Digital banking solutions provider Alkami Technology has teamed up with Ohio-based credit union, Kemba Credit Union. Via the partnership, the financial institution will launch a new digital banking solution for its retail and business members. One of Finovate’s earliest alums, Texas-based Alkami Technology made its Finovate debut as iThryv in 2009. Digital banking solutions provider Alkami Technology announced a partnership with Cincinnati, Ohio-based Kemba Credit Union. The institution, founded in 1934, will leverage its relationship with Alkami to launch a new digital banking solution for its retail and business members. The fintech’s digital banking platform will give Kemba Credit Union members intuitive self-service tools, advanced fraud prevention, and a highly personalized experience. “Kemba’s successful launch and transition to the Alkami Platform is indicative of a strong partnership to come and we look forward to providing their retail and business members with exceptional digital banking resources,” Alkami VP of Client Experience Group Services, Shannon Marshburn said. The new platform will empower Kemba Credit Union to boost growth in deposit accounts, create new cross-sell opportunities, and foster greater loyalty. In addition to the platform itself, the credit union will benefit from access to Alkami’s software development kit (SDK) and APIs to further customize its digital banking platform to meet member needs and ensure connectivity to functionality throughout the fintech ecosystem. “We pride ourselves in providing our members with a high-quality, personalized banking experience that will further our mission to enrich their financial lives,” Kemba Credit Union President and CEO Dan Sutton said. “By partnering with Alkami, we are thrilled to expand that experience through a new digital platform. The launch and implementation of Alkami’s Platform exceeded our expectations, and we are impressed with the speed, look, and feel of the mobile application.” Kemba Credit Union serves more than 130,000 members in Southwest Ohio, Southeast Indiana, and Northern Kentucky. The institution transitioned to a new online and mobile banking platform earlier this year, and recently announced that it was offering the Ohio Homebuyer Plus Program. This program offers a specialized tax-advantaged savings account with above-market interest rates to support Ohioans looking to purchase a home. Named to Cincinnati.com/The Enquirer’s Top Work Places roster for the past six years in a row, Kemba Credit Union has more than $1.7 billion in assets. Alkami Technology made its Finovate debut in 2009 as iThryv. In the years since then, the Texas-based fintech has helped more than 800 financial institutions transform their digital banking offerings to meet growth goals, optimize the customer and member experience, and ensure regulatory compliance. Firms using Alkami’s banking platform for at least five years have experienced 25% higher loan growth, 19% higher revenue growth, and 11% higher core deposit growth relative to their peers. Earlier this month, Alkami announced that it had been listed as the top digital banking provider to the credit union market based on the total number of enrolled mobile users. The recognition comes courtesy of FI Navigator, a U.S. banking vertical data and analytics company. The announcement follows news that Alkami was named “Best Banking App” in October in Tearsheet’s The Big Bank Theory Awards. In October, Alkami teamed up a pair of regional financial institutions: Connecticut-based Nutmeg State Financial Credit Union and Montana-based Intrepid Credit Union. Photo by Dave Morgan The post Alkami Teams Up with Kemba Credit Union appeared first on Finovate.       

The last couple of weeks have been full of merger and acquisitions. Will fintech continue its M&A streak this week? Stay tuned to find out. We’ll be adding the latest fintech news throughout the week as the space evolves. Payments Tencent partners with Visa to bring palm payment to Singapore. UBS pilots new blockchain-powered payment system. Open banking American Express and MX announce customer-permissioned data sharing agreement. Business management tools Procure-to-pay platform Vroozi appoints Dave Norton as President. Photo by Vlada Karpovich The post Fintech Rundown: A Rapid Review of Weekly News appeared first on Finovate.       

BNZ has acquired open banking payments company BlinkPay to enhance its focus on real-time, bank-to-bank payment solutions across New Zealand. Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. BlinkPay will maintain its original leadership and culture, with company Co-founder Adrian Smith appointed as CEO. BNZ announced today it has acquired fellow New Zealander BlinkPay, an open banking focused payments company. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Under the agreement, BlinkPay Co-founder Adrian Smith will become the fintech’s CEO. BlinkPay will retain its original leadership and culture. “As a Māori-led business, we bring a unique perspective to financial innovation. BNZ understands and values this – and they’re backing our vision while enabling us to retain our startup DNA,” said Smith. “Our kaupapa [strategy] has always been about making financial services work better for all New Zealanders. BNZ’s support gives us the resources to accelerate our mission and help grow the open banking ecosystem across Aotearoa [New Zealand].” BlinkPay was founded in 2016 to offer seamless, secure, and instant bank-to-bank transfers by leveraging open banking. The company helps businesses provide their own customers with a more efficient way to make payments directly from their bank accounts. BlinkPay’s platform connects with major New Zealand banks via APIs that support real-time payments without the need for credit cards or other intermediaries. With 250,000 customers, BNZ was an early leader in open banking. The bank first implemented open banking principles in 2018. Bank CEO Dan Huggins anticipates today’s investment will further BNZ’s open banking reputation and expertise. “This represents the next phase in our journey,” said Huggins. “With BNZ supporting BlinkPay’s innovation and agility, we can accelerate the development of new products and services that will benefit all New Zealanders. We’re proud to be investing in a team that has proven their ability to innovate and deliver.” Working together, BNZ and BlinkPay will create new open banking capabilities to improve the customer experience for both retail and commercial banks across New Zealand. Photo by Suzy Hazelwood The post BNZ Snaps Up Open Banking Fintech BlinkPay appeared first on Finovate.       

