Alumni News

Lloyds and Taulia Team Up to Offer Virtual Payment Cards

Lloyds and Taulia Team Up to Offer Virtual Payment Cards
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Taulia
  • Supply chain finance fintech Taulia partnered with Lloyds to embed Visa-enabled Virtual Cards into SAP Business Suite solutions, streamlining supplier payments.
  • Businesses using Taulia’s platform will be able to issue virtual cards globally through Lloyds, enhancing automation, cash flow visibility, and payment efficiency.
  • This collaboration builds on Taulia’s previous partnership with Visa, further integrating modern digital payments directly into enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems.

Supply chain finance fintech Taulia announced this week that it has partnered with Lloyds to issue Visa-enabled Virtual Cards. Taulia will embed the new virtual card offering across a range of its SAP Business Suite solutions.

“We are passionate about helping businesses unlock new value streams and our clients are fast recognizing the efficiency and financial benefits of deploying virtual cards for supplier payments,” said Lloyds Head of Commercial Cards Linda Weston. “We are thrilled about our partnership with Taulia as it enables truly embedded B2B payments processes in the SAP technology eco-system, making it easy for clients to adopt virtual payments and realise their strategic objectives.”

Taulia was founded in 2009 to help companies make use of cash tied up in their payables, receivables, and inventory. The company, which was acquired by SAP in 2022, maintains a network of 3+ million businesses to fuel its clients with more working capital. 

Taulia customers who have purchased its Virtual Cards solution can receive credit from Lloyds and issue virtual cards to their suppliers across the globe. The embedded Virtual Cards solution can be seamlessly integrated into non-financial platforms, allowing businesses to offer a better customer experience that will enhance automation, cash flow visibility, and payment efficiency.

Taulia will leverage Visa’s APIs to integrate Visa virtual payment credentials, acceptance solutions, and supplier enablement services into the end-user’s ERP applications.

“Embedding virtual cards directly within the ERP landscape and having Lloyds as an issuing partner is a game-changer for corporate payments,” said Taulia Chief Product Officer Danielle Weinblatt. “This collaboration redefines how businesses manage spend, bringing greater control, automation, and working capital optimization directly into their existing workflows. By seamlessly integrating virtual cards into enterprise systems, we are not only streamlining payments but also empowering companies to unlock liquidity, enhance cash flow intelligence, and modernize their financial operations—driving smarter, more agile growth in an evolving global economy.”

This partnership comes a year after Taulia first announced it had partnered with Visa to embed Visa’s digital payments technology into its Virtual Cards offering. “By partnering with Taulia, we create synergies in working capital management and the enablement of a world class ERP provider,” Visa SVP, Global Head of Large, Middle Market Segments and Working Capital Solutions Alan Koenigsberg said in the announcement last year.

Photo by Dom J

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NAGA Announces Strategic Partnership with TipRanks

NAGA Announces Strategic Partnership with TipRanks
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, TipRanks
  • German trading and investing platform NAGA has announced a strategic partnership with stock research company TipRanks.
  • The partnership will bring advanced stock analysis and institutional-grade research tools to retail investors.
  • Founded in 2012, TipRanks won Best of Show in its Finovate debut at FinovateSpring 2013. The company took home Best of Show honors again at FinovateFall later that year.

Germany-based fintech NAGA has teamed up with stock research firm TipRanks. The strategic partnership will bring advanced stock analysis and institutional-grade research tools to retail investors.

“We are delighted to partner with NAGA. Both our companies are laser-focused on making data and information more readily available to all investors,” TipRanks CEO Uri Gruenbaum said. “We believe technology has an important role to play in improving outcomes for every investor, giving individuals access to the tools and insights that were once only the domain of large-scale institutions.”

The partnership will enable NAGA users to access detailed forecasts from industry analysts. This includes specific price targets for stocks, as well as recommendations for stocks over varying time periods. The partnership will also allow users to better see how hedge funds are investing in different markets, and how well the managers of those funds are performing.

Users will also benefit from TipRanks’ enhanced Smart Score solution. Smart Score ranks stocks from one to 10 based on eight key factors, including how the stock is viewed by top-performing stock analysts, whether or not hedge funds are in the process of accumulating or distributing the stock, and more. Enhancements have made the tool faster and easier to use when evaluating stocks and making buy and sell decisions.

“Our collaboration with TipRanks will yield significant benefits for our users,” NAGA CMO Valentin Ilioi said. “These enhancements represent our commitment to providing innovative tools that give our traders a competitive edge. By continually improving our platform with TipRanks’ insights, we’re ensuring NAGA remains at the forefront of social trading innovation.”

