Fintech

Trusted Transactions: The Future of Risk-Based Authentication

Tue, 28 Jan 2025 15:00:00 +0000

Why should issuers and processers use AI to embed trust in the transaction lifecycle?

PREDICT 2025: The Future of AI in the US

Thu, 12 Dec 2024 17:00:00 +0000

How will the results of the 2024 US Election impact use of AI in 2025?

2025 Fraud Trends: Synthetic Identity, AI and Incoming Mandates

Tue, 10 Dec 2024 15:00:00 +0000

What do banks need to do to detect and prevent APP scams in real time?

Unifying card programmes: The cost-reduction imperative

Thu, 05 Dec 2024 15:00:00 +0000

How can banks unify their card programmes?

Reaping the benefits of hyper-personalisation with AI and application modernisation

Thu, 28 Nov 2024 15:00:00 +0000

How can organisations effectively modernise to leverage hyper-personalisation?

Solving the KYC challenge with end-to-end processes

Thu, 21 Nov 2024 15:00:00 +0000

How can banks transform their customer lifecycle management?

Global workforce payments: Mastering a world of complexity

Tue, 19 Nov 2024 15:00:00 +0000

How can businesses tackle the challenges associated with paying a global workforce?

Exploring the ethics of AI in banking

Thu, 14 Nov 2024 15:00:00 +0000

AI in banking update: ethics, regulation & better business

AI in Banking: Building Compliant and Safe Enterprise AI at Scale

Tue, 12 Nov 2024 15:00:00 +0000

How can synthetic data help to train models while balancing AI infrastructure with customer value?

Why real-time payments are a game-changer for corporate banking services

Thu, 07 Nov 2024 15:00:00 +0000

How can banks capitalise on real-time payments?

SaaS savvy: Preparing for embedded and data driven bank payments

Tue, 05 Nov 2024 15:00:00 +0000

How can banks re-imagine what can be done in payments?

NextGen: AI – Exploring the impact of generative AI in financial services

Mon, 04 Nov 2024 17:26:00 +0000

Join Finextra at our inaugural London event at the end of November to redefine the role of AI in financial services and explore the impact of generative AI.

Bitpanda deploys Eventus’ Validus platform to meet trade surveillance needs

Mon, 04 Nov 2024 16:33:00 +0000

Eventus, a leading provider of comprehensive, at-scale trade surveillance and financial risk solutions, and Bitpanda, Europe’s leading cryptocurrency platform, announced today that Bitpanda will deploy Eventus’ Validus platform to meet its trade surveillance needs and legal obligations.

Broadridge appoints David Fellah VP, AI trading solutions

Mon, 04 Nov 2024 15:45:00 +0000

Global Fintech leader, Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc., (NYSE: BR), today announced the appointment of David Fellah as Vice President of AI Trading Solutions at Broadridge, effective October 16, 2024.

Plato Partnership proposes new standards for managing market outages

Mon, 04 Nov 2024 15:11:00 +0000

Plato Partnership today announced new standards for managing cash equities market outages, developed by Plato member firms with discussions with major European exchanges including Deutsche Börse, Euronext, SIX Swiss Exchange, and Nasdaq OMX.

Fintech Rundown: A Rapid Review of Weekly News

Mon, 04 Nov 2024 14:43:24 +0000

It’s going to be hard to avoid the avalanche of news coverage of the U.S. Presidential election this week. But if you’re looking for a respite from the political headlines, Finovate’s Fintech Rundown is here for you! Be sure to check back all week long for the latest in fintech news.

Open banking

Financial API platform Salt Edge partners with Central Bank of Bahrain to enhance corporate banking with open banking.

Tink teams up with international money app Zing to launch automatic and one-tap top-ups leveraging open banking.

Cryptocurrency / DeFi

Cryptocurrency exchange Bitget introduces a new contactless, P2P payment service, Bitget Pay, via its Bitget app.

Commercial Bank International, a UAE-based financial institution, inks a Memorandum of Understanding with digital asset platform Zumo.

Cryptocurrency platform Kraken appoints Stephanie Lemmerman as Chief Financial Officer.

