Alumni News

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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ThetaRay and Spayce Team Up To Fight Fraud in Cross-Border Payments

ThetaRay and Spayce Team Up To Fight Fraud in Cross-Border Payments
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, ThetaRay
  • Financial crime compliance innovator ThetaRay announced a strategic partnership with cross-border payments platform Spayce.
  • The collaboration will combine ThetaRay’s Cognitive AI Transaction Monitoring solution with Spayce’s payments infrastructure to enhance the platform’s financial crime detection capabilities.
  • ThetaRay made its Finovate debut at FinovateFall 2015 in New York.

Cognitive AI financial crime compliance company ThetaRay is working with cross-border payments platform Spayce to bring enhanced security and fraud fighting ability to payments. The strategic partnership will combine ThetaRay’s Cognitive AI Transaction Monitoring solution with Spayce’s global payments infrastructure to give the platform better financial crime detection capabilities.

“Financial crime is evolving rapidly, and the technology used to combat it must evolve even faster,” ThetaRay CEO Peter Reynolds said. “Our partnership with Spayce unites robust payment infrastructure with ThetaRay’s Cognitive AI to deliver proactive risk mitigation, greater transparency, and the trusted cross-border transactions needed to power global growth.”

ThetaRay’s Cognitive AI technology analyzes transaction data to accurately identify suspicious activity and complex financial crimes. The company’s offering helps institutions better combat the growing sophistication of criminal networks who are able to thwart traditional rule-based anti-money laundering (AML) systems. Spayce will leverage ThetaRay’s AI-first solution to ensure regulatory compliance and scale securely.

“Partnering with ThetaRay empowers us to stay ahead of increasingly sophisticated financial threats, while continuing to deliver seamless, trusted payment experiences for our customers worldwide,” Spayce Co-Founder and Partner Debra LePage said.

Operating in more than 200 countries and territories, Spayce is a cross-border payment platform that enables secure and scalable global transactions. The company offers real-time payments via its Spayce Real-Time Payments solution, ACH via its Spayce ACH Payments solution, as well as Open Banking services. Use cases for Spayce’s solutions include vendor payouts, global payroll, ecommerce settlements, and real-time B2P and B2B payments via a combination of APIs, a hosted checkout solution, and a merchant portal.

Founded in 2013, ThetaRay made its Finovate debut at FinovateFall 2015 in New York. Today, the company offers transaction monitoring, dynamic customer risk assessment, and real-time transaction and customer screening to financial institutions around the world including Santander, Mashreq Bank, and Travelex. ThetaRay leverages Cognitive AI to help financial institutions distinguish legitimate customers from fraudsters, and its SaaS-based solutions provide companies with shorter implementation lifecycles as well as the ability to scale faster.

ThetaRay began 2025 with news that it had formed a strategic partnership with New York-based private and commercial bank, IDB Bank. The institution, a wholly owned subsidiary of Israel Discount Bank, deployed ThetaRay’s AI-powered transaction monitoring solution to “enhance (its) operational fortitude and core competencies” in the words of bank president and CEO Ziv Biron. “In leveraging ThetaRay’s next generation technology,” Biron added, “we hope to introduce an innovative solution that will allow IDB to continue providing strong protections within the financial services industry, for our customers and operations against financial crime.”

Photo by Jr Korpa on Unsplash

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Scalable Capital Secures €155 Million in its Largest Funding Round to Date

Scalable Capital Secures €155 Million in its Largest Funding Round to Date
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Funding, Scalable Capital

Digital wealth management and investing platform Scalable Capital has raised €155 million ($175 million). The largest funding round in the company’s history, the investment was led by Sofina and Noteus Partners, and featured participation from existing investors Balderton Capital, Tencent, and HV Capital. The funding brings Scalable Capital’s total raised to more than €470 million (more than $535 million).

