Loctax, the world’s first collaborative tax governance platform, has raised 12m USD to empower multinational companies to communicate their global total tax contributions with greater ease and clarity.

Loctax’s workflow solution allows in-house teams to manage their international tax risk and provides a simple, single view of tax compliance and advisory workloads. It also enables companies to clearly demonstrate how they are meeting tax obligations, and improve their standing as corporate citizens.

The Series A raise was led by Index Ventures, which has previously backed Slack, Dropbox and Figma, among others. The all-cash raise also saw participation from existing backers Cavalry Ventures and Seedcamp, as well as angel investors including the CFO of Revolut and the CEO of Checkout.com.

Increasing pressure on tax teams

In the last decade, companies have seen a major shift in expectations around tax disclosure from governments and regulators. Far-reaching initiatives such as the OECD’s framework on base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS), which would establish a global minimum tax for multinational enterprises, have been driven by increasing pressure to improve tax transparency and to respond to public and private expectations around companies’ ESG (environmental, social and governance) reporting.

Loctax’s CEO Hans Kayaert commented: “Companies are under more pressure than ever to meet growing tax reporting and regulatory requirements as well as the expectations of stakeholders to show they are doing the right thing. Currently, there’s no shared concept in how companies and regulators talk about tax and no straightforward way for tax teams to be confident that they’re meeting all their obligations.”

Lack of trust by regulators

Many tax teams are still mired in legacy technology. Without reliable collaborative management tools, crucial tax information is too often not visible to teams across countries, many of which have different reporting requirements. The information which teams need in order to confidently meet regulations is often siloed and overly reliant on key individuals, increasing the risk of critical incidents such as fines and reputational damage.

A recent survey found that more than a third of officials in the OECD perceive most large businesses to be non-transparent around their tax affairs.

Loctax’s platform combines up-to-date company data, international tax rules, visual intelligence, and collaboration tools to help companies achieve total control of their tax governance. The company will use the new funding to support team growth in the UK and EU and to expand its partnerships with the tax and professional advisory sector.

Founded in 2020, Loctax’s leadership team combines decades of experience in technology, in-house tax practice, law and consultancy. The pan-European tech firm’s platform gives companies the technical ability to evaluate and respond to a fast-changing global tax landscape, as well as to attract talent in a fast-moving market.

Hannah Seal, Partner at Index Ventures, commented: “Tax teams, particularly those at companies operating in more than one jurisdiction, are coming under more and more pressure, both from increasing regulation in this area, and heightened expectations from stakeholders around tax reporting and transparency. What Loctax is building will give tax teams a single source of truth and allow them to ensure compliance in all locations while improving the team’s workflow and efficiency.”

Stefan Walter, Co-Founder & Managing Partner at Cavalry Ventures, commented: “Loctax is a truly category-defining product and a win for all stakeholders. It offers a simple solution to recurring challenges for tax professionals and will help unlock efficiencies in an area with huge potential for transformation through an easy-to-use interface, straightforward onboarding, and a powerful engine.”

Kayaert concluded: “Consumers, investors and stakeholders increasingly want to engage with organisations who are good corporate citizens. Our aim is to give companies that chance to express their tax governance in a clear, comprehensible way, and to meet the needs of their audiences.”

Inovatec Systems, a major provider of industry-leading, cloud-based software solutions for lenders, announced it has entered into a partnership with Provenir, a global leader in AI-powered risk decisioning software. As a result, Inovatec’s roster of automobile lenders can access Provenir’s proven portfolio of AI-driven decisioning solutions through open APIs that are embedded into Inovatec’s market-leading LOS platform.

“Inovatec’s configurable loan origination and loan management solutions efficiently support third-party solutions that improve the speed, reliability and efficiency of the entire lending process,” said Bob Metodiev, head of business development at Inovatec. “We are very happy to make Provenir’s decisioning solutions available to our customers and deliver these robust benefits. This integration continues our effort to ensure that the lenders we serve have access to the most impactful services available in the market.”   

