Innovations in Insurtech: IPOs, Expats, and Enhancements in Risk Management

Innovations in Insurtech: IPOs, Expats, and Enhancements in Risk Management
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Insurance, List series

Insurtech continues to be one of the most dynamic subsectors in fintech. Just last month, life insurance SaaS company Bestow raised $120 million in Series D funding. Other insurtechs, as noted below, have launched successful IPOs in recent weeks.

This week, we’re sharing three headlines from the industry that shine a light on where innovation and growth in this space are headed—including more insurtech IPO news from a Florida-based speciality firm.

Insurtech Slide eyes $2 billion valuation in upcoming US IPO

Slide Insurance, a Tampa, Florida-based insurtech, has filed for an initial public offering. Founded in 2021 and going live the following year, Slide specializes in property insurance and has become one of the leading coastal insurance firms in the US. Slide provides home, condo, and commercial residential insurance products via a network of more than 5,000 agents in Florida and South Carolina. A self-described “technology-enabled insurance company,” Slide leverages AI and Big Data to hyper-personalize, optimize, and streamline the insurance process.

The company anticipates a valuation of as much as $2.12 billion in its IPO, raising $340 million through an offer of 20 million shares priced between $15 and $17, based on Slide’s SEC filing earlier this week. Slide shares will trade on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol SLDE. The company reported profits of $92.5 million for the quarter ended March 31. The figure reflected a gain of more than 69% year-over-year.

Slide’s IPO filing comes in the wake of American Integrity Insurance Group’s $126.5 million IPO. Also recently going public was specialty insurer and reinsurer Aspen Insurance, which raised more than $397 million in its May IPO. Specialty insurer Ategrity is seeking to raise in excess of $113 million in its public offering later this week.

Feather introduces business insurance for expat workers in Europe

German insurtech Feather unveiled new, digital business insurance designed for companies with international workers. The company’s expanded service comes in the wake of Feather’s successful efforts to digitize insurance access for international workers in Germany, France, and Spain. Feather’s new offering is aimed directly at human resource departments to equip them with technology that manages employee, health, life, and pension insurance, as well as cybersecurity insurance and professional and general liability coverage.

Feather CEO and Co-Founder Rob Schumacher said in a statement that offering quality insurance benefits for their workers was a challenge for many small and medium-sized businesses in part because “traditional insurance partners aren’t built to support them.” Highlighting pension insurance as an example of a benefit SMEs struggle to provide, Schumacher added, “Feather is a no-brainer for companies where expats make up at least 10% of the workforce. HR leaders can turn international onboarding into a warm welcome instead of a bureaucratic nightmare.”

Headquartered in Berlin, Germany, Feather was founded in 2018. To date, the company has served more than 90,000 customers and processed more than 20,000 successful claims.

Markel unveils InsurtechRisk+ for insurtech businesses

Markel Insurance, the insurance operations division of Markel Group, launched its InsurtechRisk+ solution for insurtech companies today. The offering includes four insuring clauses: (1) insurance services and technology liability, (2) directors and officers (D&O) liability, (3) crime and cyber liability, and (4) loss cover. These clauses provide protection for businesses domiciled in the UK, Europe, Australia, and Canada, and offers limits of up to £10 million.

“The cyber risk landscape has evolved since we launched our first Insurtech policy with the emergence of more advanced attacks from threat actors utilizing AI tools/technology to infiltrate company networks, impersonate senior personnel and steal confidential data and funds,” Markel Head of Fintech and Investment Management Insurance Nick Rugg said.

Combined with value-added services including 24/7 business; legal and employment advice; R&D tax advisory; debt recovery support; grant and funding assistance; contract reviews and a cyber risk toolkit, the clauses in Markel’s InsurtechRisk+ product will help insurtechs better manage cyber threats, as well as criminal and financial liabilities. The new offering gives firms a “one-stop-shop” approach that avoids potential coverage gaps that can occur when companies rely on multiple policies from multiple insurance vendors.

“Another key goal in launching InsurtechRisk+ is to offer best-in-class cover alongside risk management solutions that go beyond typical post-loss assistance for policyholders,” Rugg added. “We want to disrupt traditional insurance products as well as how customers view the role of the insurer as only helping clients after an incident has taken place.”

Photo by Mikhail Nilov

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ANNA Money Partners with Episode Six

ANNA Money Partners with Episode Six
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, ANNA
  • Business account provider ANNA Money has teamed up with card infrastructure company Episode Six.
  • Via the partnership, ANNA Money has migrated its business card program to Episode Six’s platform to better serve its small business customers.
  • Headquartered in Cardiff, Wales, ANNA Money made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2020.

All-in-one business account provider ANNA Money has partnered with card issuing and ledger infrastructure company Episode Six. ANNA Money has successfully migrated its business card program to Episode Six’s platform to better meet the product, expansion, and integration needs of its customers.

