Provenir, a global leader in data and AI-powered risk decisioning software, announced today that Quick Finans, a consumer finance company located in Turkey, has selected Provenir’s AI-Powered Data and Decisioning Platform to quickly approve and onboard new customers.

Quick Finans, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Quick Insurance, which is under the umbrella of Maher Holding, offers solutions for consumer finance loans (GPL), auto financing, mortgages, agricultural financing, and small business lending. They were looking for a low/no code platform that could be deployed quickly, modified in real-time and scale as the company expands its offerings.

“After evaluating several options, we determined that Provenir best met our requirements and could support our aggressive growth strategies,” said Cumhur Taş – Deputy General Manager responsible for Credit & Operations in Quick Finans. “The platform provides the flexibility we need to power our business now and in the future. Another key differentiator was the ability to easily access and integrate new data sources to help us gain a more holistic view of our applicants and customers.”

“We are pleased to partner with Quick Finans to develop real-time decisioning solutions that will provide a superior customer experience,” said Emre Unlusoy, Regional Manager for Provenir. “Provenir’s no-code, visual UI eliminates vendor and development team reliance, and will provide Quick Finans the flexibility and agility needed to rapidly make changes, test new strategies and get products to market faster.”

Provenir’s industry-leading AI-Powered Data and Decisioning Platform is data-fueled and AI-driven for smarter risk decisioning. The solution, managed through a single UI, empowers organizations to innovate further and faster than ever before, driving the continuous optimization they need to power growth and agility, without increasing risk. With the unique combination of universal access to data, embedded AI and world-class decisioning technology, Provenir provides a cohesive risk ecosystem to enable smarter decisions across the entire customer lifecycle – offering diverse data for deeper insights, auto-optimized decisions, and a continuous feedback loop for constant improvement both at onboarding when assessing risk and monitoring ongoing transactions for fraud.

Dubai Investments PJSC [DIC], the leading investment company listed on the Dubai Financial Market [DFM] has acquired a 9% equity stake in Monument Bank Limited, a UK Based Digital Bank regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (UK) and the Prudential Regulation Authority (UK).

Monument Bank is focused on the overlooked ‘mass affluent’ segment in the UK. The bank’s strategic goal is to provide core banking and other related services, helping clients prosper and optimise time by offering smart, efficient and flexible solutions and leverage the digital capabilities to expand globally.

Commenting on the company’s acquisition of equity stake, Dubai Investments’ Vice Chairman and CEO, Khalid Bin Kalban said, “Investment in Monument Bank provides the Group a unique opportunity to foray into Digital Banking space in one of the most advanced and regulated markets at an early stage. The accelerated global shift to digital banking has been very positive for neobanks and the growth has been fuelled by waves of customers who have embraced digital banking’s expanded product suite. With Monument Bank combining traditional and established banking products with innovative solutions, the Group is looking forward to be a part of the evolving and the continued growth phase of digital banks while expanding horizons and diversifying strategically.”

CEO of Monument, Ian Rand said: “Monument Bank is uniquely positioned as the only UK bank focused exclusively on the mass-affluent segment. We are already supporting thousands of customers with our deposit products and have lent nearly £100m in our first year of operation. With this investment and partnership with Dubai Investments, we will accelerate the scale-up of our UK business, launching innovative solutions to our target segment and growing our market share, whilst also leveraging our best-in-class technology with partners and clients around the world.”

Mintoo Bhandari, the Head of Institutional Relationships and Founder of Monument, said: "We are very pleased to have Dubai Investments as a strategic investor in Monument and look forward to building a deep relationship over the coming months and years. We believe that we are uniquely positioned to take advantage of the trends and opportunities that are continuing to emerge in our home market and believe that our partners at Dubai Investments can help us advance our strategic plans, leveraging our technological capabilities, to extend our operations and spheres of influence in other markets around the world." 

Monument Bank’s property investment lending and range of savings products use advanced in-app capabilities for client interactions and will continue to enhance the range of products and services to serve the evolving needs of its mass affluent clients. The bank is currently working on a broader suite of products and services that can help make mass affluent lives easier, both in the UK and globally and underpinning the bank’s initiatives are fundamentally innovative technology.

Alpen Capital (ME) Limited, a financial advisory firm in Dubai is the advisor to the transaction.

From this year, Chile has had a new law to regulate and promote the Fintech industry. And so that the information is readily and quickly available to foreign investors, InvestChile has published its new e-book "Fintech Law: Keys to the new regulations for the sector in Chile." 

