Fintech
This Week in Fintech: TFT Bi-Weekly News Roundup 18/07
THE Fintech Times biweekly press review Check out the latest fintech stories from around the world on Thursday, July 18, 2024.
Appointments
Silver flow, a cloud platform for global card processing, has appointed Dagmar van Ravenswaay Claasen as chairman of its supervisory board. The board was launched earlier this year to support Silverflow’s growth strategies, as well as provide insights into industry needs, solutions, and the future of paytech. He has held leadership positions at The Bank of the Netherlands, before joining Adyen as Director of Regulatory Affairs.
TBC Banking Group PLC appointment Konstantin Kruglov as head of artificial intelligence at TBC Uzbekistanits fintech business in the Central Asian country. Its role includes building an AI-enabled virtual assistant to enhance customer experience across TBC interfaces, as well as leveraging AI-powered technology to streamline customer service, sales and other operations.
Evidence-based investment firm Sparrows Capital announces the appointment of Arnie Millington to oversee its customized MPS proposition for asset managers – Sparrow Capital MPS. Millington joins the company from Seven Investment Management (7IM)where he was responsible for maintaining and building relationships with financial advisers and planners across the Midlands and North West. He has over 10 years’ experience in the wealth and advisory industry with previous roles at Reference capital AND AJ Bell.
Financial Technology Quantum appointment Next Salihu as project manager. Salihu joins from BPC Banking Technologies, where he served as Senior Project Manager. In this role, he provided payment services consulting and managed the end-to-end implementation of numerous projects, serving fintechs, banking partners and acquirers across Europe.
Other hirings
Boku, a global mobile payment solutions provider, has appointed Rob Whittick as the new CFO. He joins after 25 years at Natwest Groupwhere he held several senior roles. Boku’s global payments network now includes over 300 local payment methods worldwide, reaching over 7.5 billion consumer payment accounts in more than 90 countries.
Well, an Australian expense management platform, has promoted Damon Hauenstein to the expanded role of CFO and COO. As COO, he will oversee the company’s day-to-day operational execution, in addition to his current CFO responsibilities. Hauenstein joined Weel in 2022 as the inaugural CFO.
Partnerships and collaborations
New day, an unsecured consumer credit provider in the UK, went into operation with Doneconnectivity products and open banking transaction categorization. This move to provide more in-depth affordability assessments supports responsible access to credit, as well as financial inclusion. NewDay customers can share their transaction data through open banking for a concrete affordability assessment.
KYAX, a financial reporting tool for digital assets, Association of National Numbering Agencies (ANNA) and the Digital Token Identification Foundation (DTIF) have joined forces to accelerate the implementation of the ISO 24165 Digital Token Identifier (DTI) and ISO 6166 International Securities Identification Number (ISIN) standards. This collaboration aims to improve transparency and efficiency in regulatory reporting.
THE Ajman Transport Authority from the United Arab Emirates has entered into a partnership with BPC, a payment solutions company that will become the first authority in the UAE to implement modern payment technology on public transport buses, enhancing smart services in the transport sector, through the introduction of O-CITY, a smart city and mobility solution developed by BPC.
Capital at your fingertips announces a renewed multi-year agreement with GDS connection, using its decision platform to support and integrate Capital on Tap’s proprietary risk models across its business in the UK and US. As it expands, Capital on Tap will leverage its partnership with GDS Link to enhance its automated risk decision-making.
Chelsea FC has unveiled a pre-season partnership with Scratchthe digital wallet powered by the global payments platform Secure payment. Skrill will be the presenting partner of its opening match against AFC Wrexham team. The company enables consumers and businesses to transact using 260 payment methods in over 40 currencies worldwide.
Financing and Investments
British Business Investment (BBI) has further committed to Claret Capital Partners Limited, with a new co-investment fund. The fund will invest in high-growth, technology-enabled small businesses across the UK. BBI, a wholly-owned commercial subsidiary of British Commercial Bankaims to improve access to alternative finance for small businesses in the UK, while supporting the transition to a net-zero carbon economy.
All right, a digital business account provider for SMEs, has secured a bridge to its $5 million Series A round of growth funding, as well as an EU Electronic Money Institution (EMI) license from FIN-FSA (Finland’s financial supervisory authority), positioning the company for accelerated growth across Europe. The latest round sees wamo’s total funding reach $11.8 million.
Company Updates
Tandem approved £650m of new lending in green loans and home improvement ‘green pathways’ (HILs). The bank also saw its customer base grow to over 300,000, deposits more than double for the second year running to over £3.6bn and was profitable for the second year. In addition, its Green Hub has had over 200,000 visits since launch and over 1,700 fully completed personalised Green Home Plan pathways.
Copper.co, a premium digital asset custody, collateral management and services company, has been granted a Trust or Company Service Provider (TCSP) license in Hong Kong. This license, granted by the Companies Registry of Hong Kong, represents a major milestone in Copper’s global market expansion and compliance with international regulatory frameworks and standards.
Meridiansa U.S. holding company specializing in global payments, CRM and banking, has outlined plans to list on the New York Stock Exchange. In addition to other strategic acquisitions, Meridien will acquire a 27 percent stake in the fintech company DKK Partners, which has offices in Dubai, to strengthen the group’s capabilities. As part of the deal, Meridien Holdings and DKK Partners have entered into a strategic alliance to complement its business plans by securing global capabilities in payments, acquisition, banking and FX liquidity.
Salt edgean open banking solutions provider, recently launched its sixth version of the Open Banking Gateway API. The company is releasing its latest version of the Account Information API first, with the Payments API set to follow suit shortly. This latest update follows the successful launch of the V5 API in 2019.
Career has expanded its Quik delivery service to include a wide range of electronics products in the UAE, available for delivery in less than 60 minutes in Dubai and select neighborhoods in Abu Dhabi. Customers can now shop for the latest iPhones, tablets, gaming accessories, wearables and more through Quik Electronics on Careem.