authID [Nasdaq: AUID], a leading provider of secure identity authentication solutions, has released the results of its Second Annual Fintech Cybersecurity Survey, which assesses cyber-professionals' attitudes and perceptions on identity authentication solutions and uncovers insights about current and emerging trends in enterprise security.

With highly valued assets and loads of confidential data, fintechs are frequently targeted by social engineering scams, phishing attacks, and account takeovers that prey on human vulnerabilities. These attacks can cause significant damage to companies’ reputation, positioning, market trust and ultimately to their bottom line.

Despite these vulnerabilities, authID’s survey found that many organizations are still relying on legacy multi-factor authentication such as OTP (one-time-passwords) and KBA (knowledge-based authentication) that causes significant customer friction and leaves organizations vulnerable to cyberattacks.

While 60% of surveyed professionals said their organizations had not adopted more secure, passwordless solutions, the majority are evaluating improvements to their security. 80% indicated they are likely to evaluate solutions that eliminate the risks and costs of passwords and legacy MFA.

Building on results from last year’s report, authID’s second annual survey allows cyber-professionals to track trends on multi-factor authentication methods, new technology readiness, and IT spend.

Additional key takeaways from the survey report include:

• Nearly one-third (29%) of organizations have launched passwordless solutions, up from 22% last year.
• More than 80% of cybersecurity professionals at financial services and technology companies are worried about the daunting task of protecting both workforce and customer applications from cyber threats.
• Almost 2/3 of fintech organizations still rely on vulnerable, often-phished passwords and legacy MFA for their customer and workforce applications—and 15% do not even use multi-factor authentication.
• 57% of respondents said they anticipate their level of investment in IT security will increase in 2023.

“As cybersecurity breaches continue to disrupt businesses, it is crucial to understand where the fintech market is positioned in terms of adopting improved security solutions,” said Jeremiah Mason, Chief Product Officer of authID. “This survey shows that while more organizations have adopted secure, passwordless authentication, the need and the market opportunity for replacing legacy MFA remains great.”

authID's survey found that of the organizations which are considering legacy MFA alternatives, nearly one-third (31%) are assessing facial biometrics—such as authID’s Human Factor Authentication—which provides businesses and consumers with trusted, biometric account access and recovery with cloud biometrics bound to the user’s identity. With authID’s FIDO2-certified, NIST AAL 2-level authentication, users can login 100% password-free across any modern device.

Remitly Global, Inc. (“Remitly”), a leading digital financial services provider for immigrants and their families, today announced it has expanded into the Middle East with the launch of its outbound remittance product in the UAE. Remitly has also opened an office in the Dubai International Financial Center (DIFC), its first in the country. The company’s new presence in the UAE marks its 30th send country, contributing to its more than 4,300 corridors overall. 

The remittance sector in the UAE is strong, with immigrants comprising nearly 90 percent of the country’s population. With the vast majority of remittance transactions completed through cash pay-in at brick-and-mortar stalls, Remitly’s expansion into the UAE brings a welcomed solution for the millions of immigrants there dealing with long wait times, operating hour constraints, and risks associated with cash (both financial crime risk and physical security risk). 

“With one of the world’s largest populations of immigrants and the second-highest global volume of remittance originations, the UAE was a natural choice for us as a market for expansion,” said Mohamed Mansour, Head of Region, UAE at Remitly. “Moreover, the country’s advanced digitization and push towards a cashless economy makes Remitly’s platform particularly relevant and well suited to the population here. I’m thrilled that this expansion will bring reliable international payments support for immigrants and their loved ones back home.” 

Remitly is already a trusted partner throughout significant recipient regions from the UAE, including locations such as India, Pakistan, the Philippines, and Bangladesh. Its strong foothold and partnerships in these areas, coupled with its customer-centric commitment to a reliable, fast, transparent, and convenient remittance experience, sets the company up for long-term growth in the region. 

Global information and insights provider, TransUnion, is leading the way in the gaming sector by unveiling its new Open Banking for Gaming solution.

With a market-leading categorisation engine, built with over a billion transactions, this new solution incorporates more than 330 categories and sub-categories to give gaming operators a quick and easy way to manage their players and promote safer gaming.

