Allica Bank, the leading fintech SME challenger bank, has announced a £100 million Series C funding round led by global growth technology investor, TCV, with participation from existing investors Warwick Capital Partners and Atalaya Capital Management.

With this investment, Allica joins TCV’s impressive roster of portfolio companies, including household names like Airbnb, Netflix, and Spotify, as well as category-defining fintechs such as Brex, Mambu, Mollie, Nubank, Qonto, Razorpay, Revolut, Toast, Trade Republic and Zepz.

This new investment allows Allica to scale rapidly and accelerate its disruptive impact in the UK SME market, following the bank's impressive growth, as well as its profitability milestone, achieved in June this year.

Allica is the UK’s only digitally-native challenger bank committed to providing a full-service banking relationship to established SMEs and entrepreneurs, offering them lending, savings and payments.

These established SME businesses typically have 10 to 250 employees and represent around a third of the UK economy – yet are neglected by both mainstream high street banks and other fintechs who instead focus on consumers and micro-businesses.

Allica has built exceptional momentum in the three years since being granted a banking licence, delivering continuous growth and demonstrating its potential to transform the UK’s traditional SME banking market in the decade ahead:

• Spring 2022 – Allica was named Best Business Finance Provider at the British Bank Awards
• Summer 2022 – Allica reached £1bn of lending and monthly profitability, and successfully completed the migration of c. 2,000 SME customers acquired from AIB GB
• Autumn 2022 – Allica successfully launched its best-in-class Business Rewards Current Account, a current account designed especially for established businesses, with no monthly fees and great cashback offerings, fulfilling its commitment to be a full-service challenger bank 

Allica is delivering exceptional financial performance, proving its proprietary and digitally-native banking model can be sustainable and highly scalable; Allica reached profitability in less than three years and Q3 2022 revenue are up 743% year-on-year compared to 2021.

In November, Allica was named Business Bank of the Year at the annual NACFB awards – one of five categories the bank won at one of the UK’s leading SME finance awards.

Richard Davies, Chief Executive of Allica Bank and former executive at HSBC and Revolut, said:

“From the moment we sat down with TCV it was clear we shared the same vision to transform SME banking in the UK, by taking on the mainstream ‘high street’ banking market”

“It’s a massive vote of confidence in the team we’ve built at Allica to attract backing from such a world-class technology investor under the toughest of market conditions, and this £100 million funding round will enable us to support far more of Britain’s established and growth companies, who have been underserved for too long.”

Michael Kalfayan, Partner at TCV said:

“Richard and team have built a truly impressive platform that is looking to solve a great need for UK-established SMEs, a highly complex segment to serve. TCV is laser-focused on partnering with market-leading companies seeking to leverage technology to transform industries. Allica is a prime example of this and we’re incredibly excited to collaborate with this strong team as they work to be the country’s leading digitally-native SME bank.”

John Doran, General Partner at TCV, added:

“We worked closely with Richard during his time at Revolut and are delighted to partner with him again to support Allica on this journey.”

Perella Weinberg Partners acted as exclusive financial advisor to Allica.

AREX Markets, the data-driven FinTech company that drives financing costs down for SMEs and enables them to get paid quicker, has announced the sale of its Finland operations to Swedish payment and financing institution Svea Bank.

With the deal, Svea will further strengthen its position as a corporate financier, as AREX's c.1200 Finnish customers and partnerships in the areas of financial management and financial management software will be transferred to the bank’s portfolio. The Finnish operation of AREX has financed over EUR 500M worth of invoices.

AREX’s Spanish and UK operations remain unaffected and remain focused on building embeddable financing products for third-party platforms. Customers in Finland have been informed of their transition, and their contracts and service details will port across to Svea.

Svea is reshaping the playing field of corporate finance in Finland, and taking on the operations of AREX in the region is a natural step to strengthen their own business and at the same time offer AREX's partners and customers an easy path to a wider range of services than before.

“Over the years, Svea has grown a lot also through business transactions, therefore acquiring AREX's business operations in Finland was a good and natural solution for us. In addition, the deal is pleasant for us at Svea because the focus of our activities is to help partners and customers succeed - offering AREX's partners and customers a wider range of services is exactly that,” says Pasi Väre, country manager of Svea in Finland.

The deal also brings new opportunities for AREX to focus on the UK and Europe in its rollout of embeddable financing products, which can be white-labelled by neobanks, ERPs and accounting software alike. The business is seeking to bridge the liquidity gap faced by most small businesses in the face of a recessive economic climate.