This week’s edition of Finovate Global showcases fintech innovation in Indonesia. Thought Machine helps modernize Islamic finance Core banking and payments technology company Thought Machine has partnered with BCA Syariah to bring digital, Sharia-compliant financial products and services to its customers. The bank, a subsidiary of Bank Central Asia (BCA), has deployed Thought Machine’s core banking platform, Vault Core, which has enabled the institution to launch a number of new solutions. These offerings include Wadiah savings, a top-up e-wallet, and an online service Hajj Fee deposits. BCA Syariah also plans to launch term deposit products and gold financing “soon.” “(Vault Core’s) Universal Product Engine allows us to create Sharia-compliant products with precision and swift responsiveness to evolving customer needs,” BCA Syariah Director Lukman Hadiwidjaja said. “Our successful go-live marks an important milestone in our mission to contribute significantly to the development of Sharia banking in Indonesia.” Thought Machine’s Universal Product Engine features out-of-the-box Sharia-compliant products, enabling institutions to develop and customize a broad range of integrated financial solutions on a unified platform. In operation since 2010 and headquartered in Jakarta, Indonesia, BCA Syariah was named “Best Performing Sharia Bank in 2024” at the 13th Infobank Sharia Awards in October. “BCA Syariah has demonstrated exceptional foresight in leveraging modern technology for enhanced user experiences,” Thought Machine CEO and Founder Paul Taylor said. “This milestone underscores our unwavering commitment to empowering financial institutions to innovate, grow, and outperform in their markets.” Founded in 2014 and headquartered in London, Thought Machine made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2018. At the event, the company demonstrated its Vault core banking product, which today is used by institutions ranging from global Tier 1 clients such as Standard Chartered and Lloyds Banking Group to fintechs and challenger banks like Trust Bank and Atom Bank. Finfra brings embedded lending technology to SMEs Lending-as-a-Service infrastructure company Finfra is bringing embedded lending solutions to SMEs in Indonesia courtesy of a new investment and a new partnership. The investment is a $2.5 million fundraising led by Cento Ventures and featuring participation from Accion Venture Lab, Z Venture Capital, and Avafin founder Matiss Ansviesulis. In a statement on LinkedIn Finfra CEO Markus Prommik, thanked his team and the company’s shareholders for their support and “for believing in this mission.” Finfra also announced a new strategic partnership with Tyme which will bring the company’s embedded lending infrastructure to India. This, according to Prommik, will “unlock new opportunities for SMEs to access finance and drive meaningful impact. This partnership is more than a business collaboration; it’s a validation of our vision for Finfra and the future of lending!” Founded in 2022 and headquartered in Singapore, Finfra enables technology companies to seamlessly embed financial services — from application to decisioning to operations — into their platforms. Finfra offers invoice, payroll, and working capital financing, as well as healthcare financing to give patients an alternative way to pay for medical procedures. The company’s technology has disbursed more than 325,000 loans to date, valued at more than $50 million. Prommik noted in his statement that Finfra has doubled its gross profit year-over-year, as well as its client base. Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world. Sub-Saharan Africa Konsentus forged a collaboration with the Bank of Namibia to support the bank’s open banking initiatives. Visa announced strategic investments in four African startup graduates of its Visa Africa Fintech Accelerator program. Techpoint Africa interviewed a handful of VC investors on which areas in African fintech are growing fastest. Central and Eastern Europe German fintech MODIFI raised $15 million in funding in a round led by SMBC Asia Rising Fund. Brokerage-as-a-Service fintech DriveWealth secured a brokerage license from the Bank of Lithuania. Borse Stuttgart Digital turned to Fenergo to scale compliant crypto solutions across Europe. Middle East and Northern Africa International money movement firm TerraPay teamed up with Suyool to enhance financial accessibility in Lebanon. Mastercard partnered with Arab Regional Payment System, Buna, to reduce friction in cross-border payments. Open API banking solutions company Codebase Technologies and AI-based identity verification specialist IDWise announced a collaboration to help banks in the MENA region fight financial crime. Central and Southern Asia TBC Uzbekistan announced the soft launch of its new debit card offering, Salom card. The State Bank of India (SBI) partnered with Singapore-based fintech APIX to launch its SBI Innovation Hub. Nepal Clearing House Limited (NCHL) teamed up with Ant International to launch a new cross-border payment capability. Latin America and the Caribbean Peru-based fintech B89 partnered with Brazil’s PagBrasil in an effort to bring Pix to countries in Latin America outside of Brazil. Mexican fintech Klar is planning for an IPO in 2026. Uruguayan cross-border payments platform dLocal teamed up with low-cost airline Viva Aerobus. Asia-Pacific South Korean FX solutions provider SentBe implemented Visa Direct’s card transfer service. Nium fortified its partnership with Kinexys by J.P. Morgan to enhance cross-border payments in Malaysia, Thailand, and Hong Kong. Bank of New Zealand has acquired New Zealand-based open banking fintech BlinkPay. Photo by Tom Fisk The post Finovate Global Indonesia: Sharia-Compliant Banking and the Rise of Lending-as-a-Service appeared first on Finovate.       

