Asa connects financial institutions with customer-facing fintechs in a secure, compliant and easy-to-implement marketplace. The company today announced its acceptance into a fintech incubator hosted by BECU and CoMotion, the innovation arm of the University of Washington. The year-long program kicks off with a welcome event on July 6.

BECU, the largest not-for-profit credit union in Washington, partnered with CoMotion at the University of Washington (UW) to launch the FinTech Incubator in 2018. The collaboration combines CoMotion's strengths in incubation, partnership, innovation, company formation and technology commercialization with BECU’s expertise in financial services, data analysis and member experience. The purpose of the incubator is to support rising fintech startups, providing mentorship and partnership opportunities to its members.

“At BECU, we aim to provide our members with the right tools and resources they need to reach their financial goals and meet their growing financial needs,” said Mike Zell, BECU’s senior vice president of Digital. “By partnering with UW CoMotion, we support startups who will help foster innovation in the financial services industry and increase the financial well-being of our communities for the long-term.”

Asa is paving a new path forward in financial services, introducing the collaborative banking model. This framework powers growth and opportunity for financial institutions and fintechs while also accelerating financial empowerment by putting the customer in control of their data and finances. With Asa, customers can have the modern technology they crave and the local financial institution they know and trust.  

"The industry continues to grapple with how to keep up with skyrocketing demand for innovation in a safe, secure and affordable way," said Landon Glenn, CEO and founder of Asa. "With Asa’s collaborative banking model, financial institutions and fintechs are finally able to join forces, connecting customers with a marketplace of fintechs without ever having to share sensitive data or credentials. Such a model is a win for the bank, fintech and end customer. We are proud to be accepted into the BECU FinTech Incubator, and we look forward to continuing this momentum and growth."

Feedzai, the world’s first RiskOps platform for financial risk management, has been ranked among the top vendors in anti-money laundering (AML) in a Forrester report released today, “The Forrester Wave^TM: Anti-Money-Laundering Solutions, Q3 2022”.

“Feedzai leverages machine learning and automation to overcome the difficulty many institutions have with legacy AML programs which operate with siloed, disparate systems creating a pixelated view of risk,” said Pedro Barata, CPO at Feedzai. “We believe our continued investment in R&D alongside our unified RiskOps-based approach across AML is why we are consistently endorsed by customers and are a strong performer in the Forrester Wave report.”

In the last year, Feedzai’s AML suite has helped customers monitor over 200 territories with over 90% precision for high-priority alerts.

Findings in The Forrester Wave^TM Anti-Money-Laundering Solutions report
Feedzai received the highest possible scores in the following criteria:

• Internationalization, currencies and reporting
• Execution roadmap
• Enhancements: Watchlist management
• Supporting services: Developers
• Supporting services: Professional services

The Wave report cited “disproportionately strong development and support staffing” and also notes, “In its current AML offering, the vendor’s rule threshold, processing, and recommendation capabilities are strong.”

The analysis goes on to state, “Feedzai is a good fit for organizations looking to automate and streamline the AML model development using workflow templates and third-party risk scoring models.”

The Forrester Wave Anti-Money-Laundering Solutions, Q3 2022, reviewed 15 vendors in its assessment in a rigorous evaluation process that includes a detailed questionnaire, demos/briefings, and customer reference surveys/interviews. The resulting report is a trusted, unbiased analyst resource for organizations looking to invest in an AML solution.

Feedzai AML Suite manages AML risk across all stages of the customer lifecycle, creating a cohesive picture of risk across siloed internal and external systems. The suite includes four AML solutions in a single, unified AML compliance system:

• Know Your Customer/Customer Due Diligence with continuous risk profiling,
• Watchlist Management Customer Screening with automated watchlist monitoring,
• Watchlist Management Payment Screening with fuzzy matching to reduce false positives, and
• AML Transaction Monitoring that uses machine learning for precise risk scoring and prioritization.

InsurTech NY, the largest InsurTech community in North America, announced that it will be accepting applications for its third annual growth-stage accelerator.

The application window will run from July 6 to July 29 and applications can be submitted through the InsurTech NY website. The program is designed for growth-stage companies, with initial traction, in the funding stages between Series Seed and Series B. International participants made up more than 30% of past cohorts.

