Revnue announced this week the launch of its Pre-Signature feature that empowers organizations to author, execute, and manage contracts within a single, unified platform.

"At Revnue, our goal was to deliver a platform that provides an end-to-end contract management solution for our customers. With the release of our Pre-signature feature, we are delivering on that promise. With Revnue, customers can accelerate their digital contract transformation, while reducing costs and increasing efficiency." said founder and CEO Sunny Sharma.

With the launch of contract authoring, Revnue now completes the contract lifecycle management process with support for Pre-Signature, eSignature, and post-Signature phases.

Revnue's new pre-signature feature will allow customers to author contracts and begin the journey towards more efficient and standardized contract templates and frameworks. Customers will also have the ability to create custom clause libraries and integrate specific terms and conditions directly into the contract through a seamless drag and drop experience.

The pre-signature feature will also include contract redlining, empowering users with the ability to track comments and access a document's revision history. Once completed, the contract can then be sent out for execution via integrated eSignature, and later managed within the intuitive dashboard.

"We're excited for users to experience the new pre-signature feature. We believe it's a game-changing capability and underscores our commitment to bringing simple, powerful and efficient contract management to all our customers," said John Cortez, Revnue's Co-founder and COO.

The LA Times hosted the second annual reader's choice poll and Kinecta Federal Credit Union, a leading financial services provider based in the South Bay area of Los Angeles, was voted the number one credit union provider in the South Bay. This means Kinecta's members in the South Bay, Long Beach, South Los Angeles and the Southeast Los Angeles region made Kinecta their first choice for their banking needs. 

The LA Times hosted the voting in a forum where anyone could nominate and vote for the best people, places and services regionally. 

"We are truly honoured to be recognized by our members and receive this award," said Keith Sultemeier, president and chief executive officer of Kinecta. "We have been headquartered in Southern California for more than 80 years and have always prioritized providing our members with the best financial services available. What's best for Kinecta's member-owners and the communities we serve is our top priority in every decision that we make."

Kinecta's ongoing commitment to the community includes partnering with numerous local organizations such as the Manhattan Beach Education Foundation, as well as supporting local events like the Skechers Pier to Pier Friendship Walk which raises funds to support the lives of children and young adults with special needs. In 2021, Kinecta, its subsidiaries, and employees donated over $880,000 to charitable causes, volunteered over 5,100 hours and participated in over 225 community events.

AMTD Digital (HKD) listed on NYSE is a Hong Kong-based company that has taken Wall Street by storm. Since the day the stock of HKD was listed, the stock price had skyrocketed by over 14000% to close at $1679! The IPO price of HKD was $7.8 and in less than a month of trading, the HKD stock has seen an intra-day high of $2555 rising from the lows of $12 on the listing date.

The sky-high price level that the stock achieved in a quick time translated into a huge market capitalization for the company. With a market cap of more than $470 billion at one point this week, AMTD Digital Inc. stood tall among the other stalwarts of the index in terms of valuations.

What has taken the market by surprise is that HKD with revenues of $25 million now has a market capitalization of nearly $203.55B! On a comparative basis, the market cap of HKD is more than Adobe, Cisco, Intel Corporation, or even financial giants like Wells Fargo & Co., Morgan Stanley, and Goldman Sachs Group.

In terms of valuation, HKD has moved up to be among the fifth-biggest financial company in the world, trailing Berkshire Hathaway Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co., Bank of America Corp. and Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd.

The volatility in the stock price of AMTD Digital continues. Since August 2, the HKD stock price has fallen from around $2555 and is currently trading at around $846. On Thursday, HKD fell by nearly 27% while on Friday, the stock is up by over 5.5% in the after-hours trading session. The market cap has halved after the stock price plunged below $1000.

HKD is essentially a provider of digital solutions platforms in Asia with businesses spanning multiple verticals, including digital financial services, SpiderNet ecosystem solutions, digital media, content, and marketing, and digital investments. AMTD Digital Inc. is a controlled subsidiary of AMTD Group Company Limited which in turn is an AMTD IDEA Group.