The guide has been prepared by the South American country's Foreign Investment Promotion Agency. It contains an overview of the industry and its main stakeholders, both in Chile and in the region, as well as the objectives, definitions and principles of the new law, and much more. 

The new law aims to update the local financial regulations, considering the progress made, as well as new technological stakeholders, alternative transaction systems, intermediation and credit consultancies, and specification of the rules of open finance. 

The expectation is that this will help the growth of the Fintech industry in Chile by providing greater clarity on the rules and regulations that govern the sector. It is also hoped that the country will consolidate its position as a leading hub for Fintech innovation in Latin America, and that it can attract more investors. 

In 2021, there were more than 150 companies from the sector in Chile, with almost 50% of them expanding their operations internationally, mainly to Peru, Mexico, Colombia and Argentina. 

New spend data from payment and cashback app, Cheddar, reveals that UK consumers remain committed to spending on their health and well-being in the new year, despite cost of living pressures. 

Analysis of this spend data sourced from 20,000 Cheddar app users between December 1st 2022 to January 15th 2023, shows transactions at health food retailers increased significantly in the new year. Protein Works saw the biggest increase, with a 180% uptick in purchases, followed by Huel (100%) and Myvitamins (86%). Muscle Foods similarly saw purchases increase by a fifth (21%) between December and January, with the average consumer spending almost £40 per order.

Online takeaway food platforms also saw spending decline in the first half of January. Uber Eats saw a 35% decrease in purchases, followed by Deliveroo (34%) and Just Eat (25%), suggesting consumers changed their attitude towards eating sensibly, avoiding the risk of derailing New Year diets by consuming fast foods and takeaways. Across all 3 companies, the average spend per order is between £20-23 in January.

However, looking more broadly across health and wellbeing retail, we can see that spend at retailers like Boots, Superdrug and Holland and Barrett have decreased in both transactions and order value since December. This could be due to a spike in shopping pre-Christmas that is returning to normal levels in January. In particular Boots and Superdrug, known for their beauty gift sets at Christmas, saw at least a 40% decline in transactions in the new year.

A similar story is seen at top sportswear retailers such as Sports Direct, JD Sports, Nike and Adidas where, despite the UK’s health kick, both numbers of transactions and order value have dropped across all these retailers between December and January.

Cheddar’s data has the ability to identify broad retail trends month to month as well as short-term impacts at individual retailers in the UK. Over 20,000 consumers now connect their bank accounts to the app, providing third-party consent to real-time data on consumer spend. With the app rapidly gaining new users daily, these retail and consumer insights are only set to grow.

Tariq Zaid, CEO & Co-founder at Cheddar says:

“At Cheddar, we understand the value of our spend data and it’s always so interesting to dive deeper into those figures around key commercial or seasonal events - the new year being a big one for retail. We all know by now that the ‘New year, New me’ statements are everywhere in January, but we wanted to see if Brits are still putting their money where their mouth is when it comes to making healthier changes - particularly during a cost of living crisis.

Not only does our consumer spend data confirm that health foods are where Brits are choosing to invest in the new year, it shows that takeaway food spend has dropped off slightly too alongside that. Healthy eating wins out this January!”

A new report released has claimed that the UK, the first mover and, until now, seen as a global leader in Open Banking will lose that leadership position this year unless drastic action is taken.

The Global Open Finance Index, a report released by Open Banking Excellence (OBE) is an in-depth, data-driven exploration of the global state of Open Banking featuring insight from more than 400 Open Banking and Open Finance experts from 23 countries. It builds on the data from a set of expert interviews conducted by the University of Oxford with secondary data from the World Bank, the IMF and Dealroom.co.

Helen Child, CEO and Founder of Open Banking Excellence commented, “The Open Banking space represents a huge export opportunity for UK firms. UK tech companies have the knowledge and experience to support countries across the world to positively impact their economy, society and environment, whilst at the same time addressing an export-lead market that has been estimated to be worth up to $416 bn* per year by the end of the decade.

“That position is now at risk, due to a stagnant situation at home combined with enormous acceleration in the pace of global competition meaning there’s a real challenge to that leadership position we’ve enjoyed.

“India’s roll-out has created a group of more than a billion accounts accessible in the same standard. Members of our OBE community in Brazil reached five million connected accounts in one-fifth of the time it took the UK, and Australia is already forging ahead with Open Energy. Now is not the time to rest on our laurels; we need to focus.