UK SME’s can continue to access AREX’s core invoice financing product through the Xero marketplace.

“For us at AREX, this is a great step: we are developing a stronger presence in the field of embedded finance, which is underpinned by our sophisticated marketplace software, our strongest point,” says AREX's CEO, Airto Vienola.

“For the AREX team it was extremely important that we find the best possible corporate financier to take care of the business’ customers and partnerships in Finland. Svea convinced us with their customer and partner-centric approach", adds AREX’s co-founder Perttu Jalkanen.

Vested Finance, a US investment platform and a FINRA-registered US broker-dealer (via its affiliate VF Securities), today launched two additional pre-built Vests to enable retail investors to invest in globally diversified ETFs and futuristic technology stocks in partnership with Xumit Capital and Ethical Advisors. With this announcement, Vested Finance has partnerships with five industry experts to offer third-party portfolios.

Vests are curated portfolios that comprise stocks and/or ETFs and are constructed with different goals or specific themes in mind. Investing in Vests is similar to investing in passively managed mutual funds or PMS as it allows clients to choose the Vest based on their risk tolerance and theme rather than spending time studying specific stocks for global portfolio diversification. Vest investments are made using the subscription option, which is offered in quarterly and yearly plans.

Speaking on the partnership, Viram Shah, Co-Founder & CEO of Vested Finance, said, “Vested Finance has always strived to make global diversification options available to Indian investors in an accessible and cost-effective manner. Encouraged by the strong investor interest in US markets and the success of our recent Vest offerings, we are delighted to launch two new pre-built Vests in partnership with industry experts like Xumit Capital and Ethical Advisors. These new Vests offer customers an opportunity to invest in ETFs and futuristic technologies like metaverse, artificial intelligence, robotics, blockchain etc. The two new Vests will be in addition to the previously launched Bitcoin Vest, Third-party Vest, and DIY Vest, thus providing adequate diversification options in US markets. Despite the unforeseen volatility in the global market, we have witnessed more than 20% of Vested investors invest in the US market via these Vests. Further, our new broker-dealer license helps investors gain access to a wider gamut of securities on our platform, and we will continue to innovate and expand investor offerings.”

Sumit Singh, Managing Director, Xumit Capital, on the launch of Xumit Capital Vest, said, “XCG - Global Balanced Portfolio is a diversified portfolio based entirely on index ETFs for passive investors. The portfolio is diversified across different geographies and asset classes, including equities, bonds, gold and real estate, thus providing reasonable risk-adjusted returns and a very low total expense ratio of 0.10% to 0.12%. For the set of Indian investors who want to get exposure to global market instruments for the first time, this portfolio provides a well-diversified combination of ETFs. As a long-term investment strategy for all-weather investors, the portfolio also provides growth potential, with two-thirds invested in US equities.”

Dick Mody, Founder, and CEO, of Ethical Advisers, on the launch of Futuristic Tech & Robotics Vest, said, “While investing, there is always merit in identifying pioneers in future technologies as early investors reap disproportionate rewards upon their success. However, the risk remains high. To balance the two, this Vest has a diversified mix of innovative companies involved in futuristic tech, metaverse, artificial intelligence, robotics, blockchain, 3D Printing, and innovative technologies.”

Before this partnership, Vested Finance offered Vests from Wright Research, Negen Capital and Prasenjit Paul.

On the Vests offering, one of the existing partners, Sonam Srivastava, Founder of Wright Research, said, “We launched Wright Tactical US Vest in Jan 2022, and it is a moderate-risk tactical asset allocation portfolio that is rebalanced every month to achieve optimal allocation for any market regime. If a customer prefers well-diversified equity portfolio exposure through various ETF holdings, one may like this. This Vest is optimised to achieve returns within a short-term horizon. This Vest uses highly liquid ETFs to track different investment sectors, factors, and market caps.”

Vested Finance helps Indian investors to invest in US stock markets via multiple investment instruments like stocks, ETFs, and pre-built investment portfolios called Vests. Partnership with portfolio management experts enables Indian investors to diversify their portfolios in an even easier manner geographically.

Vested Finance is a FINRA-registered US broker-dealer and the only Fintech platform operating in India that has obtained a license from FINRA, the regulatory body for brokers and dealers in the USA.