The meme stocks phenomenon, it seems, may never end. Whether the AMTD Digital stock qualifies as a meme stock remains to be seen. When a little-known company’s stock witnesses an unimaginable price for no apparent reason and has a large investor’s interest, it’s a perfect case of a meme stock. Whether it’s the Gamestop saga on Reddit’s WallStreetBets forum or any other meme stock, retail investors should be wary about the ‘pump and dump’ strategy of big institutional investors.

Digital SME banking startup Recognise Bank has appointed Jean Murphy, a former senior banker at Credit Suisse, JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs, as CEO.

Stackwell, the digital investment platform created to eliminate the racial wealth gap, announced the successful closing of a $3.5 million seed funding round that will accelerate the company’s launch plan, allowing it to rapidly reach key product development and go-to-market milestones, as well as support the hiring of key personnel. The funding round was led by Michael Gordon, President of Fenway Sports Group, Jeremy Sclar, CEO and Chairman of WS Development and The Kraft Group.

“We are excited to grow the ecosystem of support around Stackwell through this latest funding round as it will enable us to execute against strategic company objectives, scale our operations and drive impact in the Black community,” said Stackwell Founder and CEO Trevor Rozier-Byrd. “At Stackwell, we believe that the racial wealth gap is the social justice issue of our time. With the support of our investors, we are on the path towards addressing this, and other systemic social issues, by enabling more people in the Black community to build equity by owning equity.”

“Trevor and the Stackwell team have built a unique platform that provides tangible solutions to a pervasive problem,” said Michael Gordon, President of Fenway Sports Group. “My co-investors and I have been thoroughly impressed by Trevor, his vision and strategy for tackling a tremendous market opportunity. I am honoured to support him and the Stackwell team on this journey as they approach their initial launch and begin to scale up the business.”

Stackwell plans to use the new capital from this round to support the imminent release of its initial product, a robo-investing app, this fall. The Stackwell app is specifically designed to meet users where they are and promote accessibility, education and support throughout the investment process.

The seed round also included participation from CMFG Ventures Discovery Fund; Shea Ventures; SSC Venture Partners; Shorehaven Wealth Partners; Former U.S. Senator William “Mo” Cowan, Chief Legal and External Affairs Officer of Devoted Health; Corey Thomas, Chairman and CEO of Rapid7; Damian Wilmot, Senior Vice President, Chief Risk and Compliance Officer of Vertex Pharmaceuticals; Terence Rozier-Byrd, Partner of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP; Michael Fricklas, Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary of Advance Publications; Sam Kennedy, CEO of the Boston Red Sox; Theo Epstein, Consultant to Major League Baseball; Louis Maiuri, President of State Street Corporation; and John Plansky, Executive Vice President of State Street Corporation, among others.

Over the past few years, Coinbase has played a central role in developing and strengthening crypto markets as the safest, most trusted bridge to the crypto economy. Today marks an exciting next step on our journey as we announce that Coinbase is partnering with BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, to provide institutional clients of Aladdin®, BlackRock’s end-to-end investment management platform, with direct access to crypto, starting with bitcoin, through connectivity with Coinbase Prime. Coinbase Prime will provide crypto trading, custody, prime brokerage, and reporting capabilities to Aladdin’s Institutional client base who are also clients of Coinbase.

Built for institutions, Coinbase Prime integrates advanced agency trading, custody, prime financing, staking, and staking infrastructure, data, and reporting that supports the entire transaction lifecycle. We combine these capabilities with leading security, insurance, and compliance practices to provide institutional clients of Coinbase with a full-service platform to access crypto markets at scale. Coinbase’s clients include hedge funds, asset allocators, financial institutions, corporate treasuries and other institutions.

Our scale, experience and integrated product offering represented what BlackRock believes to be a logical partner for Aladdin.

“Our institutional clients are increasingly interested in gaining exposure to digital asset markets and are focused on how to efficiently manage the operational lifecycle of these assets,” said Joseph Chalom, Global Head of Strategic Ecosystem Partnerships at BlackRock. “This connectivity with Aladdin will allow clients to manage their bitcoin exposures directly in their existing portfolio management and trading workflows for a whole portfolio view of risk across asset classes.”

