Kashet, a Swiss-UK-based private banking startup, has come out of stealth mode after raising £5.4 million in an initial funding round.

Kashet is led by banking, technology, and service industry experts, including heavyweights Alex Wilmot-Sitwell from Bank of America and UBS, and Andrew Brookes of Bank of England, as well as international executives, Gary Steel and Jacob Waehrens.

The company intends to offer a membership-based wealth management app combining a complete set of cards, foreign exchange, domestic and international payments, and access to digital currencies under Swiss law to clients in the UK, Switzerland and across Europe.

Kashet has already obtained FCA licenses in the UK, including E-Money, AISP, and PISP licenses. The company intends to submit applications for UK FCA 5MLD registration and a Swiss Fintech License with Switzerland's Regulatory Authority Finma.

Jørn Larsen, founder, and CEO of Copenhagen technology accelerater Trifork Labs, which participated in the funding round, says:

"Kashet is an exceptional digital solution, combining traditional finance know-how with explosive digital expertise. It provides internationally mobile clients with real-time agility, speed, and verification for banking and monetary transactions, going beyond what traditional private banks can offer."

Kashet co-founder and joint CEO, Chris Jones, highlights the company's ethos:

"We are thinking beyond banking and focused on creating exceptional financial services that people trust and love to use. We intend to provide personalised experiences for clients. The company plans to partner with private banks across Europe that need access to ground breaking technology solutions."

South African online payments firm Peach Payments is looking to enter new markets after securing $31 million in funding led by Apis Growth Fund II.

Peach Payments is the second largest online payment gateway in South Africa and has operations in Kenya and Mauritius. It now plans to enter new African markets.

It provides a toolkit that enables merchants to accept, manage and make payments via mobile and the web. Services offered include online payment acceptance, pay-outs, and subscription solutions across a variety of payment types including cards, electronic funds transfer, digital wallets, mobile money, and BNPL.

The firm, with 150 staffers, has seen revenue growth of 650% since 2020 as South Africans increasingly turn to online shopping.

Matteo Stefanel, managing partner, Apis Partners, says:

"We continue to see significant opportunity in African payments as strong secular trends that are not related to annual business cycles - such as the conversion from cash to digital and in-store to online payments - persist across key markets. We have been impressed by the vision and execution of the management team as Peach Payments capitalises on these trends to bring more end-users into the digital economy, a key part of our drive to democratise access across the continent."

Bitget, a top crypto derivative and copy trading platform, launched its Bitget Web3 Fund during the Hong Kong Blockchain Week, with an initial investment of $100 million. The fund will focus on investing in Web3-friendly venture capital and outstanding Web3 projects, with the goal of supporting the development of the next generation of crypto projects.

The Bitget exchange is adhering to a 'Go beyond derivative' strategy in 2023 with the launch of the Bitget Web3 Fund, which is intended to foster a positive attitude towards the digital currencies economy and support the development of the Web3 environment. The Bitget Web3 Fund will seek out VCs and projects globally but prioritize partners in Asia that have a clear roadmap and an experienced team, and those that offer innovative solutions to real-world problems. As of now, it has received inquiries from VCs including Foresight Ventures, Dragonfly Capital, SevenX Ventures, DAO Maker, and ABCDE Capital for potential partnerships.

"We can see that Web3 space is evolving rapidly and many projects deserve the support to further advance such development and make Web3 a truly global phenomenon, as Web2 had once become. That is why the Bitget Web3 Fund will strive to seek out projects that have the most impact on this process. We are taking a fully conscious and responsible approach in this regard and know how important accountability is when dealing with any innovative project requiring investments. We strive to support financial innovation in Asia and believe that our platform can act as a reliable, convenient, and secure link between the worlds of DeFi and CeFi. Our team of analysts has already outlined the criteria for project selection and will adhere to them strictly," as Gracy Chen, the Managing Director of Bitget, commented on the launch of the new fund.

Bitget has been a supporter of numerous endeavors aimed at advancing the adoption of cryptocurrencies. The new 'Go beyond derivatives' strategy saw the exchange acquire several Web3 applications in recent months and pledge its support as a sleeve sponsor to Juventus, and as a general sponsor to the Juventus Women's Team for the 2022-2023 season. In a major move into the Web3 space, the exchange recently acquired the BitKeep wallet - a Web3 access gateway with over 9.5 million users, which will further enhance the Web3 surfing experience for Bitget users. Bitget is also launching numerous events and challenges for the community to support both individual initiatives and overall community spirit.