Identity verification / fraud prevention

ID verification specialist iDenfy partners with O2Factoring to improve financial security for entrepreneurs.

U.K.-based Starling Bank unveils new solution to help customers defend themselves against bank impersonation scams.

E-commerce

E-commerce payment network Affirm launches its pay-over-time options in the U.K.

Lending

Lending-as-a-service infrastructure company Finfra secures $2.5 million in funding to bring embedded lending solutions to SMEs in Indonesia.

Payments

European banking group Intesa Sanpaolo and Visa renew their strategic partnership to accelerate and support the growth of digital payments.

Photo by Tara Winstead

US regulators must take reins on fintech oversight - bank associations

Mon, 04 Nov 2024 13:49:00 +0000

US financial services regulators should take the reins on fintech oversight and stop expecting banks to independently police the sector, say the Bank Policy Institute and the Clearing House Association.

Paxos introduces Global Dollar (USDG)

Mon, 04 Nov 2024 13:36:00 +0000

Paxos, the leading regulated blockchain and tokenization infrastructure platform, today introduced Global Dollar (USDG) – a US dollar-backed stablecoin that is substantively compliant with MAS’ upcoming stablecoin framework.

Ripjar appoints Tom Obermaier as CEO on majority growth investment from Long Ridge

Mon, 04 Nov 2024 13:29:00 +0000

Ripjar, a leading technology provider of risk and threat intelligence solutions worldwide, today announced that existing investor Long Ridge Equity Partners made a majority growth investment in the company, in connection with industry veteran Tom Obermaier joining the business as its new CEO.

FinMont integrates with Africa's iPay

Mon, 04 Nov 2024 13:27:00 +0000

FinMont, a global payment orchestration platform, today announced a strategic partnership with iPay, a leading African payment processing and billing service provider.

Attara launches to democratise access to commodity hedging

Mon, 04 Nov 2024 12:09:00 +0000

Today marks the official launch of Attara, a pioneering fintech company poised to transform the landscape of commodity hedging for businesses across the UK.

Wise granted direct access to the Philippines’ real-time payment system

Mon, 04 Nov 2024 11:50:00 +0000

Wise, the global technology company building the best way to move and manage the world’s money has been granted direct access to InstaPay, the Philippines’ real-time payment system, and can also directly settle with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) real-time gross payment system, PhilPaSS Plus.

Spire and Salt Edge come together to drive corporate open banking adoption in Bharain

Mon, 04 Nov 2024 11:48:00 +0000

The Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) has updated its Open Banking Framework, mandating all licensed banks to expose APIs for corporate accounts.

UBS Asset Management launches fund on ethereum blockchain

Mon, 04 Nov 2024 11:32:00 +0000

UBS Asset Management has launched a tokenized money market investment fund built on ethereum distributed ledger technology.

Intesa Sanpaolo and Visa renew strategic partnership

Mon, 04 Nov 2024 11:23:00 +0000

Intesa Sanpaolo and Visa have renewed their multi-year strategic partnership agreement, to accelerate the digital transition and encourage the growth of digital payments.

IN Groupe closes the acquisition of Nexi’s eID business

Mon, 04 Nov 2024 10:23:00 +0000

IN Groupe and Nets, part of Nexi Group, are pleased to announce the closing of the sale of Nets’ eID business to IN Groupe – a deal signed in in November 2023.

Goldman Sachs takes quantum leap on options pricing

Mon, 04 Nov 2024 10:11:00 +0000

Goldman Sachs has conducted research on the application of quantum computing in the options priing market.

Gleif and Finbridge Global forge alliance to streamline identity verification of fintechs

Mon, 04 Nov 2024 09:52:00 +0000

The Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (GLEIF) and Finbridge Global have announced a new collaboration to enable financial institutions and investors to streamline the identity verification of fintech providers—facilitating partnerships across the global financial services ecosystem.

SBI and MAS bid to drive commercial applications of tokenised securities

Mon, 04 Nov 2024 09:08:00 +0000

Japanese financial conglomerate SBI is building a commercial framework for cross-border distribution of tokenised securities with pilots in fixed income and asset and weath management.

BNPL giant Affirm lands in the UK

Mon, 04 Nov 2024 00:01:00 +0000

Affirm, one of the biggest buy now, pay later platforms in North America, has launched in the UK.