The Coinbase partnership between BlackRock and Aladdin is an exciting milestone for our firm. As the trusted partner enabling institutions to participate and transact in the crypto economy, we are committed to pushing the industry forward and creating new access points as institutional crypto adoption continues to rapidly accelerate. We are honoured to partner with an industry leader and look forward to furthering Coinbase’s goal of providing greater access and transparency to crypto.

BlackRock and Coinbase will continue to progress the platform integration and will roll out functionality in phases to interested clients. Access is available for institutions contracted with both Aladdin and Coinbase.

Reuters Events is connecting more than 40 Insurance leaders and 350+ industry representatives this October to investigate how the sector can continue to deliver value through uncertainty.  

The fully in-person event will feature speakers such as Zurich CEO, EMEA Alison Martin, Lloyd's Europe CEO, Amélie Breitburd and NN Group's CEO International Insurance, Fabian Rupprecht.

It will aim to help future-proof the insurance industry after what can best be described as a tumultuous few years, characterised by a rapidly changing economic environment, an urgent need for digital transformation and an unprecedented HR crisis.

“We’re committed to providing a platform to collectively overcome challenges created by global economic uncertainty, growing environmental and social responsibilities, and a customer base that keeps demanding more,” said Nuriya Powell, organiser of this year's event. 

Registration for Reuters Events: The Future of Insurance Europe 2022 (Amsterdam, 18th-19th October) is now open. The event’s two-day agenda will focus on four key themes:

• Technology & Data

Navigate the technology battlefield, unleash the robust power of data, and overcome barriers to change adoption to become a technology and data-fueled organization. 

• Customer & Product

Meet customers where they want to be met, gain customer trust, and make the next steps in your journey and product transformation to revolutionise your relationship with those you are aiming to protect.

• Strategy & Innovation

Stay one step ahead of the future by fostering a culture of innovation and investing in a long-term strategy that prioritises digital agility. 

• Culture & Future

With talent thin on the ground and post-pandemic employee expectations higher than ever, optimise your value proposition by becoming a modern, digital-first insurer. 

Billed as ‘the one go-to insurance event in Europe, The Future of Insurance Europe speaker line-up also includes Philipp Gmür, Group CEO, Helvetia, Allegra van Hövell-Patrizi, CEO, Aegon The Netherlands, Tracie Thompson, CEO for Commercial Risk in EMEA, Aon and Silke Sehm, Member of Executive Board, Hannover Re among many other industry leaders.

SME funding provider Accelerated Payments announced today that it has made another strategic appointment with Dermot Nutley stepping into the role of Chief Operating Officer. 

Dermot brings a wealth of experience to the role, specialising in technology transformations, business process outsourcing and digital process optimisations. He has over 30 years of experience as COO, CTO, CEO and Head of Lean Six Sigma, having worked in a variety of financial services industries, from personal and commercial lending to investments and equity/fixed income trading.

Prior to joining Accelerated Payments, he worked in large blue-chip multinational firms, co-founded a start-up organisation and has more recently worked in the Fintech sector. 

Welcoming the appointment, Ian Duffy, CEO of Accelerated Payments, said: “We are thrilled to have someone of Dermot’s calibre joining us as we unlock the next chapter of growth. This new addition to our team will enable us to keep disrupting the invoice finance market with innovative technology and founder-friendly solutions as we continue to expand in multiple markets around the world.”

Accelerated Payments is one of Europe's fastest-growing financing providers, topping €850million worth of invoice financing to date. Based in Dublin, with offices in London and Toronto, the company has reported more than 75,000 invoices financed to circa 350 clients covering in excess of 1,000 debtors since inception. In the first half of this year, it increased its headcount by 50 per cent and switched to a remote-first business.

“I am thrilled to be joining a business that has stepped up to provide critical support to SMEs during challenging times,” said Dermot. “I am inspired by the company vision and look forward to applying my insights and experiences to accelerating the growth and scope of how we operate.”

Founded in 2017, Accelerated Payments solves the problem of cash flow for businesses through a flexible and innovative individual invoice financing service. SMEs decide which invoices to fund by using a simple client portal that allows them to upload and select invoices for funding. Once approved, payment is advanced, usually within 24 hours.