Among Europe’s leading digital investment platforms, Scalable Capital enables traders and investors to buy and sell stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), bonds, cryptocurrencies, derivatives, private equity, and other products. More than €30 billion is held on the Scalable Capital platform by more than one million customers. The company also offers Scalable Wealth, a digital wealth management service that provides clients with professional ETF portfolio investment. The service is also available as a white-label solution via Scalable Capital’s B2B partners.

“Noteus Partners and Sofina perfectly complement our global investor base. The recent funding round is a clear endorsement, and an important step on our path to becoming the leading retail investment platform in Europe,” Scalable Capital Founder and Co-CEO Erik Podzuweit said. “Through our investment platform and additional new products, we’ll be able to offer even more people in Europe the best options for their investments. We have a firm focus on wealth creation and saving for retirement for the whole family.”

Scalable Capital began the year with the launch of its private equity offering courtesy of a partnership with BlackRock. Available to Scalable Capital’s qualified investors in Germany via Scalable Broker, investors will be able to access the BlackRock Private Equity Fund, and invest with one-off investments of as little as €10,000. Scalable Capital is the first digital investment platform to offer the private equity solution from BlackRock, which is also available as a savings plan once the initial investment is made.

More recently, Scalable Capital announced that its clients can invest in Swiss stocks as of May 2, 2025. Tradable via the European Investor Exchange, gettex, and Xetra, access to Swiss stocks comes after more than five years of suspension from EU stock exchanges. Previously, EU investors were only able to invest in Swiss shares indirectly through products such as American Depository Receipts (ADRs) or by way of over-the-counter trading options. Revocation of this regulation went into effect at the beginning of the month.

“The Swiss stock exchange has much more to offer than the three big dividend aristocrats,” Scalable Capital Chief Economist Christian Röhl said, referring to Nestlé, Roche, and Novartis, three of the largest stocks in the Swiss stock market. “In addition to many financial stocks and special stocks such as mountain railways, there are numerous highly specialized market and technology leaders—such as the hearing aid manufacturer Sonova, the dental technician Straumann or the sanitary product manufacturer Geberit.”

Scalable Capital made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2016 in London. Headquartered in Munich, Germany, and London, UK, the company was founded in 2014.

Photo by Pixabay

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KeyBank Taps Personetics to Give Customers Insights into Spending

KeyBank Taps Personetics to Give Customers Insights into Spending
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, Personetics
  • KeyBank has partnered with Personetics to integrate AI-driven financial wellness tools that offer real-time, personalized advice based on customers’ spending.
  • The bank will use Personetics’ Engage platform to deliver insights that help users make smarter financial decisions.
  • The move will help boost engagement and foster long-term customer loyalty.

KeyBank announced this morning that it has partnered with Personetics to bring financial wellness to its customers. The Ohio-based bank will leverage Personetics’ Cognitive Banking platform, which analyzes consumer transactions and delivers advice.

Specifically, KeyBank will use Personetics’ Engage, a client experience that offers customers spending insights and recommendations based on their spending and savings habits.

KeyBank will implement Personetics’ Engage solution, which uses AI to deliver real-time, personalized insights based on customers’ spending and saving patterns. By identifying trends and anticipating future needs, Engage offers timely, actionable advice to help users make smarter financial decisions and reach their goals in order to transform the banking experience from transactional to advisory.

By embedding Personetics’ cognitive banking tools into its digital offering, KeyBank will help improve customer engagement, reduce attrition, and create new revenue opportunities through better financial outcomes.

“KeyBank’s mission is to help clients and communities thrive. A large part of that mission centers in helping clients move forward on their financial journeys and reach their financial goals,” said KeyBank Head of Consumer Digital Emily Gessner. “By leveraging Personetics’ platform and experience, we will address the financial burden and stress consumers face by empowering our clients with real-time insights and guidance to help them effectively manage their financial futures.”

KeyBank was founded in 1825 and has 1,000 branches across the US. The bank has acquired AQN Strategies, HelloWallet, First Niagara Financial Group, EverTrust Financial Group, Leasetec, and most recently BaaS provider XUP. Among the company’s strategic partners are AvidXchange, BillTrust, and Bill.com.

