During the pandemic, online grocery orders rose by more than 50% and are expected to rise further this year, according to McKinsey research. More than ever, people make day-to-day purchases online, choosing quick commerce merchants that offer speed and convenience. As people open new accounts and make faster purchases, merchants are challenged to verify identities and manage evolving fraud threats in real-time.

To meet these needs, Mastercard and Ravelin, a leading machine learning fraud platform, have joined forces to deliver an enhanced fraud solution. Incorporating digital identity verification capabilities from Ekata and real-time fraud insights from Ethoca, Ravelin will help merchants validate a consumer’s identity without adding friction to the process.

“We all want secure and seamless experiences,” said Chris Reid, executive vice president of Identity Solutions at Mastercard. “Ravelin shares our longstanding commitment to building and reinforcing trust in the digital economy. By bringing our capabilities together, we can help quick commerce merchants better assess fraud before payment is authorized, improving the checkout experience.”

During a user’s first transaction, Ravelin will draw on Ekata’s transaction risk API to verify the user’s identity. Ekata then provides a risk score, enabling businesses to make more accurate decisions. Post-transaction, Ravelin will help merchants deflect fraud and prevent chargebacks with Ethoca Alerts and Ethoca Consumer Clarity.

“Mastercard is dedicated to bringing best-in-class insights and solutions to merchants worldwide,” said Martin Sweeney, CEO at Ravelin. “We are thrilled to partner with Mastercard to enhance our platform and help merchants strengthen their fraud detection capabilities.” 
 

This joint solution is available through a simple API. Existing Ethoca, Ekata or Ravelin customers can contact their account managers to set up a proof of concept of the combined solution. More information can be found at https://ekata.com/partners/ravelin.

CWallet, an award-winning Qatar-based payment processing fintech startup, has partnered with M2P Fintech, Asia's largest API infrastructure company, to enable prepaid and multi-currency cards in Qatar. This partnership is aimed at promoting financial technology intelligence, financial inclusion, and services not only to the unbanked majority but also to Qatar residents, citizens, and businesses.

Founded in 2019, CWallet began operations with digital wallets and prepaid cards to simplify the process of sending and receiving money within Qatar. Via the app, the user can receive salaries on time, conduct online, offline and mobility transactions, pay bills, buy groceries from local and international stores, and ultimately send money home, anytime, anywhere within a single app.

More than 25 million foreign workers are employed across the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) nations namely Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates. Approximately 10 million people work in the construction industry and the remaining are employed in domestic service, retail, and other sectors. In Qatar, there are more than one million foreign workers. Owing to better economic opportunities than in their home nations, such employment opportunities enable migrants to support their families financially. Two-thirds of the remittances from the region are to South Asia which amounts to over $150 billion every year.

“The association will not only broaden CWallet's product offerings but also revolutionize the financial industry by enabling individuals in the region to transfer money across the globe digitally and seamlessly from the comfort of their homes as opposed to carrying cash to a service provider’s outlet. This aligns with our objective of digitally empowering, enabling, and educating low-income and unbanked migrant workers, domestic assistants, and blue-collar workers in the region. We are really thrilled to debut CWallet in Qatar, and because the GCC countries have regulatory and demographic similarities, we will soon look to extend to other partner countries as well," said Michael Javier and CEO and Founder of CWallet.

“Another major achievement and this time with M2P”, commented Dr. Abdulmohsin Abdulla Alyafei COO & Co-Founder of Cwallet. “With our strategic partnership with M2P, our users will be able to enjoy using their virtual prepaid card issued by Cwallet. We really value this partnership which will facilitate our goal to include everyone in our ecosystem without leaving anyone behind. With our virtual prepaid card, everyone will be able to own his own regardless of having a bank account or not.”

“I hope that this partnership will let us grow along with M2P and we are able to accomplish more and more. As a Fintech startup, we are offering unique solutions in order to drive Qatar’s economic diversification, one of the four pillars of Qatar’s National Vision 2030. It will be one of the best advanced innovative solutions which will enable our customers to experience our new concept. It will be the talk of the town and will be the ultimate solution for almost everybody.”

"We are very excited to be partnering with CWallet to enable the financially underserved, better access to financial products. We are unflinching in our endeavour to empower startups by co-creating exceptional payment experiences to meet the end-customer's needs with a technology-first approach," said Vaanathi Mohanakrishnan, Head MENA, M2P Fintech.

Ondato, a company that streamlines KYC and AML-related operations utilizing cutting-edge AI technologies announced today that it has partnered with Radix Compliance Ltd, a Maltese company that is a part of the Radix Malta Group and focuses on providing AML and KYC outsourcing, drafts AML-related policies and processes, and conducts Business Risk Assessments and independent AML or Compliance audits. The automated solutions from Ondato will be made available by Radix as part of their work with clients in order to raise the mitigation levels for businesses subject to specific AML regulatory requirements.