Finovate Global Nigeria: A New Unicorn, Mobile Wallets, and the Pursuit of Financial Inclusion

Fri, 01 Nov 2024 21:36:16 +0000

This week’s edition of Finovate Global features news from the fintech industry in Nigeria.

Africa’s newest fintech unicorn raises $110 million

African fintech Moniepoint is the continent’s latest fintech unicorn. The firm, Nigeria’s largest merchant acquirer, announced this week that it has raised $110 million in a funding round led by private equity firm Development Partners International (DPI). The round also featured participation from Google’s Africa Investment Fund, Verod Capital, and Lightrock. The infusion of capital boosts Moniepoint’s valuation above $1 billion, and is providing a positive light at a time when many fintechs in Africa are struggling to secure funding.

The funding takes Moniepoint’s total capital to more than $180 million.

Formerly known as TeamApt, the nine-year-old fintech will use the capital to accelerate the company’s growth across the continent. Moniepoint is building an all-in-one, seamlessly integrated platform for African businesses that features services including digital payments, banking, foreign exchange, credit, and business management tools. Speaking on behalf of DPI, Adefolarin Ogunsanya praised the company for its “combination of innovative technology, fast growth, and positive impact on the continent.”

CEO Tosin Eniolorunda co-founded the company in 2015. In the years since then, Moniepoint has grown into an all-in-one financial ecosystem that serves 10 million businesses and individuals. The company powers most of the point of sale transactions in Nigeria and, via its subsidiaries, processes $17 billion a month for its customers. Headquartered in London, Moniepoint maintains offices in Lagos, Nigeria; and Nairobi, Kenya, as well as in the U.S.

“This milestone validates the work we’ve put in for almost a decade,” the company noted in a post on its LinkedIn page. “And with this raise, we’ll be making financial happiness a reality for every African, everywhere. This is just Day One, and we’re excited for where this takes us.”

CB Insights also named Moniepoint to its 100 most promising startups roster for 2024. The Nigerian fintech is one of seven African startups to make this year’s list.

MTN Nigeria aims for higher quality mobile wallet users

There’s good news and bad news in the latest financial report from African telecommunications company MTN Nigeria. The bad news is that the company reported a significant after-tax loss of $312.7 million (₦514.9 billion), due largely to volatility in the currency market. MTN also noted that though active data users grew by more than 5% to 45.3 million, the company’s mobile money wallet business declined by more than 21%.

The good news? MTN’s fintech division grew revenues by 18%, with much of the gains coming from its mobile money service, MoMo. The decline in active mobile money wallets noted above was attributed in part to a shift in the company’s sales strategy to focus more on “high-quality wallet users” rather than just maximizing the number of users in general. MTN Nigeria also noted that its MoMo service has recently added functionality to support cross-border transactions.

“In the fintech business, we focused on executing our growth strategy, prioritizing increasing wallet quality, focusing on advanced services, and the MoMo PSB app to enhance the user experience and engagement,” MTN Nigeria CEO Karl Toriola explained. “We have introduced cross-border remittances with 13 fellow African countries to boost adoption and monetization. Taking advantage of their interoperability, we are now leveraging the existing network of agents and merchants … in the industry to bring our services closer to our customers.”

PalmPay wins recognition for financial inclusion

Lagos, Nigeria-based fintech platform PalmPay was recognized as the “Most Outstanding Fintech Driving Financial Inclusion” at the 2024 BrandCom Awards held late last month. Sponsored by Brand Communicator, the award acknowledges the fintech’s work in bridging financial gaps and promoting financial inclusion in Nigeria.

“At PalmPay, we believe financial inclusion is the foundation for economic empowerment, and we’re dedicated to ensuring that every Nigerian has access to secure, user-friendly, and reliable financial services,” PalmPay Head of Marketing and Communications, Hanson Femi said.

Founded in 2019, PalmPay has more than 35 million users. The company connects more than one million businesses via its mobile money agent and merchant network, and provides services ranging from instant transfers and billpay to its new USSD feature. This feature enables customers to perform a variety of banking transactions without needing internet connectivity by dialing *861# on their mobile phones.