“We needed a partner with proven infrastructure and the ability to match our pace and expansion,” ANNA Money COO Alex Kokovin said. “Episode Six delivered on all fronts, addressing the limitations we previously faced. Their technology allows us to offer business debit cards, deliver a seamless experience to our customers, and scale with confidence. We reviewed a large number of vendors and Episode Six stood out for their experience, agility, and proven ability to migrate live card programs successfully.”

ANNA Money has leveraged Episode Six’s modern card infrastructure to integrate virtual and physical card capabilities into its mobile-first business account solution. The integration enables visibility into real-time transactions, instant card issuance, and the ability to configure both features and workflows. A core component of ANNA Money’s offering, business debit cards enable the fintech’s customers to pay suppliers and make business payments directly from their account conveniently and securely. In their announcement, the companies noted that their partnership comes as demand for modern card solutions is growing among SMEs in the UK. A 2024 study by Juniper Research estimated that the number of cards issued by modern card issuing platforms will soar from 748 million in 2024 to 1.4 billion in 2029.

“ANNA Money is a great example of what’s possible when fintechs pair vision with the right infrastructure,” Episode Six CEO and Co-Founder John Mitchell said. “By leveraging our platform, they’ve migrated to a sophisticated card platform to enhance the overall ANNA Money offering for its business customers, at scale and with speed.”

Episode Six helps banks, fintechs, and brands launch card, deposit, and credit products at speed and scale their offerings without having to rewrite their core. The company’s technology enables firms to build consumer, business, and secured credit cards; prepaid and debit cards; commercial cards and spend controls; multi-currency cards and wallets; virtual accounts and embedded wallets; installments, BNPL, lending features, and more. Founded in 2015 and headquartered in Austin, Texas, Episode Six operates in 50 markets around the world, has more than 70 enterprise customers, and more than 40 million end users.

Headquartered in Cardiff, Wales, and founded in 2017, ANNA Money made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2020. At the conference, ANNA Money demoed how its tax and VAT accounting functionality provides self-assessment and VAT returns without the cost of relying on dedicated accountants. The technology automatically categorizes and reconciles expenses, calculates VAT and tax in real time, and submits completed tax and VAT returns to the HMRC.

This week’s announcement comes weeks after ANNA Money reported that it was working with Australian fintech Shaype, which helps businesses embed banking and payment options into their offerings. The partnership enabled Shaype to launch an all-in-one business finance super app that consolidates services including business banking, taxes, expenses, company formation, and corporate cards into a single platform.

Photo by Balazs Bezeczky

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Stablecoin Infrastructure Platform OpenTrade Raises $7 Million

Stablecoin Infrastructure Platform OpenTrade Raises $7 Million
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Daily news, Funding
  • OpenTrade has raised $7 million in seed funding, boosting its total raised to $15.7 million.
  • The company will use the funds to scale its “yield-as-a-service” stablecoin infrastructure platform.
  • OpenTrade helps fintechs embed real-world asset-backed yields into digital wallets using USDC and EURC.

Stablecoin infrastructure-as-a-service platform OpenTrade received $7 million in a Seed round this week. The funds boost the UK-based company’s total raised to $15.7 million, $11 million of which has been secured within the past six months alone.

Today’s round was led by Notion Capital and Mercury Fund. Existing investors AlbionVC, a16z crypto, and CMCC Global also participated. In addition to today’s investor lineup, OpenTrade’s other investors include the likes of a16z Crypto and Circle.

“Notion and Mercury are exceptional B2B investors with a strong track record of backing category-defining companies, and we’re thrilled to partner with them,” said OpenTrade CEO Dave Sutter. “Combined with a16z’s leadership, and Albion and CMCC’s deep expertise, we have the network, experience, and momentum to scale globally and help unlock access to dollar-based savings for individuals historically outside the reach of traditional financial systems.”

OpenTrade aims to help businesses offer stable, reliable ways to earn yield using digital dollars (USDC) and euros (EURC). Founded in 2023, OpenTrade connects blockchain-based assets with traditional banking infrastructure to make earning interest on digital currencies simple, safe, and compliant. Its “yield-as-a-service” model that lets fintech clients including Belo, BuenBit, Littio, and Criptan embed yields that are backed by real-world assets into everyday user experiences.

Its easy-to-integrate tools allow fintech apps and digital wallets to offer yield products to their users at the click of a button, all secured by strong legal protections and institutional-grade operations. The company currently manages $47 million for clients and has processed nearly $200 million in transactions over the past year.

OpenTrade will use today’s funds to accelerate its go-to-market strategy by focusing on its product development, boosting its engineering capabilities, and increasing its operational capacity.

“OpenTrade is building core financial infrastructure for the next generation of fintech,” said Mercury Partner Samantha Lewis. “Their rapid growth underscores both the scale of demand and the strength of their model. They are solving a fundamental gap in the market with the potential to revolutionize global access to high-quality, yield-bearing accounts. It’s exactly the kind of high-conviction fintech opportunity we look for at Mercury.”