Recognizing the advantages of incorporating Ondato's solutions into internal practices to combat money laundering and terrorism financing. Radix Compliance will introduce Ondato's automated onboarding capabilities to its clients. This will aid in further streamlining business procedures and produce quicker, safer, and more seamless services. Radix Compliance will distribute Ondato's technology in Malta, Liechtenstein, Armenia, the UK, and the EU/EEA.

"We are excited to partner with Radix Malta and introduce our automated onboarding tool to their network of customers," said Ondato CEO Liudas Kanapienis. "We are confident that this partnership will prove to be very beneficial for all."

Radix Compliance Director John Caruana stated, "We are thrilled to be working with Ondato and to offer their innovative solution to our customers. This partnership will help us better serve our clients and provide them with the best possible compliance solution."

Smart money app Plum is to embark on its third crowdfunding round, following a standout year of delivery.

Since its last crowdfund 12 months ago, the company has launched commission-free investing, expanded into new European markets, enabled crypto trading and launched a debit card. 

Following these developments, Plum has grown its customer base to 1.4 million, an almost 50% increase in the last year, and helped people set aside £1.4 billion.

These successes have been recognised by Silicon Valley Bank UK, which has recently provided £5 million in debt financing to Plum. The Bank joins existing seasoned investors and financing partners dmg ventures, Global Brain and Venture Friends in supporting the fintech to grow and scale.

Members of the public will be able to join the ranks of these esteemed investors and financial partners in this crowdfunding round, with UK investors potentially able to benefit from EIS tax relief.

Plum plans to use the additional finances from Silicon Valley Bank UK and the forthcoming crowdfunding round to accelerate its European expansion, refine its products further to best serve its customer’s needs and build an even faster, more cohesive app.

Victor Trokoudes, CEO and co-founder of Plum said:

“I want to say thank you to all our 11,000 investors and 1.4 million customers, whose support has been critical to our standout record of delivery in the past year. We’ve worked hard for them, delivering on every major promise we made at our previous crowdfunding round, whether introducing commission-free investing and a debit card, expanding into new European markets and launching crypto trading.

“We’re excited to offer the public another opportunity to own a piece of Plum and join esteemed VCs such as dmg ventures and Global Brain as well as our financing partner Silicon Valley Bank UK on this exciting next chapter. Many people are struggling with the cost of living, and need help to build their financial resilience. Our app is designed to address this, having already made money management easier for over 1.4 million people. So we want to now push further with even stronger features, winning in the European market with our standout proposition”.

Michaela Brady, Senior Vice President for Fintech, Silicon Valley Bank UK said: “Silicon Valley Bank UK is excited to partner with Plum as they continue to scale. Plum’s wealth generation solution leverages open banking and AI to automate consumer saving habits; Plum is a great example of where fintechs are driving positive change in the market. We are fortunate to join this syndicate and be a part of Plum’s growth story.”

The new campaign will open later this month on Crowdcube, one of the world’s largest equity crowdfunding platforms, and will be available to both UK and European investors. 

Banks globally could save over $240 billion by switching to the cloud, according to a new report from leading SaaS cloud banking platform Mambu and research and advisory firm Celent. 

‘The Tipping Point for Core Migration’ research, shows that financial institutions could achieve a 76% reduction in core spend over five years by migrating to cloud-native core platforms. This represents a 15% saving in total IT spend over the same period.

According to Mambu benchmarks for deployments, banks can save around 50% of up-front costs (reduction in initial licence, customisation, systems integration, and infrastructure spend) and 18% of recurring costs (reduced maintenance costs, lower internal IT costs, usage-based recurring licence) against traditional legacy platforms.

Once a cloud-native platform is operational, the Celent analysis shows that recurring costs to maintain it can drop by more than 80%. This means resource-saving for banks, which can expect to see a 30 to 40% reduction in specialist skills required to maintain outdated systems. 

The research was conducted to help financial institutions understand the benefits of cloud migration to get ahead in an ever-more-diverse competitive landscape. With many institutions using legacy back-office platforms, outdated core infrastructure has hindered performance and reduced agility for many. 

The potential impact on banks has only become greater over time - against a backdrop of increasing consumer expectations - the need for next-generation cloud-native platforms is clear. Cloud migration is proven to reduce cost and effort in the launch of new products and services, with the report showing it can increase speed to market by 85% - helping banks respond to changing market demand.

Werner Knoblich, Chief Revenue Officer at Mambu, said: “Competing in banking over the next decade will require banks to firmly step foot into the cloud. Our research with Celent should serve as a catalyst for financial institutions to fully consider this modern alternative to legacy cores. Aside from the cost reduction, this next-generation, cloud-based banking platforms support a businesses’ ability to adapt to market changes and shifting consumer demands. 