“The InsurTech NY program is designed for startups going from initial launch to mainstream names in the insurance space,” said David Gritz, InsurTech NY Managing Director. “Our past cohorts have a stellar track record with fruitful carrier partnerships, productive fundraises over $360M post-program, and rapid exits of four alumni - IXN, Verikai, TowerIQ, and Breathe Life. This cohort can make the same impact.”

The accelerator is run on a compressed timeline that balances time spent with the value received in a “no fluff” model. Startups focus on market traction, recruiting talent, and fundraising. InsurTechs will connect with insurance carriers and brokers looking to provide insurance capacity and looking to find software solutions to their technology challenges. Startups in the cohort will also be able to meet rockstar InsurTech founders who have exited their companies through acquisition or public markets.

“Transverse Insurance has been a member of the InsurTech NY accelerator program from the beginning. The program has helped us to spot new opportunities, engage with the InsurTech ecosystem, and support our portfolio companies like Amplify Life,” said Mark Hong, EVP, Chief Investment Officer of Transverse Insurance. “We look forward to the opportunity to meet the 2022 cohort and potentially support them with fronting capacity and/or investment.”

The program will feature more than 25 carriers, brokers, and their corporate venture units including Avanta Ventures, CNO Financial, Gallagher, Lockton, QBE, Nationwide, Starr Insurance, Tokio Marine, and Transverse. The program will close with a demo day where the cohort can present to more than 30 dedicated InsurTech investors. Startups can apply at insurtechny.com/accelerator.

InsurTech NY will be supporting its accelerator in parallel with the MGA Lab, run by InsurTech Fund. Cohort companies will have the opportunity to participate in both programs simultaneously.

TrueLayer, Europe’s leading open banking platform, and innovative wealth-building app Chip, today announced their collaboration, delivering an improved customer experience through dramatically faster account payments.

Chip offers a variety of options to make saving effortless through an approach that’s tailored to each individual user. Today, customers can build wealth through investments in real assets, diversified funds with the likes of BlackRock and savings, including easy-access and notice accounts.

With new investment options and a growing customer base, Chip recognised that efficient, quick payments could support people to meet their savings goals by making the account funding process a more streamlined experience. It is also familiar with the benefits that open banking brings, having collaborated with TrueLayer to enable secure bank connectivity to analyse transaction data and make savings recommendations to its customers.

Now, with TrueLayer Payments Chip’s customers can easily and securely connect their primary bank account to the app using Payments Initiation. This improved process means customers can fund their accounts with confidence, with their payments arriving in the Chip app swiftly. Real-time payment confirmation provides Chip with additional assurance that every transaction has been authorised and funds received. 

The TrueLayer collaboration removes transaction fees associated with cards and other payment methods such as Apple Pay. Higher payment acceptance and faster settlement also mean less time spent managing failed payments that can ultimately lead to customer frustration and customer support queries.

Simon Rabin, CEO and Founder at Chip, says: “Chip's ambition is to give the customer a one-stop-shop for growing their money and building wealth. Open banking with TrueLayer has been part of our offering for a long time and when it came to examining how to improve payments, extending that collaboration was the obvious choice. Together we are delivering a seamless funding experience that will help Chip customers to meet their financial goals and build their wealth.”

Nick Tucker, Head of Financial Services at TrueLayer, comments: “As we experience changing market conditions and a cost of living squeeze, helping people save in an easy and transparent way is critical. That's why we’re delighted to be extending our relationship with the team at Chip. It has been focused on helping people save through a hassle-free digital service that offers a variety of flexible and tailored savings and investment options. We look forward to further extending our collaboration as Chip continues to roll out new features and investment options.”

iProov, the world leader in face biometric authentication technology, announced today that Paxful, a global peer-to-peer fintech platform, will employ its award-winning liveness technology to verify user identity during the onboarding process and when making transactions.

“We are thrilled to partner with iProov to offer our users a safe and secure experience while using the Paxful platform. Our mission as an organization is to provide greater access to Bitcoin by building a financial system that serves the global economy,” said George Georgiades, Chief Compliance Officer of Paxful. “To properly do so, we need to ensure we provide the highest level of security and peace of mind to users. iProov’s technology allows us to safeguard against fraud and theft for our community while ensuring continued access and growth of the platform.”