Stablecoin infrastructure is particularly impactful in geographies with unstable financial infrastructure that offers minimal yield and limited access to foreign currency accounts. In such regions, stablecoins not only provide a practical way to pay across borders, but they can also offer the opportunity for residents to earn a yield on savings. OpenTrade, for example, leverages a partnership with Littio to allow users in Colombia to earn up to 6% on USDC balances, when they have traditionally been limited to earning just 0.4% APR on funds held in traditional bank accounts.

OpenTrade’s latest funding round highlights growing investor confidence in the role stablecoins can play in democratizing access to financial services. As demand rises for yield-bearing products that are both secure and accessible across the globe, OpenTrade is poised to be a leader in the stablecoin infrastructure space.

Photo by anna-m. w.

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Parlay Finance Secures $2 Million in Seed Funding for its Loan Intelligence System

Parlay Finance Secures $2 Million in Seed Funding for its Loan Intelligence System
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Funding, Parlay Protocol
  • Loan intelligence system (LIS) company Parlay Finance has secured $2 million in seed funding in a round led by JAM FINTOP.
  • The funding will help Parlay expand product development and grow its network of community lenders.
  • Parlay made its Finovate debut at FinovateSpring 2024.

In a round led by JAM FINTOP, loan intelligence system (LIS) company Parlay Finance has raised $2 million in seed funding. The funding will help the Virginia-based fintech expand product development, deepen integrations with existing systems of record, and expand its network of community lenders.

“JAM FINTOP’s investment and network of banks creates a powerful multiplier effect for our technology,” Parlay CEO and Co-Founder Alex McLeod said. “Through this partnership, we’re empowering community lenders nationwide to maintain rigorous underwriting standards while drastically improving operational efficiency and insight. By democratizing access to AI-powered technology, Parlay is helping community banks to better compete while advancing their mission to serve local businesses.”

Parlay Finance offers a solution that helps lenders boost loan volume, enhance operational efficiency, and maximize profitability without incurring additional risk. The company’s loan intelligence system complements existing loan origination systems (LOS) and features capabilities including digital customer onboarding, information verification, and a decision management system—powered by AI—that streamlines the processing of Small Business Administration (SBA) loans, which are notoriously complex and costly to underwrite.

In a statement, Parlay noted that it also has intensified its relationships with banks in the JAM FINTOP network. JAM FINTOP Investor Stephen Schroder, who will join Parlay’s board of directors, underscored the opportunity for its partnering banks. “Parlay has built what our banks need: a system of intelligence that integrates with existing systems of record to deliver substantial improvements in both volume and efficiency,” Schroder said. “We are confident the team’s deep understanding of banking operations and proven ability to execute will drive value for financial institutions nationwide.”

Founded in 2022 and headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, Parlay Finance made its Finovate debut at FinovateSpring 2024. At the conference, the company showed how its technology helps lenders generate high-quality loan packets and provide scalable technical assistance for small business applicants. This helps boost customer loyalty, improve the efficiency of lending operations, and create interest and fee revenue for Parlay’s lending partners.

Last month, Parlay Finance partnered with credit-decisioning firm and fellow Finovate alum Stratyfy. The strategic partnership will combine Parlay’s platform with Stratyfy’s credit solutions to offer a frictionless intake and underwriting experience that helps banks increase lending to qualified small business borrowers.

Photo by Jenna Hamra

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Credit Rebuilding Innovator Remynt Secures Strategic Investment, Becomes a CUSO

Credit Rebuilding Innovator Remynt Secures Strategic Investment, Becomes a CUSO
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: CEO Interview, David's column, Funding, Remynt

According to the New York Fed, US total household debt reached $18.2 trillion in the first quarter of this year.

While there were positive signs—credit card balances were lower quarter-over-quarter—the $16 billion uptick in student loan balances, including the number of loans that had moved from “current” to “delinquent,” was a reminder of how dynamic the US household debt landscape can be. The report also noted that, while there were no significant increases in the number of auto loans and credit card balances that had “transitioned into serious delinquency,” there was an increase in aggregate delinquency rates versus the previous quarter.

It is against this backdrop that we learned that debt recovery and credit rebuilding innovator Remynt has secured a strategic investment from One Washington Financial, the wholly-owned holding company of WSECU (Olympia, Washington). As part of the investment, Remynt, which won Best of Show in its Finovate debut at FinovateSpring last year, will also become a Credit Union Service Organization or CUSO.

“Since Remynt’s founding, our goal has been to support credit unions because we align closely in our support for financial wellness,” Remynt Founder and CEO Gwyneth Borden said. “We are thrilled to have the support of One Washington Financial and WSECU. This investment will help us scale our business and serve more credit unions to achieve higher recoveries while supporting member financial health.”

Founded in 2022 and headquartered in San Francisco, California, Remynt is a digital-first debt and credit recovery company. Remynt enables creditors to recover revenue from non-performing delinquencies and empowers consumers to resolve debt on their own terms thanks to a customer-centric, resiliency-oriented approach. Users of Remynt resolve their outstanding debts via a credit builder that links debt payments to a positive credit tradeline. The Remynt platform features credit score insights, personal finance management tools, and access to other financial wellness resources.

