" class="no-js "lang="en-US"> This Week's Top Stories in Fintech - February 17th 2023
Friday, March 29, 2024

This Week’s Top Stories in Fintech – February 17th 2023

As Valentine’s Day came and went, we saw a fair few partnerships in fintech this week. Visa & Froda, Fintech Alliance & Seeders and DNA Payments & Mastercard. Plus, we’ve had a slew of senior appointments and some intriguing business moves. Check them all out in this week’s top stories in fintech from FF News!

Visa & Froda Unveil World’s First Instant Push-Payment Solution

Access to financing has long been a major hurdle for businesses eyeing growth. Against this backdrop, Visa, Froda and Lunar are announcing a global partnership and launching a new, innovative technology aimed at resolving these issues – for good. The product, which for the first time utilizes push-payment functionality for financing, aims to reduce transaction times to mere seconds. Ordinarily, this process would have taken months.

The fintech company Froda has formed a partnership with Visa to develop a brand-new loan solution for businesses. Initially, Froda and Visa are joining forces with the Nordic digital bank Lunar. Within the framework of the partnership, Lunar’s customers gain access to business loans through Froda’s proprietary embedded lending platform, featuring direct payments and repayments via Visa’s card. Visa’s presence in over 200 countries and territories provides a consistent experience regardless of market, making the product globally scalable.

“I am thrilled to announce our collaboration with Visa and Lunar to bring a new level of convenience and efficiency to the world of business lending for SMEs. Our goal was to create a new ecosystem within embedded lending that would offer entrepreneurs easy access to financing and instant payouts. With the support of Visa, we are able to offer this innovative solution to both neobanks and incumbent banks across multiple markets. We couldn’t be more excited about this partnership and look forward to seeing this new ecosystem grow” says Olle Lundin, CEO at Froda.

Read the full article here

Synechron Makes Two Senior Hires to Support its 14,000+ Workforce and Business Growth

Synechron, Inc., a leading global digital transformation consulting firm, has made two executive appointments. The appointments include a Chief Human Resources Officer and Chief Marketing Officer, who will both play a crucial role in supporting the company’s business growth and nurturing the best talent in the industry. This will ensure that Synechron continues to deliver exceptional client services and pioneer technological solutions.

Synechron is a global leader in digital transformation, consulting and technology with deep specialism in the financial services and technology innovation sectors. Its workforce has expanded to over 14,000+ innovative minds worldwide.

Christin Spigai has joined as Chief Human Resources Officer and will be responsible for the company’s global people strategy, strengthening the Synechron culture anvd employee experience, proactively creating ways to attract the best talent and increase retention, while driving diversity, equity and inclusion programs.

Read the full article here

Synpulse Launches First Office in Dubai to Cater to Middle East’s High Demand for Digital Transformation

Synpulse, the global professional services provider to major banking and insurance institutions, has officially announced the opening of its first office in Dubai to provide onshore support to its growing number of clients and serve as a hub for the Middle East. The office opening was also announced at a by-invitation-only client event held on the 8th of December at The Capital Club Dubai, where top financial services leaders were in attendance.

Dubai’s goal to become a leading digital economy has prompted a high demand for digital transformation and innovation. The new Synpulse office, alongside its geographic location serving as a gateway to the Middle East markets, is seizing this opportunity to increase the firm’s market visibility in the region. The expansion is consistent with its “follow our clients” approach, ensuring close proximity and relationships with all its clients.

Over the past couple of years, Synpulse has developed a strong pipeline of clients in insurance and banking in Bahrain, Dubai, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the rest of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Service offerings for insurance clients will focus on target operating model, underwriting automation with AI, and digital health. For banking clients, on the other hand, the focus will be on digital banking, wealth transformation, and platform design.

Read the full article here

Driverly achieves UK first with FCA authorisation for dynamically priced app based insurance

Driverly has announced it has received direct authorisation from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to sell car insurance after a thorough review of its processes and governance structure. This is believed to be the first successful FCA application centred solely around a monthly, dynamically priced proposition. It marks one of the final stages for Driverly in its mission to deliver its disruptive car insurance service to the UK.

Cardiff-based Driverly, provider of a unique, app-based car insurance service, is delighted to announce it has received direct authorisation from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to provide car insurance to customers. After a detailed review of its customer-centric processes and corporate governance structure, Driverly received direct authorisation to sell car insurance courtesy of the behavioural data collected from its ground-breaking app.

The Driverly app monitors and records dozens of different driving criteria for users to build an accurate picture of their driving habits, which can directly benefit them financially in the form of rewards and discounted premiums.

Read the full article here

Comun Raises $4.5M to Promote Financial Inclusion with Latino-First Approach to Banking

Comun, a Latino-founded neobank that provides modern banking solutions for Latino families, announced today it closed a $4.5M seed round led by Costanoa Ventures with participation from South Park Commons and FJ Labs. The company plans to use the funds to build a financial hub with expanded solutions and resources for Latino immigrants in the U.S

Despite 44 million Latinos with Spanish as a primary language in the U.S., no incumbent bank offers a full Spanish language banking experience. Latinos are three times more likely to be unbanked and two times more likely to fall into predatory loans. Currently, 41% of Latinos have no credit score, limiting their financial growth and mobility. All this, despite Latinos in the U.S. having a GDP of $2.8 trillion, the economic equivalent to the fifth largest economy in the world (Center for Economic Research & Forecasting 2022 U.S. Report).