Headquartered in New York, and with offices in London, Tel Aviv, and Singapore, Personetics counts more than 150 million bank customers across the globe. The fintech was founded in 2010 and strives to help banks create “self-driving finance” experiences for its customers. Under this concept, banks leverage AI to proactively act on behalf of their clients to help them achieve their financial goals.

“This partnership isn’t just about innovation—it’s about using intelligent technology to forge deeper human relationships between banks and the people they serve,” said Personetics CEO Udi Ziv. “Cognitive Banking redefines how banks understand and support their customers and, as a result, fosters customer loyalty.”

Photo by Magda Ehlers

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Tradu Turns to Salt Edge for PSD2 Compliance and Payment Initiation

Tradu Turns to Salt Edge for PSD2 Compliance and Payment Initiation
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Salt Edge
  • Canada-based open banking platform Salt Edge has teamed up with UK-based trading platform Tradu.
  • The partnership will help Tradu enhance its security infrastructure and meet PSD2 compliance regulations.
  • Founded in 2013, Salt Edge made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2017. Garri Galanter is CEO.

Open banking platform Salt Edge will help multi-asset trading platform Tradu enhance its security infrastructure and meet PSD2 compliance regulations courtesy of a newly announced partnership. The collaboration will help Tradu better defend itself and its customers from fraud while providing a frictionless experience for the platform’s traders and investors.

“Secure and compliant access to financial data is no longer optional; it’s essential,” Salt Edge Senior Open Banking Solutions Expert Dan Martalog said. “Collaborations like the one between Salt Edge and Tradu are crucial for enabling innovative platforms to scale confidently while meeting strict PSD2 requirements. By providing seamless SCA and compliance tools, we’re helping Tradu focus on what matters most: delivering a trustworthy and efficient trading experience to its users.”

Salt Edge’s full-stack open banking compliance solution will ensure that Tradu is fully aligned with PSD2 regulations and provide the platform with a streamlined user authentication process that leverages secure, Strong Customer Authentication (SCA)-ready flows. The partnership will also enable Tradu to offer additional services such as the MCI exemption, as well as a custom, third-party provider (TPP) portal.

Additionally, Tradu is completing adoption of Salt Edge’s Open Banking Gateway for Payment Initiation Services (PIS). This will enable Tradu traders and investors to top up their accounts directly from their UK and EU bank accounts, providing a funding experience that is fast, secure, and low friction.

“Security and compliance are at the core of our financial services,” Tradu Product Director and Founding Employee Tomasz Stupnicki said. “Our collaboration with Salt Edge enhances user trust, ensuring a seamless and protected financial experience.”

Founded in 2023 and headquartered in London, Tradu offers active traders and investors access to thousands of tradable assets including equities, commodities, cryptocurrencies, CFDs, foreign exchange, treasuries, and indices. The company’s partnership with Salt Edge comes as the firm prepares to bring its wallet services to additional markets in Europe. Tradu expects its alliance with Salt Edge will support connections to and simplify integration and compliance efforts for more than 500 financial institutions across more than 20 countries. Brendan Callan is Tradu’s CEO.

Salt Edge made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2018 and most recently demoed at FinovateEurope 2019. The Ottawa, Ontario-based fintech was founded in 2013 and today provides access to real-time account data from 5,000 financial institutions across 50+ countries via its open banking gateway. Salt Edge also offers an open banking and PSD2 compliance solution with APIs, third-party provider verification tools, mobile Strong Customer Authentication (SCA), consent management technology, and more to help banks and Electronic Money Institutions (EMIs) become compliant with PSD2 and open banking requirements.

Salt Edge’s partnership news with Tradu comes one month after the Canadian company announced that it had teamed up with full-service product development firm Thinslices. The two companies have agreed to merge capabilities in order to streamline financial data aggregation and power account-to-account (A2A) payments for businesses. In March, Salt Edge announced that it was working with fellow Finovate alum Backbase to help foster broader and faster adoption of open banking.