“We are excited to partner with market leader Inovatec to help lenders provide an excellent consumer experience while meeting consumers demand for real-time decisions,” said Kathy Stares, executive vice president, North America for Provenir. “Through the unique combination of universal access to data, simplified AI and world-class decisioning technology, Provenir provides a cohesive risk ecosystem that enables organizations to make smarter decisions instantly across the entire customer lifecycle. Combined with Inovatec’s industry-leading solutions, lenders will be empowered to make smart, automated decisions while providing the best possible experience to their customers, thus gaining a competitive advantage.”

Trulioo, a leading digital identity verification platform, has appointed Eric Morse as a chief revenue officer. Morse has decades of sales, technology and business development experience. He will lead the sales and customer success teams with a charge to accelerate the company’s growth trajectory, emphasizing global enterprise-level customers.

“Eric’s extensive experience leading revenue teams in high-growth companies selling complex global solutions is perfectly suited for Trulioo,” said Steve Munford, Trulioo CEO. “Eric’s acumen and proven track record scaling sales organizations will enable Trulioo to expand and optimize our sales processes as we continue to serve many of the world’s largest financial institutions, marketplaces, crypto exchanges and other organizations.”

Most recently, Morse was the senior vice president of sales at Affirm, where he defined and executed the large-enterprise business strategy. During his tenure, he more than quadrupled the sales team’s size. Prior to that, Morse led the North American enterprise-level sales team for Adyen during its time of hypergrowth.

“I am thrilled to join this dynamic company and helm the already impressive sales team,” Morse said. “This is a pivotal moment to accelerate the momentum Trulioo has with large-scale global enterprises. I look forward to leading our global sales and customer success teams as we bring best-in-class identity verification solutions to enterprises the world over.” 

Mahalo Banking, a CUSO that provides online and mobile banking solutions for credit unions, announced that it has successfully implemented its digital banking platform at Manitowoc, Wis.-based UnitedOne Credit Union (UnitedOne). The new solution delivers a consistent digital experience to UnitedOne’s members across all devices.

With assets of $300 million, almost 20,000 members and seven branches, UnitedOne serves residents, businesses and students of Eastern Wisconsin communities. Previously, UnitedOne leveraged its banking services with separate internet and mobile providers, but the credit union recognized a need to connect the two applications to cohesively establish a unified digital experience for its members. UnitedOne selected Mahalo’s digital banking solution to launch an omni-channel experience that provides members with access to desired banking features, as well as abundant information about the credit unions’ offers and services, on their device of choice.

“We are thrilled that this partnership has enabled UnitedOne to organize our products and services into an easily accessible, highly functional digital space to create a streamlined member experience,” said Aletia Novak, Business Systems Manager of UnitedOne. “Our previous digital banking vendors were slow to make the system updates we required for ease of use. In contrast, Mahalo keenly implements the functionalities needed by our members and our team with new enhancements monthly, and they have done everything possible to make our digital banking experience the best it can be.”

Using intelligent and intuitive feature sets, Mahalo’s solutions-oriented platform functions to help credit unions of all asset sizes connect with their members, gain a technological advantage to grow membership and effectively compete in the digital age. Designed and engineered by credit union industry leaders, the digital platform is built on intuitive architecture with deep integration into the credit union cores and streamlined third-party integrations.

“Working alongside a group of previous credit union experts that innately understands the needs, challenges and future of our industry is incredibly empowering. Mahalo has demonstrated an unmatched ability to meet our members’ needs and expand on our services with improvements that consistently align with current digital banking trends. We believe this strongly compatible collaboration is going to tremendously promote our continuous growth moving forward,” Novak said.

The Mahalo platform provides an innovative omni-experience that offers credit union members access to seamless mobile and online banking services regardless of their preferred channel. The digital banking platform is developed with robust security solutions at the forefront of its design, providing credit unions with a strong capability to protect their members from fraud.