Finaro, a global cross-border payment provider and fully-licensed bank, has today announced its partnership with Ginger Payments, under which Finaro will empower the Ginger Payments platform with its pioneering suite of acquiring and transaction routing capabilities.

As eCommerce volumes continue to surge across Europe, banks and fintechs are looking to offer end-to-end payment solutions, and to deliver a better customer experience, including higher approval rates and access to alternative payment methods (APMs). The Finaro-Ginger partnership will initially focus on the Nordic region, targeting financial institutions and fintechs that are looking to launch merchant-aligned services similar to those of payment service providers (PSPs).

Achiya Fried, Chief Commercial Officer at Finaro states: “It’s exciting to see our footprint in the Nordics grow, and we are delighted to be partnering with Ginger on growing even further. Finaro’s smart acquiring services, robust gateway platform and exceptional track record in boosting transaction approval rates will elevate Ginger’s presence, enabling them to offer white-labeled transformational PSP services that will open up access to new markets and opportunities for all parties involved.”

The partnership between Finaro and Ginger offers a complete ecosystem of PSP solutions, enabling merchants to accept card payments as well as APM transactions from customers, while leveraging powerful data analytics to fine-tune their customer insights and payment experiences. Finaro’s brilliantly simple payment solutions, which include POS transaction acquiring, strengthen Ginger Payment’s platform ability to deliver both bespoke and white-label payment services, including payment gateways, AML-compliant onboarding, plugins, merchant omni-channel dashboards, reconciliation and settlement, and comprehensive reporting overviews.

Ginger has been providing online payment solutions since 2014, enabling a solid clientele of banks and fintechs to become PSPs and help their merchants accept payments. In June 2022, Ginger was acquired by Ximedes, which increased the breadth and width of its services significantly, adding AML-compliant onboarding and state-of-the-art reconciliation and settlement to its offering. Together with Finaro, Ginger plans to expand further across Europe, building on the combined SaaS-based payment functions and agile software development capabilities.

Joachim de Boer, COO at Ginger, says: “From end to end, Ginger’s cloud-based API strengths and our full-stack eCommerce payment offering give clients the ability to build a new solution, replace their current solution completely, or add innovative new modules to their existing services. We also provide transaction approval optimization, and enhanced data insights to drive future growth. By combining forces with Finaro, we’ve created a dynamic collaboration, offering a complete one-stop-shop for payment components, covering every APM from Apple Pay to QR code.”

Ruben Frimand Nielsen, Vice President, Sales & Business Development for the Nordics at Finaro, agrees and adds: “The partnership between Finaro and Ginger is a market-beating collaboration, offering a ready-made suite of PSP solutions for banks and fintechs that want to offer the full spectrum of payment services to their clients. Ximedes' software development capabilities, Ginger's SaaS proposition, and Finaro’s acquiring and gateway solutions combine to offer powerful and flexible PSP solutions that help banks and fintechs drive the next wave of merchant growth.”

Adil Yahyaouy, Business Development Manager at Ximedes, comments: “There is a clear gap in the market where banks and fintechs wanting to provide end-to-end payment services to their customers have difficulty accessing the right mix of technical components, easy-to-use APIs, access to APMs, and in-depth personalized support. With Finaro’s game-changing technology and its acquiring services, we can now step into that gap and provide everything banks and fintechs need to transform themselves into PSPs.”

Finaro’s gateway’s unrivaled 99.999% uptime availability has helped Finaro’s more than 5,000 merchants to accept an array of 150 APMs - and counting - from all over the world. With its vision of making complex payments brilliantly simple, Finaro has recently announced new commercial relationships with Fergatus, EveryPay, and Payrexx, and it’s on track to be acquired by American payments giant, Shift4, as was announced previously this year.

Zimpler, a leading fintech company born in Sweden, announced today the launch of its Paylink solution. Brommapojkarna, the largest football club in Europe*, were the first to try it out.

Paylink allows customers to pay through a link on the digital invoice which redirects them to their banking app, or online banking via Zimpler checkout. There the transaction is initiated and the customer’s identity is verified through the latest bank verification method. This means customers do not need cards to pay an invoice, as the funds are debited directly from their bank account, in real-time.