“Firstly, we need to look at Open Finance with renewed energy. There is a data bill sitting in a drawer in Parliament that could and should be brought forward. Secondly, we need to resolve the uncertainty around the future governance arrangements for Open Banking – we have made great progress but we are not done with this yet. Thirdly, we need to bake regulatory passporting into future trade agreements. If we can take these three steps, then the door is open for UK tech firms to play a leading role in a period that will see a complete paradigm shift in the way people relate to their money. If we can't, we'll be watching from the sidelines.”

The report, which included contributions from Accenture and NatWest and was supported by research from the University of Oxford and data from the World Bank analyzed 23 countries across more than 150 aspects to identify the component parts of a successful Open Banking ecosystem. It found that whilst the UK was still seen as a global leader, countries like Brazil, Singapore, India and Australia were moving faster and are likely to eclipse the UK in the near future.

Another key finding was that whilst regulatory mandates help nascent ecosystems to establish themselves, it is fundamental that the participants find mutually beneficial arrangements beyond the mandates in order for the ecosystems to thrive.

In the UK, NatWest has played a leading role in this regard by creating the ‘Bank of APIs’ - an application programming ecosystem that goes beyond the UK Open Banking mandate and is bringing an increasingly wide variety of the bank’s services to customers and partners in new and convenient ways.

Zack Anderson, Chief Data and Analytics Officer at NatWest, commented, “At NatWest, we’ve sought to champion the potential of Open Banking from its earliest days, as we’ve always seen it as being far more than a response to new banking regulations. For us, it’s been an exciting opportunity to create a digitized, API-enabled bank that helps our customers access our services in the ways that are most convenient to them. Now, with the advent of Open Finance, we see an even greater opportunity for industry participants to collaborate and co-create embedded services that drive the digital economy.”

Amit Mallick, Managing Director and Open Finance Lead at Accenture, added: “Advancements in technology – including APIs, data and analytics – are driving the open finance wave, leading to enhanced and real-time financial services experiences for both consumers and businesses. Accenture is committed to working with regulators and others to shape standards and support widespread adoption of open finance solutions and ecosystems.”

Today the British Business Bank publishes a list of 53 additional companies in which the Future Fund holds an equity stake, taking the total to 515 as at the end of December 2022.

Launched on 20 May 2020, and open for applications until 31 January 2021, the Future Fund issued 1,190 companies with Convertible Loan Agreements worth £1.14bn in total. Third-party investors were required to at least match the Future Fund’s investment.

Companies in which Future Fund is now a shareholder include Oxford Nanosystems, creating advanced coating technologies for enhanced heat transfer, Roslin Technologies, a biotech company improving protein production for cultivated meat and the transition towards more sustainable food systems, Phlo Technologies, an online pharmacy, both based in Scotland, and Magnitude Biosciences, a life sciences company in Durham.

The Future Fund supported UK companies that typically rely on equity investment to fund their growth. By creating a bridge to the next equity funding round, the Future Fund supported these companies through a period of considerable economic disruption and now the recovery.

Ken Cooper, Managing Director, Venture Solutions, British Business Bank said: “The Future Fund was created to ensure a flow of capital, at the height of the pandemic, to companies that would otherwise have been unable to access government support schemes, while ensuring long-term value for the UK taxpayer. We are pleased to see so many of those companies now going on to raise further private sector capital, which will allow the Future Fund to benefit from their continued growth.”

As at end of December 2022, there were 515 convertible loans that converted into equity shares and in respect of which the Future Fund continues to hold an equity interest.

Breakdown of total book

Reconciliation since last quarterly update

The scheme used a recognised financial instrument known as a convertible loan. Unlike an equity investment, there wasn’t a requirement under the convertible loan to value the company or the price of its shares, at a time when company valuations had been significantly impacted by Covid-19. Instead, the convertible loans are designed to convert into equity at the next equity funding round, converting at a discount to the price per share agreed between companies and investors in the funding round.

The British Business Bank will update the list of companies in which Future Fund has a shareholding at the end of each financial quarter – the full list is available here.

Today, Indosuez Wealth Management acquired 70% of Wealth Dynamics Ltd. (« Wealth Dynamix »),  a fintech founded in 2012 that provides Client Lifecycle Management solutions to private banks, and wealth management and asset management firms worldwide.  

This acquisition of a majority stake is an extension of the collaboration initiated in 2019 between  Indosuez, its subsidiary Azqore, which specialises in the outsourcing of Information Systems and the processing of banking operations for private banking and wealth management players, and Wealth  Dynamix. The solutions developed by Wealth Dynamix reinforce the quality of the service offered by the user institutions by contributing to the operational efficiency and personalisation of the relationship between the banker and its client (360-degree vision, prospecting, onboarding, KYC review, etc.), the promotion of self-service and the digitalisation of regulatory compliance processes.  