Nium has partnered with Partior, a blockchain-based fintech for clearing and settlement. Through the partnership, banks can use Partior’s network to access Nium’s global payments infrastructure without needing additional API integration, offering seamless real-time transactions. The move makes Nium the first payment service provider to join Partior’s blockchain-based network, enabling real-time cross-border payments, clearing, and settlement across 100+ markets. Global payments platform Nium announced today that it has partnered with blockchain-based fintech for clearing and settlement Partior. The move makes Nium the first payment service provider to join the Partior network.  Under the partnership, banks will be able to leverage Partior’s network to connect with Nium to conduct real-time payouts, clearing, and settlement to over 100 markets worldwide any day of the week. Banks will not need additional API integration to work with Nium, since it seamlessly integrates with existing systems to provide instant access to Nium’s cross-border payments network. Co-headquartered in San Francisco and Singapore, Nium was founded in 2015 to provide banks, payment vendors, and businesses with access to payment and card issuance services. The company’s global infrastructure for real-time cross-border payments supports 100 currencies across 220+ markets. With regulatory licenses and authorizations in more than 40 countries, Nium offers card issuance services in 34 countries. Not only will today’s partnership with Partior help Nium facilitate global transactions, it will also support new services, including intra-day FX swaps, cross-currency repos, programmable enterprise liquidity management, and Just-in-Time multi-bank payments for banks across the globe. “Nium’s partnership with Partior brings us closer to becoming the most connected payments network globally. By integrating with advanced networks, such as Partior, we are ensuring that financial institutions can quickly and easily access our real-time payments infrastructure without the need for complex technical integrations,” said Nium Chief Payments Officer Alexandra Johnson. “Recognizing how resource-constrained financial institutions are, we’re eliminating barriers to using our network and increasing interoperability to deliver on our mission of having seamless and streamlined real-time payments to anyone, anywhere.” Founded in 2021, Partior uses blockchain and distributed ledger technology to streamline digital payments, making them faster, more reliable, and secure. By leveraging the blockchain, Partior eliminates the need for manual reconciliation and account pre-funding, allowing financial institutions to access capital more efficiently and reduce operational overhead. The company’s network supports seamless, real-time clearing and settlement, empowering banks to optimize liquidity and enhance cross-border payment flows. “Partnering with Nium marks a significant step in our journey to further advance the global payments landscape,” said Partior CEO Humphrey Valenbreder. “By combining Partior’s real-time blockchain settlement network with Nium’s vast global reach, we’re empowering financial institutions to break down long-standing barriers. Imagine a world where cross-border payments are instantaneous, transparent, and accessible to all. This is the future we’re building together.” The demand for real-time payments is surging across the globe as both consumers and businesses increasingly expect instant access to funds. This boost is driven by regulatory support, the launch of FedNow in the U.S., the increased adoption of enabling technologies such as stablecoins, and rising global commerce. As more players add real-time payments, they will soon become tablestakes across the globe. Photo by Shubham Dhage on Unsplash The post Partior Connects to Nium’s Real-Time Payments Infrastructure appeared first on Finovate.       

From the continued relevance of paper checks to the rapid growth of digital technology, payments continues to be one of the most fascinating — and important — areas in fintech. In this week’s Streamly interview, William Mills, CEO of the William Mills Agency, talks with Kevin Brown, CMO and Head of Corporate Development for Onbe. The two men discuss a variety of key issues in the payments world, including the potential for AI to revolutionize payment systems and the future of cross-border payments. “One of the very prevalent modalities, or payment instruments, that still exist are paper-based checks. We did research with the team at Oliver Wyman and, in 2023, there were still 1.7 trillion dollars of paper check or cash-based B2C payments. A huge amount of paper that’s out there. Checks are dated, not a great customer experience, require action on behalf of the consumer and they’re really expensive to corporate clients … As an industry, we have a huge opportunity to still alleviate a significant amount of pain, both for the ultimate enterprises and then their consumers and recipients, just by the doing away of paper checks.” Onbe manages and modernizes consumer and workforce disbursements for corporate customers. The company’s technology platform powers a suite of turnkey managed disbursement solutions that enable its customers to outsource their entire B2C disbursement operations. Headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, Onbe was founded in 1996. Bala Janakiraman Iyer is CEO. In his role at Onbe, Kevin Brown leads marketing, corporate development, business development, and communications. A fintech and payments operator with experience at both public and private equity-backed businesses, Brown is a graduate of Marist College (BA) and Pace University (MBA). Photo by Nubia Navarro (nubikini) The post Streamly Snapshot: Revolutionizing Cross-Border Payments — The Next Frontier appeared first on Finovate.       

U.K.-based financial planning and advice platform Dynamic Planner has teamed up with Salesforce. The partnership will make Dynamic Planner available on the Salesforce AppExchange and is the company’s second CRM partnership in as many months. Dynamic Planner made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2022 in London. Risk-based financial planning system Dynamic Planner has announced a new partnership with Salesforce. Now launched on the Salesforce AppExchange, Dynamic Planner will give Salesforce customers access to an enhanced and engaging digital financial planning experience. “This collaboration provides financial planning and wealth management firms who use Salesforce with the ability to underpin their entire financial planning process with Dynamic Planner,” company Chief Revenue Officer Yasmina Siadatan said. “It will boost productivity gains and efficiencies, whilst delivering seamless and engaging wealth and financial planning for Salesforce customers. We look forward to working with Salesforce to provide an enhanced experience for firms.” Founded in 2004, Dynamic Planner offers a digital financial planning and advice platform that helps investment advice firms scale their businesses, boost capacity, and better engage clients with mapped investment solutions and digital experiences. Dynamic Planner enables advisers to profile clients, conduct annual reviews, and perform cash flow planning with increased efficiency and speed. The company notes that 80% of annual reviews conducted via Dynamic Planner are completed in 35 minutes or less, with 20% of these reviews completed in less than five minutes. More than 40% of U.K. investment advice firms and more than 150 asset managers use Dynamic Planner’s technology. Dynamic Planner’s partnership with Salesforce comes a month after the platform announced a CRM integration with Adviser Cloud. The new integration will make it easier for advisers to transfer client records efficiently and securely between Dynamic Planner and Adviser Cloud, saving time and lowering the risk of manual errors during rekeying of information. Integrations such as these are an important way to boost efficiency and lower operational costs for financial planning firms and their client. “Adviser Cloud has always focused on providing intuitive, user-friendly software for financial advisers, and this integration continues that mission by eliminating data rekeying and enhancing workflows,” Adviser Cloud Tech Lead Ewan Humphreys said. Headquartered in the U.K., Dynamic Planner made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2022. At the conference, the company demonstrated its end-to-end, risk-based financial planning system that combines intuitive technology with a trusted, independent asset risk model. Dynamic Planner uses more than 2,400 covariance correlations to accurately assess the risk of tens of thousands of investments and client portfolios every day. Ben Goss is CEO. Photo by Tirachard Kumtanom The post Dynamic Planner Partners with Salesforce appeared first on Finovate.       