“Regulatory compliance should not be a bottleneck for banks but rather a catalyst for growth and innovation,” Salt Edge Head of Partner Ecosystem Iulian Mitrea said. “By partnering with Backbase, we are equipping financial institutions with the tools they need to effortlessly thrive in the evolving open banking landscape.”

Photo by Markus Winkler

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Daon Announces Strategic Partnership with Giesecke+Devrient

Daon Announces Strategic Partnership with Giesecke+Devrient
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daon
  • Digital identity company Daon has forged a strategic partnership with security technology firm Giesecke+Devrient (G+D).
  • The partnership will combine Daon’s identity verification and biometric authentication technology with Giesecke+Devrient’s digital security product suite.
  • Founded in 2000, Daon made its Finovate debut at FinovateFall 2016 in New York.

Digital identity specialist Daon and security technology company Giesecke+Devrient announced a strategic partnership this week. The agreement will combine G+D’s offerings with Daon’s identity verification (IDV) and biometric authentication capabilities, enhancing Giesecke+Devrient’s security product suite and bringing Daon’s IDV and biometric solutions to a broader range of customers.

“G+D has a long history of innovation across a wide range of security solutions ranging from bank cards to Central Bank Digital Currency; they launched the first commercial SIM card and delivered the world’s first commercial eSIM,” Daon CEO Tom Grissen said. “We are proud of Daon’s collaboration with G+D which facilitates the introduction of new scalable, secure identity verification and biometric solutions to millions of users across a wide range of industries and use cases.”

The partnership between Giesecke+Devrient and Daon will provide companies—including those in financial services and in merchant ecosystems—with identity continuity throughout the entire customer journey, from onboarding to recovery. In addition to offering fraud prevention tools like biometric watchlists and technologies such as deepfake detection, the partnership will also enable companies to offer advanced verification and eSIM capabilities to mobile operators. Matching Daon’s TrustX platform with G+D’s eSIM management platform will give mobile network operators (MNOs) a single solution for securing eSIM issuance and portability.

“Security has always been at the core of G+D’s mission. By combining Daon’s leadership in digital identity trust with G+D’s expertise in secure digital transactions, this global partnership delivers more than just protection—it enables seamless identity continuity across all customer touchpoints,” Giesecke+Devrient CDO Gabriel von Mitschke-Collande said. “Our layered approach provides multiple opportunities to detect and prevent fraud, while ensuring full compliance with regulatory and accessibility standards. Together, we’re setting a new benchmark for both security and user experience in digital identity.”

Munich, Germany-based Giesecke+Devrient offers solutions for digital security, financial platforms, and currency technology. An innovator in the card and digital payments industry, G+D orchestrates real world payment and banking experiences with human-centered security technology. With a workforce of more than 14,000, G+D has 123 subsidiaries and joint ventures in 40 countries. The firm counts more than 700 commercial banks around the world and 145 central banks among its partners. Founded in 1852, the company generated a turnover of three billion euros in fiscal year 2023.

Founded in 2000 and headquartered in Fairfax, Virginia, Daon made its Finovate debut at FinovateFall 2016 in New York. In the near-decade since then, the company has secured more than two billion identities. Daon conducts more than 250 million daily authentications and serves hundreds of millions of users on six continents.

Daon’s partnership news with Giesecke+Devrient comes weeks after the company announced that it was working with financial services digital transformation solutions provider Digital.FI. Together, the two companies will provide small- and medium-sized financial institutions with enterprise-level identity continuity, enabling them to provide secure, frictionless member experiences across every channel.

Also this spring, Daon reported that it had entered a strategic partnership with conversational intelligence for customer experience (CX) innovator CallMiner. The collaboration will combine advanced identity verification with AI-powered conversation analytics to help streamline the identification process for call centers while providing active fraud prevention via real-time voice analysis and biometric identifiers.