“We aim to bridge the gap in digital access, and the introduction of our USSD service aligns with that mission,” PalmPay Managing Director for Nigeria, Chika Nwosu, said when the service was launched in September.

Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.

Asia-Pacific

South Korean fintech unicorn, Viva Republica, which operates the mobile financial super app Toss, announced plans to debut in the U.S. market.
Singapore has established a “Global Finance & Technology Network” (GFTN) to support the region’s reputation as an international fintech hub.
Wise became the first non-bank operating in Japan to earn approval to join the country’s domestic payment network, Zegin.

Sub-Saharan Africa

Stanbic Bank Kenya, in partnership with Mastercard, has launched a pair of new credit cards designed to serve the institution’s affluent customers.
Nigeria-based fintech Moniepoint achieved unicorn status after raising $110 million in new funding.
Côte d’Ivoire-based investment platform Daba Finance won the Ecobank Fintech Challenge.

Central and Eastern Europe

Lithuanian identity verification and fraud prevention company iDenfy partnered with O2Factoring.
Erste Group teamed up with Neterium to help the firm bring its transaction screening solution to markets in Central and Eastern Europe.
Tech Times profiled Germany fintech billionaire and founder of Black Banx, Michael Gastauer.

Middle East and Northern Africa

UAE-based Commercial Bank International inked a Memorandum of Understanding with U.K.-based digital assets platform Zumo.
Geidea forged a strategic partnership with payment connector tpay to transform digital payments in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the UAE.
TechCrunch profiled Israel-based fintech One Zero as the company pursues a $100 million fundraising.

Central and Southern Asia

TBC Uzbekistan forged a strategic partnership with Mastercard.
Indian fintech unicorn Slice completed its merger with North East Small Finance Bank.
Walee Financial Services went live with Pakistan’s first Islamic nano-financing product.

Latin America and the Caribbean

Brazilian fintech Nubank announced the launch of a new mobile phone service NuCel.
Berlin-based Mambu teamed up with Kuady to help the company go live with its digital wallet in Latin America.
Uruguayan fintech dLocal partnered with advanced management software provider Fourvenues to expand into markets in Latin America and Southeast Asia.

Photo by Ovinuchi Ejiohuo on Unsplash

Fiserv leads $150m funding round for Melio

Fri, 01 Nov 2024 14:27:00 +0000

Melio, an accounts payable and receivable platform for small and medium businesses, has hit a $2 billion valuation in a $150 million strategic funding round led by Fiserv.

Alison Potter appointed as chair of FCA and PSR decision making committees

Fri, 01 Nov 2024 13:12:00 +0000

The FCA and PSR boards have announced the appointment Alison Potter as chair of the FCA’s Regulatory Decisions Committee (RDC) and the PSR’s Enforcement Decisions Committee (EDC).

Transak gains Delaware Money Transmitter License and FINTRAC registration

Fri, 01 Nov 2024 12:23:00 +0000

Transak has received its second Money Transmitter License (MTL) from the US state of Delaware, while also gaining registration with the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC).

Sustainable Finance Live Hackathon 2024 Winners: Established Category

Fri, 01 Nov 2024 11:20:00 +0000

Richard Peers, Contributing Editor, Finextra and Founder of Responsible Risk, connects with Rochelle Mountany, CEO, and Dicky Thomas, Operations Manager at Afri, to discuss the company’s 26-year journey and their win in the Established Category for the Sustainable Finance Live Hackathon 2024. After choosing the Challenge of enhancing nature through sustainable agriculture with large language models and geospatial data, this hackathon team created AfriGIS Ecohub that built upon Afri’s specialisation in data science to provide data driven insights to three groups – small holders, commercial farmers and financial institutions. By connecting these stakeholders with a single supply chain platform, real-time data driven insights can be leveraged to build upon opportunities to grow.

Tehanu completes world’s first ‘interspecies money’ transfer

Fri, 01 Nov 2024 11:19:00 +0000

Africa-based startup Tehanu has completed its first ‘interspecies money’ transfer, which enables the transfer of funds through digital wallets associated with the conservation of Rwandan mountain gorillas.

