, leading banks and representatives of the London Stock Exchange. Industry names, including Encompass, will also attend key events such as the eagerly anticipated Money 20/20, taking place in Amsterdam from June 6-8, as part of Austrade’s delegation.

Encompass has been selected having also recently become a founding member of the Data & Technology for Compliance Alliance (DT4C).

Wayne Johnson, CEO and Co-Founder of Encompass Corporation, said: “International collaboration is essential to bolstering innovation and continuing the growth we have seen in not only FinTech but throughout the technology sector, with programmes like these playing an important part.

“As an Australian-founded business that has rapidly expanded throughout the last decade to have a truly global footprint today, we know the power of this collaboration, which can unlock new growth areas for organisations, including those focused on the development and adoption of new technologies and expanding partnerships.

“With the fight against financial crime also remaining a crucial consideration across the globe, there is much to be gained from encouraging a joint approach to fostering the best in technology and data practices, as well as the pooling of expertise and skills, as we move forward.”

Anastasia Nishnianidze, Austrade’s Trade and Investment Commissioner to the UK and Ireland, said: “We are excited to host a delegation of leading Australian FinTechs in the UK and the Netherlands next month.

“Australia ranks 6th in the world for FinTech, and it has one of the world’s most dynamic and innovative FinTech ecosystems. Our FinTechs deliver world-leading solutions to global markets.

“Austrade’s FinTech Program will provide valuable introductions to major European players in the FinTech industry, from banks and regulators to investors. We look forward to facilitating productive collaborations for our innovative Australian FinTechs in the European market.”  

Sonovate, the leading provider of embedded finance and payment solutions for the contingent workforce has significantly enhanced its funding technology platform to enable it to better serve large, multinational recruitment businesses and launch new lines of products in the future as it continues to grow and expand its customer base.

The new platform gives customers the ability to optimise cash flow, allowing them to access funding in multiple-currencies and across multiple-sectors, with tailored pricing based on the risk profile of the industry being served to allow customers to secure the best possible rates. It also provides enhanced operational efficiencies with far faster onboarding, meaning funds can be accessed in a matter of days and firms can offer access to the liquidity that their clients need, while still offering attractive terms.  

Customers are able to view multiple ledgers across the new platform, whether they’re obtaining funding for invoices related to permanent or contract workers, or different subsidiaries of their business. Multi-ledger access also ensures that reporting requirements are quickly, easily, and consistently fulfilled both internally and in line with local market regulation. 

The enhanced capabilities of the new platform - particularly the accuracy of reporting, speed of reconciliation, and highly-scalable funding - will empower Sonovate to increase the number of large, enterprise-size customers that it serves.  

It follows a recent announcement that Sonovate is partnering with HR platform, Deel, to become the only funder to serve its global customer base. The partnership highlights the trend for recruitment businesses to operate in multiple markets as flexible and remote working becomes the norm for organisations across the world. 

Following a securitisation deal with BNP Paribas and M&G Investments, which added £165 million to Sonovate’s funding structure, Sonovate has already made strides in expanding the number of enterprise-size customers it serves. The introduction of the new platform marks a step change for Sonovate and will accelerate its growth trajectory over the course of 2023, particularly as it enters new markets including The Netherlands.  

Richard Prime, Co-CEO and Co-Founder, Sonovate, comments: “In uncertain economic times, ensuring a stable cash flow for a rapidly growing organisation can be challenging, even more so when operating in multiple markets. At Sonovate, we take ownership of that challenge on a customer’s behalf, providing them with the fast, flexible funding they need to grow and succeed. 

“Over the past few years there has been a mass global movement towards flexible working - be that remote or hybrid, contract, freelance, or part-time. Societal change has taken place, and now technology must keep pace. Traditional bank funding is often limited by cumbersome legacy systems that simply aren’t agile enough to quickly respond to the changing world of work and needs of rapidly growing, multinational recruitment businesses.  

“Fintech is different. Our entire offering is built around the changing needs of our customers, and this new platform is designed to grow and evolve with our customers as they enable the flexible future world of work across the world.” 

Since it started funding in 2014, Sonovate has lent over £3.5 billion to 3,300 businesses and 40,000 workers in 44 countries, and increased its revenue by over 51% from 2021 to 2022.  

Sonovate delivers swift credit decisions, same-day funding, credit insurance, and collections services, empowering companies to concentrate on expanding their business with confidence, knowing that funds are in place to help meet payment deadlines.  

Tools for Brokers, a leading technology provider for retail brokers and hedge funds, announced the appointment of Petros Kalaitzis as the company’s new Head of the Cyprus office. 

Petros joined TFB in October 2022 as the Sales Manager of EMEA and was focused on growing the company’s presence and revenue across the region while also maintaining long-term trusted relationships with clients and partners. In the new role, he will be assisting in growing the business by managing the relationships with existing and new partners and clients, as well as leading further expansion into the region.