All-in-one trading platform NAGA facilitates trading and investing in more than 4,000 assets including CFDs on stocks, Forex, indicies, commodities, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), bonds, and cryptocurrencies. NAGA also offers social trading which includes an Autocopy tool that enables traders and investors to benefit from the experience of other traders and investors by following and copying their market moves. With more than 1.5 million users on its platform, NAGA is headquartered in Hamburg, Germany, and was founded in 2015.

Founded in 2012, TipRanks won Best of Show in its Finovate debut at FinovateSpring 2013 in San Francisco. The startup scored a second Best of Show award when the company returned to the Finovate stage for FinovateFall later that same year. Most recently, the Tel Aviv-based firm launched Spark AI, a comprehensive AI-powered stock analyst solution that provides data-driven insights on penny stocks and blue chip equities alike. The technology generates reports that detail strengths, risks, financials, and peer comparisons to give traders and investors the information they need in order to make better buy and sell decisions in the market.

Photo by energepic.com

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Splitit Launches its Embedded Shopify App

Splitit Launches its Embedded Shopify App
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, SplitIt
  • Credit card-linked installment payments solutions company Splitit launched its embedded Shopify app.
  • The new app, Splitit Card Installments, gives merchants a one-click installment payment experience without redirects or applications.
  • Splitit made its Finovate debut in 2014 (as PayItSimple USA). The company rebranded as Splitit in 2015.

Card-linked installment payment solutions company Splitit has unveiled its embedded Shopify app: Splitit Card Installments. The new offering gives merchants an all-in-one service that includes credit card processing along with a seamless one-click installment payment experience for consumers that doesn’t require redirects or applications.

“Our Embedded Shopify App marks a transformative leap in the installment payment landscape,” Splitit CTO Ran Landau said. “By seamlessly integrating into the Shopify checkout, we’ve eliminated the friction typically associated with pay-over-time solutions, a key factor in cart abandonment. This white-label approach empowers merchants to offer branded, one-click installment options while maintaining full control over their customer journey and data. For shoppers, it provides unparalleled convenience, allowing them to easily manage their finances without leaving the merchant’s ecosystem.”

The new app is embedded into the Shopify checkout flow, and gives consumers the option to pay in full or by installments directly within the credit card section. A white-label solution, Splitit Card Installments gives merchants control over both their brand identity and customer relationships. There is no distracting third-party branding and all first-party consumer data remains with the merchant. The app is available to shoppers in more than 100 countries who will benefit from access to localized payment options. Merchants benefit from accessing a more diverse, global customer base, as well as new markets and revenue streams.

“This innovation not only enhances the customer experience but also presents a significant opportunity for merchants to acquire and retain customers in an increasingly competitive e-commerce landscape,” Landau added.

Splitit made its Finovate debut (as PayItSimple USA) at FinovateFall 2014. The company rebranded as Splitit the following year in an effort to “better align the Company’s brand with its overall strategy and product offering.” Since then, the company has grown into a major Installments-as-a-Service provider serving many of Internet Retailer’s top 500 merchants. Additionally, Splitit’s solutions are accepted by more than 1,500 ecommerce merchants in 30+ countries and by shoppers in 100+ countries.

Splitit’s new app launch news comes just days after the company announced a partnership with modern card issuance company and fellow Finovate alum Highnote. Courtesy of the partnership, Splitit will leverage Highnote’s tokenized virtual cards to pay merchants and provide real-time functionality that enables Splitit to offer consumers a new option for paying over time. This allows consumers to use their digital wallets to access Splitit’s card-linked, embedded, installment payment options. The process features a low-friction, pay-later approval flow that eliminates the need for a credit check by referencing the consumer’s existing available credit.

Splitit CEO Nandan Sheth praised Highnote’s platform for its “flexibility, scalability, and security.” He added, “This partnership allows us to offer shoppers a seamless and efficient way to make payments over time, directly within their digital wallets or at merchant checkout, further simplifying the shopper journey.”

Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, Splitit also maintains an R&D center in Israel and offices in London. The company was founded in 2012.

Photo by Mikhail Nilov

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LoanPro Teams Up with NovoPayment to Boost Credit Access in Latin America

LoanPro Teams Up with NovoPayment to Boost Credit Access in Latin America
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, LoanPro
  • LoanPro and NovoPayment have teamed up to help expand access to credit for consumers in Latin America.
  • The partnership integrates LoanPro’s credit ledger and origination, servicing, and collections technology with NovoPayment’s API-based issuing processing.
  • Utah-based LoanPro made its Finovate debut at FinovateSpring in 2021.