“Each financial institution will modernise in their own way, but Celent’s analysis demonstrates beyond doubt that now is the time for financial evolvers to kickstart changes if they want to remain competitive in the years ahead."

Craig Focardi, Principal Analyst at Celent, said: “The modernisation of all banks is no longer an ’if’ but a ‘when’. Although not all banks will be modernising in the same way, financial institutions should be taking notice of the shift to a cloud core. In addition to being more affordable to integrate and operate than legacy systems, moving to the cloud enables banks to adapt fast, whether it is through product offers or system modifications. This alone will become invaluable as the market grows ever more competitive.

“Our analysis with Mambu really highlights that the need for a cloud-native approach has never been greater - for both banks and their consumers.”

German neobank N26 has seen the benefits of deploying a cloud-native banking platform. N26 migrated away from its existing technology partner to a solution with Mambu that allowed them to expand across markets flexibly and cost-effectively. Time and value were an essential part of the deployment process and took only four months to implement as a result.

CB Insights has named Paga, Nigeria’s leading payments and financial services company, in its fifth-annual Fintech 250 ranking, showcasing the 250 most promising private fintech companies of 2022.

"This year’s Fintech 250 winners are shaping the future of financial services, from payments and banking to investing and insurance,” said Brian Lee, SVP of CB Insights’ Intelligence Unit. “Representing more than 30 countries, these companies are creating safer and more efficient payment methods and transforming how traditional banking, insurance, and investment products are delivered. Together, they not only make financial services more convenient for users but also make them available to more people, especially traditionally underserved populations around the globe.”

Paga’s founder and CEO, Tayo Oviosu, said, “We’re thrilled about this recognition from CB Insights! It is an encouraging achievement, and we don’t take it lightly. At Paga, we are building an ecosystem that enables the African consumer to send, pay, and bank digitally. It has taken a lot of hard work and commitment over the years. We are grateful for our customers who continue to trust us to provide quality products and services. I am incredibly proud of and thankful for the Paga team; this sort of recognition would not be possible without a dedicated team steering the ship. There’s still work to do to simplify payments and financial services for businesses and individuals, and we look forward to many more milestones on that journey”.

Utilizing the CB Insights platform, the research team selected these 250 winners from a pool of over 12,500 private companies, including applicants and nominees. They were chosen based on factors including R&D activity, proprietary Mosaic scores, market potential, business relationships, investor profile, news sentiment analysis, competitive landscape, team strength, and tech novelty. The research team also reviewed over 2,000 Analyst Briefings submitted by applicants.

Paga has built a robust payments infrastructure with significant impact in Nigeria - its first and largest market. Paga is on track to have 40-50 million Nigerian adult users in the next five years by providing access to financial services via a hybrid approach, which combines its online and offline channels. Its offline channel is over 140,000 agent points where anybody can get financial services rendered to them, and a number of Paga’s over 20 million users use that channel. Its online channels are digital platforms for consumers (the Paga app and *242# on any mobile phone) and merchants (Doroki). 

Quick facts on the 2022 Fintech 250: 

• Equity funding and deals: The Fintech 250 cohort has raised over $115B in equity funding across over 1,100 deals since the start of 2017 (as of 9/20/2022). In 2021 alone, winners raised over $51B across 337 equity deals.

• Unicorns: There are 159 companies with $1B+ valuations on the list.

Global Reach: Globalization is a key theme for this year’s Fintech 250. The winners represent 33 different countries across the globe - 7 more than last year. Just over half (53%) of the selected companies are headquartered in the US, which is the fewest we’ve seen in the Fintech 250 since 2017. The UK came in second with 31 winners (12%), followed by India with 14 (6%), Brazil with 9 (4%), and Germany with 7 (3%).

The foundation behind the NEAR Protocol, a high-performance blockchain and decentralized app (dApp) development platform, today announced a new partnership with Google Cloud. The collaboration will involve Google Cloud providing technical support for NEAR grantees as they develop and scale their Web3 projects and dApps.

NEAR is designed to be super-fast, incredibly secure, and infinitely scalable, with its ecosystem offering multiple funding options to initiatives creating, decentralising, and growing on the protocol. There are 20+ million accounts on the NEAR network, more than 800 projects building, and 200 million transactions to date, with the NEAR network being used for 300,000 to 400,000 transactions per day.

Projects building on NEAR will benefit from Google Cloud’s open and developer-friendly cloud infrastructure.