Zimpler’s initial collaboration with Brommapojkarna this year showed that out of 13,500 invoices issued over 40% were paid using Paylink. By comparison, only 1% chose to pay by card, where a standard bank transfer remains the most popular option. The time it takes for invoices to be paid through Paylink was 30% quicker – taking an average of 17 days to process, compared to the usual 25 days. So it’s safe to say, using an account-to-account payment method such as Paylink is simpler, faster and safer when given an option.

Soon, Zimpler will also introduce two new features to the existing Paylink solution: “Pay on due date” and “Capture the date and time stamp on each transaction”. These new features will help Brommapojkarna to keep track of all incoming transactions and let their customers choose whether to schedule a payment on or before the due date – during membership renewal.

Mathias Johansson, New Solutions Manager at Zimpler, said: “Adding Paylink to invoices comes with benefits for both consumers and businesses. Being able to click on a link and make direct and secure account-to-account payments simplifies the process for customers. They tend to make a payment much sooner than using other methods. This is a great benefit for organisations with Paylink integration, especially SMEs which may often encounter dips in cash flow due to late invoice payments.

“Innovation is at the heart of Zimpler. Earlier this year, we became the first payment provider in Sweden to offer B2B account-to-account payments and we constantly strive to develop new products and solutions to stay competitive.”

Madelene Sundin, CFO at Brommapojkarna, said: “Zimpler has done a great job simplifying our payment flow. In addition to that, we had the opportunity to have a payment experience that was completely on-brand in terms of design, which our members have greatly appreciated.”

On the occasion of International Day of Banks, celebrated globally by the banking fraternity on December 4, B2B lending and compliance fintech Jocata announced pan-India rollout of SME DNA score, a proprietary AI/ML based risk and business intelligence score – after having successfully beta tested the model on the GSTN filings of over 20,000 MSMEs with two of the top Indian private lenders and one of the largest development banks in the country.

Jocata’s SME DNA score comes at a time when there is a growing demand for GST-based analytics. A strong regulatory push, growing GST filing compliance and the recent announcement of GSTN as a Financial Information Provider (FIP) under the Account Aggregator framework are expected to ease access to large volumes of consent-based GST data and grow the analytics outcomes.

The SME DNA score will aid underwriters with enhanced 'Go-No-Go' decision within 2 minutes, thereby fast-tracking priority sector lending for banks and financial institutions. With predictive insights, the SME DNA score will also spur credit innovation for banks in the form of contextual and targeted lending solutions aimed at the MSME segment, including embedded lending, GST bridge loans, sachet-loans, BNPL, and cash-flow-based loans, among others.

During its beta stage, the SME DNA score aided one of the top 5 private banks in India to build a business model in the small ticket segment of unsecured business loans in the range of Rs. 2 lakh to 20 lakh, and also secured overdraft of up to Rs. 2 crores digitally from the ground up.

GSTN filings are considered a goldmine of authentic, reliable, digitally available, dynamic data. By leveraging cutting-edge data science techniques on GSTN filings, SME DNA can empower underwriters with more transparent insights throughout the business cycle of credit seekers and reduce the Time-to-Credit (disbursal) for MSME borrowers from 2-5 days to less than 6 hours.

Jocata Managing Director and CEO Prashant Muddu said, " The outlook for GST-based analytics is very promising and it can significantly reduce the current problems that bankers face in credit decisioning for the priority sector that stem from a heavy reliance on expert judgement leading to longer decisioning times. In addition to spurring credit innovation and in scaling up the priority sector lending for banks, the SME DNA score can kick-start a virtuous cycle by also empowering MSMEs to improve their business performance and get access to credit, build credit history, avail loans on more favourable terms, to unlock their potential in India's growth story."

Jocata’s data sciences team has analyzed MSMEs' filing data from GSTN since its advent to develop the score that represents the risk of the MSME business. The score assesses the entity for its propensity to pay tax, checks the health of and (over)dependence on the MSMEs' buyers and suppliers, among other risk factors. It also helps banks’ underwriters and business teams in improving credit decisioning and monitoring, besides identifying early warning signals at entity and portfolio level, which is especially important at a time when banks and financial institutions are facing pressures due to Non-Performing Assets (NPAs). This is key to easing the trust deficit financial institutions face in lending to MSMEs and giving transparency and information throughout the business cycle."

Jocata has been working with some of the largest financial institutions to power their digital transformation journey across a suite of fintech solutions including digital onboarding, risk scoring and assessment, credit underwriting, fraud prevention, API infrastructure and management, early warning systems among others. Some of the key banking partners include ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, Bank of Baroda, IndusInd Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, RBL Bank, Federal Bank, Standard Chartered, DBS Bank, Tata Capital, Airtel Payments Bank and American Express.