Modern credit platform LoanPro and financial infrastructure provider NovoPayment have announced a partnership to help boost access to credit in Latin America. The two companies will give financial institutions and fintechs throughout the region an integrated, end-to-end infrastructure that can support credit and lending products of virtually any class.

The integration will give FIs and fintechs access to a suite of solutions to boost their own credit offerings. These solutions include LoanPro’s Transaction Level Credit product, which facilitates the assignment of unique repayment terms, fee structures, and interest rates to individual transactions. This helps institutions offer customers personalized credit solutions, and enables different categories of transactions to feature different interest rates and financial terms.

FIs and fintechs will also benefit from NovoPayment’s cloud-native platform that puts real-time processing, robust security, event-driven architecture, and an API-first approach to work to deliver low-latency transactions and automated failover. This further supports the ability of companies to offer customized credit solutions.

“Access to credit is a cornerstone of true financial inclusion,” NovoPayment CEO Rodrigo Rodas said. “NovoPayment’s trajectory has been defined by our commitment to bridging financial gaps through innovative infrastructure solutions. Partnering with LoanPro enables us to empower financial institutions and fintechs across Latin America, providing them with the tools to offer diverse credit products and foster economic growth in the region.”

The partnership between LoanPro and NovoPayment comes at a time when modernization in banking and financial services infrastructure in Latin America is increasingly lagging behind the expansion of the financial services market as a whole. In a statement, the companies noted that while financial inclusion in Latin America has made significant gains from 2021 to 2024, with 28% of adults reaching an “advanced level of financial inclusion,” millions still lack access to modern credit and lending solutions. This issue is all the more acute due to the inability to scale those products financial institutions do offer. The integration of NovoPayment’s issuing processing with LoanPro’s credit ledger and origination, servicing, and collections solutions directly addresses these challenges.

“NovoPayment has been at the forefront of enabling financial innovation across Latin America, and their work aligns perfectly with LoanPro’s mission to modernize credit,” LoanPro CEO and Co-Founder Rhett Roberts said. “By bringing LoanPro’s lending technology into NovoPayment’s ecosystem in Latin America, we’re giving financial institutions and fintechs the tools they need to offer credit with confidence and compliance at the core.”

A leading payment processor for markets throughout Latin America, NovoPayment enables businesses and financial institutions to launch and scale their digital banking and payment offerings. The company processed more than 310 million transactions in 2024 and operates in 15 markets. Founded in 2007, NovoPayment is headquartered in Miami, Florida, and has offices in Mexico, Colombia, Peru, and Ecuador.

LoanPro made its Finovate debut as part of our all-digital FinovateSpring conference in 2021. That same year, the company also participated in our developers conference, FinDEVr 2021. Headquartered in Farmington, Utah, and founded in 2016, LoanPro serves more than 600 financial organizations, providing them with a modern credit platform that gives financial institutions and fintechs the infrastructure to manage lending and credit programs at scale, including loan origination, servicing, and collections.

FinovateSpring 2025 comes to sunny San Diego, May 7 through 9 at the Sheraton San Diego Hotel and Marina. Pick up your ticket today and take advantage of early-bird savings!

Photo by Enrique from Pexels

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Tuum and Sumsub Team Up to Enhance Fraud Prevention for Financial Institutions

Tuum and Sumsub Team Up to Enhance Fraud Prevention for Financial Institutions
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Sumsub, Tuum
  • Core banking provider Tuum and verification platform Sumsub announced a partnership this week.
  • The collaboration will help banks, fintechs, and financial institutions enhance fraud prevention without compromising the user experience.
  • Tuum won Best of Show in its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2024 in London. Sumsub made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2020 in Berlin.

A newly announced partnership between core banking provider Tuum and full-cycle verification platform Sumsub will give banks, fintechs, and financial institutions the ability to streamline customer onboarding and enhance fraud prevention without adding friction to the user experience.

The integration of Sumsub’s compliance solutions will help financial institutions deal with the growing threat of fraud and financial crime. This includes a global, fourfold increase in AI-driven deepfake scams. Adding to this challenge is the proliferation of new regulations that are tightening compliance requirements and mandating greater security and operational resilience.

