Blockchain Startup Saga to Deploy Treasury Management Tech from FIS

Blockchain Startup Saga to Deploy Treasury Management Tech from FIS
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: FIS

Saga, a startup creating blockchain-based currency for international exchange, has selected FIS to deploy its Integrity SaaS solution to manage the Saga treasury unit’s back office and its reserves, reports Henry Vilar of Fintech Futures (Finovate’s sister publication).

Saga is backed by reserves held in the most prominent national currencies, replicating the SDR (Special Drawing Rights) by the IMF and deposited in regulated banks in reputable jurisdictions.

The FIS Integrity SaaS solution will support Saga’s treasury unit in managing its reserves among its partner banks. The solution will also support Saga’s treasury requirements, including cash positioning and forecasting, foreign exchange, debt and investment management as well as accounting, compliance and reporting with full connectivity to the treasury ecosystem.

Saga worked with global business consulting leader Deloitte to assist in the selection process.

“FIS offers treasury technology solutions that help corporations and financial institutions modernize their treasury operations and thrive in a constantly evolving environment. We look forward to supporting Saga’s growth strategy globally,” said Steve Evans, head of corporate liquidity and bank treasury, FIS.

The company’s token, SGA, is expected to launch later this year and will rely on reserves hosted in commercial banks. It will be the first-ever cryptocurrency, governed by its shareholders, to introduce monetary tools modeled by economists and researchers from all over the world.

The cryptocurrency will apply banking-standard identification and know-your-client (KYC) and anti-money laundering (AML) procedures.

Founded in 1968 and headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, FIS most recently demonstrated its Cardless Cash technology at FinovateFall 2016. This year, the company has been on a brisk, partnership-making pace, teaming up with Allegacy FCU in May, partnering with Visa in April, and collaborating with NationalLink in March. FIS announced that it would acquire Worldpay this spring in a $34 billion deal.

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Finovate Alumni News

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Endor, Finantix, FIS, RISQ, Xignite

On Finovate.com

  • RISQ Teams Up with Aion Digital to Boost SME Lending in MENA.
  • More Than $1.8 Billion Raised by 29 Alums in Q2 2019.

Around the web

  • Blockchain startup up Saga to deploy treasury management tech from FIS.
  • Deutsche Bank partners with Finantix to enhance its Wealth Management division’s onboarding and KYC processes.
  • Xignite joins the Snowflake Data Exchange, the first market data vendor to do so.
  • Endor co-founder and CEO Dr. Yaniv Altshuler talks about his background in the crypto space with CryptoNewsZ.

This post will be updated throughout the day as news and developments emerge. You can also follow all the alumni news headlines on the Finovate Twitter account.

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DriveWealth Democratizes Investing in Nigeria; Meniga Sets Up Shop in Singapore

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Daon, DriveWealth, Finovate Global, Meniga, WeInvest

As Finovate goes increasingly global, so does our coverage of financial technology. Finovate Global: Fintech News from Around the World is our weekly look at fintech innovation in developing economies in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, and Central and Eastern Europe.

Central and Eastern Europe

  • VTB Factoring and Venture Engineering Lab introduces end-to-end multifactor digital supply chain finance platform, GetFinance, to Russian market.
  • Austrian telecom Hutchison Drei Austria teams up with Revolut to offer prepaid debit cards and banking services.
  • Coinspeaker profiles Slovakian cryptocurrency trading platform, StockPoint.

Middle East and Northern Africa

  • Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) announces four new fintech additions to its summer sandbox.
  • Morocco’s CIMR to use Daon to make sure its clients are still living.
  • Beirut, Lebanon-based ecommerce management platform Ecomz raises $4 million in Series A funding.

Central and Southern Asia

  • Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to build blockchain-based banking platform.
  • New partnership between ICICI Bank and IndoStar Capital Finance to bring financing options to help underserved Indian SMEs purchase commercial vehicles.
  • Fidor Solutions inks memorandum of understanding with Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) to promote fintech innovation in Kazakhstan.

Latin America and the Caribbean

  • Ingenico ePayments to provide advanced payment services to online Latin American marketplace Linio Colombia.
  • Jamaican wealth manager Proven Wealth to deploy core banking system from ERI.
  • BNAmericas takes a look at the emerging fintech scene in Costa Rica.