Photo by Andreas Leindecker

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ACI Worldwide Unveils Centralized Payment Hub, ACI Connetic

ACI Worldwide Unveils Centralized Payment Hub, ACI Connetic
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: ACI Worldwide, Alumni News
  • ACI Worldwide introduced its new, centralized payment hub, ACI Connetic.
  • The new offering integrates the capabilities of major global payment networks including Swift cross-border and RTGS payments into a single, cloud-based platform.
  • Headquartered in Florida, ACI Worldwide has been a Finovate alum since 2011.

ACI Connetic, ACI Worldwide’s new centralized payment hub, was unveiled this week. The solution integrates major global networks’ payment capabilities—including Swift cross-border payments, RTGS payments including Target2, SEPA Instant RT1, and TIPS payments, with more capabilities to be integrated later. This brings account-to-account (A2A) payments, card payments, and AI-powered fraud prevention into a unified, cloud-native platform that gives banks an easier, faster, and more cost-effective way to modernize their payment infrastructures.

“ACI Connetic is not just a new product, it is a new standard for how banks must operate in the digital economy and approach payments transformation,” ACI Worldwide CEO and President Thomas Warsop said. “Against the backdrop of increasing payments complexity, the rise of new technologies and a shifting regulatory environment, ACI Connetic empowers financial institutions to unlock new revenue opportunities and navigate compliance in order to drive growth and financial inclusion.”

Already gaining traction with financial institutions in both the US and Europe, ACI Connetic enables these businesses to consolidate siloed systems and benefit from a centralized approach to processing all payment types. The offering comes as Datos Insights recently championed the benefits of centralized payment processing. In its report, Datos contended that centralized payment processing streamlines operations, enhances efficiency, and helps support growth. ACI noted that it is already working with the world’s leading clearing and settlement systems including the Bank of England, Pay.UK, ECB, EBA Clearing, and Stet, as well as Swift, the US Federal Reserve, and The Clearing House to integrate their payment functionalities into ACI Connetic.

“We built ACI Connetic to give banks a future-proof foundation to meet the ever-increasing demand for faster, smarter, and secure payments,” ACI Worldwide head of product for banking and intermediaries, Scotty Perkins, said. “Built for scalability, intelligence, and resilience, ACI Connetic empowers banks to reduce complexity, accelerate product innovation, and deliver new solutions to their customers in an unprecedented way and at unprecedented speed.”

ACI Worldwide has been a Finovate alum since 2011, when the company joined MShift on stage at FinovateFall in New York. ACI Worldwide is also an alum of our developers conference, participating in FinDEVr Silicon Valley in 2016. Today, the company serves the top 10 banks in the world, enables 80,000+ merchants directly and through PSPs, and provides services such as billpay and payments intelligence. ACI Worldwide has more than 6,000 customers around the world, and annually processes 25 billion cloud transactions and 225+ billion consumer transactions.

ACI Worldwide’s new product news comes just days after the company announced that CIMB Bank had selected its technology to combine all its account-to-account transactions—real-time, ACH, RTGS, and cross-border—in a single payments platform. CIMB Bank is the second largest financial services provider in Malaysia and one of the leading banking groups in the ASEAN region.

Photo by DΛVΞ GΛRCIΛ

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Worldpay Partners with BVNK to Enable Stablecoin Payouts

Worldpay Partners with BVNK to Enable Stablecoin Payouts
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Alumni profile, WorldPay
  • Worldpay is partnering with BVNK to enable stablecoin payouts for businesses across 180+ markets.
  • The integration simplifies stablecoin adoption for traditional companies by embedding BVNK’s wallet infrastructure into Worldpay’s existing payouts platform.
  • The move reflects broader momentum in stablecoin adoption, following similar initiatives from R3, Solana, Circle, Mastercard, and MoonPay, as demand for faster, borderless, and more efficient payment solutions increases.