“Regulatory compliance and fraud prevention are no longer just obligations—they are critical to long-term success in financial services,” Tuum Partnerships Director Peter DeSouza said. “With new frameworks like PSD3 and DORA shaping the industry, banks and fintechs must embed resilience, security, and real-time fraud detection into their core operations.”

Through the partnership, banks and fintechs working with Tuum will benefit from automated identity verification and AI-powered fraud detection and transaction monitoring. This will enable them to onboard customers faster and comply with international KYC/AML regulations. Tuum-powered institutions will also benefit from the ability to securely scale and operate in multiple markets thanks to real-time decisioning and continuous risk monitoring.

“As financial institutions navigate increasingly complex regulatory landscapes, seamless compliance and fraud prevention are more critical than ever,” Sumsub Business Development Director for EU/UK Julia Bonda said. “Over three-quarters of fraud now occurs beyond the onboarding stage, with identity fraud in Europe surging by 150% year-over-year in 2024.”

Making its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2020 in Berlin, Sumsub offers a full-cycle verification platform including customizable solutions for KYC, KYB, transaction monitoring, and fraud prevention. Founded in 2015, the company has more than 4,000 clients in industries such as fintech, trading, e-commerce, crypto, transportation, education, and more. Sumsub’s customers include Bitpanda, Bybit, Wirex, and TransferGo. Andrew Sever is the company’s Founder and CEO.

Of late, Sumsub has forged partnerships with the Association of Fintechs in Kenya (AFIK), workforce payroll and payments platform Papaya Global, and Latin America-based corporate expense management company Clara. Most recently, the company announced a partnership with Duolingo to bolster security for the language-learning app’s English language proficiency test, the DET.

Headquartered in the UK and Estonia, Tuum won Best of Show in its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2024. At the conference, the company demonstrated how its modular, cloud-native, API-first banking platform leverages a microservices architecture to provide high scalability and flexibility along with lower maintenance costs. In the year since then, Tuum has secured partnerships with numerous fintechs including TransactionLink, CREALOGIX, DDCAP ETHOS, Ozone API, Flexys, ComplyAdvantage, and audax. The company was founded in 2019. Myles Bertrand is CEO.

Photo by Marlene Leppänen

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Core10 Taps PayNearMe to Facilitate Loan Repayment

Core10 Taps PayNearMe to Facilitate Loan Repayment
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, PayNearMe
  • Core10 is partnering with PayNearMe to integrate loan repayment options, allowing its bank clients to offer payments via PayPal, Venmo, Cash App Pay, Apple Pay, Google Pay, ACH, and even cash at 62,000 retail locations.
  • The integration with Core10’s Mesh middleware simplifies adoption, enabling real-time core banking connections for faster payment posting, balance updates, and improved transaction accuracy.
  • The partnership aims to enhance borrower payment experiences by reducing agent-assisted transactions, decreasing delinquency rates, and lowering operational costs for financial institutions.

Middleware provider Core10 announced today that it has selected payments innovator PayNearMe to enhance loan repayment capabilities for its bank clients.

Core10 will integrate PayNearMe’s platform within its Mesh middleware to enable financial institutions to seamlessly connect PayNearMe’s solution to their core banking system. PayNearMe will allow firms to offer borrowers a full suite of modern payment options, including PayPal, Venmo, Cash App Pay, Apple Pay, Google Pay, cards, and ACH. Uniquely, thanks to PayNearMe’s merchant partnerships, banks can also allow customers to pay their loan balances using cash at more than 62,000 retail locations. By offering a wide range of payment options, Core10 will enable borrowers to pay using their preferred methods, which ultimately increases on-time payments and self-service transactions while reducing reliance on customer support.

“Partnering with Core10 is a key step in expanding our reach in the banking and credit union market,” said PayNearMe CRO Michael Kaplan. “Core10’s Mesh platform, with its pre-built connections to major core systems, makes deploying PayNearMe fast and simple. With PayNearMe, banks and credit unions can provide borrowers with a frictionless, mobile-first payment experience—reducing agent-assisted payment interactions by up to 40%. By improving the payment experience, financial institutions can decrease delinquency, reduce call center volume, and lower their cost of acceptance.”

PayNearMe was founded in 2009 to enable unbanked individuals to transact online by paying with cash at brick-and-mortar retailers. Today, the California-based company offers payments processing, exception management, and diverse payment options for banks, toll companies, mortgage servicing companies, online gaming, auto lenders, and buy here pay here payment collectors.

With its connections to major core banking providers including Jack Henry, Fiserv, CSI, Core10 will help its bank clients quickly implement PayNearMe with minimal IT effort. The real-time core integration will enable immediate payment posting and balance updates that will help improve the efficiency and accuracy of organizations’ transaction processing.