Asia-Pacific

  • Japanese payment app Kyash raises $14 million in Series B round led by Goodwater Capital and Mitsubishi UFJ Capital.
  • WeInvest sets up shop in Thailand.
  • Singaporean cross-border payments company Instarem to pursue banking license.
  • Meniga opens new office in Singapore.

Sub-Saharan Africa

  • DriveWealth to help democratize investing in Nigeria.
  • Ventureburn features eight Kenyan fintech startups “to keep an eye on.”
  • CNBC Africa presents a roundtable discussion on the future of fintech and blockchain technology in Nigeria.

Top image designed by Freepik

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CurrencyCloud Raises New Capital in Series E

CurrencyCloud Raises New Capital in Series E
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Currency Cloud, Funding

Currencycloud is believed to have raised around $40 million (£32 million) in the first part of a Series E funding round, Jane Connolly writes in Fintech Futures (Finovate’s sister publication).

TechCrunch reported that the London-based company, which provides an API and service for cross-border payments, plans to follow tranche one with more funding in the next two or three months.

According to TechCrunch’s sources, Goldman Sachs is rumored to be taking part, along with other possible investors GV and Santander. Currencycloud has declined to comment.

Currencycloud undertook a Series A round in 2011. The company operates across Europe, the U.S. and Canada, and includes Visa, Starling Bank, Standard Bank South Africa, Travelex and Klarna among its clients.

With offices in Amsterdam and New York, Currencycloud demonstrated its technology most recently at FinovateSpring 2018.

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Canada’s Sensibill Closes $31.5 Million Series B

Canada’s Sensibill Closes $31.5 Million Series B
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Funding, Sensibill

Toronto-based fintech, Sensibill, has raised $31.5 million in a Series B funding round led by Radical Ventures, reports Jane Connolly of Fintech Futures (Finovate’s sister publication).

Previous investors Information Venture Partners and First Ascent Ventures joined National Bank of Canada and others in the round.

This latest round takes the total raised to $46.5 million for Sensibill, which provides receipt management for mobile banking apps. Sensibill will use the funds to advance its AI-assisted decisioning and pursue its mission of unlocking the value of purchase data.

The company aims to offer contextual advice to users and says it is working with over 30 major banks in the U.S., U.K. and Canada – including Bank of Nova Scotia, Royal Bank of Scotland Group and FIS.

“We’re helping champion the future of work,” said Corey Gross, co-founder and CEO of Sensibill. “That means supporting small business owners, freelancers and entrepreneurs – they’re the fastest growing segment and the most underserved by banks.”

He added: “What we’re trying to do at Sensibill is bridge the gap between what banks are good at today, and where they need to be in five or ten years to protect their relationships from disruption. Tools beyond core banking, an incredible customer experience and meaningful customer insights for banks – that’s what we bring to the table.”

Jordan Jacobs, co-founder and managing partner at Radical Ventures, commented: “This is a classic story of an under-the-radar company from Toronto with fantastic data-driven, customer-facing AI solutions being used by a who’s who of global Tier 1 banks.”

Since its last funding round, Sensibill has more than doubled its workforce and opened a U.K. office.

Sensibill demonstrated its Receipts for Microbusinesses solution at FinovateEurope 2018 – in partnership with NatWest. Founded in 2013, the company was featured last month in Startup Here Toronto and this spring announced that it was chosen to participate in the incoming cohort of startups for Plug and Play’s Fintech Europe accelerator program.

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Finovate Alumni News

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: aixigo, Anorak, Avaloq, Meniga, nCino, NDGIT, nextmarkets, Nutmeg, The ID Co.

Around the web

  • Meniga opens new office in Singapore.
  • nCino announces expansion to Canada, opens doors on new Toronto, Ontario office.
  • Avaloq acquires structured products and derivatives data provider Derivative Partners.
  • Singapore’s Fintech News features aixigo, Nutmeg, and nextmarkets in its look at top European wealthtech solutions “that Singaporean banks should know.”
  • Anorak teams up with protection and mortgage advice company Albany Park.
  • NDGIT announces new strategic customer in Portuguese challenger bank, Banco BNI Europa.
  • The ID Co. joins North American division of the Financial Data & Technology Association (FDATA).

This post will be updated throughout the day as news and developments emerge. You can also follow all the alumni news headlines on the Finovate Twitter account.