Teampay Raises USD47M in Series B Funding

Teampay, a New York-based provider of a purchasing platform, raised $47M in Series B funding. The round, which brought total funding to $65M, was led by Fin Venture Capital, with participation from Mastercard, Proof Ventures, Trestle, and Espresso Capital. Led by CEO Andrew Hoag, Teampay helps companies streamline purchasing across virtual cards, physical cards, invoices, and reimbursements.

KreditBee Raises $80 Million in Series D

KreditBee, one of India’s leading fintech platforms, has secured USD 80 Million as a part of its ongoing Series-D investment round. The current investment saw active participation from existing investors Azim Premji’s Premji Invest, Motilal Oswal Alternates, TPG-backed NewQuest Capital Partners, and Mirae Asset Ventures. The round also saw participation from MUFG Bank, one of the largest financial institutions in the world.

CyVers Raises $8M Led by Elron Ventures to Bring Proactive Security to Web3 Economy, Clearing Way for Mass Adoption

CyVers is a leading provider of state-of-the-art proactive Web3 Security for the centralized, decentralized finance and smart contract applications via detection and interception of crypto attacks across blockchains. The company has announced $8 million in funding led by Elron Ventures. This funding is joined by Crescendo Venture Partners, Differential Ventures, HDI, Cyber Club London, and Cyber Future. 

Buckzy Raises USD$14.5 Million in Series A Financing

Buckzy Payments, Inc., a leading real-time cross-border payments company, announced it has secured USD$14.5 million in Series A financing. Buckzy will use the funds to enter new geographies and support the expansion of its product offerings. This all-equity financing was led by Mistral Venture Partners and Uncorrelated Ventures, with participation from new investors Luge Capital and Blue 9 Capital, and existing investors Revel Partners. 

Automotive Fintech Start-up Backed by Revo Capital, Autotech Ventures and InMotion Ventures Raises £26 Million in Series A Extension Round

Car repairs payment platform www.bumper.co.uk has raised £26.1 million ($30 million) in investment from its Series A extension round, with automotive giants and venture capitals Autotech Ventures, InMotion Ventures, ITOCHU and Revo Capital investing in the automotive fintech start-up. In the Series A extension round, Secure Trust Bank Commercial Finance provided a £20 million ($23 million) debt facility, and Autotech Ventures, InMotion Ventures, ITOCHU, and Revo Capital invested equity.

Strategic Risk Associates (SRA) Raises $12M in Series B Funding Led by EJF Capital, JAM FINTOP and FINTOP Capital

Strategic Risk Associates (SRA), a leading provider of integrated risk and performance management SaaS technology (WatchtowerTM) for the Financial Services and Insurance Industry, announced the closing of a $12 Million Series B capital raise. This round of funding was co-led by EJF Capital (“EJF”), through its affiliate the EJF Silvergate Ventures fund, JAM FINTOP, and FINTOP Capital, with participation by longtime SRA customer Atlantic Union Bankshares Corporation, and other existing investors.

Kiln Announces €17 Million in Funding to Expand Staking Offering

Kiln announced the close of a €17 million financing round to expand their market-leading staking infrastructure product range. Kiln, the leading enterprise-grade staking technology provider, received funding from Illuminate Financial with participation from Consensys, GSR, Kraken Ventures, Leadblock Partners, Sparkle Ventures, XBTO, 3KVC, Blue Yard Capital, SV Angel, and Alven.

Partnerships 

Paymentology Customer, Tweeq, Among First Fintechs in Saudi Arabia to Receive License from Saudi Central Bank

Paymentology, the world’s first truly global issuer-processor, announced its support of customer Tweeq, a leading Saudi Fintech, on being among the first in the Kingdom to achieve an e-money license from The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA). Tweeq will launch its mobile-first super-app with an ecosystem of features and services tailored to millennials and Gen Z soon with its SAMA license, enabling them to transact efficiently online.

Investment Management Firm 7IM Selects RiskLogix for Integrated Risk Management Software Solution

RiskLogix Solutions, an award-winning solution provider for governance, risk and compliance (GRC) software announces that 7IM, a  leading asset management company with over £19 billion of assets under management, has selected the RiskLogix GRC software solution, aCCelerate GRC +,  for its integrated risk management program. aCCelerate GRC+ automates operational risk, compliance, ESG, audit, and business resiliency and integrates them into a central database with personalised user experiences for each discipline.