“Core10 is dedicated to helping financial institutions innovate faster,” said Core10 CEO Jeff Hanson. “Our Mesh middleware makes it easy for financial institutions to connect new fintech solutions into their ecosystems, and PayNearMe is an ideal payments partner. Together, we’re helping banks and credit unions deliver exceptional payment experiences that drive down costs through streamlined operations and improved payment success rates.”

Photo by Daniel Thomas on Unsplash

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Savings and Purchase Fulfillment Platform SaveAway Unveils New Features

Savings and Purchase Fulfillment Platform SaveAway Unveils New Features
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, SaveAway
  • Savings and purchase fulfillment platform SaveAway has introduced a suite of new features.
  • The new functionality includes Custom Plans and Friends & Family Comments and Voting, which move beyond traditional anonymous reviews and blind gift-giving.
  • SaveAway made its Finovate debut at FinovateFall 2016 in New York. Om Kundu is Founder and CEO.

Goal-based savings and purchase fulfillment platform SaveAway introduced a range of new features. The new capabilities expand the platform’s core functionality to fulfill purchases without relying on credit or debt.

For years, SaveAway customers have been able to use the platform to establish a savings and purchase goal, set up autopay via their FDIC-insured SaveAway wallet, and then receive their item after the savings goal is met. With this announcement, SaveAway now enables users to purchase any product—not just those available via the SaveAway web app—simply by providing product details. This Custom Plans functionality expands access to a broader range of products and a wider network of retail partners and brands. It also makes it easier for users to set purchase goals that are better aligned with their personal preferences.

The company also announced Friends & Family Comments and Voting capabilities. This functionality lets users invite friends, family, and other members of their own “trusted circle” to comment, advise, and vote on a user’s potential purchases. Not only can they provide feedback on prospective purchases, but friends and family also can contribute financially toward the purchase. This functionality takes e-commerce beyond traditional anonymous reviews and blind gift-giving by integrating both the opinions and support of those who know and care about the consumer and their personal finances.

“SaveAway triages these first-of-its-kind capabilities to make the path to purchase more memorable and responsible, rather than one that relinquishes agency to the slippery slope of credit/debt/regret,” company Founder and CEO Om Kundu said in a statement. “Buyers and sellers can thus join the community of those who SaveAway to realize their purchase goals, while retailers recapture lost sales previously perceived as abandoned carts, affordably and sustainably.”

SaveAway’s announcement comes as the company ramps up its outreach efforts through campaigns such as “$25 for ’25,” a referral program that rewards new users and those they refer when they sign up for SaveAway and complete a savings and purchase plan. The company also announced its program to encourage content creators, influencers, and early adopters to try and test the platform. Lastly, SaveAway has enhanced its “Monitor Your Plan” page, boosting ease of use and transparency by making the content more intuitive and informative.

Founded in 2014 and headquartered in New York, SaveAway made its Finovate debut at FinovateFall 2016. At a time when Buy Now Pay Later platforms are gaining prominence, SaveAway offers an alternative for those looking to limit or reduce their reliance on credit and debt. More than simply a better way for consumers to “save for what matters,” SaveAway enables consumers to leverage the wisdom (and, potentially, the discretionary cash) of friends and families to promote financial wellness and to build a generation of smarter savers and smarter spenders.

Photo by Miguel Á. Padriñán

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BaaS Provider Synctera Secures $15 Million in Funding

BaaS Provider Synctera Secures $15 Million in Funding
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Funding, Synctera
  • BaaS platform Synctera secured $15 million in funding in a round co-led by Fin Capital and Diagram Ventures.
  • The investment takes Synctera’s total funding to date to $94 million.
  • Headquartered in Palo Alto, California and founded in 2020, Synctera made its Finovate debut last September at FinovateFall 2024.

Banking and payments platform Synctera has raised $15 million in funding. The round was co-led by Fin Capital and Diagram Ventures, and featured participation from existing investors First & Main, Evolution, and True Equity.

The investment takes Synctera’s total capital raised to date to $94 million. The firm indicated that the additional capital will help fuel its current expansion plans, including better serving its growing customer base. “This is a vote of confidence that enables us to continue to drive scalable growth and excellence for our customers and community of banks,” Synctera Co-Founder and CEO Peter Hazlehurst said.