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Visa and PayPal’s New Deal

Visa and PayPal’s New Deal
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: PayPal, VISA

Just one day shy of Canada day, Visa and PayPal inked a deal to enable Canadian consumers to instantly access funds via Instant Transfer, a tool PayPal launched in the U.S. earlier this year.

While the U.S. service is powered via a partnership with JPMorgan Chase, PayPal’s Instant Transfer in Canada is powered by Visa’s push payments system, Visa Direct. The Canadian rollout of the new tool uses Visa debit card rails to move money from a customer’s PayPal account to their bank account in real time.

President of PayPal Canada Paul Parisi said that the company is focused on creating efficiencies for customers. “Instant Transfer is just one more way we are giving control and flexibility to our customers, allowing them to send and spend their money on their own terms,” he added.

The launch of Instant Transfer is expected to offer gig economy workers faster access to their earnings, which often are paid via PayPal or Venmo. The tool will also help PayPal compete with Zelle, a bank-owned P2P money transfer tool (and PayPal competitor) which relies on ACH to move funds, a process which often takes three days to complete.

PayPal charges the same for its Instant Transfer service as it does for its debit card transfer. Users pay one percent of the transaction up to $10.

PayPal was founded in 1998 and has a market capitalization of $138 billion. The company showcased its Instant Account Creation feature at FinovateFall 2012. 

Visa demoed at FinovateSpring 2010 and also showcased at our developers conference in 2014. The company has 39 APIs that offer developers tools for commercial payments, data and analytics, identity an security, offers and benefits, payments, and more.

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Morocco’s CIMR to Use Daon to Make Sure its Clients are Still Living

Morocco’s CIMR to Use Daon to Make Sure its Clients are Still Living
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Daon

Biometric solutions company Daon is leveraging its partnership with North African technology company GEMADEC to help create a life certificate digitalization solution for the Moroccan Interprofessional Pension Fund’s (CIMR’s) mobile app.

Leveraging Daon’s IdentityX platform the mobile app, CIMR DIALCOM, provides CIMR with the client’s proof of life. The app prompts the user to take a dynamic selfie that certifies not only identity but also liveness by having the user complete a series of “life challenges” such as eye blinks and head movements.

To complete authentication, the app compares the selfie with a picture on the user’s photo ID. After the user is authenticated and is confirmed living, the app authorizes their pension payment.

Daon most recently presented its authentication technology at FinovateFall 2016. The company offers verification technology that uses a range of biometrics, including fingerprint, face, voice, iris, keystroke, palm, or a combination. Founded in 2002, Daon is headquartered in Reston, Virginia. Tom Grissen is CEO.

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AIFC and Fidor Solutions to Boost Fintechs in Kazakhstan

AIFC and Fidor Solutions to Boost Fintechs in Kazakhstan
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Fidor Bank

Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) and Fidor Solutions have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to drive fintech innovation in Kazakhstan and economic development in Central Asia, reports Jane Connolly of Fintech Futures, Finovate’s sister publication.

As a result of the MoU, the two organizations plan to foster fintech collaboration by developing initiatives to support a cashless economy in Kazakhstan and provide joint fintech education programs with key regional universities.

The understanding also includes support in developing the AIFC fintech marketplace and providing mentorship and partnership for accelerator programs.

Created by President Nursultan Nazarbayev in 2015, the AIFC drives innovative financial and technology initiatives with accelerator and incubator programs. It also attracts partnerships and investments from fintechs and venture capital firms.

Dubai-based Fidor Solutions – sister company to Fidor Bank – offers technology and advisory services to financial institutions with a focus on open digital banking.

“AIFC has great ambitions for its fintech innovation programme that go beyond borders,” said Kairat Kelimbetov, governor of AIFC. “We are proud to be growing our fintech network by signing an MoU with Fidor, a European fintech that has successfully developed internationally. Their contribution will be valuable to all our members and partners.”

“Fidor share similar core values to AIFC, such as openness and knowledge sharing,” added Gé Drossaert, board member and group CCO of Fidor. “The collaboration between our organizations will pave the way for fintech success in the region with a direct impact on the digital economy and financial access.”

The MoU was signed during the launch of the Fintech Summit of the Astana Finance Days in Nur-Sultan.

Fidor Solutions provides digital solutions for Fidor Bank, which demoed at FinovateEurope 2011. In 2016, the challenger bank was acquired by France’s Groupe BPCE for $158 million. Last year, however, Fidor requested a split from the 200-year-old bank and earlier this year the company’s founder and CEO, Matthias Kröner, stepped down citing “different views on future strategy.”