Crypto.com’s new functionality, new partnership, and plans for the new year Recently crowned the king of North American crypto trading, Crypto.com announced this week that it launched a new partnership with payments acceptance provider Ingenico. The partnership will enable users of Ingenico’s platform globally to accept payments in cryptocurrency. Consumers will benefit from earning rewards for transactions via Crypto.com’s Crypto.com Pay; merchants will benefit from being able to manage payments and services via both mobile and tablet devices. Also this week, Crypto.com announced that it would expand its offering to include banking services, credit cards, and stock trading. Additionally, the company unveiled its new rewards program, Level Up, that enables customers to access benefits across multiple products — credit cards, stock trading, and banking services — through partner banks. Level Up offers a flexible rewards structure that enables users to secure benefits across a range of different products in the Crypto.com ecosystem. “This product expansion represents our most aggressive push across traditional and digital finance and brings users to one simple app for industry-leading benefits through Level Up,” Crypto.com President and COO Eric Anziani said. Finishing 2024 on a busy note, Crypto.com is already eyeing the new year. The Singapore-based fintech announced this week that it is planning to expand its crypto offerings in 2025 to include both a stablecoin and an exchange-traded fund (ETF) product. Traditional financial products such as stock trading and banking are also top of the 2025 agenda for the company, as noted above. Crypto.com has put a date of Q1 2025 for the launch of its banking product services. The firm also plans to expand its debit card services in Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa in Q4 of this year, and to launch credit cards in the U.S. and South Korea by Q2 of next year. Boerse Stuttgart Digital partners with Fenergo European cryptocurrency and digital asset infrastructure provider Boerse Stuttgart Digital has teamed up with KYC, client lifecycle management, and transaction monitoring solutions provider Fenergo to speed the onboarding of financial institutions that are looking to launch their own cryptocurrency offerings. “Fenergo’s client lifecycle management solution, validated by the world’s largest financial institutions, will allow Boerse Stuttgart Digital to future-proof its solutions against regulatory change,” Fenergo Managing Director EMEA Ruth Ormsby said. “With this level of compliance automation, Boerse Stuttgart Digital can onboard banks, brokers, and asset managers seeking to unlock crypto trading faster, thus accelerating growth.” The partnership between Fenergo and Boerse Stuttgart Digital will speed the onboarding of banks, brokers, and asset managers ready to launch their own cryptocurrency and digital asset offerings. Integrating Fenergo will streamline Boerse Stuttgart Digital’s underlying compliance processes for both Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML). This will enable financial institutions working with Boerse Stuttgart Digital to offer secure and reliable crypto trading and custody services to their customers. “In the race to realize their own crypto offerings, financial institutions require efficient trading and custody solutions without compromising on regulatory compliance,” Boerse Stuttgart Digital Chief Digital & Product Officer Ulli Spankowski said. “Our partnership empowers banks, brokers, and asset managers to enter the crypto market, backed by infrastructure that ensures scalability, security, and full regulatory compliance.” Headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, Fenergo made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2012 in London. BitPay launches new cryptocurrency payout service Payments company BitPay unveiled a new service late last week that will enable companies to pay employees, contractors, customers, and vendors in crypto. The service, BitPay Send, is especially designed for international and gig economy companies that need to pay multiple recipients online at the same time. Companies are not required to buy, own, or manage cryptocurrencies themselves, and payout recipients receive their payments more efficiently and at less cost, according to BitPay CEO Stephen Pair. “Blockchain payment adoption is growing because it offers an easy way to send and receive payments on a global scale,” Pair said. BitPay Send can be used for a number of different payment operations including payroll, customer cash-outs, contractor payments, rewards, and settlements with marketplace sellers. The new offering also puts the firm in a position to compete with other crypto payroll services such as BitWage. Swift, UBS, and Chainlink conclude blockchain pilot That’s a wrap! Swift, UBS Asset Management, and Chainlink announced this week that they have successfully completed a pilot project that involved settling tokenized fund subscriptions and redemptions using the Swift network. The goal of the project is to enable digital asset transactions to settle with fiat payment systems across 11,500+ financial institutions in more than 200 countries and territories. The pilot project builds on an initiative by UBS Asset Management and SBI Digital Markets to develop a digital subscription and redemption system for tokenized funds. This is often an inefficient aspect of traditional fund operations that is typically burdened by manual interventions, delayed settlements, and the absence of real-time transparency. The pilot demonstrated how blockchain technology can be used to settle subscriptions and redemptions for tokenized investment fund vehicles, paving the way for straight-through-processing of the payment component without requiring global adoption of an on-chain form of payment. The project was also undertaken as part of Project Guardian, a cooperation between policy makers and industry players to enhance financial market efficiency and liquidity via asset tokenization. Project Guardian is sponsored by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). “For digital assets to be adopted globally, they must seamlessly integrate with both existing payment systems and digital currencies,” Swift Head of Strategy Jonathan Ehrenfeld said. “Our work with UBS Asset Management and Chainlink in MAS’ Project Guardian leverages the global Swift network to bridge digital assets with established systems.” Commercial Bank International inks MoU with Zumo Commercial Bank International, a financial institution based in the UAE, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with U.K.-based digital assets platform Zumo. The goal of the partnership is to investigate the tracking of digital asset sustainability and comes as the UAE makes a bid to be seen as the leading international hub for digital assets and innovation. “Our collaboration with CBI will see Zumo’s pioneering digital assets and blockchain technology complement CBI’s financial expertise and innovative approach to drive sustainability,” Zumo COO Clark Povey said. “Zumo solves the biggest challenges in digital assets for financial institutions by providing business-critical technologies to navigate the rapidly evolving digital asset landscape, and with Zumo’s technology and leadership in sustainability to digital assets, the exciting journey ahead is just beginning.” Crypto-as-a-service platform Zumo provides banks, fintechs, and financial services companies with the infrastructure they need to launch sustainable digital asset products. The company is a pioneer in sustainability and crypto assets, developing research and solutions to enable the crypto market to move closer to net zero. Registered with the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), Zumo has secured public funding to build and launch a solution to help cryptocurrency companies measure, mitigate, and report on their carbon footprint. Founded in 2017, Zumo helped establish an industry standard with the release of its MiCA-compliant sustainability module in September. Photo by RDNE Stock project The post 5 Tales from the Crypto: Partnerships, Payments, and Blockchain Pilot Projects appeared first on Finovate.       