Synctera’s banking and payments platform provides companies with the tools they need in order to build and scale a variety of innovative financial services products: from bank accounts to card programs to money movement services. The company’s technology also enables sponsor banks to better manage compliant partnerships with fintechs.

Synctera’s funding announcement comes just days after the company announced inking a deal with its largest customer to date: Bolt. A fintech that specializes in one-click online checkouts, Bolt—supported by its bank partner, Midland States Bank—will soon offer new financial services to consumers courtesy of its new relationship with Synctera.

“Bolt has always been incredibly driven to deliver the absolute best online checkout experience for consumers of some of the largest brands on the planet,” Bolt Founder and CEO Ryan Breslow said. “We’re excited to partner with Synctera to arm brands with more ways to engage with their customers.”

Additionally, Synctera recently announced a new partnership with fellow Finovate alum Hawk. The alliance will integrate Hawk’s AML and CFT technology into Synctera’s platform, strengthening Synctera’s status as a category leader in risk management and compliance.

“The reason we built Hawk was because we wanted to combine AML and fraud use cases in one platform. Native, Explained AI, and our capability to handle (the) largest volume in real-time position us well to support Synctera’s growth plans, which we love to be a part of,” Hawk Co-Founder and CEO Tobias Schweiger said.

Headquartered in Palo Alto, California and founded in 2020, Synctera made its Finovate debut last September at FinovateFall 2024 in New York. At the conference, the company demomstrated how its platform gives banks an end-to-end solution to start or scale a compliant Banking-as-a-Service program.

Photo by MART PRODUCTION

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As it Preps for IPO, Klarna Takes the Throne as Walmart’s BNPL Provider

As it Preps for IPO, Klarna Takes the Throne as Walmart’s BNPL Provider
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, IPO, Klarna
  • Klarna is replacing Affirm as Walmart’s exclusive BNPL provider, marking a major shift in the BNPL space.
  • Walmart shoppers will soon be able to use Klarna’s installment loans in-store and online, with OnePay handling the user experience and Klarna underwriting the loans.
  • The deal strengthens Klarna’s U.S. presence ahead of its IPO, giving it access to millions of Walmart shoppers and increasing its loan volume, brand recognition, and potential investor appeal.

Klarna has big news today, and it’s not just that the company filed its IPO prospectus with the SEC. The buy now, pay later (BNPL) company announced that it has struck an agreement with Walmart to serve as the retail giant’s exclusive partner for BNPL installment loans.

Klarna is replacing BNPL provider Affirm, which secured the BNPL provider partnership with Walmart last January. Under the agreement, Klarna will provide the BNPL loans for Walmart shoppers in-store and online.

The online BNPL loans will be extended through Walmart-owned fintech OnePay (formerly known as ONE). OnePay will handle the user experience, while Klarna will be in charge of loan underwriting. The BNPL loans through One will range from three-month to 36-month terms and will charge interest rates ranging from 10% to 36%. Leveraging Klarna’s BNPL tool will add installment loans to OnePay’s suite of existing financial tools, which include banking, credit, and payments products. 

“This is a game changer,” said Sebastian Siemiatkowski, Co-founder and CEO, Klarna. “Millions of people in the U.S. shop at Walmart every day—and now they can shop smarter with OnePay installment loans powered by Klarna. OnePay choosing Klarna as their exclusive installment loans partner at Walmart in the U.S. is a huge vote of confidence as we pursue our goal of being available everywhere for everything. We look forward to helping redefine checkout at the world’s largest retailer—both online and in stores.”

This deal is a significant customer acquisition opportunity for Klarna. Walmart serves millions of shoppers daily, and Klarna’s presence at checkout will significantly increase its U.S. loan volume.

According to CNBC, Walmart will initiate the launch with Klarna in the coming months and will roll out to all Walmart channels later this year. It is likely that Klarna will serve as the only BNPL option for Walmart shoppers by the end of 2025.

​Walmart launched OnePay, its fintech startup, in January 2021 through a partnership with Ribbit Capital. In January 2022, Walmart expanded One’s capabilities by acquiring two fintech platforms, Even and ONE, which helped Walmart create a more comprehensive financial services app. One launched with a checking account product for Walmart employees, as well as some select customers, in 2022.

“It’s never been more important to give consumers simple and convenient ways to access fair credit at the point of sale—and that’s especially true for the millions of people who turn to Walmart every week for everything,” said OnePay CEO Omer Ismail. “We’re incredibly excited to partner with Klarna to give consumers easier and more seamless ways to shop with OnePay at Walmart.”