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Finovate Alumni News

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Apex Clearing Corporation, eToro, Fidor Bank, Klarna, myInvenio, PayPal, Revolut, VISA

On Finovate.com

  • AIFC and Fidor Solutions to Boost Fintechs in Kazakhstan.
  • Visa and PayPal’s New Deal.

Around the web

  • Apex Clearing partners with Apex Crypto to launch cryptocurrency platform that helps financial advisors introduce digital currency trading into their clients’ portfolios.
  • Revolut taps banking veteran Richard Davies as Chief Operating Officer.
  • Klarna and BigCommerce expand partnership to also include Klarna’s European core markets.
  • eToro’s cryptocurrency wallet adds support for 120 ERC-20 standard tokens.

This post will be updated throughout the day as news and developments emerge. You can also follow all the alumni news headlines on the Finovate Twitter account.

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NCR Acquires D3 Banking Technology

NCR Acquires D3 Banking Technology
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: D3 Technology, Mergers & Acquisitions, NCR Corporation

As seems to be the trend this year, D3 Banking Technology has found itself a buyer–and it’s a big one. The digital banking services company announced this week it has been acquired by ATM giant NCR for an undisclosed amount.

Georgia-based NCR, which owns 27% of the global ATM market, anticipates that adding D3’s digital banking expertise will help it move its own digital banking services into new markets. Most notably, NCR plans to expand from cloud-based tools for community financial institutions into on-premise solutions for large banks.

“D3 has a well-earned reputation for innovation and product excellence and delivers one of the most advanced digital platforms for large banks,” said Michael D. Hayford, president and CEO of NCR. “NCR’s Digital First Banking solutions help financial institutions connect with consumers whenever, wherever, and this acquisition helps NCR provide banks of all sizes with an exceptional digital experience.”

D3 CEO Mark Vipond called NCR “a great fit” for D3 and said that the timing of the deal is right. “This transaction enables us to capitalize on new market opportunities and bring top-tier capabilities to our mutual and future clients,” he added.

For NCR, the purchase comes at an interesting time. The $3.7 billion company put itself up for sale in May of this year. And, according to the New York post, two firms have bid on NCR but have recently left the negotiating table. A deal has yet to be finalized.

Since it was founded in 1997, D3 Banking has raised $35 million. The Nebraska-based company debuted its small business banking capabilities at FinovateFall 2015.

NCR, which is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “NCR,” has roots dating back to 1884, when the company was founded as the National Cash Register Company. NCR most recently demoed its VR collaboration for ATMs at FinovateSpring 2017.

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Kabbage Secures $200 Million Credit Facility

Kabbage Secures $200 Million Credit Facility
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Uncategorized

To help support its rapid growth, online SME lender Kabbage has closed a $200 million revolving credit facility. The financing comes courtesy of an unnamed subsidiary of a life insurance firm, and was managed and administered by 20 Gates Management and Atalaya Capital Management. The funding adds to the $700 million securitization Kabbage announced earlier this year, and marks the longest period of committed debt funding for the company.

“This transaction further diversifies Kabbage’s committed sources of funding and prepares us to meet the escalating demand for capital access among small businesses,” Kabbage Head of Capital Markets Deepesh Jain said. He called 2019 a “tide-shifting year,” citing the more than $670 million customers accessed via Kabbage in the second quarter.

Kabbage provides SMEs with a line of credit of up to $250,000 with six-, 12-, and 18-month term options available. Businesses can apply for funding online via Kabbage’s mobile app and get a decision in as little as ten minutes. Since it was founded in 2009, the company has provided more than 185,000 U.S. small businesses access to more than $7 billion in capital.

Atlanta, Georgia-based Kabbage demonstrated its Kabbage Card at FinovateSpring 2015. The card enables small business owners to take their Kabbage line of credit with them to make purchases for inventory or supplies wherever they are. The company is also a veteran of our developers conference, presenting its automated lending platform at FinDEVr Silicon Valley 2015.

Featured last month in CEO World’s look at companies that are fighting for fair lending, Kabbage teamed up with online banking platform Azlo in May to launch a new financing program for SMEs called Mission Street Capital. Also in May, the company announced a partnership with the Building Trades Employers’ Association to help provide funding to female and minority-owned business contractors.

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