Payments and banking services company Worldpay and multi-rail payments infrastructure platform BVNK are teaming up this week to help businesses across the globe use stablecoins for payouts.

Worldpay is leveraging BVNK’s embedded wallet infrastructure to allow its commercial clients across more than 180 markets to pay customers, contractors, creators, sellers, and other third parties using stablecoins in near-real-time.

By integrating with BVNK, Worldpay is making stablecoin payments accessible to organizations that lack expertise in decentralized finance. Under the new partnership, businesses will not need to hold or handle any digital assets themselves in order to pay with them.

Worldpay business clients can access the new stablecoin payout service through their existing integration with Worldpay’s payouts platform. The company plans to pilot stablecoins on the platform in the second half of this year.

With 135 fiat currencies currently available on its platform, Worldpay began offering stablecoin settlement in 2022, allowing merchants in a limited number of geographical regions to receive payments in USDC. In 2023, the company piloted a project with Visa to receive funds more quickly from the network. 

“We’re delighted to work with BVNK to bring this enterprise-grade stablecoin payout solution to market,” said Worldpay SVP, Head of Payouts John McNaught. “With a history of delivering innovative payout solutions, we are excited to meet the rising interest from clients seeking faster, more efficient global payment methods.”

The partnership, which BVNK calls “an important milestone,” will help BVNK bridge traditional and digital payment systems, ultimately creating a more accessible, efficient financial ecosystem.

The move reflects growing demand for faster, borderless payments, especially for global payout platforms paying gig workers, creators, or remote teams. Stablecoins offer the speed of crypto with the stability of fiat, reducing delays and costs in cross-border transactions.

As demand for stable DeFi increases, so have the solutions facilitating mainstream adoption. Recently, we’ve seen a partnership between R3 and Solana, Circle’s launch of the Circle Payments Network, and a collaboration between Mastercard and Moonpay, all of which exemplify the trend of traditional finance converging with blockchain-based solutions to make stablecoin payments more accessible, secure, and scalable for everyday business use.

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R3 and Solana Team Up, Merging TradFi and DeFi 

R3 and Solana Team Up, Merging TradFi and DeFi 
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, R3
  • R3 and Solana have partnered to bring regulated financial institutions and real-world assets (RWAs) onto Solana’s public blockchain, aiming to bridge TradFi and DeFi ecosystems.
  • The integration enables native interoperability between R3’s Corda platform, private networks, and Solana, supporting tokenized assets, stablecoin settlement, and compliance.
  • R3 announced that Solana Foundation President Lily Liu is joining its board.

Traditional finance (TradFi) and decentralized finance (DeFi) are slowly beginning to merge. Today’s partnership between distributed ledger technology company R3 and Web3 infrastructure player Solana is a step in this direction. The two have teamed up to bring financial institutions and their real-world assets onto Solana’s public blockchain.

R3 was founded in 2014 to offer real-world asset (RWA) tokenization and interoperability solutions. Today, R3 is helping digitize markets by bridging its on-chain RWA ecosystem with DeFi. Today, the company has over $10 billion in regulated assets on-chain across its platforms.

“After years of laying the groundwork, R3 is ready to bring our experience and our network of regulated financial institutions towards a new public future with one of the best and most trusted public ecosystems—Solana,” said R3 CEO David E. Rutter. “This is more than a milestone; it’s a strategic realignment for the entire industry. We know DeFi isn’t coming to TradFi, so it’s up to us to build the connective infrastructure that links these two ecosystems. This is about adapting to deliver real-world utility, institutional-grade readiness, and shaping the long-term future of regulated markets.”

As one of the most used public blockchains, Solana boasts low transaction fees, speed, scalability, and a global ecosystem. With favorable regulation and increased investor confidence, the companies have seen financial institutions become increasingly comfortable leveraging public networks.

Integrating with Solana’s blockchain will enable R3’s on-chain assets to meet the growing demand on public networks and unlock new settlement options like stablecoins. Unlike traditional approaches, R3’s tokenized RWAs can be confirmed directly on Solana Mainnet.