During the past year, a few trends have emerged, including an increase in exports to countries outside the EU post-Brexit and longer payment terms.  Accelerated Payments has stepped up to provide support during this critical time. The company has experience with SMEs trading internationally, covering multiple currencies - this is a critical strength that sets it apart from other fintech providers in the market. 

Detected, the London-based fintech that provides frictionless global business onboarding, today announces that it has hired Top 100 Women in Fintech, Rebecca Duckworth, as Chief Revenue Officer.

Rebecca joins with over 25 years of experience working in digital transformation across the payments, fintech and software sectors, and most notably spent six years working in Leadership roles at Fiserv, the global fintech and payments company. 

Rebecca has also held senior roles at Intuit, QV Systems and Digital Insight.

Throughout her career, Rebecca has worked at both start-ups and multinationals and has been responsible for developing and driving strategies around product development, business and market development and sales. At Detected, she will be responsible for enhancing the go-to-market strategy which will cover everything from marketing to customer relationships, product strategy, sales development, and ultimately, ensuring business growth.

Detected, which was founded in July 2020, utilises a unique algorithm which utilises over 1,700 data sources to create a detailed and accurate profile of any business in the world. It supplements this with information that can be added by the business that is being onboarded. In doing so, Detected enables a frictionless, almost instant, onboarding process. Testament to its success, Detected has already partnered with payments giant, Visa.

 Rebecca Duckworth, Chief Revenue Officer at Detected, comments:

“Throughout my career, I have been attracted to businesses that have three key criteria: a strong and supportive company culture; the opportunity to challenge my own skills and grow those of the people around me; have a strong proposition and problem to solve. Detected has all of these in abundance.”

“Detected is not only changing businesses’ operational processes through enabling frictionless onboarding but also reimagining workplace culture. I am thrilled to be joining the company at such a pivotal moment in its growth and look forward to playing a part in its journey.”

Liam Chennells, Chief Executive Officer at Detected, comments:

“Rebecca is a vastly experienced operator in the Fintech space. Her belief in our product, is a credit to our technology team.”

“It makes me proud that we are attracting such high calibre, team members. I am excited to work with and learn from her.”

Square, the globally trusted software, payments, and hardware solution for businesses of all sizes, has today released new research that looks at the future of professional services across the UK. 

The report uncovers the principal challenges faced by professional service businesses, while also identifying the technology solutions available to help them continue to grow. The impact of the pandemic is no longer the primary concern for professional service providers with businesses listing rising costs, supply chain and resourcing issues, increasingly complex budgets, tax, and regulatory changes as the main challenges in the industry. 

“When the world went online during the pandemic, technology helped businesses survive,” said Niamh Cunningham, Senior Manager, International Finance and Strategy at Square. “One of the lasting benefits we’ve seen for businesses was the shift to digital ways of working. This switch is providing solutions to challenges all across the professional services sector by allowing businesses to be agile. Our sellers are continuously finding new and more efficient ways of working that prioritise expertise, implementing technology, and setting their business apart in an increasingly competitive landscape.”

To identify where professional service providers are on their digital transformation journey, Square asked 300 decision-makers how technology has transformed their business.

Some of the key findings from the report include:

• Exploring opportunities - 43% said their business had expanded into a new vertical in the past year with a further 43% intending to target a new vertical in the next 12 months
• Omnichannel approach - 75% said their business provides products and services across multiple channels with just over half saying those channels are synchronised
• New ways of working - 67% said new ways of working (e.g. remote working, cloud-based platforms, and accessible data) have improved their business practice
• Process automation - 61% said their business intends to increase their use of automated tools in the next 12 months with 42% using them for financial processes
• External expertise - 61% said their business increased the use of freelancers and consultants during the last year

“There’s no question that professional services have become more competitive during recent years,” said Anne Harris, UK Product Specialist at Square. “Turbulence in the marketplace has seen customers become more discerning than ever when researching potential providers. This makes it essential that professional services take a pragmatic approach to their marketing, social media, and online reviews. For example, requests and signposting to reviews can be included in a business’s automated invoicing and social media messaging, all of which can be easily managed using products like Square Marketing and Invoice tools.”