When a user onboards with Paxful, they verify their identity using an ID document, such as a driver's license. They then complete a brief face verification to confirm they are the right person and a real person. To carry out a transaction, a returning user then completes a brief face authentication instead of using a password or entering a one-time passcode (OTP).

iProov’s Liveness Assurance™ technology enables organizations to verify that an online user is a right person (not an imposter) and a real person (not a photo or mask being used in a presentation attack). In doing so, it helps businesses and public sector agencies to protect themselves and their users by preventing stolen or faked identities from being used for new account fraud and account takeover fraud. Liveness Assurance is device- and platform-agnostic, working across any computer, tablet or cellphone with a user-facing camera.

“With the tremendous influx of new users into the crypto space comes an even greater invasion of fraudsters looking to empty or take over accounts or even hold them for ransom,” said Andrew Bud, iProov CEO. “Paxful’s mission is a critical one that helps connect the underbanked and unbanked around the globe to financial opportunities and stability. We are delighted to support them in offering inclusive and secure remote verification measures to protect their users.”

New data from CUBE, reveals that despite the increased regulatory focus on cryptocurrencies, discussions around digital assets and sustainability make up less than 0.1% of regulatory issuances in 2022 so far.  

Although global regulators are advocating for a greener financial system and actively working to bring cryptocurrency under its wing, the negative environmental effects of mining crypto have clearly been overlooked. The same is true for large financial investment banks that – will touting ESG credentials – are simultaneously opening up their product suite for crypto. The traditional financial mainstream poses difficult questions for sustainability, especially for Bitcoin and Ethereum. For example, the Proof-of-Work (PoW) model used by most leading cryptocurrencies is notoriously energy-intensive and will have long-term negative impacts on the environment.  

However, despite the mutual exclusivity between the two titans of the modern financial world, it’s widely known that firms that don’t prioritise both ESG and digital assets now, may not be relevant in years to come.  

Therefore, now is a critical time for regulators to work together and consider the impact that regulation could have on making a truly sustainable future for both on a global scale. Without increased focus and regulatory issuance in this space, firms with cryptocurrency offerings will lack guidance on what measures they should take to curb the environmental risks associated with digital assets – and little incentive, as well.  

Ben Richmond, CEO of CUBE Global comments: “As society and traditional financial services move towards welcoming cryptocurrencies into the mainstream, regulators are moving fast to create new regulations or broaden existing parameters to protect consumers and the wider economy.  

“However, it’s clear from the data that the issue of sustainability within crypto has been overlooked. In order to solve the conflict between cryptocurrencies and climate risk, global regulators will need to drive forward regulation to ensure that both can thrive without undermining the other.

Already there are aspects of ESG and crypto that do work in tandem, socially, it supports the unbanked, giving people without accounts access to digital wallets that can break the cycle of financial exclusion. Despite this, failing to address the environmental impacts will lead to an inevitable clash of two titans that could set the trajectory of the modern financial world back significantly.  

“Almost as important, is that this approach needs to be tackled on a global scale. If left to develop on a localised basis, VASPs and compliance teams will not only be faced with a complex sustainability issue but more generally a web of siloed regulation across multiple jurisdictions that will stunt rather than inspire innovation.” 

This release includes data from Cryptopia: Regulation & Crypto on a Cliff Edge. The report harnesses CUBE’s AI-powered, golden source of regulatory data, and collects and analyses more than 15,000 data points on cryptocurrencies across global financial regulators with a view to better understand the regulatory focus.

Leeds technology start-up, PrinSIX, has been chosen by global payments processor Neosurf, one of the leading payment platforms used by the gaming and gambling sector, to support its client onboarding.

The PrinSIX platform uses a personalised approach, with in-built technology that adapts to an individual’s situation, meaning that the actual online application process is easier and quicker with better results both for the applicant and the service provider.

As Neosurf enters the US market, incorporating the PrinSIX technology brings novel onboarding processors which are forecast to increase compliant recruitment of Neosurf clients by up to 30%.

Chief Commercial Officer Andrea McGeachin said, “The personalised approach that the PrinSIX technology offers means that each applicant is dealt with as an individual, with the questions they are asked to answer is specific to their situation. As a result, the number of abandonments is projected to be materially reduced, at the same time as the regulatory requirements being fully met. All within a short and smooth onboarding time. We are delighted to have chosen PrinSIX as our partner as we take Neosurf to the US.”