Google Cloud provides the infrastructure for Near’s Remote Procedure Call (RPC) node provider to Pagoda, NEAR’s Web3 startup platform, allowing developers to deploy code quickly, securely and seamlessly. Pagoda helps developers easily and rapidly launch a dApp live on the NEAR blockchain through leveraging a library of pre-audited templates and auto-generated contract user interfaces.

Marieke Flament, CEO of the NEAR Foundation, said: “We are thrilled to be collaborating with those who pioneered the Internet as we know it. This partnership marks a new chapter for us as we continue to offer the best support possible for the next generation of visionaries choosing to build on the NEAR protocol.”

Carlos Arena, director, Digital Assets, Google Cloud, said: “We will be supporting NEAR and giving Web3 developers the most secure, reliable, and sustainable cloud infrastructure on which they can build and scale. We continue to support tomorrow’s leaders in creating new products and services on blockchain-based platforms.”

The NEAR ecosystem has offered financial support, advice and networking to cutting-edge Web3 projects from all around the world on its mission to accelerate the world's transition to open technologies by growing and enabling a community of developers and creators.

To date, it has awarded over $540M to various projects, including Aurora.dev, Sweateconomy.com, and ArmoredKingdom.com; as well as the Open Forest Protocol, an open platform to transparently measure, verify and fund forestation projects with blockchain technology and Sankore 2.0, an initiative to educate and support the African continent on blockchain technology developments. 

Adyen, the global financial technology platform of choice for leading businesses, and leading open banking platform Tink, have entered into a partnership for open banking-powered payments. The deal sees Tink’s technology embedded into Adyen’s single platform, enabling Adyen customers to seamlessly offer next-generation open banking payments to consumers.

Adyen will utilise Tink’s payment initiation technology to enable businesses to access account-to-account payments. Adyen’s open banking integration will launch first in the UK, with plans to expand to multiple markets in 2023.

Open banking payments build upon the partnership Adyen and Tink already have for Account Check technology, which lets Adyen’s customers instantly verify account ownership to streamline payouts. By using real-time data straight from individual or business bank accounts, enables Adyen’s customers to automate payout setup, reducing operational overheads and payment errors.

Edgar Verschuur, Head of Global Acquiring at Adyen commented: “With our open banking solution, shoppers can pay directly from their own trusted banking environment without leaving the checkout journey. Our aim is to always innovate to meet consumer needs by providing a breadth of convenient, fast and secure payment options. Partnering with Tink for open banking is the latest way we have evolved our technology to deliver on this goal.” 

Tom Pope, Head of Payments and Platforms at Tink added: “We have long admired Adyen as a payments leader, and are proud to be working more closely together to help businesses access next-generation payments. With the scale of Adyen’s reach, our partnership will rapidly accelerate the global adoption of open banking-powered payments. For the UK specifically, we are excited to be working with Adyen to pioneer VRP, and truly move the market forward.” 

Mastercard has launched Crypto Secure, a first-of-its-kind technology solution designed to bring additional security and trust to the digital ecosystem.

Crypto Secure combines insights and technology from CipherTrace with proprietary information to help card issuers stay compliant with the complex regulatory landscape of the digital assets sector. The platform allows them to better assess the risk profile of crypto exchanges or other providers, collectively known as Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs), and decide which purchases of cryptocurrency to approve.

Rather than considering or employing a one-size-fits-all approach, which could potentially restrict legitimate activity, issuers can easily identify and turn away transactions with crypto merchants prone to fraud.

Ajay Bhalla, President of Mastercard Cyber and Intelligence, said: “At Mastercard trust is our business and with cryptocurrency more intertwined in our daily lives this is an exciting next step in our journey. Crypto Secure will provide card issuers with a platform that allows them access to insights which will improve the safety of crypto purchases, increasing consumer confidence and creating the same trust they expect when paying with Mastercard.”

Crypto Secure provides each issuer with a colour-coded dashboard which shows where their cardholders are buying cryptocurrency. The new service will allow issuers to:

• accurately identify the crypto exchanges
• measure transaction approvals and declines
• understand, at a portfolio level, their exposure to crypto risk through a single score
• access a benchmark rating for comparison to a peer group of financial institutions

Crypto Secure is the latest step in Mastercard’s broader digital assets strategy, which helps bridge the gap between traditional finance and the world of crypto, and enables individuals to seamlessly spend funds from their crypto accounts in everyday transactions. Over the past few years, Mastercard has been working alongside its customers and partners to bring new services and capabilities that help make crypto more accessible, safe, and secure. These efforts have been complemented with the addition of new technologies through Finicity, Ekata, RiskRecon in addition to CipherTrace.

This unique combination of services provides eligible financial institutions the opportunity to safely manage crypto asset investments for consumers. Mastercard also continues to support banks, governments and others around the world through its Crypto & Digital Currencies Consulting Practice.

Mastercard Crypto and Blockchain