SEC charges JP Morgan affiliates $151 million

Fri, 01 Nov 2024 10:49:00 +0000

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged JP Morgan Securities and JP Morgan Investment Management Inc. (JPMIM) in five separate actions.

Barclays completes Tesco Bank acquisition

Fri, 01 Nov 2024 10:06:00 +0000

Barclays has completed the £600 million acquisition of Tesco Bank’s retail banking business.

Streamly Snapshot: The Central Role of Contact Centers in AI-Driven Customer Experience

Thu, 31 Oct 2024 18:57:24 +0000

Leveraging AI to enhance the customer experience is one the biggest challenges – and greatest opportunities – in fintech and financial services.

Today we share the insights of Rahul Kumar, VP and GM for Financial Services and Insurance with Talkdesk, on the central role of contact centers in AI-driven customer experience. In our Streamly Snapshot conversation, which took place in September at FinovateFall 2024 in New York, Kumar discusses what financial institutions are doing to overcome the barriers to delivering a superior customer experience. Kumar also explains why leaders in financial services are prioritizing the contact center as a central part of their AI and CX strategy.

“One of the things we’re seeing in the industry is that customer experience is fast becoming a strategic initiative for executives across the board — for banks and for credit unions. Recently, in a survey, we polled over 200 customer experience professionals and the responses were unsurprising: 86% of executives said that they do believe CX is a strategic investment priority that can lead to brand differentiation for themselves. 63% felt that they could tie CX metrics to value. And 80% do believe that contact center is fast becoming a strategic investment area for them. It’s definitely top of mind for executives.”

Founded in 2011 and headquartered in San Francisco, California, Talkdesk is an international cloud contact center leader for businesses of all sizes. The company’s contact center platform leverages AI and automation to enable businesses to deliver exceptional outcomes for their customers. Talkdesk’s AI-powered customer experience platform helps enterprises reduce costs, grow revenues, and streamline operations to boost efficiency. Tiago Paiva is Founder and Chief Executive Officer.

In his role at Talkdesk, Rahul Kumar leads business, product, and go-to-market strategy for financial services and insurance. He also leads the customer success function for all strategic industry customers, managing C-suite relationships for enterprise customers.

Photo by Mikhail Nilov

Quoroom Merges with Investory.io

Thu, 31 Oct 2024 17:14:21 +0000

Investment management platform Quoroom has merged with portfolio management software company Investory.io.
The merger will help streamline the capital-raising process for venture capital funds, angel syndicates, and startup founders.
Headquartered in London, Quoroom made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2023.

It’s been M&A week here on the Finovate blog! Over the past few days, we’ve highlighted merger and acquisition activity from a pair of alums: nCino’s purchase of Full Circl and Array’s acquisition of fellow Finovate alum, Payitoff. For those looking for a silver lining among the VC funding slowdown in fintech, M&A activity like this might do the trick.

Here’s another fintech M&A announcement that almost slipped beneath our radar. Quoroom, an investment management platform that provides end-to-end fundraising and cap table management software for private companies, has merged with Investory.io.

Investory.io provides portfolio management software that facilitates structured and data-driven communication between investors and startups. With more than 3,000 company accounts and 6,500 investor accounts (including more than 1,000 institutional investors and 4,000 angel investors) on its platform, Investory.io leverages data and AI to enable data-driven portfolio decision-making for investors and simplified investor reporting for startups.

Quoroom’s technology provides an investment workflow that covers every aspect of a company’s lifecycle, from building an investor pipeline to legal completion. By giving investors a singular “source of truth” on deal flow and the metrics of portfolio companies, Quoroom helps companies stand out from the crowd and raise capital faster.

The strategic merger between Quoroom and Investory.io will help unify a fragmented market for venture capital infrastructure and analytics. Quoroom users will be able to leverage the integrated functionality of Investory.io to manage investor updates and cap tables in one place. At the same time, angel syndicates and venture capital funds will benefit from being able to manage fundraising, SPVs, portfolios, and LP reporting from within a single investment management platform.