Temenos Expands Agreement with Mbanq to Accelerate Banking-as-a-Service in the US

Temenos today announced that Mbanq, one of US’s leading Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) providers, has expanded its relationship with Temenos to accelerate BaaS adoption in the US. The agreement deepens the companies’ collaboration after last year’s launch of a joint Credit Union as-a-Service offering (link). Temenos made a minority investment in Mbanq to capture the BaaS market, which has grown rapidly due to embedded finance's $7 trillion market cap by 2030.

Coinmama and TrueLayer Deliver Enhanced Crypto Trading Experience with Instant Account-to-account Payments

TrueLayer, Europe’s leading open banking platform, announced its collaboration with cryptocurrency exchange Coinmama in Europe. Coinmama has been at the forefront of the financial revolution ever since its inception in 2013 when it allowed customers worldwide to buy Bitcoin with cards. However, traditional payment methods weren’t built to deliver efficient fiat to crypto on-ramps. 

Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) Partners with DT One to Launch International Mobile Load for Clients

Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI), the oldest bank in the Philippines and a pioneer in digital banking, has partnered with the global B2B digital micropayments platform DT One to launch an international mobile load service. With this partnership, Overseas Filipinos (OFs) in Australia, Canada, China, Italy, Malaysia, Saudi  Arabia, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States can stay in touch with their loved ones in the Philippines.

Finastra and Clinc Announce Collaboration to Boost Digital Engagement and Reduce Service Agent Workload

Finastra announced that Clinc, the leading conversational AI specialist serving global financial institutions, will deliver its Virtual Banking Assistant technology fully integrated within Finastra’s Fusion Digital Banking platform. The application enables Finastra’s bank and credit union customers, utilizing Fusion Digital Banking as their digital platform, to increase digital engagement and streamline the customer experience.

Paylink Solutions and Ecospend Celebrate Open Banking Award Win

Paylink Solutions and Ecospend are celebrating a win after a successful time at the Credit & Collections Technology awards. Fintech Paylink Solutions and partners Ecospend were named Open Banking category winners at the Credit Connect UK event, which celebrated the impact of technology in the credit and collections sector. Paylink Solutions uses Ecospend's pay-by-bank technology to collect fast, secure, and affordable payments. 

°neo by Five Degrees and Fourthline Announce Collaboration to Fight Financial Crime in Digital Banking

Amsterdam-based Fourthline is one of the fastest-growing digital KYC providers and offers KYC-related services that complement the °neo lending and accounts engines. Integration will enable clients to do a quick and automated watchlist screening on existing customers against PEP and sanction lists. This will detect fraud and de-risk clients’ existing customer portfolio.

Ecospend Announces Partnership with Revenue Collections and Payment Solutions Provider Telsolutions

Ecospend, the UK’s leading Open Banking payment provider, announces its partnership with Telsolutions, the specialist in multi-channel communication programmes for revenue collections. The partnership will allow Telsolutions to offer its clients Open Banking services, helping to protect customers against fraud whilst reducing the cost of transactions. Telsolutions helps local authorities collect council tax, commercial, and parking fines.

Yapily and Certua Team Up to Simplify Life Insurance with Open Banking

Open banking provider Yapily has teamed up with the embedded insurance platform Certua to make it easier, quicker, and cheaper for people to apply for and manage their life insurance coverage in the UK. Despite rising levels of financial vulnerability and the need for a safety net, a significant life insurance protection gap exists in the UK. In a 2020 Financial Lives survey by the FCA, over half of the people (53%) admitted to not having any protection products in place.

inCruises Partners with Brightwell to Expand its Cross-Border Payment Offerings

Brightwell, an Atlanta-based global payments technology company, announced that inCruises, an exclusive travel membership program serving 100 million partners worldwide that gives people expanded access to world-class travel experiences, has integrated Brightwell’s ReadyRemit* platform, powered by Brightwell’s international payment partners, to offer cross-border payments to its international partners in over 120 countries.