Commenting on the new role, Kalaitzis said, “I am thrilled about my new role at TFB, and look forward to applying my experience and knowledge of the market to further developing the company’s presence in the region. We have a great team, and I am confident many exciting changes and activities are coming.”  

Commenting on the promotion, Albina Zhdanova, the COO at TFB, said, “Petros is a great fit for the role. His work ethic, vast industry experience, and knowledge will surely drive the Cyprus office to the next level. We have many new projects and initiatives coming, so stay tuned. Congratulations to Petros on a well-deserved promotion.”

Petros’ journey in the financial world launched with two years in dealing departments, followed by an investment banking job where he was helping private and institutional clients achieve their financial goals. Petros then spent one year in Singapore, employed by a software provider. He later returned to Cyprus, where he worked for some of the most reputable brokers in the industry, including Tiickmill and NAGA, managing multiple client-facing teams and focusing on client journeys and customer experience. Before joining Tools for Brokers, Petros was the COO at The TradingPit, a firm specialising in prop trading. 

Muse Finance - a working capital business finance provider - today announces the appointment of Julie Ashmore as COO, to help achieve its ambition to reach 30,000 customers and provide £1.5bn of SME financing in the next three years.

With over three decades of experience in fintech, Julie was previously CEO of NatWest Rapid Cash, where she led a 50-strong team which grew the client base more than 700x in just over two years. Whilst at the helm, Julie developed the leading digital working capital product at NatWest to include digitising the full end-to-end process, making working capital easy for clients to access as well as operationally efficient for the bank.

Julie will use this experience and pedigree to lead Muse Finance into its next phase of growth. Spearheading the company’s sales, operations, user experience and risk functions, her appointment comes as Muse Finance continues to grow rapidly, having just launched BNPL for businesses as part of its Working Capital suite of embedded finance products and services.

Julie Ashmore, COO of Muse Finance, said:

“I’m thrilled to join the innovative team at Muse Finance at this exciting stage. I am looking forward to continuing to support small and medium sized businesses in an industry I am so passionate about. I truly believe that Ann and the team at Muse are those people who will make a huge difference in this industry and I am proud to be joining them. ”

Ann Juliano, Founder and CEO of Muse Finance, said:

“Julie not only has exceptional experience along with institutional-level professionalism but she also has a passion for building and creating the best customer digital experience. As we have seen from her many successes, Julie knows how to execute and deliver a tech platform that benefits the client without jeopardising risk. It is very rare to find someone like Julie that has the combination of skill, experience and technical know-how. Her addition comes at an exciting time for the business, and her innovative and adventurous mentality is exactly what Muse stands for - we’re thrilled to have her on board.”

Prior to NatWest Rapid Cash, Julie was Commercial Director at GrowthStreet, a UK based FinTech providing an overdraft alternative for working capital needs. Julie was responsible for developing distribution channels and growing market share, such that the business achieved 300% growth in its loan book in just 18 months.

Julie has also held other senior leadership roles including at HSBC as Head of SME Lending and Bibby Financial Services as Managing Director in the South West. Her final role at Bibby was as UK Operations Director where she led a global change programme focussing on improving customer journeys and efficiency within operations as a whole. 

The UK FinTech Awards, brought to you by FinTech Intel, the global market intelligence platform for financial services technology, has crowned the best UK FinTech providers of 2023.

Yooz, a leading AP automation solution provider, was announced as the Accounting Tech of the year 2023 at a ceremony in London.

The UK is home to the world’s premier financial services centre and a burgeoning financial technology market, and the UK FinTech Awards have been developed to celebrate the achievements and successes of the UK’s best and brightest minds and businesses.

The Award categories cover the full spectrum of fintech with all submissions judged by an independent panel of experts. From the hundreds of submissions received, the UK FinTech Awards 2023 judges debated and deliberated to select 21 winners. 

Explaining the reasoning for awarding Yooz the Accounting Tech of the Year award the judges’ comments were, “The winner of Accounting Tech of the Year applied AI in a way that took it ahead of the competition. Its focus on growth and innovation, combined with a constant need to evolve for customers, really made this fintech stand out.” 

This achievement is the result of the hard work the Yooz team has employed to apply AI in the finance function, as well as the research and innovation implemented in the slate of new product features released over the past year. 

Commenting on the awards, Phillip Mind, Director of digital technology and innovation UK Finance said, “The awards showcase the great work being done by our sector. I would like to offer my congratulations to the winners and to all those who entered the awards. The UK has a fintech sector that is extending its footprint globally. Open banking is a success domestically and increasingly as an export. Fintech will be at the heart.”