Adam Hancox, director of gaming at TransUnion in the UK, commented: “We've created this new bespoke solution for the gaming sector by drawing on our expertise in affordability assessments. As well as helping operators make informed and responsible decisions, and strengthening existing relationships, our new solution offers an enhanced digital experience for players, thanks to a purpose-built screen flow which takes them through the consent and authorisation required for Open Banking.” 

TransUnion’s Open Banking for Gaming dashboard enables operators to gain insights into a player's affordability, with transaction categories and filtering options, to make considered player risk decisions using consented data.

A combination of bank statements, warning flags, employment data and other sources means that gaming operators are able to determine a player’s affordability and source of funds in a matter of minutes, helping to ensure player safety.

TransUnion already works with many of the UK’s leading names in gaming and has designed this as a tailor-made solution for the gaming sector to support friction-right player experiences whilst helping operators to deliver safer gaming strategies and fulfil regulatory responsibilities.

Furthermore, TransUnion recently announced its strategic investment in Bud Financial Limited (Bud) – a leader in Open Banking and data intelligence – which will allow the company to further grow its Open Banking offering and jointly develop the next generation of solutions.

Eko India Financial Services (Eko), a technology-based platform for financial transactions for micro-entrepreneurs, has raised $3.6m in Series B funding.

According to a report from The Hindu Business Line, Eko received the ₹30 crores ($3.6m) from EXXORE, the family office of Sriram Natarajan.

Founded in 2007, Eko enables digital product brands to tap the next billion customer through a platform of embedded-in-the-community micro-entrepreneurs as influencers, facilitators and resellers.

With this capital, Eko plans to expand its network of engaged micro-entrepreneurs and product development.

On its mission of taking banking and financial services to all, Eko has built over 100 services on its platform to cater to all needs a customer has from a bank, and even offered open APIs to truly democratise them.

Eko has served over 50 million customers till date, is available over a merchant network of 1,50,000 customers and enables over 7 million banking transactions a month.

Eko is committed to ever-expanding its range of financial services with its mission to take digital economy solutions to the next 500 Million Indians and across developing markets around the world.

Abhishek Sinha, founder and CEO of Eko, said, “This fundraise is an endorsement of our vision to create additional earning opportunities for micro-entrepreneurs across the country. We are excited to have Sriram Natarajan join us as we seek to enable brands to have distribution in tier-two towns and beyond.”

Sriram Natarajan, founder, director and CEO of Molbio Diagnostics, added, “Abhishek Sinha and the Eko team have made a large-scale social impact and created an interesting business model. I believe the platform has the potential to impact the lives of micro-entrepreneurs in India and across the globe.”

Lava Network, the first protocol for decentralized blockchain RPC and APIs, has launched its public testnet following over seven months of private testnet monitoring. They are addressing a longstanding problem in web3, using decentralization to offer high-uptime and scalable service. The protocol represents a one-stop shop for decentralized access to any chain. 

Lava Network already includes support for over 15 networks including the likes of Cosmos Hub, StarkNet, Polygon, Ethereum and Juno. Although omnichain by design, it is also focused on providing Remote Procedure Call (RPC) to underserved and emergent blockchain ecosystems such as Cosmos and Ethereum Layer 2s. Anyone is able to easily propose new chains; in the future, support for these specifications will be implemented by open-source contributors and serviced by incentivized providers.

Yair Cleper, CEO of Lava Network said: “To interact with a blockchain, you need to access nodes via a client-server communication protocol called RPC. Especially if you want to build on different chains, RPC service is a fragmented experience - developers either use rate-limited public endpoints, run their own nodes or, as is typically the case, rely on centralized providers. Lava powers the open standard for RPC and APIs on any chain. 

We are building the best API tools for blockchain access, including a protocol which connects apps peer-to-peer with a decentralized network of RPC providers. Support for new chains can quickly scale to meet market demand, and providers are incentivized to offer service as soon as new specifications are introduced. We also reduce reliance on any single authority, maximizing privacy and data integrity. Decentralization is the means to a higher quality of service than any individual centralized provider can offer.”