This acquisition strengthens Azqore’s position in the outsourced banking services’ market while complementing its platform in a key area of client relationship management. It will also enable the company to accelerate its innovation dynamic with the integration of new technical skills and to benefit from the agility of this profitable fintech. Through the synergies and added value created, this acquisition will help Azqore to expand into new client segments, including small and medium-sized players. 

The backing of Indosuez, one of the world’s leading wealth management companies, will enable  Wealth Dynamix to accelerate its development and benefit from the Group’s scale and stability while maintaining its independence and agility. 

Jacques Prost, Chief Executive Officer of Indosuez Wealth Management, said: “This operation, which reinforces Indosuez’s innovation dynamic, will enable Azqore to broaden its offer and strengthen its  value proposition, thus contributing to its attractiveness in its market. It will also benefit the  development and transformation of all its partners by allowing for more personalisation, digitalisation  and autonomy for their clients.”

Gary Linieres, Chief Executive Officer of Wealth Dynamix, said: “I am delighted that Wealth Dynamix has become part of the Indosuez team. We have been working strategically with Indosuez and Azqore  for a number of years. We can now further deepen our relationship. Crucially, this partnership allows  us to retain our agility and entrepreneurial spirit whilst simultaneously leveraging the strength an  organisation like Indosuez group provides. This will allow us to better service our current and future  clients, accelerate the evolution of our products and ultimately provide us greater opportunity for  growth.”  

ION, a global leader in trading, analytics, treasury, and risk management solutions for capital markets, commodities, and treasury management, has been selected by OptionsDesk to integrate ION’s XTP Front-to-Back Suite, expanding its derivatives capabilities.

Part of the AMC Group, OptionsDesk is a trading name of AMT Futures Ltd, a leading UK options broker that provides advisory and brokerage services for retail investors, corporations, and financial institutions. Building on its trusted relationship with ION, OptionsDesk has selected ION’s XTP Trading, XTP Clearing, and XTP Cleared Derivatives solutions, adopting an end-to-end digital strategy to support its next growth phase.

OptionsDesk offers institutions, high net worth and retail investors up-to-date tools, expertise, and resources to protect and grow their current investment portfolios. OptionsDesk’s aim is to enable customers to secure their portfolios against market falls, put on trades to capitalize on time-specific events, and earn additional income with a limited, clearly defined risk profile. ION’s integrated front-to-back platform facilitates this, seamlessly processing business in real-time and producing actionable insights across execution, clearing, and settlement.

James Proudlock, Managing Director, OptionsDesk, said: “While we continue to prioritize giving our clients access to highly experienced options brokers, this partnership with ION also establishes us as a digitally driven, retail consumer finance brand. Our goal is to combine the best of both worlds to help our clients further their investment objectives across cash equities, futures and options.

“After an exhaustive tender process, ION clearly stood head and shoulders above all other derivatives technology providers. We look forward to integrating the XTP Suite into OptionsDesk to complement our desk-broking services.”

Francesco Margini, Chief Product Officer for Cleared Derivatives, ION Markets, said: “At ION, we believe in building lasting relationships with our clients. We are delighted to expand our partnership with the AMC Group, through this long-term agreement with OptionsDesk.

“By using XTP, OptionsDesk will be able to unlock additional opportunities. XTP is a full front-to-back product suite that harnesses the power of integrated workflows and connected data to provide real-time insights.” 

ION’s leading XTP product suite delivers a comprehensive, powerful, and recognizable suite of solutions for cleared derivatives firms. Built on ION’s scalable and modular technology, the XTP suite provides everything businesses need for efficient and accurate front- to back-office operations, supporting future growth.

Wise, the global technology company building the best way to move money around the world, launched 15 new partnerships in 2022 and enters 2023 with a total of 60 partners globally. 

These partnerships are made possible through Wise Platform, which allows banks and businesses to embed the power of Wise into their existing platform. Almost 10 million new customers gained access to Wise, via Wise Platform, in 2022 alone.

What’s more, Wise Platform launched in four new markets last year: in Israel with credit card company Max, in Turkey through Wise’s partnership with Birlesik Odeme and Fibabanka, in the UAE with neobank Wio, and in Hong Kong with virtual bank ZA Bank.

Wise Platform also deepened their footprint in Asia and North America, expanding in two areas in particular: investments and business services. In Singapore, Wise Platform partnered with Tiger Brokers and GoTrade to help make global investing easier for everyone, while in the US, new partners AvidXchange, Ramp, Brex, and Firstbase are providing businesses with key tools to help them operate internationally. 