Alternative lending platform LendSaaS now integrates Ocrolus’ AI-powered document automation and fraud detection. Through the partnership, LendSaaS customers gain access to Ocrolus’ automated document review, including bank statement analysis, which helps lenders make faster, more confident funding decisions. The integration with Ocrolus will allow LendSaaS clients to more efficiently leverage data in everything from processing lending applications to accelerating loan origination and facilitating servicing processes. Alternative lending origination and servicing software provider LendSaaS has teamed up with AI-powered document automation and analysis company Ocrolus this week. The strategic partnership will offer LendSaaS customers access to Ocrolus’ industry-leading document analysis, cash flow analytics, and fraud detection directly through the LendSaaS platform. “LendSaaS is one of the leading platforms in MCA origination and servicing,” said Ocrolus CEO Sam Bobley. “Thanks to our new partnership, Ocrolus is now an embedded integration available within LendSaaS, allowing customers to achieve end-to-end automation.” LendSaaS helps lending businesses succeed by offering tools to support everything from loan origination to servicing. The New York-based company offers daily collections through ACH and credit card processors, public data and credit searching, as well as merchant interviews for underwriting, detailed reporting, daily collections, and more. Founded in 2014, LendSaaS has funded $6 billion and processes more than $16 million in average daily ACH volume. New York-based Ocrolus leverages AI to capture and analyze data from 1,000 different types of documents and digital forms. The company counts more than 400 clients, including Enova, PayPal, Brex, CrossCountry Mortgage, Plaid, and SoFi, who use the solution to detect fraud, analyze cash flows and income, and streamline decisions. Under today’s partnership, LendSaaS customers will have access to Ocrolus’ technology that will enable them to automate all tasks, such as reviewing documents, including reviewing bank statements and processing independent sales organization (ISO) applications. LendSaaS expects the move will help its customers more efficiently offer businesses with capital. “Businesses seeking working capital often opt for the first offer they receive. To compete in this fast-paced market, our customers need to be able to make quick and confident financial decisions,” said LendSaaS Owner and Founder Josh Carcione. “By partnering with Ocrolus, we’re working to eliminate the need for manual document review by providing digital access to high-quality data so our customers can get a competitive edge through quick, confident financial decision making.” Photo by Agence Olloweb on Unsplash The post LendSaaS Taps Ocrolus for AI-Driven Document Analysis appeared first on Finovate.       

API platform Speakeasy has secured $15 million in Series A funding. The company will use the capital to expand its product offerings, accelerate its roadmap, and hire additional talent. Headquartered in San Francisco, California. Speakeasy made its Finovate debut at FinovateFall in New York this year, In a round led by FPV Ventures, API platform Speakeasy has raised $15 million in Series A funding. Also participating in the investment were Google Ventures (GV) and Quiet Capital. Speakeasy noted that it plans to use the funding to expand its product offerings, accelerate its roadmap, and grow its team. “Building a really great … modern API is very much undervalued and underestimated at companies,” Speakeasy CEO Sagar Batchu said in a statement on LinkedIn. “Everyone wants to be Stripe or Twilio or GitHub in terms of quality, but to get to that status … takes huge amounts of effort.” Founded in 2022, Speakeasy offers an API platform designed to give developers the tools they need to build quality, reliable APIs. Concerned over the fact that growing API use among businesses was outpacing the ability of developers to provide them, Speakeasy looks to close the gap with a platform that handles the more cumbersome aspects of API development, freeing developers to focus on higher-order tasks like refining business logic. Developers can use their favorite API framework to build APIs, and Speakeasy will help ensure APIs adhere to both industry and internal best practices. Speakeasy’s platform automates API testing to avoid shipping unintentional breaking changes, and also automatically generates the SDKs to make API integration easier. “The Speakeasy team’s past experience building enterprise APIs has given them profound insight into, and empathy for, the struggles engineering teams are facing,” FPV Ventures Managing Partner Wesley Chan said. “They are building a platform that will not only address existing inefficiencies in API development but anticipates future challenges in the ecosystem.” Speakeasy made its Finovate debut at FinovateFall 2024 in New York. At the conference, the company demonstrated how its technology enables financial institutions to build robust, well-managed, easy-to-use APIs. With Speakeasy’s API platform, technology teams can automate the creation and maintenance of API documentation and client SDKs that facilitate rapid and seamless API integration. Customers using the platform have been able to boost API user adoption, reduce time-to-integration, and save significant engineering costs. In 2024, Speakeasy noted that nearly 3,000 users have generated 7,250 SDKs. Headquartered in San Francisco, California, Speakeasy includes fellow Finovate alums Apex Fintech Solutions and Apiture, as well as API companies Kong, Codat, and Shippo, among its customers. Photo by mali maeder The post API Platform Speakeasy Raises $15 Million in Series A Funding appeared first on Finovate.       