Laurent Charpentier, Yooz CEO, comments, “Technology needs to be value-driven for organisaitons, not just as a source of cost efficiencies, but in terms of security, agility, and enhanced employee collaboration. We are proud to be recognized by UK FinTech Awards for our advances in AI and automation to improve the Accounts Payable processes of our clients.”

Charpentier concludes, “The introduction of the latest features to our software speaks to how Yooz truly listens to our client’s needs and is leading the charge to anticipate the rest of the market’s needs as well. In 2023, we will continue to hone in on helping our global customer base cushion the blow of inflation and support initiatives for more efficient and cost-effective processes – helping spur both Yooz and our customers toward sustainable innovation and prosperity. ”   

OpenFin, the operating system (OS) of enterprise productivity, today announced that it has secured $35 million in Series D investment. The latest funding round was led by Bank of America with significant participation from Pivot Investment Partners and ING Ventures. Additional investors in the round include CME Ventures, CTC Venture Capital, SC Ventures and Tribeca Early Stage Partners.

The investment will be used to help accelerate the adoption of OpenFin OS across the financial industry and beyond.  OpenFin's web-based OS is becoming a de facto standard in financial services for powering next-generation applications and digital experiences for employees and clients. The software is now used at more than 3,800 banks, wealth, and asset management firms in 60+ countries.

The funding round comes during a period of record growth for OpenFin driven by the rapid adoption of OpenFin Workspace, the visual interface of OpenFin OS.  Introduced in 2021, OpenFin Workspace includes an app launcher, notification centre, universal search, an enterprise browser with default interoperability, and app store capabilities. These components help unify and simplify the end-user experience across both internal and 3rd party apps, significantly enhancing productivity and reducing operational risk.

According to multiple recent surveys from Forbes Technology Council, Harvard Business Review and others, end users experience anywhere from 2 to 4 hours of lost productivity each day, often referred to as the “toggle tax”.  The wasted time stems from employees using anywhere from 7 to 35 apps a day, toggling between those apps thousands of times a day, and individually searching apps an hour a day.  This translates to a cost of millions or tens of millions of dollars a year in lost productivity depending on the size of an organization.

Dinkar Jetley, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Pivot Investment Partners, said: “OpenFin provides the financial industry with a truly open workspace platform that is unrivalled when it comes to app distribution, security, interoperability, scale and governance.  We have backed OpenFin’s vision since 2015 and are delighted to support the company as they expand across the financial sector and beyond.”

Last year, OpenFin announced its expansion into the government sector via a strategic partnership and investment from In-Q-Tel (IQT).

Mazy Dar, CEO of OpenFin said: “This is a significant milestone in OpenFin’s mission to enable openness, app interoperability and end-user productivity across the financial industry.  OpenFin Workspace is empowering financial institutions to transform the experience for their employees and their customers, replacing traditional browsers with enterprise browsers designed for work.  We’re delighted to welcome Bank of America as our newest strategic investor and we’re grateful for the continued support from Pivot Investment Partners and so many other existing investors.”

Other major OpenFin investors include Bain Capital Ventures, Barclays, DRW Venture Capital, HSBC, J.P. Morgan, NYCA Partners and Wells Fargo Strategic Capital.

Ecommpay, a leading international payment service provider and UK and European direct bank card acquirer, has hired Karan Johal as its Global Head of Sales. Karan leads a growing sales team that has already added top talents from Revolut, Mollie, Checkout.com, Paysafe and other major players as Ecommpay aims to expand and grow across markets. 

Karan and the team are responsible for executing the new clients acquisition strategy. The new team's expertise will bring significant advantages as Ecommpay develops in the Australian, Asian, and Latin American markets and lines up with the company's desire to offer new solutions for retail, travel, fintech and marketplaces to help merchants scale globally.

In a recent study conducted by Ecommpay & Censuswide, more than half of business leaders (54%) shared that they still feel they are facing various challenges in supporting the online financial literacy of its consumers and partners. Merchants have also reported experiencing difficulties, especially in regard to the complexities of scaling. While many have the desire to enter international markets, the process of achieving this can be confusing to the uninitiated. Offering local payment methods is a core step with 71% of consumers willing to abandon a cart if their preferred payment method is not offered. Ecommpay’s expanding sales team, with Karan at the helm, are experts in the field, helping merchants navigate the vast numbers of methods and services available to them to select the most optimal options.

Another issue for scaling companies with an online presence is the rise in fraud, particularly for those based in the United Kingdom, the current European leader in card fraud, Karan’s team, with the use of Ecommpay’s range of innovative in-house built anti-fraud solutions, will prioritise the extensive analysis of each individual merchant, offering a payment solution that creates a synergy effect between conversion and security.

Throughout his career Karan Johal has worked for companies such as Feast HQ, Flubit and Checkout.com. At Checkout.com Karan held the position of VP for Business Development, responsible for selling new international payment processing products and services as well as driving new sales activities in the European region.