“With this acquisition, Quoroom users can now manage cap tables, investor relations, and fundraising activities all in one place, making the process more efficient and effective,” the company noted on its LinkedIn page earlier this month when the deal was first announced. Quoroom added separately that it plans to offer “enhanced functionalities in the coming months” to further streamline investment management and make investor relations operations more efficient.

Headquartered in London and founded in 2018, Quoroom made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2023. At the conference, the company demoed its latest suite of investor relations tools, including enhanced investment recommendations, the ability to automatically visualize company financial metrics, and investor updates to keep shareholders informed during funding rounds.

We interviewed Quoroom CEO and CoFounder Ulyana Shtybel last summer as part of our Finovate Global interview series.

Photo by energepic.com

Sustainable Finance Live Hackathon 2024 Winners: Emerging Category

Thu, 31 Oct 2024 13:37:00 +0000

Join FinextraTV as Richard Peers, Contributing Editor, Finextra and Founder of Responsible Risk, speaks to the winners of the Emerging Category for the Sustainable Finance Live Hackathon 2024: HSBC’s Nell Agate Tsui, University of Oxford’s Dr Nicola Ranger, and the Malaysian Youth Delegation’s Qiu Wong. This year’s event focused on all things natural capital, namely how to price and assess risk amid a variety of macroeconomic issues and new policies coming to the fore. The winning team’s solution – named Nature Delta – worked to connect nature risk in its multifaceted nature direct to companies, with the aim of ensuring that lending and target setting is conducted with risk in mind, as well as deciphering the jumble of complexity that comes with natural capital and leveraging actionable insights.

nCino Agrees to Acquire FullCircl

Wed, 30 Oct 2024 20:26:35 +0000

Cloud banking platform nCino has agreed to acquire Client Lifecyle Intelligence platform FullCircl. The purchase price is $135 million, subject to customary adjustments.
The acquisition comes a year after the two first forged a partnership in July 2023.
Wilmington, North Carolina-based nCino made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2017 in London.

In a deal valued at $135 million, banking solutions provider nCino has agreed to acquire U.K.-based Client Lifecycle Intelligence (CLI) platform, FullCircl. The acquisition comes a year after the two companies forged a partnership that combined FullCircl’s advanced data capabilities with nCino’s cloud banking platform.

“The acquisition of FullCircl is a strategic move for nCino that will not only enhance our data and automation capabilities, but also enables us to expand our reach across the U.K. and more broadly in Europe with an end-to-end experience for full client lifecycle management,” nCino CEO and Chairman Pierre Naudé said. “Having worked closely with the FullCircl team for some time now, we recognized the value our joint technology can deliver, and this acquisition marks an exciting step forward in our mission of driving innovation and powering a new era in financial services.”

nCino and FullCircl first partnered last year to improve the efficiency and profitability of acquiring, onboarding, and servicing SME customers. The collaboration set out to cut onboarding times, increase efficiency in credit operations, accelerate revenue growth, and win and retain more SME customers. Today’s acquisition announcement creates a new, end-to-end client lifecycle management experience that integrates customer acquisition and onboarding, KYC and KYB, as well as rules-based monitoring.

“We have been working with the nCino team for several years, and the close alignment in both organizations across vision, culture, customers, product, and market opportunity have contributed to this exciting acquisition making perfect sense,” FullCircl CEO and Cofounder Andrew Yates said. “We both serve regulated industries who walk a tightrope between a strict operating rulebook and a mandate to deliver growth and shareholder value, all while providing a seamless client experience.”

Founded in 2011, London-based FullCircl offers a Customer Lifecycle Intelligence (CLI) platform that helps companies in regulated industries better manage a variety of key business challenges. Via its applications, proprietary ‘graph’ technology, intelligent rules-based decision engine and APIs, FullCircl derives millions of actionable insights daily on entities from 160 countries. This enables the platform to provide a near real-time record of companies, corporate officers and shareholders, and the relationships between them. With more than 700 customers and 15,000+ users, the firm processes more than 300 million onboarding and monitoring transactions per month and facilitates the onboarding of more than 200,000 customers a year.

nCino made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2017 in London. Headquartered in Wilmington, North Carolina, and founded in 2012, the company currently delivers innovative banking experiences to more than 1,800 customers around the world, including community banks, credit unions, and independent mortgage banks, as well as some of the largest financial institutions in the world.

nCino began the month inking a partnership with Tokushima Taisho Bank. The Japan-based financial institution chose nCino’s Commercial Banking Solution to bring greater efficiency and increased value to its business lending operations. Other recent partnerships with nCino include the company’s work to enhance corporate lending at Netherlands-based bank ABN AMRO and its agreement to automate loan origination processes and expand portfolio management capabilities for U.K. specialist bank Shawbrook.

nCino is a publicly-traded company on the NASDAQ exchange under the ticker NCNO. The firm has a market capitalization of $4 billion.