Thanks to this week’s strategic investment, and Remynt’s new status as a CUSO, the company will be able to quickly scale its solutions to support more credit unions and help them achieve economies of scale and operational efficiencies through shared resources and specialized expertise.

“Our partnership with Remynt aligns with our mission to create meaningful community impact by providing access to equitable and innovative financial solutions,” One Washington Financial Principal Scott Daukas said. “By including Remynt as part of WSECU’s financial wellness strategy, we directly contribute to our members’ financial stability, growth, and development.”

I caught up with Gwyneth Borden late last week to talk about Remynt’s investment news, its goals as a CUSO, and what credit unions want—and need—from their fintech partners. An edited transcript of our conversation is below.

As a small business owner in this space, how did you feel about 2025 as the year began?

Gwyneth Borden: I think there had been this sense of optimism. The stock market was going up. People thought things were going to be moving in a better direction.

And so I think we were optimistic going into 2025, initially thinking that consumer confidence had diminished and that 2025 might be a better year if people felt like things were moving in a different direction in the country and maybe that would be a positive thing.

Obviously what we didn’t anticipate were the tariffs, and the crazy back and forth and fluctuations in prices as a consequence. The uncertainty. People losing their jobs.

What’s interesting now is that this is kind of a wait-and-see economy. A lot of people are holding back. Talking with others—with credit unions or people in the collections world—typically tax season is a huge windfall. Everybody pays their debt off in the tax season and we didn’t really see that this year.

Why become a CUSO—a Credit Union Service Organization—now?

Borden: A big part of it, of course, is that we were fortunate to get an investment from One Washington Financial, which is WSECU. And in order to accept that investment, you have to be a CUSO, a credit union service organization. That was fine with us because it very much was aligned—from the very beginning—with our focus on supporting credit unions. We’re just delighted about the opportunity, to really stake our claim in the credit union space and say, “We are really here to be your partner.”

We are especially interested in serving a lot of smaller credit unions; in fact, part of our goal for our CUSO is at least 20% of the credit unions we serve be smaller than $300 million. A lot of tech companies don’t want to serve those businesses because they find it not to be enough revenue or volume for them. But the way our platform is built, it doesn’t really matter if you have two members on the platform or hundreds of members on the platform. It doesn’t cost us any more.

We’re also excited about bringing on WSECU as a customer, as well. They are a $5 billion-plus credit union, so it’s a really exciting opportunity for us to really scale substantially the number of people that we’re getting to serve.

Based on your conversations, what is it that credit unions want—or need—most from their fintech partners?

Borden: For credit unions in general, most of them are really trying to figure out how they can grow their businesses. Every single financial institution, including credit unions, makes money from lending. And in these precarious times, being able still to lend and provide the products people need for their lives (is important). A lot of them are starting to ask: Do we do small dollar loans? Are there credit voucher products? They are looking to see how they can expand their services to better serve the communities around them.

What can we expect to see and hear from Remynt over the balance of the year and into the next?

Borden: We are going to be expanding exponentially and bringing on more credit unions. We are going to release a white-label version of our platform in the latter part of the year that includes some AI agents. So it’s kind of an exciting development in the digital collections space. You’ll see a number of developments on our platform that we’ll be launching later this year, as well as some exciting partnerships with additional credit unions. We’re really staking our claim in a particular area in the credit union space, which I’m really excited about.

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Fintech Rundown: A Rapid Review of Weekly News

Fintech Rundown: A Rapid Review of Weekly News
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: AMLYZE, Experian, Jack Henry, LeapXpert, Plaid, Plumery, Salt Edge, Temenos

The dust is still settling in the wake of Circle’s “buzzy IPO” in the words of MarketWatch. We’ll see if the fintech headlines can keep up this week!

Digital banking

  • KAF Digital Bank goes live with Temenos SaaS to bring Islamic digital banking services to customers in Malaysia.
  • ABN AMRO’s payment app Tikkie has developed a full-service bank, BUUT, that caters to younger customers.
  • Digital bank N26 unveils an updated version of its premium subscription, N26 Go.
  • Open banking solutions provider Salt Edge partners with digital banking experience platform Plumery.
  • Farsight raises $16 million in funding, announces Series A to automate financial workflows and decision-making.

Fraud prevention and identity verification

  • FrankieOne launches new risk and compliance platform that offers fraud detection and identity verification.
  • Cybercrime consultancy We Fight Fraud partners with Salv to facilitate intelligence sharing between financial institutions in Europe.
  • Regtech iDenfy teams up with international hosting provider SpaceCore to bring optimized customer verification to global hosting.
  • The Bank of International Settlements (BIS) and the Bank of England (BoE) collaborate on testing to see if AI can spot fraudulent activity in retail payments data.
  • AML and CFT solutions provider AMLYZE onboards Advanzia Bank as part of its European expansion.
  • Velera adds real-time account validation functionality to digital channels.