Using cryptographically-signed messages and token-aligned incentives for service accountability, Lava Network removes trust assumptions with blockchain APIs. The protocol coordinates a decentralized network of top-tier API providers that developers can subscribe to for access to any blockchain. Providers are rewarded for their quality of service and incentivized to offer maximum speed, data integrity and uptime. Session pairings are regularly changed according to quality of service, so anyone can query or send transactions on-chain without being profiled or frontran. The protocol, paired with the Lava Blockchain which is built using the renowned Cosmos SDK, together create a peer-to-peer, decentralized network for blockchain read/write.

Gil Binder, CTO of Lava Network said: “When I was working on MEV, it struck me that all the blockchain data I consumed emanated from only a small handful of node providers. These entities have full visibility into your queries, and users are expected to rely on trust-based data that can’t be verified as originating from the blockchain. Scalability is also an issue, as relying on one or two providers or even your own nodes is often impractical for large volumes of traffic. Lava coordinates apps and providers into an open network for blockchain access, where each provider is rewarded according to their quality of service and any chain can quickly bootstrap their RPC access for developers.” 

Creditinfo Group, a global service provider for credit information and risk management solutions, today announces the appointment of Jakub Žalio as its new Director of Global Technology and Solutions.

Žalio joins from Übank, the leading digital bank in Vietnam, whereas Chief Operating Officer he helped to onboard new customers quickly and securely through a fully digitised e-KYC onboarding process. He has also previously worked at APS Vietnam where he formalised and executed critical business strategy.  

Creditinfo aims to facilitate better decision-making in financial services and enable greater access to finance for underserved SMEs, companies and individuals without credit ratings, which makes technology and data crucial to helping the company accelerate financial inclusion. Based in Prague, Žalio will work alongside Creditinfo’s executive team to define and execute the software development and operations of the company’s credit information and risk management solutions, as well as its scoring models and data analysis.  

Jakub Žalio, Director of Global Technology and Solutions at Creditinfo said: “Creditinfo’s reputation as an exceptional global credit risk management partner is indisputable, having established 33 credit bureaus and facilitated access to finance for thousands of people – many of whom live in emerging markets and were struggling to access the banking services they needed. What is particularly exciting is the parallel innovation challenges in both emerging markets and mature European markets where we are delivering Open Banking services and mobile money decision solutions. I’m delighted to work with the incredibly talented global team and help fuel the company’s growth.”  

Paul Randall, Chief Executive Officer at Creditinfo said: “As we continue to expand and develop our products and services, it’s crucial our technology and data analytics remains at the cutting edge. Without the right technology in place, we risk not being able to deliver on our mission of facilitating best-practice decision-making in credit risk management. Jakub’s wealth of experience and knowledge is a huge advantage, not only in driving our own growth and innovation, but ensuring we are increasing access to finance and strengthening economies.” 

Financial Software Ltd. (FSL) has announced the appointment of Michael Edwards as its new Managing Director. The firm offers specialist investment tax solutions and has a proven track record for developing market-leading products since 1994, including the industry’s award-winning capital gains calculator CGiX. 

Michael joined FSL eight years ago as a member of the Application Support team, creating new app functionality and continuing to develop the capabilities of CGiX for SaaS and Service Bureau clients. As FSL’s client base grew to include many of the UK’s largest wealth management providers, Michael expanded the team and received several promotions. Most recently, as Head of the Business Analysis team he amalgamated the Application Support and Business Analysis function and played a pivotal role in implementing the new Tax Consultancy offering.

Previous to FSL, Michael began his technology career with the European multinational Atos Origin, providing first-line IT support for the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) as a Service Desk Analyst. He then moved to the global technology company Unisys where he continued to support MPS in partnership with Capgemini and BT, managing IT engineering teams and technology rollouts across London.

Nuno Godinho, Group CEO of FSL’s parent company Industrial Thought Ltd. commented: “Michael’s appointment as Managing Director is a testament to his impact on the business over recent years. His skills in technology management and people management make him the perfect choice to lead the company through an ambitious stage of growth as we remain at the forefront of digital transformation in a new era of wealth management.”

Michael Edwards, Managing Director of FSL, added: “Wealth managers have partnered with FSL to help solve their investment tax challenges for decades. And, as financial services undergo a significant shift driven by digital and social demands, our commitment to them is stronger than ever. I am looking forward to working with our talented team as we keep innovating to deliver financial software and data products they can trust.”