Following the launch of blink instant account transfers in 2022, Fibank (First Investment Bank) now provides its retail customers with the opportunity to also make instant mobile payments using the blink P2P service.

Thus, First Investment Bank continues to expand its portfolio of online banking products, being the first in Bulgaria to offer the service through its My Fibank mobile application.

Blink P2P instant mobile transfers are available to customers with active banking rights in My Fibank. Both the payer and the recipient have to be registered for the service. Customers need to download an updated version of My Fibank and specify the mobile number and the account number of the blink P2P transfer recipient. For the moment, transfers in BGN are available and their processing time only takes seconds. Fibank is the first bank in Bulgaria to offer the blink P2P mobile service of the National Card and Payment Scheme, part of BORIKA AD. Other payment service providers will gradually join the service but until then blink P2P mobile payments can only be carried out between Fibank customers.

The service is accessible 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The advantages of instant payments in BGN for customers are numerous. They are fast, easy and convenient while offering a high level of security.

Malaysian SoftPOS player Soft Space has completed a $31.5 million Series B1 funding to expand its global footprint and widen its customer base.

Chris Leong, chief strategy officer of Soft Space, says: “With the closing of this round, we are restructuring Soft Space's capital base to catapult the company towards high growth and strengthen our global market position."

Liminal, a wallet infrastructure and custody solutions platform, recently celebrated its successful two-year journey by announcing that it has processed transactions worth $5.6 billion on its platform, with over $550 million worth of assets under protection. Despite the digital assets industry experiencing a downturn, Liminal has grown its customer base annually by 178% CAGR and gross revenue from customers at 73.5% CAGR annually, showcasing its commitment to simplifying digital asset custody with its plug-and-play wallet infrastructure that is secure, compliant, automated, and efficient.

The company has also expanded its global presence by opening two new offices in Singapore and Hong Kong. It boasts a diverse team of local talent from different parts of the world, including the UK, Vietnam, India, Hong Kong, Nepal, and UAE.

Liminal's mission is to accelerate Web3 adoption across APAC and MENA regions. It aims to achieve this by providing expert wallet infrastructure and impeccable security through its easy-to-manage custody services. The company's customer onboarding process ensures immediate comfort for customers through training, concierge onboarding, and 24x7 dedicated support teams across geographies.

Commenting on the development Mahin Gupta, Founder of Liminal, said, “Simplifying technology is at the core of Liminal’s DNA. Our successful journey of two years is a small step for our organisation but a giant leap for the industry. Liminal’s secure custody platform has touched the lives of numerous business owners by offering them assurance, security and support with a human touch. Our next goal is to touch a $10 billion transaction volume sooner than expected as we have embarked on an exciting journey of transformation through innovation.”

To further facilitate the growth of startups, Liminal has launched partnership programs with several platforms such as Avalanche, Polygon, Tezos, XinFin, and Buidlers Tribe, with more in the pipeline. The company has also secured ISO 27001 and 27701 certifications, SOC 2 Type II certification, and CryptoCurrency Security Standard (CCSS) compliance-QSP Level 3, the highest standard in wallet keys and operations management. It is also the official self-custody solution partner for India's leading premier investigation agency and has a $50 million insurance cover underwritten by Lloyds of London.

Liminal's commitment to simplifying digital asset custody with its secure and efficient platform has helped it achieve significant milestones in just two years. With its expanding global presence and innovative partnerships, Liminal is well-positioned to drive web3 adoption across the APAC and MENA regions.

Annexure I

Liminal’s growth statistics at a glance (April 2021-March 2023)

Arcesium, a leading global financial technology firm, announced today the launch of AquataTM, a powerful out-of-the-box data platform. Aquata is engineered to empower various client types, including institutional asset managers, private markets investors, custodians, fund administrators, prime brokers, and hedge funds, to effortlessly access and manage their investment data. With Aquata’s thousands of pre-built data models and connectors, combined with its capacity to handle hundreds of millions of daily records, firms can swiftly integrate and validate data, perform advanced analytics and reporting, and accelerate their time to market.

Aquata offers sophisticated features designed to enable users to ingest data in multiple formats, such as structured, semi-structured, and unstructured, then aggregate and normalize their data, and store that information in a data lake or warehouse. With its comprehensive quality checks, ingestion and mapping, cataloging, and lineage capabilities, firms can leverage their data effectively to make well-informed investment decisions.

Arcesium’s flexible consumption-based pricing model allows clients to initiate small, targeted projects or expand data integration and analysis per their requirements. The unique model enables prompt use of the data platform, with payment only for used services, delivering cost control and scalability benefits.