Notably, today’s partnership comes days after Klarna filed its F-1 prospectus with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. While this is a much-anticipated move in the fintech community, the official valuation figures won’t come out until Klarna prices its shares, which may take around a month. That said, Klarna hopes to raise at least $1 billion at a $15 billion valuation.

This deal signifies two major things. First, it indicates a major shift in the BNPL landscape. Affirm’s stock dropped by more than 10% in pre-market trading following Klarna’s announcement, which highlights just how significant a BNPL partnership with Walmart is. Additionally, Walmart’s move to switch its BNPL provider after a little over a year shows that retailers are not afraid to reevaluate their BNPL strategies, and that no single player is untouchable.

Second, Walmart’s move indicates that the retailer is positioning OnePay to compete with traditional banks and fintechs. By adding Klarna’s BNPL tools to its roster of banking services, Walmart is positioning OnePay as a more comprehensive financial platform for its customers, which tend to be financially underserved individuals.

Photo by Cristian Cativo

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Mastercard partners with CredibleX to empower SMEs with enhanced access to financing

Mastercard partners with CredibleX to empower SMEs with enhanced access to financing
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, MasterCard
  • CredibleX is integrating Mastercard’s Small Business Credit Analytics (SBCA) API into its embedded financing platform to enhance SME credit access in the UAE and EMEA region.
  • SBCA uses anonymized, item-level transaction data to help lenders assess small business financial performance, enabling faster underwriting, reduced risk, and improved loan terms.
  • This partnership aligns with Mastercard’s goal of driving financial inclusion, leveraging advanced analytics to help small businesses secure working capital despite limited credit history.

Working capital financing platform CredibleX announced this week that it has partnered with Mastercard. The Abu Dhabi-based company is integrating Mastercard’s Small Business Credit Analytics (SBCA) into its embedded financing tool.

The integration will offer CredibleX enhanced data-driven insights based on anonymized and aggregated transaction data. Leveraging this new data in a unique way with SBCA will empower small and medium businesses to have greater access to financing.

​Mastercard launched its SBCA API last April as part of an effort to enhance tools for acquirers in identifying and mitigating potential risks during onboarding and daily operations. SBCA solicits consent from the small business client to leverage data-driven insights to help assess the company’s financial performance. SBCA leverages business performance data to help lenders evaluate key questions about a small business’s financial health.

With SBCA integrated into its embedded financing tool, CredibleX will be able to help make more informed lending decisions, reduce underwriting time, and enhance risk management. “This partnership with CredibleX underscores Mastercard’s commitment to supporting the SME ecosystem in the UAE,” said Mastercard EVP of Services in EEMEA Selin Bahadirli. “SBCA is a game-changer, offering unparalleled insights into small business performance. Together, we aim to empower SMEs with better credit access, improved loan terms, and enhanced opportunities for growth.”

Adding enhanced data will also help CredibleX improve access to credit across the EMEA region. Because Mastercard’s SBCA will offer CredibleX a more comprehensive evaluation of a business’s financial health, it will also drive financial inclusion for small businesses with previously limited access to working capital because of their limited credit history or lack of formal documentation.

“This partnership is a testament to our shared vision of enabling financial inclusion and innovation,” said CredibleX Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer Hassan Reda. “By combining CredibleX’s expertise in lending with Mastercard’s advanced analytics, we are setting a new benchmark for data driven SME financing in the region.”

Founded in 2023, CredibleX offers embedded insurance, embedded invoice finance, embedded POS finance, and B2B channel finance tools. The solutions help any organization that services SMB customers to add lending solutions under their brand. CredibleX raised $55 million in funding last December from Further Ventures. Anand Nagaraj serves as CEO.

Photo by Rachel Claire

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1Kosmos Announces Integration with Microsoft Entra ID

1Kosmos Announces Integration with Microsoft Entra ID
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: 1Kosmos, Alumni News
  • Identity verification and passwordless authentication company 1Kosmos announced native support for Microsoft Entra ID.
  • The integration of 1Kosmos technology will enable enterprises to unify ID verification and passwordless access across their entire infrastructure for both Microsoft and non-Microsoft applications.
  • 1Kosmos won Best of Show in its Finovate debut at FinovateSpring 2023 in San Francisco.

Identity proofing and passwordless authentication specialist 1Kosmos has announced its native support for Microsoft Entra ID. A cloud-based identity and access management service, Entra ID enables users to sign into solutions like Microsoft 365, Azure, and other applications, including numerous external resources. The integration with 1Kosmos will give businesses additional security and enhanced user experiences by leveraging 1Kosmos to unify their identity verification and passwordless access to both their Microsoft ecosystem and non-Microsoft apps.