“We built Comun to make it easier to thrive as an immigrant family in the U.S.,” said Andres Santos, Co-Founder & CEO of Comun. “Banking is a gateway to accessing many services that are vital to a person’s livelihood. My co-founder and I both experienced how challenging it can be to navigate the banking system as immigrants. Our goal is to empower families to be successful in both their finances and the U.S. with a financial partner that they can trust and understand.”

Read the full article here

FinTech Alliance partners with Seedrs to facilitate funding opportunities for founders

Today, FinTech Alliance -the Government-backed digital ecosystem that brings together and champions the UK’s vibrant FinTech community – has announced its latest partnership with private investment platform Seedrs.

The partnership will allow FinTech Alliance to connect community companies, looking to raise capital, with Seedrs. Once connected, the Seedrs team will assist them through the onboarding process, helping them set up a campaign on their platform. FinTech Alliance will continue to support the businesses raising by enabling them to set up a microsite, publicise their campaign, and connect with other founders and potential investors.

Seedrs is Europe’s leading online private investing platform that allows individuals to invest in startups, growth companies, and top VC funds for eligible investors, as well as enabling ambitious entrepreneurs in all sectors to raise capital from their communities, angels, and institutional investors. Since its launch in 2012, Seedrs has funded more than 1,800 deals, with over £2.3bn invested on the platform to date. With the recent acquisition of Seedrs by Republic, it is now part of the largest private investing platform in the world.

Read the full article here

DNA Payments Partners with Mastercard to Deliver Click to Pay

Fintech DNA Payments, one of the largest independent, fully vertically integrated omnichannel payments companies in the UK, has partnered with Mastercard to deliver Click to Pay for merchants across the UK and Europe. Mastercard Click to Pay offers a simple and secure checkout experience giving consumers instant access to their preferred cards on every device, eliminating the need to manually enter card details or remember passwords.

DNA Payments provides acquiring services and card payment acceptance solutions to retailers in-store, online, and via mobile. Adding Click to Pay to DNA Payments’ Ecommerce gateway services will present a seamless upgrade to merchants’ existing payment solutions. There’ll be no additional integration or onboarding for existing merchants and partners and no uplift in fees; the merchants will benefit from increased security, faster customer checkouts and an improved customer experience.

Mastercard Click to Pay is embedded directly within checkout, creating a better user experience for consumers with fewer interruptions and buttons to click. Consumers can store and manage all their cards in a single secure profile which is automatically updated. Returning customers are intelligently recognised via their device or email address, making it easier for them to check out.

Read the full article here

Clearspeed Welcomes Manjit Rana as GM of UK, EMEA, and APAC Regions

With over three decades of experience in the insurance industry, combined with spearheading the inception of numerous startups and propelling innovation for prominent global enterprises, Manjit Rana now joins Clearspeed in the capacity of General Manager and Head of its insurance markets in the UK, EMEA, and APAC. Given his unique abilities to develop insurtech companies, Manjit brings valuable expertise to Clearspeed’s unwavering pursuit of growth and expansion both within and beyond the insurance industry. His experience is an additional layer of thought leadership and development to Clearspeed, as our mission, product offering, customer experience, and expertise continue to evolve across multiple sectors.

Manjit has a proven track record of identifying loopholes in the insurance market and leveraging them to develop and promote distinctive products, trends, and offerings. Through his ventures, such as InsurTech Scout, and as the founder of Ingenin, an award-winning insurance innovation consultancy, Manjit has remained ahead of the curve by forecasting and predicting industry trends. His visionary perspective on upcoming market developments is what makes him a fascinating addition to Clearspeed’s leadership team.

Clearspeed has been a positive disruptor since its inception in the insurtech industry, and as a veteran in the field, Manjit quickly recognized the uniqueness of Clearspeed’s value proposition to the global insurance ecosystem. His partnership with Clearspeed is founded on his long-standing friendship with the CEO, Alex Martin. Manjit has great admiration for Clearspeed’s military roots, and this partnership aligns with Clearspeed’s values of creating trust through visionary leadership, innovative technology, and exceptional customer experiences.

Read the full article here

Payoneer receives UK E-Money license from Financial Conduct Authority

Payoneer , the financial technology company empowering the world’s small businesses to transact, do business and grow globally, has received (via its subsidiary – Payoneer Payment Services UK Ltd) its Electronic Money License (EMI) from the United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The license is a key requirement for digital financial institutions to continue operating in the UK and will allow Payoneer to keep providing its full suite of services to UK-based businesses.

The FCA authorisation demonstrates Payoneer’s commitment to the UK market as it seeks to continue providing regulated financial solutions. The license enables Payoneer to carry on empowering UK businesses to grow globally in the digital global economy. Payoneer will also look to grow its footprint in the UK, seeking to help more businesses navigate the world of global digital commerce.

Read the full article here

Companies In This Post

  1. Marco Santos to Become CEO of GFT Technologies SE Read more
  2. PayPal Plans to Appoint Carmine Di Sibio to Board of Directors  Read more
  3. Yapily Named a Supplier on Crown Commercial Service’s Open Banking DPS Framework Read more
  4. allpay Appointed as Official Supplier on Crown Commercial Service’s Open Banking and Fund Administration & Disbursement Services Dynamic Purchasing Systems Read more
  5. Oliver Wyman Announces Mariya Rosberg as Americas Head of Banking and Financial Services Practice Read more