In the UK, Wise launched with Wagestream, a financial well-being app for front-line workers, and Onfolk, an HR and payroll company, strengthening their impact on how people around the world are paid by their employers. 

In addition to new partners, 2022 also saw Wise Platform grow existing partnerships. This included introducing new business services with Monzo and Yapeal, a freelancer service with Multiplier, and a quicker, expanded service with Deel. 

Finally, Wise Platform launched International Receive, which makes it easier for banks to efficiently and reliably receive international payments through the Swift network. International Receive gives neobanks an easy route to enabling customers to receive money from abroad and allows established banks to benefit from Wise Platform’s speed and affordability. The integration can be done in just a matter of weeks. 

Steve Naudé, Head of Wise Platform, said: 

“Wise Platform’s expansion is a testament to the relevance of our offer to businesses and their customers across multiple industries. We allow our partners to integrate a market-leading cross-border payments infrastructure into their platform quickly and at a relatively low cost. This allows them to better serve customers while maintaining a focus on their core business. 

“With every partnership we offer more customers and businesses access to fast, cheap, convenient and transparent international payments. We look forward to working with more partners - both new and old - in 2023 as we move ever-closer to our mission of money without borders for everyone.” 

Dan Drees, Chief Growth Officer of AvidXchange, said: 

“Partnering with Wise to provide our customers with best-in-class international payment capabilities was an easy decision because of their market-leading platform and seamless integration capabilities. Together, we are dedicated to making our customers’ payments process more efficient regardless of country lines.”

Dan Westgarth, Chief Operating Officer at Deel, said: 

“Wise’s new feature allows even more Deel customers to use their local currency and local payment system, expanding our capabilities and bringing the Wise experience to more businesses around the world. This is massively beneficial for our customers, who choose Deel to make hiring, onboarding, and executing payroll for overseas employees a breeze.”

Copper.co, the leading provider of institutional digital asset custody and trading solutions, today announces the appointment of Lord (Philip) Hammond of Runnymede, the former Chancellor of the Exchequer, as Chair. He takes up this role with immediate effect.

Lord Hammond has served as a Senior Adviser to Copper since October 2021.  During this time, he has provided strategic advice to the Copper team as the firm has grown significantly and expanded its operations and services globally.

Lord Hammond has been at the forefront of promoting the UK as a global leader in digital asset technology and publicly making the case for the need to connect traditional finance with distributed ledger technology and reforming the UK’s regulatory framework governing digital assets.

In the time since Lord Hammond joined Copper as Senior Adviser, the firm has grown from 50 to over 300 people, doubling revenues. Landmark deals with leading financial institutions have included Copper becoming the infrastructure partner of State Street Digital, onboarding leading hedge funds and partnering with multiple participants in the Defi ecosystem.

The firm’s growth is further underpinned by its transformational exchange network ClearLoop. The product enables institutional clients to trade on multiple digital asset exchanges while keeping funds in secure custody with Copper, thereby mitigating counterparty risk. As a result, new clients and exchanges are joining ClearLoop at an accelerated pace.

Dmitry Tokarev, Chief Executive Officer, Copper, said: “It has been an outstanding privilege to benefit from Lord Hammond’s strategic expertise forged by his successful career in politics and business. I am thrilled he has agreed to become Chair of Copper. In addition to his guidance and experience benefiting and enhancing Copper, his public advocacy relating to the importance of connecting traditional finance with distributed ledger technology comes at a time when it is needed more than ever.”

Lord Hammond, Chairman, Copper, said: “I have greatly enjoyed working with Copper, a company that has pioneered the use of digital asset investment technology and which is increasingly emerging as the leading option for global financial institutions to trade and safeguard their digital assets.

Recent security and regulatory challenges affecting the digital asset sector have only served to emphasise the need for safe, well-regulated trading infrastructure. I remain firmly of the view that the post-Brexit UK Financial Services sector needs to embrace Distributed Ledger Technology as a key part of its strategy to remain a major global financial centre. I look forward to continuing to make the case for this potential to be realised as Chairman of Copper.”

Lord Hammond enjoyed a distinguished career in British politics as a Member of Parliament from 1997 to 2019, serving as Chancellor of the Exchequer (2016-2019), Foreign Secretary (2014-16), Defence Secretary (2011-2014) and Transport Secretary (2010-11). Since stepping down as the Member of Parliament for Runnymede and Weybridge in November 2019, Lord Hammond, who was awarded a life peerage by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in July 2020, has resumed his business career.