Fintech
This Week in Fintech: TFT Bi-Weekly News Roundup 09/07
Welcome to The Times of Financial Technology Fortnightly press review for Tuesday 9 July 2024 with the latest news from around the world.
Appointments
Curve, the digital wallet, he appointed Darren Hackett as its new chief financial officer. With a career spanning more than three decades, Hackett has previously held roles at Deutsche Bank, RBS, ABN Amro, Barclays, Credit Suisse, and also worked at J.P. Morgan AND Limited liability company. The hire also follows Curve’s launch of its own mobile payment solution as an alternative to Apple Pay, which is due to launch on iOS in Europe later this year.
Secure development studio, developer of the smart wallet infrastructure Safe, has strengthened its management team with the appointment of Rahul Rumalla a VP of engineering. Rumalla previously founded two Web3 companies, Paper chain AND Otter space, and also worked with Listen to music from SoundCloud Safe is an on-chain asset custody protocol that protects approximately $100 billion in assets.
UK Fintech Mature appointment James Ricci as Head of M&A. Richards will lead Ripe’s acquisition strategy, further expanding the business through targeted acquisitions in personal commercial and specialist lines. Richards previously had a 10-year career at Deloitte.
Acrysure announces Aaron Miller as CFO. Miller joins Acrisure from Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA). At ADIA, Miller served as head of financial services in the private equity practice. Miller will play a key role in helping the firm deploy and allocate capital effectively to accelerate growth and position Acrisure to meet the future needs of its clients.
TransUnion, a global information and insights company, appoints Mr. Sam Welch as its new chief revenue officer, and Celso Nogueira as its new head of strategy. Both leaders will serve the business across the UK and Europe. Welch has held senior leadership roles within the business since joining in 2019. Nogueira joined TransUnion’s Brazilian business eight years ago and began working in the UK in 2022.
Additional appointments
THE European FinTech Association (EFA) appoints its new board of directors: Linda StrazdinaEU policy and government relations are at the forefront Essay, Marc Robertsgeneral consultant at Raisins, Sandrell SultanaGovernment Relations Officer for EU Public Policy at Strip, Josy Soussan, European politics and government relations are at the forefront Klarna, Crystal Goh, Global Head of Communications at N26, Paul Mortby, responsible for policies in the EU, Middle East and Africa for Block, Inc., as well as Oleksandra Maximenkoresponsible for EU government affairs at Revolution.
Daviesthe company specializing in professional services and technology, has appointed Amber Wilkinson as Group CFO. Wilkinson will join Davies later this year, reporting directly to the Group CEO, Dan Saulter, as well as joining the corporate group’s executive committee. He succeeds Davies’ senior executive, Tonly Debiasewho is resigning after successfully serving as CFO for 12 years.
Baker’s Hilla financial technology provider, has appointed Amy Drake as senior vice president of account management for the company, promoting Dr. Bryan Peckinpaugh to senior vice president of national sales. Peckinpaugh joined the Baker Hill team in 2020 as SVP of major accounts. Drake previously served as vice president, chief of staff and sales enablement at Customer care.
Gregor Mowat, co-CEO and co-founder of a UK financial wellness company Loq’s Box has joined the Cost-of-Living Taskforce under the auspices of Business in the Community (BITC), the UK’s largest and most influential responsible business network. As a member of the Taskforce, Mowat joins a cohort of several influential and passionate senior executives.
Collaborations
Zodia Case, the first digital asset custodian institution, has entered into a partnership with Maple Financea digital asset lending and borrowing company. Maple Finance uses Zodia Custody as its preferred custodian for global lending deals. Zodia Custody securely holds the collateral pledged to Maple Finance, allowing clients to unlock the value of their digital assets while remaining within the Zodia Custody ecosystem.
NOW moneya digital banking and payroll platform for migrant workers, has unveiled a new strategic partnership with MasterCard. As part of this collaboration, NOW Money will issue Mastercard payment cards to its customers, in line with its mission to provide inclusive financial solutions to underserved communities and improve the financial well-being of its users in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries.
Cleara digital legal and administrative software provider, and Remote passage, a global payroll and remote team management platform, have formed a strategic partnership. This partnership combines Clara’s enterprise operating system with RemotePass’ expertise in remote workforce management. Clara and RemotePass offer an integrated solution that addresses the challenges of legal documentation, compliance, payroll, and remote team management.
THE Open Identity Exchange and the Canadian non-profit organization Digital ID Authentication Council of Canada (DIACC) have committed to working together to advance global digital interoperability. The two organizations will explore how different country-based policies related to identity management, verification, security, data privacy innovation, and approaches to digital identity assurance can be compared and analyzed so that faster progress can be made toward global digital ID interoperability.
Further partnerships
Azqore, a commercial and technological partner for wealth managers, has selected Steering wheelpayments as a service (PaaS) to provide instant SEPA payments and ISO 20022 messaging services to its customer base. Azqore and Volante began collaborating when Azqore selected Volante’s low-code ISO 20022 service to accelerate its multi-country, multi-bank ISO 20022 adoption program.
iDenfy, a Lithuanian regtech company, has announced a strategic partnership with NICE, a telecommunications service provider. This collaboration aims to improve digital security, ensuring a more secure and reliable user identification solution for SIMPal customers. As a result of the partnership, the automated verification process has reduced onboarding times.
Ajman Bank PJSC, an Islamic financial services institution in the United Arab Emirates, announces a new contract with Zero positive, which will deliver huge cost and carbon savings. By implementing Positive Zero’s fully funded energy efficiency solutions at its headquarters, Ajman Bank expects to save 28 percent on energy costs and reduce carbon emissions by 752 tonnes per year, equivalent to planting 11,300 trees.
Hesperian welcomed Lloyds Banking Group (LBG) as a new partner for its Support Hub service. As part of Experian Support Hub, LBG, home of Lloyds, Halifax AND Bank of Scotland, will be able to offer its customers the possibility of sharing their access and support needs with the company in a simple and standardized way.
Company Updates
End-to-end payment platform Cash added a new feature that allows merchants to collect recurring payments Payment via PayPal payments from customers alongside the subscription card payments and direct debits they have been using to date. The new feature will benefit merchants with subscription-based business models, which sell a product or service on a recurring basis, such as meal kit delivery services and pay TV.
Edfa Payment is expanding into the Moroccan market after receiving an official license to operate in the country. With this new license, EdfaPay is ready to bring its financial solutions, including Soft POS and Payment Gateway, to merchants and customers across Morocco, with a commitment to leveraging expertise and sustainable technology.
To do ita consumer credit fintech, has received B Corp certification. The certification marks a new milestone in Fairlo’s quest to bring accountability and transparency to credit services, following features such as the Fairness Receipt, a detailed breakdown of a deal. Fairlo launched in Sweden in 2018 and received its FCA license in the UK last year.