Additionally, Solana and R3 will enable native interoperability between its existing Corda platform, other private networks, and Solana. This will help bridge the gap between permissioned and public blockchain ecosystems, ultimately enabling regulated financial institutions to benefit from the openness and efficiency of Solana while maintaining compliance, security, and control of their assets.  

As part of today’s announcement, Solana Foundation President Lily Liu will join R3’s Board of Directors.

“This is a major step forward for the institutional adoption of public blockchain,” said Liu. “R3’s decision to bring its regulated financial network onto Solana is powerful validation that public blockchains have reached institutional readiness. With Solana’s unmatched performance, enterprise-grade permissioning, and growing roster of regulated assets, we’re not just witnessing convergence between TradFi and DeFi—we’re enabling it. This collaboration signifies that the future of capital markets will be built on public infrastructure. We’re thrilled that the Solana ecosystem is leading the way.”

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Stratyfy Teams Up with Parlay to Help SMEs Access Capital

Stratyfy Teams Up with Parlay to Help SMEs Access Capital
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Stratyfy
  • New York-based credit decisioning company Stratyfy forged a strategic partnership with loan intelligence system Parlay Finance.
  • Together the two companies will help banks and other financial institutions provide a more seamless onboarding and underwriting experience for their small business borrowers.
  • Stratyfy won Best of Show in its most recent Finovate appearance at FinovateFall 2022. Parlay demonstrated its technology at FinovateSpring 2024.

Credit decisioning specialist Stratyfy and loan intelligence system Parlay Finance announced a strategic partnership this week. The alliance will offer frictionless onboarding and underwriting experiences that enable more banks to serve a larger number of qualified small business borrowers. The combination of Stratyfy and Parlay’s technology will also give small businesses actionable insights they need in order to more easily secure funding.

“Our technology is designed to help lenders make better credit decisions by uncovering signals often overlooked by traditional approaches,” Stratyfy CEO Laura Kornhauser said. “Combining that with Parlay’s strength in surfacing opportunities and accelerating small businesses through the loan application process is a powerful match.”

Stratyfy provides AI-powered solutions for credit, compliance, and fraud teams to help them modernize lending. A specialist in decision optimization for financial institutions, Stratyfy helps lenders access new markets, reduce costs, and encourage growth with less risk. Parlay’s AI-powered platform streamlines digital onboarding, verification, and qualification to enable lenders to more efficiently provide Small Business Administration (SBA) and small business loans. The company’s technology integrates with loan origination systems to increase both volume and profitability.

Combined, the two solutions provide an underwriting solution that automates workflows, boosts performance, and enhances risk-adjusted returns. The partnership has already yielded results with teams from Stratyfy and Parlay collaborating on a joint client engagement: a community lender seeking to increase success rates for entrepreneurs who have been historically underbanked.

“Parlay empowers lenders to digitally onboard and verify small business information while providing applicants with personalized financial insights,” Parlay Finance CEO Alex McLeod said. “Teaming up with Stratyfy extends that value through the full credit lifecycle, helping lenders match with and support the businesses they’re best suited to serve.”

Headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, Parlay Finance demonstrated its technology at FinovateSpring 2024 in San Francisco. The company showed how its embedded fintech software, Parlay Protocol, helps financial institutions generate more high-quality loans and provides technical assistance to small business applicants. Lenders working with Parlay have benefited from a 64% boost in approved loans and an 87% reduction in manual, underwriting workloads. Most recently, Parlay announced a partnership with Mastercard and JAM FINTOP to expand its services nationwide.

New York-based Stratyfy won Best of Show in its most recent Finovate appearance at FinovateFall 2022. At the conference, the company demonstrated its UnBias technology that enables financial institutions and fintechs to discover and undo bias in complex financial decisions including during the underwriting process.

Photo by Chevanon Photography

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