Payments

Crypto

  • The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) proposes allowing individual, retail investors to receive crypto exchange traded notes (cETNs).
  • Legislation in California moves forward to give the state authority to seize unclaimed cryptocurrency assets held on exchanges after three years of inactivity.

Credit unions

Business communications

  • Business communications platform LeapXpert acquires AI-powered, cross-platform messaging startup, StartADAM.

Lending and credit

Global technology and data company Experian and financial data network Plaid announce strategic collaboration to help lenders to better assess risk.

Photo by Ambreen Hasan on Unsplash

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Insuretech Company bolttech Raises $147 Million at a $2.1 Billion Valuation

Insuretech Company bolttech Raises $147 Million at a $2.1 Billion Valuation
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Daily news, Funding
  • bolttech raised $147 million in a Series C round, bringing its total funding to over $690 million and boosting its valuation to $2.1 billion.
  • Sumitomo joined as a strategic investor and partner, forming a joint venture with bolttech to expand embedded insurance across Asia.
  • bolttech’s platform powers embedded insurance for industries like telecom, e-commerce, and banking, making insurance a seamless part of the digital buying experience.

Singapore-based insurtech company bolttech announced this week that it has closed its Series C round after raising $147 million.

Closing out today’s round were Sumitomo Corporation and Iberis Capital as strategic investors. The funds bring bolttech’s total funding to somewhere north of $690 million and boost the company’s valuation to $2.1 billion. Previous investors to the Series C round are Dragon Fund, Baillie Gifford, Generali’s Lion River, and others.

For its part, Sumitomo Corporation has not just become a strategic investor, but it has also entered a joint venture with bolttech to deliver embedded insurance programs for its Asia-based partners. This signals not only a financial endorsement but also a strategic distribution partnership in Asia, which is generally a region ripe for fintech growth.

“We are thrilled to join forces with bolttech—both as a strategic investor and through our joint venture,” said Sumitomo Group CEO of Media & Digital Group Shinichi Kato. “We are confident that this partnership will enable us to work closely with the bolttech team to drive growth and innovation across the Asia region.”

Founded in 2020, bolttech operates an embedded insurance platform. The company allows clients in telecom, banking, e-commerce, and retail to embed insurance offerings within their existing customer journeys. For example, a customer purchasing a mobile phone online might be offered device protection at checkout, powered by bolttech’s infrastructure. bolttech supports this with a modular tech stack that includes product recommendation engines, policy administration, claims management, and partner onboarding. The company works with hundreds of insurers and partners across industries, serving millions of customers in 37 markets across four continents.

bolttech anticipates that the Series C round will enable it to enhance the platform’s capabilities and accelerate its global growth strategy, making insurance more personalized, accessible, affordable, and convenient for customers.

“We are delighted to welcome our newest strategic investors Sumitomo Corporation and Iberis Capital as we successfully close our Series C,” said bolttech Group CEO Rob Schimek. “This investment is a strong endorsement of our unique business proposition, reinforcing our commitment to enabling a better insurance experience for customers worldwide. We are excited to continue our journey to build the future of insurance, working towards our vision of connecting people with more ways to protect the things they value.”

The funding shows increased interest in embedded insurance, which is rising to become one of the fastest-growing sectors within insurtech. As embedded finance matures, bolttech’s ability to plug insurance directly into partner platforms helps make insurance an invisible part of the digital customer experience.

Photo by Vlad Deep on Unsplash

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Finovate Global Ireland: Investing in Payments and Partnerships

Finovate Global Ireland: Investing in Payments and Partnerships
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Finastra, Finovate Global, Temenos

This week’s edition of Finovate Global looks at recent fintech headlines from Ireland.

Nomupay Raises $40 Million at $290 Million Valuation

Courtesy of an investment from SBPS, a subsidiary of Japan’s SoftBank, Irish fintech Nomupay has secured €35 million ($40 million) in new funding. The capital gives the company a valuation of $290 million and comes as part of an alliance that will enable Nomupay to expand its reach into the Asian market.

“Since our inception in 2021 we have been robustly active in the region; the SBPS investment now enables us to double down and support inter regional commerce by adding additional countries and payment methods to the platform in order to support bi-directional access between Japan, Asia, and the rest of the world,” Nomupay Group CEO Peter Burridge said.

Nomupay’s unified payment platform streamlines payment processes—including acquiring, treasury, and payouts—for businesses operating in fragmented, emerging markets. The company aggregates local payment methods into a single, consistent API; and offers treasury and reconciliation tools that provide real-time visibility, automated fund flows, and multi-currency management. Nomupay helps businesses go to market faster and in-line with local regulations, without needing to engage with multiple PSPs and other partners.

The partnership will enable Nomupay to expand and solidify its presence in Asia by way of Japan. SBPS will benefit from access to Nomupay’s single API and gateway-agnostic, single, back office platform, offering a range of payment options and scalability.

“With Nomupay as a key partner, we will leverage Nomupay’s payment solutions to support our clients entering the Asian market,” SBPS Representative Director, President, and CEO Jun Shimba said. “Nomupay offers a wide range of services in the payment field in Asia, and can meet flexible and diverse needs. Nomupay is a highly reliable partner.”