Wealth managers, banks, accountancy firms, and platform providers rely on FSL to alleviate the pain of investment tax, allowing them to give a more accurate and efficient service to their customers. In addition to CGiX, its other solutions include Offshore Reporting Funds data and the ESG modelling software, ETHiX. 

iDenfy, the end-to-end identity verification, compliance, and fraud prevention startup, announced a new partnership with AMLYZE, the SaaS Anti-Financial Crime solutions provider, helping small and medium-sized businesses combat financial crime. The referral Agreement signed by AMLYZE and iDenfy will enable mutual growth. 

iDenfy’s Referral Agreement helps its partners earn commissions while establishing better client relationships. By providing well-tested identity verification and financial crime prevention software, AMLYZE will help expand its partner list and help other businesses ensure compliance across sectors. 

Similar to iDenfy, AMLYZE offers a suite of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solutions for combating financial crime, consisting of different modules for real-time and retrospective transaction monitoring, customer risk scoring, case management, and sanctions screening. AMLYZE’s experts have combined their technical, regulatory, product, and supervisory skills to help its clients grow their businesses while ensuring their risk exposure is well mitigated.

After recently updating its partner program, iDenfy claims that the Referral Agreement is ideal for other fraud prevention companies or freelance consultants who have the same goal to ensure security and compliance with the help of cutting-edge technology. Consequently, with AMLYZE, iDenfy will collaborate and share their expert knowledge in this field. The partnership will benefit both enterprises by helping them expand their client base. 

According to iDenfy, partnerships like this are crucial for the startup. They provide a broader platform to showcase their expertise and offer clients a more comprehensive range of services. For this reason, the collaboration with AMLYZE will bring in new opportunities for growth and help iDenfy stay ahead of the competition in the AI-powered identity verification and fraud prevention service market. 

AMLYZE agrees with the benefits of this partnership. According to the company, Know Your Customer (KYC) and Know Your Business (KYB) are critical elements of successful customer onboarding for any financial institution and AMLYZE’s customers. iDenfy offers both, helping compliance processes. That’s why the synergies between these two organizations seem natural to AMLYZE.

According to AMLYZE, the collaboration with iDenfy will be the next step to bring tangible benefits to financial sector players looking for harmonized solutions from a single source:

“We can now offer KYC/KYB solutions on top of our product for customers interested in fully integrated AML/CFT solutions. In addition, the partnership allows us to offer additional value, such as automated ongoing due diligence and perpetual KYC,” — said Jekaterina Govina, Head of Partnerships & Regulatory Affairs and one of the Co-Founders of AMLYZE.

Domantas Ciulde, the CEO of iDenfy, added: “Our collaborative partnership initiative is designed to foster mutually beneficial relationships between our startup and like-minded businesses. Together with AMLYZE, we’ll exchange ideas, resources, and expertise to drive growth and success more efficiently.” 

Ding, the largest international mobile top-up platform, today announced an agreement with Western Union that allows Western Union’s Canadian customers to send international top-up payments to the mobile phones of more than five billion prepaid customers around the world.

The collaboration gives Western Union’s customers access to Ding’s network of over 600 mobile operators across more than 140 countries, covering 95 percent of the world’s population. In addition, it gives Western Union’s customers a channel to add minutes and data quickly and easily to the mobile plans.

"We are thrilled to be teaming with one of the largest money transfer operations in the world”, said Jonathan Rockett, Chief Financial Officer, Ding. “The launch of Ding Checkout with Western Union will give consumers access to a complimentary service which they can use to support their friends and families around the globe. We are excited to unveil our capabilities as a digital value transfer platform and drive growth in both new and existing customers for Western Union.”

Ding’s partnership with Western Union will initially launch in Canada, making it easier for Western Union’s Canadian customers to keep their loved ones’ phones in credit and to stay connected.

“Western Union is constantly evolving its omnichannel experience, looking for new ways to make the lives of our customers easier and more efficient,” said Gabriella Fitzgerald, President, Western Union North America. “By teaming up with Ding, we are offering customers more choice and convenience to connect with family and friends – not only through our traditional money service, but now their mobile phone plans.”