Global bank Standard Chartered unveiled this week that it has teamed up with cross-border payments fintech Wise (formerly TransferWise). The bank has selected Wise Platform, Wise’s global payments infrastructure for banks, to power international payments for SC Remit, Standard Chartered’s cross-border payment service. Wise will facilitate fund transfers for SC Remit customers in Asia and the Middle East. Users will be able to send money in 21 currencies– including USD, CAD, EUR, GBP, SGD, HKD, and JPY. Wise will send the funds in seconds using its transparent, low-fee pricing model. “We’re continually improving how we deliver exceptional banking experiences for our clients,” said Standard Chartered Global Head, Wealth Solutions, Deposits and Mortgages, and Chief Client Officer Samir Subberwal. “We chose to partner with Wise Platform due to their extensive currency coverage and stellar cross-border payments experience they are known for. This collaboration is a key step in enhancing our international payment services as we offer an even more seamless, faster, and efficient digital global payments experience to our clients.” Standard Chartered said that the service will be available for SC Remit customers “in the coming quarters.” The bank also plans to expand the service to include more currencies, as well as into more markets. Wise has been facilitating cross-border money transfers since it was founded in 2011. Today, in addition to its transparent, direct-to-consumer money transfer capabilities, Wise also offers a multi-currency account that allows users to save and hold funds in 50 different currencies, and send and receive money in 22 currencies. Wise holds more than 65 payment licenses, as well as six direct connections to payment systems. Wise Platform, the infrastructure that Standard Chartered is leveraging, offers an API that allows banks and fintechs to embed cross-border payments capabilities into their existing website or app, allowing their customers to transfer 40+ currencies in 160+ countries. The majority (63%) of Wise’s cross-border payments are completed in under 20 seconds, while 95% take less than 24 hours. The U.K.-based company processes $154 billion (£118 billion) annually. Among Wise Platform’s customers are Monzo, N26, deel, and Shinhan Bank. The topic of cross-border payments has accelerated in recent months, with traditional financial institutions and fintechs recognizing the need to compete by offering low-cost, rapid transactions across the globe. The rise of e-commerce, combined with new needs to pay remote workers, has led to a refreshed demand for cheaper, faster international payments. Today’s digital world has prompted consumers and businesses to expect speed and transparency when transacting, and banks are under new pressure to modernize their cross-border payment services to meet those needs. Another factor that has brought cross-border transactions into the spotlight this year is the rise in stablecoin usage. As stablecoins become more mainstream and integrated into traditional payments infrastructure, they offer an international funds transfer solution that combines speed, cost-effectiveness, and digital accessibility. Wise, however, currently does not use stablecoins and has not implemented blockchain technology into its operations. Instead, Wise has established a highly efficient, transparent, and compliant platform that meets compliance standards worldwide. It is unlikely that Wise will seek to leverage stablecoins any time soon, though, as adding stablecoins to its strategy could introduce new regulatory and operational complexities, which could potentially outweigh any benefits. Photo courtesy Standard Chartered       

Melio raised $150 million in a Series E round led by Fiserv. Today’s round values the accounts payable and receivable platform at $2 billion. The company’s 10x revenue growth over the past three years reflects its expansion into medium-sized businesses and new partnerships, significantly broadening its customer base. Melio and Fiserv initially began working together in 2023, when the two launched a combined solution called CashFlow Central. Accounts payable and receivable platform Melio has landed $150 million in a strategic Series E round led by Fiserv. The investment, which brings the company’s total raised to $654 million, also saw strategic contributions from Shopify Ventures and Capital One Ventures, which are expected to boost Melio’s partnerships. Accel, Bessemer, Coatue, Frontline Ventures, General Catalyst, Latitude, and Thrive Capital also contributed. Notably, today’s round values Melio at $2 billion. This comes as the New York-based company saw a 10x increase in revenue in the past three years. This growth was fueled by Melio’s move to add medium-sized businesses (SMBs) to its customer base, as well as its addition of new partners. Melio and Fiserv initially began working together in 2023 in a partnership that combined Melio’s accounts payable and receivable workflows with Fiserv’s payment capabilities and biller and merchant network. The combined solution, called CashFlow Central, allows Fiserv’s 3,500+ financial institution clients to help their SMB customers manage their payment operations and cash flow needs. “Through our partnership with Melio, CashFlow Central is designed to create significant value for financial institutions and their business clients or members,” said Fiserv Head of Financial Institutions Group John Gibbons. “We are excited to leverage our unique position at the intersection of financial institutions and businesses to deliver a comprehensive, integrated experience that enables our clients to compete and grow their portfolios with this important segment of their communities.” Melio was founded in 2018 with the mission to empower small businesses and their accountants by enhancing cash flow and streamlining payment operations. The company’s platform simplifies both accounts receivable and accounts payable processes. It allows businesses to manage payments and invoices. Melio integrates with QuickBooks, Xero, and Amazon Business to enable features such as ACH transfers, automated bill payments, and the creation of virtual payment cards. Integrating with a business’ existing accounting tool not only reduces their administrative burden, but it also provides them with greater control, visibility, and flexibility over their finances. “We’re proud to witness our embedded solution helping our partners better service their business clients, leading to increased deposits, higher engagement and creating new revenue streams,” said Melio CEO and co-founder Matan Bar. Photo by David Becker on Unsplash       