“Implementing omni-channel solutions is incredibly instrumental in helping credit unions match member expectations for their digital banking experience and pushing these organizations into the future,” said Denny Howell, Chief Operating Officer of Mahalo. “Our team is proud of the continuous contributions we’ve made to the UnitedOne digital banking experience and how this has considerably improved its ease of use for both the credit union and its members. This partnership is one of many that consistently drive us to augment our platform’s functionality and continue discovering ways to enrich members’ digital banking experiences without causing disruptions.”

Aviva is delighted to have been named as winner of the Impact Award for Digital Reporting 2022 - Sustainable Investing Impact Reporting – Europe in the Third Annual Aite-Novarica Group Digital Wealth Management Impact Awards.  This recognizes the contribution to ESG investing Aviva has made with the delivery of the Aviva ESG Profiler, using FNZ Impact, an ESG solution integrated into FNZ’s wider global wealth management platform, on the Aviva Adviser Platform.

The award recognises companies that have demonstrated innovation and market leadership in the development of investment solutions for the benefit of advisers and their clients. The judging criteria looked specifically at companies that have developed digital capabilities to allow clients to see and feel the environmental and social impact of their investment portfolios.

Aviva’s ESG Profiler / FNZ Impact deliver this through standardised, accurate ESG data provision and reporting on underlying investment portfolios;  ease of consumer access, data visualisation, and preference setting; and frictionless transfer of savings into funds/investments matching preferences.

In their award announcement, Aite-Novarica Group commented that ESG Profiler “is an exemplar of how the global sustainable and impact investment reporting model might look. The platform translates disparate data into actionable investment opportunities with metrics directly connecting their values with measurable societal impact.”

Using the Aviva ESG profiler, built in partnership with FNZ, advisers are able to review a client’s portfolio against Climate Change, Women in Leadership, Water Security, Waste, Deforestation, Human Rights, Recycling, Corporate Governance and Air Pollution. In addition, there are exclusionary filters for Adult entertainment, Alcohol, Controversial weapons, Gambling, Tobacco and Fossil fuels, to ensure that investments in these areas are avoided according to client wishes.

There is also a client ESG Profiler report, which enables advisers to produce a report focused on their clients’ ESG preferences; for instance, the total carbon footprint within their product. They will also know the impact of the other ESG preferences that matter to them.

The delivery of the ESG Profiler on Aviva’s Adviser Platform was a significant milestone for Aviva, FNZ and the market as a whole.  It enabled the delivery of a “first to market” tool which supports Aviva’s advisers in their conversations with clients on ESG, allowing them to show their customers the scale and quantifiable impact of their investments - in terms that they understand.  This supports both Aviva’s and FNZ’s company-wide sustainability objectives.

Al Ward, Head of Aviva Advised Platform, said: “We’re delighted to have won this award, against tough competition across European Financial Services companies’ digital innovations this year. It demonstrates successful collaboration with FNZ to develop the ESG Profiler. We’re very encouraged, as well, by the increased usage of ESG Profiler that we’re seeing – since launch, around 2,300 unique users have accessed the tool multiple times and we believe that shows that a good number of adviser/client conversations now include ESG factors.  Since launch, we’ve actively sought adviser feedback so we know further developments down the line will deliver exactly what will help advisers in their ESG discussions with clients.”

Vian Sharif, Head of Sustainability at FNZ, said: 

“We are proud of the recognition that the FNZ and Aviva partnership has received. The award is a testament to our mission to make wealth management more transparent, sustainable, and personal, helping everyone to invest in their future, on their terms. We’re delighted that innovative solutions, like FNZ Impact, are now allowing all of us to invest in a way that secures a more sustainable future.”

Wally Okby, Wealth Management Strategic Advisor at Aite-Novarica Group commented:

“The clarity and accuracy of Aviva ESG Profiler/FNZ Impact data and resultant analytics, accessible and elegant client-focused design, and the illustration of tangible impact from an investor's holdings provide Aviva with a compelling value proposition -- truly impactful investing.”

Wipro Limited, a leading technology services and consulting company, and Finastra, a global provider of financial software applications and marketplaces, today announced a partnership in India to help corporate banks accelerate digital transformation by deploying Finastra’s leading solutions.