Photo by Markus Spiske

Protecting Data Privacy within an AI-powered Threat Landscape

Wed, 30 Oct 2024 19:12:45 +0000

It takes only a quick scan of daily media headlines to know we are collectively riding a wave of art...

Cloud Banking Platform Mambu Inks Partnership with Kuady

Wed, 30 Oct 2024 17:55:02 +0000

Cloud banking platform Mambu has teamed up with payments service processor Kuady.
Mambu is powering Kuady’s digital wallet offering, which has just launched in Peru, Chile, Argentina, and Mexico.
Headquartered in Berlin, Germany, Mambu made its Finovate debut at FinovateAsia in 2013.

Courtesy of a new partnership with cloud banking platform Mambu, payments service processor Kuady has launched its digital wallet in Peru, Chile, Argentina, and Mexico. The launch comes less than nine months after the beginning of the partnership between the two companies, and sets the stage for further expansion in Latin America, as well as in Africa and Europe.

“We’re proud to support Kuady in its mission to enhance financial inclusion and transform how people manage their money,” Mambu Chief Revenue Officer Mark Geneste said. “As the adoption of digital wallets continues to grow globally, consumers are seeking smart alternatives to cash that provide flexible and ready-to-use spending, and we are here to support financial institutions and fintechs looking to expand and innovate in this space. We can offer the speed to market, future-proofing, and flexibility needed to stay ahead of the competition.”

Kuady’s new offering is powered by Mambu’s cloud banking platform and supported by Microsoft Azure. The company’s digital wallet will help consumers readily access their funds and manage their finances. Kuady’s wallet also empowers merchants to easily scale across borders, enabling instant payouts, chargeback protection, and more. Launched in July, the digital wallet arrives at a time when demand for digital wallets is surging. Mambu reported that the digital wallet market, which stood at 2.8 billion wallets and $5.5 trillion in spending globally in 2020, is expected to top $10 trillion in global spending by 2025. “One in every two people will choose to pay this way,” Mambu’s research into digital wallets revealed.

“With the tech foundation provided by Mambu, we’ve experienced incredible speed and flexibility allowing us to launch and expand our digital wallet across key Latin American markets in just under nine months,” Open Payment Technologies Ltd. Managing Director Mario Ricciardi said. Kuady is the registered business name of Open Payment Technologies. “As we look to enter more countries in Latin America and eventually expand across Africa and Europe,” Ricciardi added, “we’re excited about growing our business together with Mambu.”

Mambu made its Finovate debut at FinovateAsia 2013 in Singapore, and most recently demoed its technology for Finovate audiences at FinovateFall 2021 and again in partnership with Persistent Systems, at FinovateEurope 2022. In addition to its partnership with Kuady, the Berlin, Germany-based firm this month teamed up with INDEXO Bank. The financial institution, which recently secured a banking license from the European Central Bank, leveraged technology from Mambu to launch banking operations in Latvia.

Photo by Lukas

Why Banks need an Innovation/Partnership team!

Wed, 30 Oct 2024 13:39:40 +0000

If you are connected with too many payment geeks like I am, your LinkedIn feed has been flooded thes...

How Regulators are Paving the Way for Innovation in the Payment Space

Wed, 30 Oct 2024 11:48:00 +0000

New trends in payments are emerging, with regulator-led innovations sparking 'coopetition' among governments, private companies, and big tech. In this FinextraTV interview, Thoughtworks' Head of Financial Services Practice Muralikrishnan Puthanveedu explains how these moves are creating a foundation for a thriving digital economy — advancing financial inclusion, consumer experience, and global prosperity. Examples like the Fed’s ISO 20022, Europe’s digital identity leadership, UK's New Payment Architecture (NPA) and the BIS’s work in breaking down payment barriers showcase a regulatory push toward seamless, data-driven, interconnected global payment systems.