74 hours, 52,012 steps, 6 cups of coffee, 8 selfies, and one unforgettable experience. I am, of course, talking about Money20/20, the mega fintech and banking event that has been taking place in Las Vegas since 2012. With over 10,000 attendees and 300+ vendors, this year’s U.S. event was just as brilliant as in years past. Themes Money20/20 is a choose your own adventure type of show, with six stages and two podcast recording studios that each host a range of rotating content throughout the course of four days. Given the wide variety of content available, it was hard to see everything. However, there are three major themes that stand out as highlights: open banking, AI, and the evolution of the payments experience. Open banking Open banking– specifically the recently released Section 1033 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act– was one of the hottest topics of the show. The majority of people on the networking floor I spoke with had not read the entire, 594-page ruling. However, everyone seemed to agree that the scope of 1033 extends far beyond simple account switching capabilities. Panel discussions surrounding the rule also tended to agree that the purpose of the rule is data ownership, and not necessarily data portability. AI The topic of AI pulsed throughout almost all on-stage conversations, and was very visible in sponsor pitches on the exhibit hall floor. Money20/20 even featured its own AI bot named Aiana who interacted with the MC on one particular stage. At times, Aiana’s conversation with the MC seemed to be quite coherent and relevant, but the bot occasionally missed the mark. Perhaps the thing about the AI discussions that surprised me the most was that it was rarely the main feature of a discussion. Instead, conversations tended to pose AI more as a technological enhancement to current offerings, rather than featuring it as the main technology that firms should focus on. This shift gives me some hope that we have moved past talking about the hype of AI and into thinking of it as an enabling technology. Payments Payments was a huge focus for multiple on-stage discussions at the show. Among the hottest topics were cross-border payments, stablecoins, and instant payments. What was missing from many conversations that I saw in this realm, however, were discussions of the impact of fraud and regulation. I think this may have been because many speakers on stage represented larger firms or fintechs in the payments space who wanted to get a more positive message across without bringing up the topic of risk. AI Adoption Index In addition to these on-stage themes, I was able to review data published in Money2020’s very first AI Adoption Index report, All in on AI: Financial Services Adoption Index 2024. Produced in conjunction with Acrew Capital, the index surveys 221 leading financial institutions and combines that with data about all publicly announced AI initiatives since the start of 2023. Here are some of the top highlights: 76% of companies indicated they have announced an AI initiative 46% of companies have announced GenAI initiatives Out of all initiatives, 57% are put in place to generate revenue, while 43% aim to reduce costs Public companies announced 40% more initiatives compared to private companies Block, Intuit, JP Morgan, Chime, and Stripe account for 15% of the total AI initiatives 51% of companies surveyed have built AI into their core customer-facing product. This figure does not include AI usage in a CRM setting. Conversations As always, the highlight of the event was the people. After working in this space for 15 years, I’ve found a diverse network that fosters community and works to build each other up. During last week’s event, I met Finnovator Founder Michelle Beyo, who discussed the benefits of personal data ownership; caught up with Sam Maule, who talked about the downsides of pay-by-bank (and was forced into yet another conversation about Walmart); Tiffani Montez, who explained why open banking is far superior to ye olde account aggregation; as well as multiple others who added depth and color to the topics being discussed. Experience highlights Money20/20 is now part of a newly launched Informa division called Informa Festivals, and the conference fits this description quite nicely. There are multiple elements of the conference that are all about the experience. And while not all of them are officially sanctioned by Money20/20, each element comes together to craft an amazing conference experience. Throughout the event venue there were multiple photo opportunities, including a talking selfie wall that lit up, greeted conference goers, and invited them to get their picture taken. Then there was the connection wall, where attendees could scan their badges in conjunction with others, see their names projected onto a wall, and receive a Money20/20 branded coin that they could use to exchange in a merchandise store. There was also a video studio where the conference recorded a video of attendees in front of an animated “honey wall,” complete with a live beekeeper who danced at the end (yes, you kind of had to be there for that one). Outside of the event, I enjoyed a morning of yoga sponsored by Mesa, Visa, and JP Morgan; a women in fintech happy hour event (complete with a Dolly Pardon impersonator) sponsored by Alloy; and a Halloween-themed happy hour with costumes and Beetlejuice selfies sponsored by SentiLink. Thanks to everyone for putting on such great events, and a huge thank you to Money20/20 for hosting me!       