Founded in 2021, Nomupay is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland.

TransferMate Announces Strategic Partnership with Deutsche Bank

Embedded B2B payments infrastructure-as-a-service company TransferMate has forged a strategic partnership with Deutsche Bank. The partnership will enable TransferMate to provide in-country collections, cross-border payments, and local fund storage. Working with Deutsche Bank only adds to TransferMate’s extensive local collection capabilities, helping make the company’s platform among the largest fintech payment infrastructures in the world.

“Our collaboration with Deutsche Bank is another significant milestone as we continue to grow our global footprint and be the embedded B2B partner of choice,” TransferMate CEO Gary Conroy said. “This partnership further strengthens our reach, our capabilities, and the value we bring to our partners and their clients.”

Initially, the partnership will focus on facilitating operations in APAC markets, with other regions to be added over time as TransferMate leverages Deutsche Bank’s extensive international network. In a statement, Deutsche Bank’s Head of Cash Management & Head of CB APAC MEA, Ole Matthiessen, highlighted the opportunity in APAC.

“This strategic collaboration between TransferMate and Deutsche Bank underscores the immense potential of fintech-bank partnerships in accessing and scaling global markets, particularly navigating the high-growth yet diverse Asia Pacific landscape. This showcases the strength of our offering, aligning seamlessly with our Global Hausbank strategy,” Matthiessen said.

Founded in 2010 by Terry Clune, TransferMate manages a global payments network that covers 200+ countries and territories and 140+ currencies. The company is headquartered in Kilkenny, Ireland.

Paytech Splink Partners with Global Payments

Payments platform Splink announced a strategic partnership with international payment processor Global Payments this week. The collaboration will enable Splink to go live with Global Payments’ SoftPOS technology, which enables any smartphone to accept tap-to-pay transactions with no additional, external hardware required.

“Splink brings excellent technology combined with commercial agility and an impressive team that perfectly complements our infrastructure, distribution, reach, and the key attributes we look for in a partner,” Global Payments Head of UK and Ireland Partnerships Tom Woods said. “We’ve had some recent successes together with key merchant wins in Ireland and the UK and we’re excited to see the partnership grow.”

Founded in 2019 by Mark Lyttleton and headquartered in Dublin, Splink offers a flexible payments solution that allows businesses to choose from among more than 20 different payment options. Splink enables companies to receive and request payments, as well as set up an online shop that helps boost transaction volumes. Splink’s solution is also available as a white-label offering, allowing companies to set up their own digital payments business and add a new source of recurring revenue.

Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.

Central and Eastern Europe

Middle East and Northern Africa

  • UAE-based fintech Qashio raised $19.8 million in both equity and non-equity financing.
  • Saudi Arabian fintech Nqoodlet secured $3 millioon in seed funding to help SMEs access financing.
  • Zain Fintech launched its Bede Mobile Wallet in Sudan.

Central and Southern Asia

  • Singapore-based KYC, data intelligence, payments, and debt collections solutions provider Decentro raised Rs 30 crone ($3.5 million) ahead of plans to relocate to India.
  • Indian fintech Spense secured $1.85 million in pre-seed funding.
  • The National Bank of Kazakhstan unveiled its new, crypto card, retail payments initiative.

Latin America and the Caribbean

  • Uruguayan fintech dLocal acquired cross-border payments company AZA Finance.
  • Finastra and consulting firm TCMpartners teamed up with Banco de Costa Rica as the firm launches its International Trade Automation Project.
  • Swedish Pay-by-Bank solutions company Zimpler earned certified Payment Institution (PI) status in Brazil.

Asia-Pacific

  • Malaysia’s KAF Digital Bank went live with Temenos SaaS to power its new Islamic digital bank offering.
  • Hong Kong-based LianLian announced a strategic partnership with UnionPay.
  • Australian fintech platform Complii Fintech Solutions to bring its capital raising solution to the UK.

Sub-Saharan Africa

Photo by Gregory DALLEAU on Unsplash

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Best of Show: Talking AI, Personalization, and Authentication on the Finovate Podcast

Best of Show: Talking AI, Personalization, and Authentication on the Finovate Podcast
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Speaker series

Join Greg Palmer and the Finovate Podcast as he catches up with the CEOs and founders of the companies that won Best of Show at FinovateSpring 2025 in San Diego, California, last month.

From AI in the service of greater personalization and sales performance to innovations in voice authentication and fraud prevention, the latest round of interviews on the Finovate Podcast provide fascinating insights into how fintechs are helping financial institutions meet their most demanding challenges.

Finovate Podcast host Greg Palmer interviews Finalytics CEO Craig McLaughlin and CSO Baron Conway.

The three discuss how the Finalytics platform provides real-time, cross-channel, AI-driven personalization that combines behavioral data with transactional and third-party data to create unique, relevant experiences for customers of financial institutions.