“Microsoft Entra ID is a powerful identity platform, but support for non-Microsoft applications, legacy systems, and hybrid environments can be challenging,” 1Kosmos CTO Rohan Pinto said. “The 1Kosmos platform supplements Entra ID with an external authentication infrastructure that spans both modern and legacy systems, enforces high-assurance identity proofing, and delivers secure, frictionless access to all enterprise applications — whether on-premises, in the cloud, or across hybrid environments.”

Via 1Kosmos’ self-service identity verification workflow and passwordless MFA credential, users can either scan a QR code or click a smart link to initiate onboarding or to reset passwords. In addition to unifying ID verification and passwordless access across a firm’s entire infrastructure, the integration provides a consistent passwordless MFA experience across Active Directory, Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, Unix, and legacy systems.

“At Microsoft, we believe security is a team effort,” said Natee Pretikul, Principal Product Management Lead for Microsoft Security. “Our customers often use different vendor solutions, and Microsoft Entra ID helps protect these diverse environments. With the new integration of Entra ID External Authentication Methods and 1Kosmos, our customers can now use 1Kosmos’ identity verification and passwordless solutions to enhance their security. This will make access easier and reduce fraud risks.”

1Kosmos won Best of Show in its Finovate debut at FinovateSpring 2023 in San Francisco and returned to the Finovate stage later that year for FinovateFall in New York. Founded in 2021 and headquartered in New Jersey, the company reported a 3x gain in revenue for 2024, as well as a doubling of its customer base. 1Kosmos also last year secured a next-generation identity proofing Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) from Login.gov valued at more than $194.5 million.

Photo by Sigurd Brown

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Payoneer Partners with Bancolombia’s Neobank Nequi

Payoneer Partners with Bancolombia’s Neobank Nequi
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Alumni profile, Payoneer

Global payments company Payoneer is growing its presence in Latin America this month. The New York-based fintech has partnered with Colombian Bank Nequi, Bancolombia’s Neobank.

By integrating Payoneer, Nequi will enable its users to transfer their dollars and euros from Payoneer to Nequi and receive them in Colombian pesos in a matter of minutes. Payoneer joins 30+ other services that Nequi offers. Notably, Payoneer will enable Nequi users to bring euros through the Nequi platform for the first time.

A business line of Bancolombia, Nequi’s digital financial platform seeks to help improve its more than 21 million users’ relationships with money. Nequi users can pay with the Nequi Card, pay for public services, recharge their cell phone, receive money from abroad, buy insurance or a bus ticket, and more.

“At Nequi we work to adapt to new global dynamics by facilitating the reception of international payments in an efficient and economical way,” said Nequi Business Strategy Leader María del Pilar Correa. “That is why this new integration with Payoneer has us very excited because we continue to strengthen the possibilities for our users and this will undoubtedly be a great option for freelancers, entrepreneurs and people who do international business, since they can receive payments from clients in other countries, with different currencies, in a fast and secure way at a global level.”

Once they link their account, Nequi savings accountholders can transfer up to $5,000 per month, with a maximum of $2,000 per transaction. Nequi low-value deposit accountholders can transfer up to $2,000 per month, with a maximum of $2,000 per transaction.

Payoneer was founded in 2005 to help small-and-medium-sized businesses to transact, do business, and grow globally. The company’s global financial stack helps remove barriers and simplify cross-border commerce to make it easier for businesses to connect to the global economy, pay, get paid, manage their funds across multiple currencies, and grow their businesses.

Payoneer went public via a SPAC merger with FTAC Olympus Acquisition Corp. in 2021. The company listed on the NASDAQ in June of that same year under the ticker PAYO and has a current market capitalization of $3 billion.

“By partnering with the most popular neobank in Colombia, Payoneer is helping to address a critical need in the region: enabling entrepreneurs in Colombia [to] receive payments with increased flexibility in fund usage,” said Payoneer SVP of Growth in Latin America Mar Fernández. “Working with Nequi to enhance our functionalities further fulfills Payoneer’s mission to empower businesses from anywhere in the world to scale to their businesses globally. We aim to support the ambitions and boost the international competitiveness of Colombian professionals.”

Payoneer has presented at FinDEVr New York in 2016, where it showcased integrating its Armor Payments API into a marketplace. Prior to that, the company demoed its commercial account at FinovateAsia 2013 in Singapore.

Photo by Camila Melo

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