Moshe Winegarten, CRO of Ecommpay: “Nowadays, Ecommpay is not just a payment platform but a partner that unlocks global growth for merchants. Our company has very ambitious goals, and it is our products and talent that help us to achieve them. I’m happy to welcome Karan to our team. He brings fantastic experience not only in terms of sales in the fintech market but also in understanding the real needs of the clients and satisfying them.   I’ve been inspired by the views of our new arrival on how the company should evolve and look forward to our continued partnership.”

Karan Johal, Global Head of Sales of Ecommpay: “Merchants are demanding more from their payment providers. They understand that payment processes can be a competitive advantage. My colleagues and I are excited about joining Ecommpay as we have the ideal technology and talent to optimise online payments and enable the growth of merchants across various industries. I’m looking forward to embarking on this journey with Ecommpay.”

OCBC Bank has partnered with global private market exchange ADDX to distribute its first tokenised equity-linked structured note to accredited investors. The fixed coupon note, launched in early May, is the first product issued by a Singapore bank to land on ADDX’s shelf. It marks the start of a long-term partnership between ADDX and OCBC Bank that will see both parties work together to put out a wider variety of investment products.  

The note is linked to shares in a US-listed tech giant (the “Underlying Share”) and was launched on the ADDX platform at a minimum size of US$50,000. 

Fixed coupon notes are equity-linked structured notes that pay regular distributions at pre-defined intervals, provided that no extraordinary event or trigger event has occurred according to the terms of the notes. Fixed coupon notes present a way for investors with a specific view on the price movement of an underlying security or a basket of securities to generate additional cashflow while gaining potential exposure on the underlying security(ies).

Partnering new digital players like ADDX and deepening banking relationships with high-growth and emerging sectors allows OCBC to increase its customer proposition and tap on a larger investor base. Tokenising the fixed coupon note will in turn allow more accredited investors to access the product. 

Headquartered in Singapore, ADDX is on a mission to make investing fairer by democratising private markets. Using blockchain and smart contract technology, ADDX reduces manual interventions in the issuance, custody and distribution of private market products. The resulting efficiency from the use of digital securities allows the platform to fractionalise investments in a scalable and commercially viable manner. 

To date, ADDX has listed more than 70 deals on its platform and worked with blue-chip names such as Hamilton Lane, Partners Group, Investcorp, Singtel and CGS-CIMB, as well as Temasek-owned entities Mapletree, Azalea, SeaTown and Fullerton Fund Management. Asset classes available on ADDX include private equity, hedge funds, venture capital, private credit, real estate, debt and structured products.  

Mr Kenneth Lai, OCBC Bank’s Head of Global Treasury, said: “While we already have a comprehensive stable of treasury products which includes sustainability-linked interest rate swaps, cross currency swaps, structured deposits and green bonds, it is important that we continue to innovate and find new channels for our products. We are therefore pleased to be the first Singapore bank to offer an equity-linked structured note in tokenised form on ADDX. It is the first innovation resulting from a longer-term partnership with ADDX, and we are hopeful that it will lead to more diverse product offerings that are relevant and appealing to the global accredited investor base of ADDX.

“We are excited about the possibilities ahead, especially given the uniqueness and accessibility of this equity-linked structured note.” 

dLocal Limited, a technology-first payments platform enabling global enterprise merchants to connect with billions of consumers in emerging markets, today announced the Central Bank of Kenya and the National Bank of Rwanda granted dLocal their respective payment service licenses. The new payment service licenses come on the heels of dLocal’s intention to fuel growth in this region, as merchants continue to signal strong demand in these markets. Also, the Central Bank of Nigeria had granted dLocal a payment service license.

The payment service licenses allows dLocal to facilitate payments and improve the technological experience for their merchant customers. dLocal now can process local payments quickly and easily directly through acquiring banks or institutions without relying on a third-party provider and while ensuring regulatory compliance. 

Africa is forecast to surpass half a billion eCommerce users by 2025, which will have shown a steady 17% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of online consumers for the market. “Africa continues to show tremendous untapped e-commerce opportunity, and people in Kenya, Nigeria and Rwanda are encouraged to use digital payments more often by new regulations and payment opportunities,” said Adebiyi Aromolaran, Head of Expansion Africa at dLocal. “The regulatory payment framework in emerging countries varies significantly. Receiving payment service provider licenses in all three countries, Kenya, Nigeria, and Rwanda are great milestones in our mission to be a truly local payment partner for our global merchants, and the licenses advance our objective to leverage the scalability of our technology to broaden our geographic footprint in Africa.”

With dLocal, international merchants are able to accept cash, mobile money, locally issued cards, Visa and Mastercard debit, credit and prepaid cards, thanks to the “One dLocal” concept (one direct API, one platform and one contract).