Many of Arcesium’s strategic clients are already using Aquata at launch to accelerate data integration and analytics across the investment lifecycle.

“With self-service and low-code features and data visualization capabilities, Aquata is a game-changer that helps investment managers make data-driven decisions with greater speed and accuracy,” said Gaurav Suri, Chief Executive Officer at Arcesium. “We’re excited to bring this platform to market and continue to help our clients achieve better outcomes.”

“Data is a core pillar of our industry’s transformational architecture,” said Gavin Little-Gill, Head of Investments & Securities at Aite-Novarica Group. “Technology innovations, like Arcesium’s Aquata, are paving the way for firms to better manage data and spearheading practices to modernize how organizations collaborate and share data across applications and business functions.”

“This is a significant step forward in the evolution of data management technology. We engineered Aquata to allow firms to put their data into production and seamlessly integrate it with their own ecosystem or with Arcesium’s operational platform,” said Bryan Dougherty, Arcesium’s Head of Product and Technology. “The result is clean and organized data flowing exactly where our clients need it.”

The platform’s distinctive name speaks to its strengths, with “Aqua-” alluding to fluidity and openness. The “quata” suffix evokes references to both quantifying and data –elements fundamental to the industry’s success. Combining these components creates Aquata: a powerful data platform built to acquire insights for successful decision-making.

Lyfeguard, a life planning assistant and document management platform, has appointed ex-Director of Digital at British Airways, Jack Smith, to its advisory board to help drive commercial growth and digital customer experience strategy.

Smith, currently the CEO of IAG Loyalty Retail, the latest digital venture from owner of British Airways owner IAG, previously lead the growth of British Airways’ direct-to-consumer channels and the development of their digital experience, one of the UK’s largest online operations.

With his extensive knowledge of digital strategy, including stints at Deloitte Digital and New Look as Digital Director, Smith will help shape the consumer focus at Lyfeguard, supporting across retail and travel activities.

Jack Smith, CEO of IAG Loyalty Retail and Advisory Board Member for Lyfeguard, said: “Lyfeguard’s founders Fraser and Gary Stewart have brought to market a truly unique business that will bring huge value to people and businesses. I am delighted to be a part of Lyfeguard’s journey, helping the team to revolutionise life management and end-of-life planning, enhancing its digital strategy and customer experience to provide customers with first-class services.”

Smith joins Lyfeguard’s advisory board alongside six other industry veterans, including: Ronel David, Strategic Sales and DE&I Leader at FIS; Jonathan Lloyd White, CISO at Natura &Co.; Gavin Borthwick, Product Design Lead at Beyond; Lee Mabey, Managing Partner at dentsu International; Lukman Abdul-karim, Principal Consultant at Agilisys; John Garden, VP Freight & Logistics at Mastercard.

Fraser Stewart, Chief Operating Officer for Lyfeguard, said: “We are excited to introduce our advisory board comprising of industry leaders at the top of their fields to help take Lyfeguard to the next level, improving our offering to help consumers and IFAs alike. With the guidance of our carefully selected seven industry veterans, we are confident in our ability to lead the go-to-market strategy and ensure seamless delivering of our services to clients. We firmly believe that everyone deserves peace of mind when it comes to managing life’s essential tasks, and our advisory board’s expertise will help us achieve this goal. We are excited to embark on this new journey with our partners on board and look forward to delivering exceptional services to our clients.”

Lyfeguard was founded by father-son team Gary and Fraser Stewart to revolutionise financial management and life planning to help people keep on top of their important documents, bills and life matters, as well as address a lack of planning for end-of-life.

Remitly Global, Inc. (“Remitly”), a leading digital financial services provider for immigrants and their families, today announced the appointments of Phyllis Campbell and Ryno Blignaut to its Board of Directors. 

“We are delighted to welcome Phyllis and Ryno to Remitly’s Board of Directors,” said Matt Oppenheimer, CEO of Remitly. “They each bring with them a wealth of knowledge and leadership experience to complement our existing team of accomplished directors. I’m grateful for their passion and dedication to our customer-centric vision for the future of digital financial services.” 

Campbell and Blignaut bring decades of leadership and advisory expertise to the Company. Campbell, a seasoned leader in financial services, was recently Chair of the PNW region at J.P. Morgan, previously serving as President and CEO of The Seattle Foundation. Prior to that, Campbell was President and CEO of the U.S. Bank of Washington for more than six years, where she led the company to double in size through customer-focused growth initiatives. Campbell has a distinguished career of public company board service spanning 30 years; she currently serves on the ATSG and SanMar Boards of Directors.

