This week in Fintech: TFT Bi-Weekly News Roundup 04/10
IN Fintech Times Bi-Weekly News Roundup on Tuesday brings news of funding success for Rail no and another new chair Lending Standard Board (LSB).
The job is moving
TechPassport has come aboard Tim Richardsmanaging director at Hoptroff, to its supplier council. TechPassport partners with a number of industry veterans and global banks to create a new industry standard when it comes to onboarding fintechs, banks and financial institutions.
Nine appoints two new board members, Huey Lin and David Yates. The new independent directors bring deep experience in the global payments industry, having led several organizations through stages of rapid growth. Huey Lin is a venture partner with GGV Capitalwhile David Yates is executive partner in Siris Capital Group.
Uplinq, a global credit rating platform for SME borrowers, has added Daniel Moore to its advisory board. Moore previously served as chief risk officer at Scotiabank. Moore is also an investor in Uplinq through its managed venture capital partnership, River Run Ventures.
Contexta next-generation data management company, has unveiled Karen Egan as head of customer experience. Based in Ireland, Egan has global responsibility for the company’s customer experience, including professional services, success and support teams.
Meanwhile, Niki Cooke join Protection guru as tax manager. In this newly created role, Cooke brings experience in supporting the adoption and deployment of changing technology in the marketplace to advisory firms. She will help to increase the use of the comparison platform and innovate the functionality based on the customers’ requirements.
Lending Standards Board (LSB) has chosen its next chair to contribute to fair results for financial clients. Ken Scott will replace the current chair Chris Pond, when he reaches the end of his six-year term on 1 April 2023. Scott’s career to date includes experience working on the banking front, alongside strategic and charity roles.
More deals
Global intelligence and cyber security firm S-RM has named professional services financial expert Kelly Rogers-Davison as the new CFO. In his new role as CFO, Kelly will ensure that the company’s financial strategy continues to support S-RM’s growing partnerships and clients. Kelly will also lend his expertise to expanding S-RM’s operations internationally and developing new innovative financial strategies.
Global technical body EMVCo has appointed Arman Aygen to the role of technology director. He will play a key role in EMVCo’s efforts to advance technical initiatives that address industry needs and support the evolution of payments. Aygen will also represent EMVCo as part of the organisation’s engagement with other industry bodies and groups.
Meanwhile, KPMG International have named Lisa Heneghan as global Chief Digital Officer. In his new global role, Heneghan joins KPMG’s global leadership team. She will oversee the continued execution of KPMG’s $5 billion investment in digital leadership, accelerate the global organization’s own digital transformation and drive innovation.
Company updates
Regtech Clause match has recently celebrated its 10th anniversary. From signing dozens of new clients to expanding into the North American market, the company has experienced a number of major developments over the past decade. The company is looking to launch its new technology office in Europe in the coming months.
Societe Generale has signed an agreement to buy a majority share in fintech PayXpert. The proposed acquisition will enable the bank to expand its retail and online store offering and to pursue its ambition to be a leader in payment acceptance in Europe.
Partnership
BlueSnapa global payment orchestration platform, operates payments for Let us‘ cloud-based platform for the property rental market. With BlueSnap’s built-in payment solutions, Letus can seamlessly facilitate global payments and provide greater flexibility for rental transactions.
The African Institute of Mathematical Sciences has merged with QUINTESS to jointly stimulate digital transformation for global customers. They will facilitate and support the development of innovative solutions in Africa and beyond by leveraging Web3. AIMS and QINTESS will establish an AIMS-QINTESS exchange program. Both institutions will also work together to promote employability and transatlantic networking opportunities for young Africans.
Puro.earth and carbon insurance Kita unveil a partnership to make carbon insurance available for biochar projects via the Puro.earth marketplace. Kita’s Carbon Purchase Protection Insurance will be available for purchasing biochar carbon credits via the Puro.earth marketplace from next year.
ecospend, The UK’s leading payment provider for open banking has partnered with QR code-based payment service app MONEY. The partnership will enable PENG’s small business customers to benefit from open banking services in the form of free transactions and increased security.
Turkish fintech Colendi has mated with Fibabanka to open a strategic credit line of $150 million to Colendi users. With this agreement, Colendi will continue to offer opportunities to more than 10 million people. The financing will pave the way for the company to offer new products, including payment, loan and investment services.
ADVANCE.AI, the Singapore-based AI firm, is partnering with Visa to power better credit decisions to help unbanked and underbanked segments access credit across Southeast Asia. ADVANCE.AI will integrate Visa’s Cardholder Transaction Score (CTS) into its core suite of services. This includes digital identity verification, risk management and credit decision services.
Financing and investments
Open bank-driven fintech Currency has secured £2.4m from Blackfinch Ventures plus 1818 Venture Capital. The funding will accelerate fintech’s growth plans. Currensea, the money-saving travel card, has seen its number of cardholders more than double to 45,000, while a crowdfunding campaign in June raised £2m via Seedr platform.
NoFrixion, fintech with headquarters in Dublin, has received a funding round of €3.6 million led by Delta partners and Middlegame Ventures and joined Further VC. The capital will be used to grow NoFrixion’s engineering and sales teams, transforming how businesses pay and get paid in the digital economy.
Built-in financial platform Rail no has closed its Series C round, raising $46 million. The Series C fundraising totaled $26 million in equity and $20 million in debt. The shareholding was led by Anthos’ capital, which led the Railsr Series B in July 2021. It also includes investors spanning Europe, North America and Asia. Railsr CEO and co-founder Nigel Verdon describes the financing as “a significant step” on the road to profitability.
Launcher
Andy Jamesformer UK CEO at First switchboard and sales manager at Kingfisherhas launched Sixty, a new app-based car insurance provider. The first product launches this month and offers the UK’s first short-term car insurance with free carbon offset. The launch is aimed at occasional and short-term drivers.
Blockchain technology company TradeStrike BVI has launched a new mobile crypto wallet, which will enable retail investors, as well as the 10,000+ holders of their $STRX utility token, to track portfolio performance via a mobile app. The launch has been accompanied by a series of large-scale building projections across a number of London locations, including Harrods and the Shard.
Cyber Security Company Help AG has launched a cyber security operations center in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It will provide 24/7 security monitoring and incident management. It will also offer a full suite of locally delivered managed security services, fully compliant with local data regulations.