This partnership combines Wipro’s expertise across consulting, digital, infrastructure and operations with Finastra’s cutting-edge solutions to deliver modern API-enabled platforms for banks to innovate, streamline and digitize core trade finance processes while reducing cost overheads.

This multi-year partnership makes Wipro the exclusive implementation and go-to-market partner for all banks in India for Finastra’s Fusion Trade Innovation and Fusion Corporate Channels. Wipro is also one of Finastra’s preferred global partners for its Cash and Liquidity Management solutions.

Satya Easwaran, Country Head – India, Wipro Limited, said, “Corporate banks in India are increasingly looking at moving from the traditional manual and offline model to real-time execution, online platforms, and value-added services. With our exclusive partnership with Finastra, we can help our banking clients transform into truly digital platform players in trade and supply chain finance, with the ability to anticipate end-customer needs and respond in a much more agile and flexible manner. We are excited to bring together Wipro’s deep domain expertise in Banking with Finastra’s leading product suite.”

Manish Joshi, Managing Director, Lending, APMEA, Finastra, said, “Wipro’s diverse service portfolio and deep experience working with clients in India makes them an ideal partner for Finastra. India is a key growth market for Finastra and working together with Wipro will enable us to rapidly extend our reach in the country, enabling our solutions to help even more organizations realize the benefits of digital transformation.”

Edward Sweigart, Vice President, Global Partner Ecosystem, Finastra, said, “Wipro has long been a key global partner for Finastra, with significant and broad experience built in that time. Banks and financial institutions will now be able to leverage the combination of this experience and Finastra’s leading solutions, which will help them to transform, grow, and better serve their customers.”

Harpreet Arora, Global BFSI Domain & Solutions Head, Wipro Limited, said, “The strengthening and expansion of our partnership with Finastra is fundamental to driving the digital transformation agenda for corporate banks and financial services companies in India. Wipro’s acquisition of Encore Theme Technologies, a specialist in implementing Finastra’s trade finance solutions, continues to augment our deep and differentiated capabilities, and this partnership will solidify our presence across Asia Pacific further.”

Clip Money, Inc. (“Clip”), a first-to-market cash deposit solution that brings fast, convenient, cost-effective financial services transactions to business customers, announced an agreement with Brookfield Properties to establish a network of ClipDrops at a selection of their malls.

The network of ClipDrops is free-standing, secure, self-service boxes located in malls and at large retailers where retailers can quickly and safely deposit cash and coin. Clip is currently located in over 70 malls managed by Brookfield Properties including locations such as:

• Galleria at Tyler, Riverside, Calif.
• Christiana Mall, Newark, Del.
• Beachwood Place, Beachwood, Ohio
• Staten Island Mall, Staten Island, N.Y.
• Natick Mall, Natick, Mass.

“Brookfield Properties shares our belief that retailers are the beating heart of our economy, and it's crucial that they have access to convenient, affordable and accessible banking solutions that simplify cash transactions,” said Joseph Arrage, Clip founder and CEO.

Clip is bank-agnostic, so businesses can make their everyday deposits in more convenient and accessible locations via a ClipDrop and directly into their existing bank account. Deposits can be made any time of day during extended retail hours by designated employees.

“Our collaboration with Clip is a great addition to our properties. We’re always looking for new and innovative ways to support our retailers, and this can provide them with a great on-site cash deposit solution,” said Katie Kurtz, SVP of Business Development for retail at Brookfield Properties.

Retailers can use the Clip mobile app to manage their cash, assign employees to perform banking transactions, track transaction history, collect analytics, and manage personnel’s access to the system. Retailers also receive next business day credit for their deposits which improve cash flow. Existing retail users have reported saving hundreds of dollars per month in staff costs related to the time it takes to travel and deposit at a bank, per store, savings which retailers admit is a welcome relief given current staffing and resource challenges that they are facing.

“As we expand the Clip network across the US, operating at Brookfield Properties’ mall locations enables us to serve retailers across a wide range of US geographies,” Arrage continued. “We are looking forward to driving change in the cash ecosystem to evolve to support the needs of businesses today.”