Napier Breaks Into Japanese Market Through New Partnership with Governance, Risk, and Compliance Firm, GRCS

Napier, the financial crime compliance specialist, has announced that its end-to-end financial crime risk management platform, Napier Continuum, is available to the Japanese market through a newly-minted partnership with Japanese firm GRCS. Established in 2005 and listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Growth Market, GRCS provides expertise and solutions in governance, risk management, compliance, and security to regulated Japanese firms.

docStribute Joins Mia-Platform Marketplace

London-based RegTech startup docStribute has joined the Mia-Platform Partner Network. Effective immediately, docStribute solutions will be available to businesses on the Mia-Platform Marketplace.docStribute uses a distributed ledger application that utilises a decentralised public network known as hashgraph, a secure, shared database that everyone can read from and write to, and a faster, more secure alternative to blockchain. docStribute provides a secure document distribution (dSend).

Kneip and Next Gate Tech Announce New Partnership

Kneip, a leader in fund-level data management and regulatory reporting, and Next Gate Tech, a FinTech specialized in portfolio-level data management and analytics, announce a new commercial partnership to bring together both companies’ expertise in fund data management. Kneip has been trusted by asset managers since 1993, and today the company manages the data publication and investor disclosure for more than 10,000 funds in over 40 countries.

Alveo Deepens Partnership with SIX Expanding Global Data Coverage in its Data-as-a-Service Solution

Alveo, the leader in cloud-based market data integration, analytics and Data-as-a-Service (“DaaS”) solutions for financial services, announced that it has expanded its global data coverage and feed integrations by adding new content from SIX including Sentiment indicators, Tax, and Regulatory Risk data. DaaS solutions integrate SIX content directly into critical customer workflows and databases for financial services firms.

Launches 

Vantage Introduces Social Trading to Make Trading More Interactive

Vantage (or “Vantage Markets”), the multi-asset broker, has launched social trading on the Vantage App, making it an all-in-one trading app that supports both regular trading and social trading. Social trading is an innovative feature that turns trading into a social event. Experienced traders can share their trading strategies as signal providers. Novice traders can follow many signal sources, learn from experienced investors, and trade by copying others.

Centralis Group Launches Alternative Investment Fund Anti-Money Laundering Risk Management Services

Centralis Group announced the further expansion of its Governance, Risk and Compliance service line and Cayman Islands business operations with the appointment of offshore anti-money laundering (AML) specialist Gary McLean. Gary will lead a new independent anti-money laundering risk management team that will focus on the provision of specialised AML services to alternative investment funds domiciled in all major jurisdictions.

Ashman to Launch SME Loan Origination Offering on Mambu

Ashman, an ambitious new bank for commercial real estate SMEs, has launched on Mambu. Ashman is using Mambu's cloud banking technology to streamline and personalise its loan offering for UK property enterprises and entrepreneurs. Ashman received its restricted banking licence in June 2022. It provides SME borrowers and personal savers with simple, transparent lending and expertise to build sustainable properties and practises.

Huntington National Bank Launches InvestCloud’s New Find My Advisor Experience

InvestCloud, the global leader in financial digital transformation, announced that Huntington National Bank has launched Advisor Connect, a branded, digital experience built on InvestCloud’s Find My Advisor technology. Huntington is a subsidiary of Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (Nasdaq: HBAN), a $179 billion asset regional bank holding company headquartered in Columbus, Ohio.

DPO Launches New DPO Pay Mobile Payments App

Leading African digital payments company  DPO Group launched DPO Pay Mobile, a new version of their payments app. With several new features, DPO listened to merchant feedback to redesign and redevelop the payment app. DPO Pay Mobile app, previously called DumaPay, now offers a variety of new features to allow for easier, more convenient transactions no matter where in Africa their businesses are.  

Fintech Platform FINOM Continues European Expansion with Netherlands Launch

FINOM, the fast-growing mobile-first financial management platform for SMEs and freelancers has continued its European expansion with its launch into the Netherlands today. The announcement marks another milestone in the company’s ambitious growth plan, having recently launched into the UK and become the fastest-growing financial services app for professionals and SMEs in Germany.

Merger & Acquisition

Tonik Acquires TendoPay, Enters Employee Benefits Market

Tonik Financial Pte. Ltd. (Tonik), the parent company of Tonik Digital Bank, Inc. in the Philippines, has enteredinto a landmark agreement with Tendo Payment Solutions Pte. Ltd. (Tendo) to acquire its Philippine business, operating under the brand name “TendoPay”. This deal, which is subject to approval of relevant government authorities, is set to further cement Tonik’s leading position in digital credit inclusion in the Philippines.