EP 258: Craig McLaughlin and Baron Conway, Finalytics

Andrew Reese, US go-to-market lead for Solda.ai, joins Greg Palmer and the Finovate Podcast to talk about the company’s AI-powered sales agents that help financial institutions increase revenue and reduce costs by mirroring their best sales representative.

The technology helps scale sales operations, lower costs, reduce burnout and inconsistent performance, all while retaining a human connection.

EP 259: Andrew Reese, Solda.ai

Greg Palmer and Milind Borkar, founder and CEO of Illuma talk about the firm’s evolution from an authentication specialist to a more comprehensive fraud prevention company.

A two-time Finovate Best of Show winner, Illuma specializes in voice authentication and fraud prevention solutions for mid-market financial institutions, including credit unions and community banks.

EP 260: Milind Borkar, Illuma Labs

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PayPal to Ship Physical Credit Card

PayPal to Ship Physical Credit Card
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, PayPal
  • PayPal launched a physical credit card, expanding PayPal Credit’s reach from online use to in-store purchases, with no annual fee and flexible repayment options for travel purchases.
  • At launch, the card is offering buy now, pay later flexibility that will allow customers to spread travel costs over six months and access additional BNPL loans at checkout.
  • Despite its practicality, PayPal’s new card takes a more conventional approach compared to other fintechs that offer bold designs, tiered rewards, or unique incentives like stock or credit-building tools.

In a time dominated by digital payments, physical cards are holding strong. This week, fintech pioneer PayPal introduced a new physical credit card, extending the reach of PayPal Credit from online purchases to in-store payments.

The new card, which is issued by Synchrony, will allow customers to leverage buy now, pay later (BNPL) payment options. At launch, new card customers will have the option to pay for their travel purchases made by January 31, 2026, over the course of six months. Leveraging the BNPL model in combination with the flexibility of a credit card gives account holders more ways to pay for travel purchases by spreading the cost over time to best suit their cash flow.

For further payment flexibility, customers can also apply for a PayPal Buy Now Pay Later loan at the point of sale to break their purchases into smaller payments over weeks or months. The card also comes with no annual fee, purchase protection, ID theft protection, and travel concierge services.

“PayPal Credit is one of our most popular products and customers have long been requesting the ability to use it on-the-go as they look for more choice and flexibility wherever they shop,” said PayPal SVP, Global Head of Consumer Financial Services Scott Young. “From our buy now pay later options to our credit cards, we continue to bring customers a range of solutions to help them manage cash flow and pay in the ways that suits their budgets for the things they love and need.”

Credit is not new to PayPal. The company launched PayPal Credit, formerly known as Bill Me Later, in 2008, after PayPal’s then-parent company eBay acquired Bill Me Later for $945 million. Physical cards are not new for PayPal, either. The California-based company launched its Business Debit Mastercard in 2003 and began issuing debit cards for Venmo users in 2018.

PayPal said that the physical card will begin rolling out “in the coming weeks” to US customers.

PayPal’s move into physical credit cards comes as no surprise, but its approach is. While many consumer-facing fintechs have leaned into creative card designs and differentiated perks like sleek metal cards, bold rainbow finishes, or eco-friendly recycled materials, PayPal has opted for a more traditional route. Other fintechs have layered in tiered rewards, credit-building features, or even stock-based incentives. Though PayPal’s flexible repayment option for travel purchases adds some value, its new card feels relatively conservative compared to the more imaginative offerings from its fintech peers.

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Token.io Receives Strategic Investment from HSBC

Token.io Receives Strategic Investment from HSBC
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Funding, Token
  • Account-to-account (A2A) payment infrastructure company Token.io has received a strategic investment from HSBC. The amount was not disclosed.
  • The investment underscores the two companies’ history of collaboration, which includes Token.io’s support for HSBC’s Open Payments solution.
  • Token.io made its Finovate debut at FinovateSpring 2015 and returned to the Finovate stage two years later for FinovateEurope in London.

Token.io, an account-to-account (A2A) payment infrastructure innovator, secured a strategic investment from HSBC this week. The amount of the funding was not disclosed. The two firms have been partners since 2019, when Token.io helped the bank launch its HSBC Open Payments solution.

“We are excited to deepen our partnership with HSBC as we embark on this collaboration,” Token.io CEO Todd Clyde said. “This investment will not only accelerate Token.io’s growth and innovation, it will also advance our shared vision of making Pay by Bank a mainstream payment method—delivering benefits for HSBC’s customers across the region.”

Pay by Bank is a payments service that gives customers a secure, fast, and convenient way to conduct peer-to-peer payments, account deposits, and loan repayments, as well as securely authenticate transactions via their banking app. Supported by open banking and real-time payment infrastructure, Token.io’s technology makes the service available to anyone with a UK or European bank account. In a statement, the company noted that analysts believe in the future growth of Pay by Bank, predicting that three-in-four Europeans will be regular Pay by Bank users by 2029. In fact, by 2030, analysts estimate that use of Pay by Bank for e-commerce transactions in Europe will become more popular than all other digital payment options, with the exception of digital wallets.