Today, Aiia, a Mastercard company, and NORD.Investments are announcing a new collaboration that will enable quick, easy and secure top-up open banking payments in Denmark's largest independent digital investment advisor platform.

Until today, NORD.Investments customers experienced some challenges when adding funds to the investment platform, as the process involved going through their online bank and manually entering their investment account details to move their money.

With Mastercard’s open banking network, NORD.Investments now facilitate customers to do account-to-account payments in a single, unifying investment platform at the click of a button. This makes the process quicker and easier and reduces human errors that can occur when typing in long digits manually.

Open banking gives consumers complete control over their financial data, and the choice to use that data to power solutions that help make their lives simpler. This new payment solution is set to improve the user experience significantly for more than 7.000 users for which NORD.Investments manages more than 2 billion DKK – a number that’s rapidly growing by the day.

Commenting on the partnership, Anders Hartmann, CEO & Co-Founder of NORD.Investments, says:
“Before we partnered with Mastercard, it was less convenient for our users to invest, as they would have to do this through their online bank. Now we’re able to offer everything on our own platform, making it significantly easier for people to get started with their investment plans. We’re happy to see this collaboration take shape and expect more of our users to add funds to their account as a result. With open banking payments in place, we can truly say that we’re the easiest investment platform to use.”

Commenting on the partnership, Jonas Vogt Rasmussen, VP of Banking Sales at Mastercard, says:
“We’re thrilled to empower yet another promising fintech company in the Nordic region to make it a convenient experience for investors to easily and securely add funds to their investment account through open banking payments directly in the NORD.Investments platform. This encourages more users to add funds to the investment platforms and allows NORD.investments to grow their business - the future possibilities are many.”

NORD.Investments recently achieved an Investment Firm license by the Danish Financial Supervisory Authorities, granting them access to expand the platform into new European markets. With Mastercard as its new open banking partner, the company will be able to scale the top-up payment solutions across Europe too. In the future, NORD.Investments will look into how it can use open banking data to create intuitive user experiences directly in the app.

Award-winning fintech myPOS is announcing today that it has received authorisation as an Electronic Money Institution (EMI) from the Central Bank of Ireland, the country's financial services regulator.

myPOS, which provides point-of-sale payment acquiring and payment solutions to more than 150,000 small and medium-sized merchants in more than 30 European countries, plans to grow its Dublin-based team to around 30 by the middle of next year.

“Our international growth demands a talent pool, a strategic location and a robust legal and regulatory framework, and Ireland offers all of these,” said Stephane Pilloy, CEO of myPOS Ireland.

He added: “We are excited as the new EMI authorisation will enable us to bring all regulated services under the myPOS Group umbrella, therefore becoming even more efficient at empowering small businesses across Europe and accelerating our growth strategy.”

Minister of State at the Department of Finance, Seán Fleming TD, said: “I would like to congratulate myPOS on its new Irish license. The Government is focused on improving Ireland’s status as a global fintech hub, and I am pleased that myPOS has chosen Ireland as its European regulatory headquarters. All the best to the entire team and I look forward to following their success in the future.”

The new myPOS EMI authorisation comes in the wake of news that the fintech company is planning to open its second store and experience centre in France, while earlier this year it continued its expansion by opening stores in Rome and Bucharest. A Dublin experience centre is also planned for 2023.

Martin Shanahan, CEO, IDA Ireland said “The myPOS expansion is impressive and we are delighted that another of the world’s most dynamic organisations, which puts innovation in payments at the service of its merchants, has chosen Ireland as its European regulatory headquarters.”

myPOS is the only payment service provider in Europe that gives SMEs instant access to their funds from card transactions, at no added cost. As a result, more and more businesses are choosing myPOS, as shown by the continued growth in the platform’s transaction processing in the last year. The company is expected to meet its targeted annual growth of more than 60% and reach €8 billion in total payment volume, with circa 200k POS terminals in circulation.