MANGOPAY and Nethone Join Forces to Provide Platforms and Marketplaces with Dedicated Anti-fraud Solutions

MANGOPAY, the platform-specific payment infrastructure provider, is acquiring AI fraud detection and prevention company Nethone to develop and offer anti-fraud solutions designed specifically for marketplaces. Faced with surging online fraud rates, this solution will allow any type of platform to transform threats and challenges posed by malicious activity into accurate, profitable business decisions.

BVNK Acquires UK-Licensed E-Money Institution to Accelerate Expansion

BVNK, the next-generation payments platform for global businesses, announces it has acquired UK fintech, System Pay Services Limited (SPS Ltd), to accelerate expansion. SPS Ltd is registered as an EMI (Electronic Money Institution) in the UK and offers a one-stop payment solution for businesses — providing e-money services, e-wallets, and multi-currency accounts for merchants to make, receive, and process payments.

Job Moves

TS Imagine Appoints David Haynes as Head of Quality Assurance

TS Imagine, a global leader in trading, portfolio and risk management solutions for capital markets, has announced the appointment of David Haynes to head up the Quality Assurance Team in New York. David will oversee all Trading and Risk QA processes as Quality Assurance head. David was TD Ameritrade's director of testing, automation development, frameworks, tools, and test environment management for different delivery channels before joining TS Imagine.

actyv.ai Welcomes Two New Senior Advisors

actyv.ai, a category creator in the enterprise SaaS with embedded B2B BNPL and insurance space, has appointed two more advisors – R A Sankara Narayanan and Dr Ravi Duvvuru to advise the company on organisation building as well as ensure a strong regulatory and compliance foundation. R A Sankara Narayanan was the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer at Canara Bank, the third largest public sector bank in India. Prior to this, he was the MD and CEO of Vijaya Bank.

Tuum Appoints UK Sales Director and Opens London Office to Support Strong Market Growth

Tuum, the next-generation core banking platform, announced the appointment of Giorgio Daher as UK Sales Director. The appointment is part of the company’s wider strategy to support strong demand for Tuum’s technology in the UK , including the opening of a new office in London. More widely, Tuum is rapidly expanding its customer base across Europe and has grown its Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) by 388% over the last 12 months.

iiPay Announces CEO Transition

Integrated International Payroll (iiPay), a market leader in cloud-based global payroll solutions, announced that T. Curtis Holmes has been appointed CEO and a member of the Board of Directors effective November 1st.  Holmes succeeds Bob Foster who previously served as CEO. Holmes is a proven executive leader with a strong track record of success.  Prior to this appointment, he served as Chief Operating Officer of iiPay for the past six years.

nCino Appoints New Board Member

nCino, a pioneer in cloud banking and digital transformation solutions for the global financial services industry, announced that it has appointed William (Bill) Spruill to its Board of Directors. Spruill is the co-founder and former CEO of Global Data Consortium (GDC), a leading provider and industry expert in global electronic identity verification. GDC was acquired by LSEG for $300 million earlier this year, making it one of the greatest minority founder exits in enterprise technology in U.S. history.

IDnow Appoints Jason Tucker-Feltham as New Head of Crypto Sales

IDnow, a leading European identity-proofing platform provider, has appointed Jason Tucker-Feltham as its Head of Crypto Sales. Based in IDnow’s London office, Jason brings with him more than a decade of experience in financial services, with the last four years spent specialising in crypto. Jason, who is also the committee chairman at Crypto Club Global, is a passionate industry advocate, and regularly engaged as a speaker at crypto events in the UK and beyond.

Paytrix Recruits David Sola as CFO in Drive to Simplify Global Payments for Scaling Businesses

Paytrix, the London-headquartered fintech that simplifies global payments for high-growth businesses, announces the appointment of David Sola as Chief Financial Officer. David was Managing Director at UBS, Softbank Europe, and Houlihan Lokey. His 20 years of financing and M&A experience with fast-growing fintech, e-commerce, and internet companies will help Paytrix deliver a global payments solution through one contract and one API.

Transact Payments Appoints Aaron Carpenter as CEO

Transact Payments announces the appointment of Aaron Carpenter as its new CEO. The appointment comes at a time of consistent growth for the company, which is a leading provider of UK and European BIN sponsorship and modular payment services. In this new role, he will be primarily responsible for driving Transact Payments’ strategy for continued and sustainable growth while supporting the diversification of its product offering.