Founder and CEO of PrinSIX, Julian Graham-Rack commented, “Supporting Neosurf in their move into the US market is an important step for us. In doing so, we are embedding PrinSIX into a genuinely global brand. This emphasises that the challenge of successful compliant conversion of potential customers is not just restricted to the UK, but is an international one, and that the solution PrinSIX delivers is applicable globally. Working with Neosurf gives us the opportunity to showcase the value of the PrinSIX platform to a huge market.”

Allica Bank, the SME-focused challenger bank, has now provided established SMEs with over £100 million in asset finance funding since its launch in 2021.

The bank has worked closely with the broker community to help get the funding needed into the hands of SMEs. There has been a significant increase in demand, especially in 2022, with £78 million being issued in 2022 alone. The significant growth is made all the more remarkable against a backdrop of a challenging economy. It has now targeted doubling its £100 million asset finance loan book by the end of the year.

To help service the growing demand, Allica has increased the asset finance team by 50%, with new business development managers across the UK.

The bank, which has invested significantly into its own proprietary technology, has also announced a partnership with brokerage platform ConnectedFi. The platform, which is used by more than 60 broker firms, gives brokers the option to submit asset finance applications through the ConnectedFi broker portal, helping to simplify and accelerate processing and decision-making time.

Brandon Hall, Head of Sales for Asset Finance at Allica, said the milestone highlights the resilience of the British SME community: “Despite all the challenges of a post-pandemic, high-inflation world, established small and medium-sized businesses in the UK still have an insatiable appetite for funding to grow.

“It’s incredible to have been a part of so many individual journeys, from helping our customers improve their efficiency with new machinery, to transforming how they move around with electric fleets. We have high hopes for the future of business in the UK and we’re excited to be a part of it.

“I especially want to thank our broker partners. They provide an invaluable service to SMEs, helping them find the right funder and the right finance to help their growth plans. Their support of Allica since we launched in 2021 has been a key part of our own growth, too.”

Allica’s growth and support for the market haven’t gone unnoticed. In 2022, the bank won its first major award, being named by Leasing World as the New Entrant of the Year in 2021.

Sonovate, the leading provider of embedded finance and payment solutions for the contingent workforce, today announced that it has completed a new securitisation deal with BNP Paribas and M&G Investments, adding £165 million to its funding structure. The deal is an endorsement of Sonovate's position as a fintech industry leader and reinforces its high-growth trajectory, enabling it to lend over £1.3 billion in invoices this year alone. The company is projected to fund another £2 billion in 2023, with further plans for growth in subsequent years.

Demica, the market-leading working capital focussed fintech, acted as adviser and reporting agent on the transaction, working closely with both Sonovate and BNP Paribas. M&G Investments, Sonovate’s long-term funding partner, also took part in the agreement, with a £15 million investment. 

As a result of this securitisation, Sonovate will increase its capital efficiency and expand its customer base, especially in the enterprise space. It will also deliver added flexibility for export financing.

Richard Prime, CEO and Co-Founder of Sonovate said: "Sonovate’s vision is to be the funding platform for the future of work. As we scale, we will continue to integrate into the wider ecosystem with the aim of constantly adding value to our market. Deals such as this one provide us with an exceptional level of flexibility, which we can extend to our customers, enabling them to access innovative funding solutions via a state-of-the-art platform.”

Increasingly, technology is transforming the world of finance, providing businesses with new opportunities to manage their working capital and move beyond traditional funding options. 

Renaud Chalmet, Deputy Head of Corporate Receivables Securitisation, BNP Paribas, said: “This securitisation is designed to support the new world of flexible working. It is scalable, adaptive, and provides stability in the long term. We are excited to be working with Sonovate, supporting them as they continue to deliver rapid growth and empower the contingent labour marketplace with innovative solutions.”

As a result of the tech revolution and the move towards flexible working, the contingent labour marketplace is growing very quickly. According to a report in March 2022 by the Staffing Industry Associates (SIA), annual sales revenue is up by a staggering 80% for contract placements. 

Sonovate has funded more than £2.75 billion in invoices to date. Last year, the company recorded a 58% year-on-year increase in total funding. Its enterprise lending volume increased by 144% year on year, and enterprise customers now account for about one-third of its total lending volume. More than 3,300 businesses funded by Sonovate have paid more than 30,000 freelancers, contractors, and gig workers in over 40 countries.