“I’m thrilled to join Remitly and contribute to its vision of transforming the lives of immigrants and their families,” said Campbell. “The company’s consistent commitment to trust and customer centricity is key to the growth it's seen thus far, and I’m proud to partner with Matt and the Remitly team to bring reliable and convenient services to millions more around the world.” 

Blignaut is a skilled advisor and investor with significant exposure to the global money transfer market as well as vast experience working with founder-led technology companies. He joined Khosla Ventures in 2019 and serves on the board of directors of multiple private companies. Prior, Blignaut served as CFO of Restoration Hardware and CFO and Chief Risk Officer of e-funds and remittance provider Xoom through its 2013 IPO and 2015 sale to PayPal. 

“Remitly’s mission is a critical one in today’s world, and I look forward to helping the team drive it forward,” said Blignaut. “Immigrants are still sorely overlooked by much of the innovation coming out of the financial services sector, and Remitly has built an enduring reputation as an industry leader to help fill that gap.” 

In addition, current director Ron Shah, who was an early investor in Remitly and has served on the Board since 2016, will retire from the Board, effective June 14, 2023, to focus on other professional pursuits. The Company thanks him for his contributions over the years. 

British Arab Commercial Bank (BACB), the UK-regulated, specialist trade finance bank has announced that today the Board of BACB Plc approved the 2022 financial statements which confirm that the Bank has successfully navigated challenging market conditions and delivered exceptional overall results. This is testament to the extensive efforts over the past two years to reshape and reposition the Bank through its strategy of Safe, Sustainable, Growth under the leadership of our CEO, Eddie Norton.

Having led the business through a significant transformation and with the confidence of a strong start to 2023, Eddie had previously informed the Board of his intention to step down at the April Board meeting, which he has done today.

Commenting on the announcement, BACB Chairman Dr Yousef Al Awadi said: “I would like to extend appreciation and thanks on behalf of myself and the Board of BACB to Eddie for his effective leadership of the Bank over the last two years.  He has been instrumental in the successful re-positioning of the Bank as well as leading the organisation to the exceptional results achieved in 2022.  We have been fortunate to have Eddie with us on this part of BACB’s journey and from a personal perspective, it has been a pleasure to work with him.   We wish Eddie every success in his future roles.”

Eddie Norton said: “I am proud that our strategy is delivering value for our shareholders, clients and employees. We have refocused our business on areas of core competence and improved the quality of our assets and earnings, and we continue to grow in markets where we have deep knowledge. I feel privileged to have led a team that has delivered a 37% increase in year-on-year operating income and a fivefold increase in adjusted Profit Before Tax. BACB now has a robust business model, and with the continued support of the Board, under the leadership of Dr Yousef Al Awadi, and our shareholders, especially Libyan Foreign Bank, is well positioned for further growth.”

Today, BACB has also announced the appointment of Paul Jennings as CEO, effective from 11 April. Paul has been part of BACB for the past two years, first in his capacity as an Independent Non-Executive Director prior to joining the Executive management of the Bank in November 2021 as Chief Banking Officer and Deputy CEO.  Paul is an experienced global executive with an impressive 40-year track record in the financial services sector. He is a Board member of Banca UBAE SpA and previously served on the Boards of ABC Islamic Bank as Deputy Chairman, Banco ABC Brasil S.A., Libyan British Business Council (LBBC) and the Arab Bankers Association. Prior to joining BACB, Paul spent in excess of 20 years with ABC Group holding key positions including Group Head, Global Trade Finance and six years as Managing Director and CEO of ABC International Bank plc. The appointment is subject to Regulatory approval.

Dr Yousef Al Awadi commented: “Paul is a natural fit as Chief Executive Officer, he is a leader with a proven track record in banking. His wealth of knowledge not only in executive leadership of financial institutions, but also of our specialist markets and product offering, makes him the perfect choice for this role. His appointment comes at a very important time for BACB following a year of strong performance across our lines of business.”

Upon his appointment as CEO, Paul Jennings commented: “I consider it to be an honour and a privilege to be entrusted by BACB’s shareholders and Board members led by Dr Al Awadi with this responsibility.  Since joining BACB I have developed a good understanding of the Bank’s heritage and footprint endorsed by its 50-year history in the City of London. During my time with BACB I have been extremely impressed by the knowledge, experience and commitment from my colleagues across the entire Bank and it is with their support that I look forward to leading BACB as we continue the journey of safe and sustainable growth.”