Top 5 jurisdictions to obtain EMI license in 2025

Wed, 30 Oct 2024 11:13:42 +0000

The European Payment Services Directive (PSD2) has ignited a fintech revolution across Europe, spurr...

Digital Arrest: A New Frontier in Cybercrime and Its Ripple Effects on Consumer Trust

Wed, 30 Oct 2024 03:50:49 +0000

Digital arrest scams have emerged as a significant threat in the digital landscape, impacting consu

Array Acquires Consumer Debt Management Company Payitoff

Tue, 29 Oct 2024 19:07:24 +0000

Array, an embedded consumer products platform, has agreed to acquire embedded debt guidance solutions provider Payitoff. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The deal will build on Array’s position in the intelligent debt management solutions industry, and further equip the company to help financial institutions, fintechs, and digital brands accelerate growth, create new revenue streams, and enhance the consumer experience.

“Financial institutions and other providers of financial products in digital experiences realize that helping their consumers better understand and manage their debt is a powerful way to increase deposits, revenue, and brand loyalty,” Array Founder and CEO Martin Toha said. “We acquired Payitoff because our companies have a shared vision to provide seamless, embeddable products that fuel financial progress. This provides our clients with the best of all worlds: bringing valuable products to market faster without additional resources and overhead.”

Founded in 2020, Array offers a range of embeddable private label products that enable businesses to serve as “one-stop shops” for financial services. The company’s solutions help financial institutions serve a wider range of customers’ financial needs, increasing engagement, and opening up new potential sources of growth. Array’s solutions can be implemented through embedded or private label sites, as well as via its API, and turn 18-month builds into 6-12 week deployments.

Array won Best of Show in its Finovate debut at FinovateFall 2021. The company returned to the Finovate stage the following year at FinovateSpring 2022, taking home its second Best of Show award in as many appearances. Most recently demoing its technology at FinovateSpring 2023, Array introduced its HelloPrivacy and Subscription Manager solutions. HelloPrivacy monitors and removes personally identifiable information (PII) from the web to help defend against identity theft, robocalls, and other privacy risks. Subscription Manager allows subscribers to manage their subscriptions from a single location, as well as cancel unwanted subscriptions and negotiate lower rates on select subscriptions.

Array began 2024 with the appointment of Kew Kelly-Yuoh as Chief Financial Officer, a partnership with digital banking solutions provider Narmi, and a spot on the Fintech Innovation 50 list for 2024. This spring, Array reported that its online privacy solution, Privacy Protect, had surpassed four million in protected users and removed more than 200 million online records on their behalf. Earlier this month, the company announced that Lumin Digital, a provider of cloud-native, digital banking solutions, will offer a suite of Array products including My Credit Manager with Offers Engine, and Identity Protect — along with Privacy Protect and Subscription Manager — as part of its Financial Wellness Monitoring Suite for financial institutions.

Founded in 2018, Payitoff was born out of CEO Bobby Matson’s personal struggle to pay off “six-figure student loans and debt.” After initially launching a student loan management solution, Matson and his team expanded their offerings to include a more comprehensive set of debt management tools. Enabling companies to seamlessly integrate broad debt management functionality into their digital platforms, Payitoff has managed 200,000+ loans valued at more than $1.5 billion.

“The opportunity for impact between Array and Payitoff is massive,” Matson said. “Student loan payments resumed a year ago, and with delinquencies starting to impact borrowers’ credit this month, the timing of this acquisition couldn’t be more critical. Array’s reach, combined with our debt management tools, will empower financial institutions and fintechs to help their consumers manage debt and save thousands — all with a seamless integration.”

Payitoff made its Finovate debut at FinovateFall 2023. At the conference, the consumer debt management tool provider demonstrated its white label, no code solution that empowers financial institutions to help their customers save money on student loan repayments. Earlier this year, Payitoff was selected to participate in Mastercard’s Start Path Open Banking Program.

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