Episode: 002
Fintech appointments
Former HSBC Group COO Andy Maguire joins Thought Machine as new chair. The cloud native core banking technology firm hopes Maguire will aggressively pursue its international growth plans over the coming years. In addition to Maguire’s appointment, Thought Machine says it will unveil new clients in the coming months.
Stephen Reidy will drive strategic growth at GoCardless after taking on the role of VP and general manager UK & Ireland at the fintech. Reidy will also implement GoCardless’ go-to-market strategy and cross-functional management of its high performing teams.
Regtech ComplyAdvantage has appointed Richard Orme as chief technology officer and Anna Keren as VP of technology. As well as the new hires, the company recently earned recognition from research firm Celent and Chartis as a ‘leading provider of AML risk data and financial risk management solutions’.
Partnerships & Collaborations
MoneyGram and Tesco Bank have unveiled an international online money transfer platform. It allows MoneyGram and Tesco customers to set up their transactions online and then pay by cash or card at Tesco stores. The new service also allows customers to easily send money abroad.
Everlink Payment Services has asked Financial Software and Systems (FSS) to modernise its card operations to support future growth plans. A FSS API-based solution will replace Everlink’s legacy card issuance infrastructure.
While Tribe Payments and Currencycloud partner to bring a new banking-as-a-service solution to fintechs and digital banks. As well as delivering ‘complete transparency to foreign exchange costs charged on international card transactions’, the collaboration will also give customers access to multi-currency wallets.
Flexible cashflow solutions for small businesses are on the way after Payment Systems and Priority Commercial Payments team up with fintech Behalf Inc. The companies say their collaboration will also help businesses adjust to the disruption in cash flow as a result of Covid-19.
Next, the SimplyBiz Group and Wealthify say their new partnership will provide low fee digital investment option for advisers. It will also lead to ‘improved efficiency and improved business performances’.
Payments company EBANX will offer more e-wallet solutions in Brazil after hooking up with PayPal. Last year in Brazil, digital wallets were the third most used payment method for e-commerce purchases, according to Americas Market Intelligence.
Finally, authentication expert Regula has partnered with Liechtenstein Cryptoassets Exchange (LCX).
In particular, LCX will be utilising Regula’s digital forensic technology to comply with know-your-customer requirements under the Due Diligence Act (DDA) Liechtenstein.
Funding, mergers & industry updates
Cloud-native clearing bank ClearBank, in partnership with business bank Tide, has been awarded £25million from the RBS Alternative Remedies Package. Tide says it is thankful that the BCR has granted ‘the opportunity to create a genuine alternative to the oligopoly that has dominated the UK SME market for too long’.
The Tel-Aviv Stock Exchange hopes to attract high-tech and fintech entities following the launch of a new data system. The API-based TASE Data Hub offers daily data, end-of-day data and historical data, using customised parameters.
Syfe, the Singapore-based digital wealth manager, has raised SG$25.2million in a Series A funding round led by fintech-focused investment firm Valar Ventures. With customers across 23 countries, Syfe says it will use the funding to enter new markets as well as develop new products and services.
Next, Paya, the integrated payment provider, is to acquire The Payment Group (TPG). In addition to investing in TPG’s sales efforts, Paya will integrate TPG’s online billing and software applications into its end-to-end payments platform.
While Intel Capital says it has chosen to invest in Israeli startup EasySend because of its intelligent and impactful approach to accelerating digital transformation. EasySend has built a no-code platform for insurance companies.
Uncapped, the revenue-based finance startup, has set its sights on rapid European expansion after investment. Mouro Capital, the successor fund of fintech-specialist Santander InnoVentures, has led a $26million financing round in Uncapped.
Launches
Making digital payments available to all South Africans is the aim of the ‘Ozow Revolution‘. As part of this ‘visionary effort’ Ozow has also unveiled two new online payments solutions to its platform.
Fintech TotallyMoney has unveiled a new app-only feature that uses credit report data to highlight borrowing blindspots. Credit Assistant scans a customer’s credit data and presents them with an overview of their borrowing.
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