Digital relationship banking innovator Agent IQ has teamed up with digital banking solutions provider Narmi. The partnership will integrate Agent IQ’s Lynq banking platform with Narmi’s digital banking solutions to enable community banks and credit unions to offer enhanced, more personalized services. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, Agent IQ most recently demoed its technology at FinovateFall 2022 in New York. A newly announced strategic partnership between digital relationship banking firm Agent IQ and digital banking solutions provider Narmi will help both community banks and credit unions enhance customer engagement across digital channels. “By integrating our Lynq relationship banking platform with Narmi’s digital banking solutions, we’re equipping banks and credit unions with tools to offer a vastly improved customer experience while also empowering them to be more efficient,” Agent IQ Co-founder and CEO Slaven Bilac said. Agent IQ specializes in digital relationship banking, providing personalization and customer engagement solutions that help banks and credit unions enhance customer relationships. The firm’s Lynq platform empowers financial institutions to provide proactive guidance and real-time insights to customers by combining human emotion and empathy with the efficiency of computer intelligence and AI. Narmi offers a digital banking platform designed to help community banks and credit unions provide their customers and members with the same kind of digital experience as their larger rivals. Founded in 2016 and headquartered in New York, Narmi boasts that its customers have seen account growth of as much as 3x in less than 30 days and deposit growth of 4x in as little as 90 days. In a statement, the companies highlighted two major benefits of the partnership. These benefits include seamless digital banking functionality with AI personalization to provide customers with tailored support and consistent engagement, whether opening an account or using mobile banking. Another benefit of the partnership is the ability to enhance customer relationships by allowing customers to make digital transactions while accessing personal guidance from a dedicated banker — all without having to travel to a branch. “Agent IQ is a perfect complement to Narmi’s digital banking and account opening products,” Narmi SVP of Operations Angela Gentry Yue said. “Together, we’re providing financial institutions with a comprehensive suite of tools that significantly enhance digital engagement and operational efficiency. This collaboration marks a major advancement in our mission to drive innovation in the banking industry.” Founded in 2015 and headquartered in Austin, Texas, Agent IQ made its Finovate debut at FinovateSpring 2019. The company most recently appeared before Finovate audiences at FinovateFall 2022 in New York. At the conference, Agent IQ demoed its Lynq platform that enables customers to choose a personal banker to help them manage all their financial needs across any digital channel. Lynq leverages built-in augmented intelligence to enable personal bankers to better engage customers and build relationships in the digital space that are as personalized as relationships in a physical branch. Agent IQ began the year announcing an extension of its integration partnership with fellow Finovate alum Q2. The extension empowers Q2’s sales organization to resell Agent IQ to Q2’s bank and credit union customers. Also in January, the company announced a collaboration with another fellow Finovate alum, ebankIT. Here, the partnership combines ebankIT’s self-service digital channels with Agent IQ’s personal digital engagement platform. “We wish to redefine the digital banking experience, make it more human, and set new benchmarks for customer engagement and satisfaction,” ebankIT CEO Renato Oliveira said when the collaboration was announced. More recently, Agent IQ made fintech headlines via its work with community banks and credit unions. In July, Stanford Federal Credit Union won the Q2 Innovation Award for the launch of its digital communications channel powered by Agent IQ. The following month, Agent IQ announced a new partnership with the Bank of Utah. The independent community bank leveraged Agent IQ’s Lynq digital engagement platform to launch its new chat solution. Photo by nagaraju gajula       

Affirm is launching its services in the U.K., marking its third market entry following the U.S. and Canada. U.K. shoppers can now access Affirm’s interest-free and fixed-interest BNPL options. Affirm joins Klarna, Clearpay (Afterpay), and Laybuy as major BNPL players in the U.K. region. California-based buy now, pay later (BNPL) player Affirm announced this week that it is taking its services overseas. The company is now allowing U.K. consumers to use its pay-over-time payment tools to receive more flexible payment options. The move marks Affirm’s third geography and will add to the company’s network of 300,000 merchants and 50 million end customers in the U.S. and Canada. At launch, U.K. shoppers will have access to Affirm’s interest-free payment option as well as its interest-bearing option that applies a fixed interest on purchases calculated on the original payment amount. “Affirm was founded on the premise of putting people first and empowering consumers to take greater control over their finances. Building on our leadership in the U.S. and Canada, where we partner with top retailers and commerce platforms, we see a significant opportunity to extend our mission of building honest financial products to the U.K.,” said Affirm Founder and CEO Max Levchin. “We know that U.K. consumers are savvy shoppers who appreciate upfront, no-nonsense products. We look forward to offering them responsible credit options that truly put consumers first and working collaboratively with our U.K. partners to demonstrate how honest finance is good business.” Affirm, which is regulated by the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), is launching in partnership with payments processor Fexco and flight booking site Alternative Airlines, which will be the pilot merchant for Affirm’s BNPL tools. The company plans to announce additional U.K. and international brand partnerships in the future. “There are many brilliant businesses in the U.K. that make this country what it is – and we can’t wait to start working with them,” said Affirm’s U.K. Country Manager Ruth Spratt. “The U.K.’s open economy, mature consumer market, and world-class talent makes it the perfect place for the next phase of Affirm’s journey. By entering the U.K. alongside a leading travel provider and platform partner, we’re able to expediently and deliberately begin growing Affirm’s U.K. network of consumers and merchants. We look forward to continuing to expand in the coming months.” Spratt, who most recently served as U.K. Country Manager and Board Director for Affirm competitor Zip, will lead a team of more than 30 U.K. employees to expand Affirm’s merchant and channel partnerships. Spratt plans to onboard more staff by the end of the year, adding to Affirm’s base of 2,000 employees across the globe. Founded in 2012, Affirm has facilitated more than 17 million purchases and counts brands including Amazon, Shopify, Walmart, and others among its merchant partners. In the past five years, the company has processed more than $75 billion. Affirm, which went public in 2021, currently trades on the NASDAQ under the ticker AFRM with a market capitalization of $13.8 billion. Affirm’s entry into the U.K. BNPL market adds a competitive new player to the space, which already hosts established players including Klarna, Clearpay (Afterpay), and Laybuy. While Affirm will face strong competition from these brands, the company’s reputation for transparency may resonate with consumers, and will prove helpful as the FCA prepares to tighten regulatory oversight on BNPL providers by requiring affordability checks, advertising standards, and credit reporting. Photo by Pixabay       

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. Personal Finance BMO partners with Personetics to help customers reach personal savings goals. Photo by Tara Winstead       

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       

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       

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       

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