HSBC’s Open Payments solution is based on this infrastructure. The technology enables businesses to connect their checkout pages with online apps or mobile platforms used by customers. Purchasers are given a request for pre-populated payments and, once the payment is authorized, the seller is granted an “instant and irrevocable credit” to their account. The new offering helps businesses get working capital faster and keeps both the risk of fraud and the cost of collections low.

“Our investment in Token.io reflects the trust and confidence we have in their team and technology, and our firm belief in the role that innovative Open Banking solutions play in transforming the payments experience for both corporates and consumers,” HSBC Head of Global Payments Solutions Manish Kohli said.

Founded in 2015 and headquartered in San Francisco, California, Token.io made its Finovate debut at FinovateSpring 2015 and returned two years later to demo its latest technology at FinovateEurope in London. A major account-to-account payment infrastructure provider for banks and other financial institutions, Token.io’s partners include three of the largest financial institutions in Europe as well as companies such as Global Payments and fellow Finovate alums Mastercard and ACI Worldwide.

Last month, Token.io became the first third-party provider to be admitted to the giroAPI scheme. This will enable the company to provide account-to-account payment solutions to its partners—including micropayments that are exempt from Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) requirements. Launched by the German Banking Industry Committee associations—BVR, DSGV, VÖB, and the Association of German Banks—at the beginning of the year, the API scheme is built on the Berlin Group’s openFinance API framework and provides a standardized, secure, and commercially governed interface to connect banks with third-party providers such as Token.io.

“By joining giroAPI, Token.io is enabling the next wave of premium, API-driven payment services—making it easier for businesses to offer innovative payment options and for consumers to benefit from seamless, secure experiences,” Token.io Chief Product Officer Charles Damen said. “We are proud to lead the way in bringing the full potential of open banking-enabled payments to the European market.”

Photo by Franco Monsalvo

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FISPAN Locks in $30 Million in Series B Funding

FISPAN Locks in $30 Million in Series B Funding
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, FISPAN, Funding
  • Embedded ERP banking innovator FISPAN secured $30 million in Series B funding.
  • The round was led by Canapi Ventures and featured participation from existing investors, including Rhino Ventures.
  • FISPAN most recently demoed its technology at FinovateEurope 2022 in London.

In a round led by Canapi Ventures, embedded ERP banking specialist FISPAN has raised $30 million in Series B funding. Existing investors, including Rhino Ventures, also participated in the round. In a statement, the company said that the funds will help FISPAN expand the set of ERP platforms it supports, add actionable insights to its Accounts Payables solution, and launch a new Accounts Receivables automation product. In addition to accelerated product development, FISPAN noted that the capital will help the firm scale its go-to-market efforts and expand its market reach as well as support strategic talent acquisition.

FISPAN helps businesses integrate banking services directly into their enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems and accounting software. The company helps banks maximize their investments in host-to-host and API platforms that have enabled large businesses to experience greater productivity by connecting to their financial institutions directly. FISPAN’s technology packages these connectivity capabilities to empower banks to deliver their treasury products to mid-market and smaller businesses by way of an easy-to-install, out-of-the-box, in-ERP plugin. This empowers banks to offer integrated client experiences via financial and banking capabilities that are embedded directly into their existing ERP systems. This facilitates centralized financial workflows, automated processes, and fewer manual errors for businesses.

“This Series B funding is a pivotal moment for FISPAN, empowering us to significantly scale our innovation and market reach,” FISPAN Founder and CEO Lisa Shields said. “Canapi quickly distinguished themselves through their understanding of the embedded ERP banking landscape and our unique opportunity within it. With an LP network of over 75 financial institutions—and partners with banktech operating expertise—Canapi is a natural partner for our next chapter. We’re excited to work with Canapi to help more treasury teams optimize their operations.”

A multi-stage venture capital firm, Canapi Ventures invests in fintech and enterprise software and is backed by the Canapi Alliance, whose network of leading financial institutions stretches across the US. As part of its investment in FISPAN, Canapi Ventures’ General Partner Tom Davis will join the company’s board of directors.

“FISPAN is at the forefront of a fundamental shift in how businesses interact with their banks,” Canapi Ventures General Partner Tom Davis said. “Their proven ability to deliver highly sought-after embedded finance solutions positions them for tremendous growth. Our investment reflects our confidence in their visionary team and their capacity to build a leading platform that drives efficiency and value for both financial institutions and their corporate clients.”

Founded in 2016 and headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, FISPAN made its Finovate debut in 2017 at FinovateFall in New York and most recently demoed its technology at FinovateEurope 2022 in London. The company counts the world’s largest banks and nearly 5,000 businesses throughout North America among its customers. FISPAN began 2025 announcing that partner BMO had launched its embedded banking solution, BMO Sync. The new offering will enable businesses to automate payments, streamline workflows, and achieve enhanced cash flow visibility to simplify the payments process.

Photo by Kyle Ryan on Unsplash

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