Alumni News

eToro Teams Up with Sentifi to Launch Social Sentiment Portfolio

eToro Teams Up with Sentifi to Launch Social Sentiment Portfolio
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, eToro, Sentifi
  • eToro launched its SocialSentiment portfolio of stocks with high ESG and social sentiment criteria this week.
  • The new offering was made possible courtesy of a partnership with alternative data provider – and fellow Finovate alum – Sentifi.
  • Sentifi’s technology analyzes more than 500 million tweet – and two million news articles, forums, and blog – in order to create its social sentiment rating (sentScore) for positive social chatter.

eToro has unveiled a new solution for investors looking for exposure to U.S. companies with strong ESG performance. The social investing network has teamed up with alternative data provider Sentifi to launch SocialSentiment, a new portfolio offering that features the top 10 stocks in the S&P 500 that meet ESG and social sentiment criteria. Rebalanced monthly, the initial roster of stocks in the SocialSentiment portfolio are: Verisign, Teradyne, Northern Trust, Mid-America Apartment Communities, Intuitive Surgical, Fifth Third Bancorp, F5 Networks, Equity Residential, Dollar Tree, and Allstate.

‘With this portfolio, we aim to offer retail investors exposure to stocks that are being discussed in a positive light on social and digital channels, adding an extra layer of insights,” eToro Head of Investment Portfolios Dani Brinker said. “We look forward to partnering with the Sentifi team, and working together to harness the power of social networks.”

Sentifi made its Finovate debut at FinovateAsia in Hong Kong in 2016, and returned to the Finovate stage a year later for FinovateEurope in London. The company’s AI-enabled technology analyzes more than 5,000 stocks, currencies, commodities, and indices – as well as passive and active mutual funds. Sentifi combines market metrics with social sentiment (sentScore) and an ESG score to create a roster of stocks that have both high ESG credentials and positive social chatter and awareness. Sentifi builds its sentScores by analyzing more than 500 million tweets, as well as two million news articles, forums, and blogs.

“The events over the past several years relating to the meme stock rallies are evidence of how the herd can change direction, and where these changes happen, which is largely in social networks and forums,” Sentifi CEO Marina Goche said. “Social networks, news, blogs, and forums are also a valuable source of changing risk for asset classes and offer dynamic views on ESG performance appreciation and degradation for companies globally — essential for constructing portfolios that outperform a benchmark.”

Investors can buy into the SocialSentiment portfolio with as little as $500. Investors can access tools and charts to track the portfolio’s performance, as well as monitor eToro’s social feed to stay up-to-date on developments in the sector. At this time, the portfolio is not available to investors in the U.S.

eToro’s SocialSentiment portfolio is the latest addition to the company’s suite of Smart Portfolios that give investors exposure to a variety of market themes. The portfolios are for long-term investments, feature unique investment strategies, are curated by eToro analysts, and give investors a way to gain exposure to a diverse range of major market trends without having to pay portfolio management fees.

Founded in 2007, eToro has more than 30 million registered users on its social investing network. Among Finovate’s earliest alums, the company won Best of Show in its debut at FinovateEurope in 2011.

Photo by Leeloo Thefirst

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BMO Teams Up with Agent IQ to Enhance Digital Customer Engagement

BMO Teams Up with Agent IQ to Enhance Digital Customer Engagement
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Agent IQ, Alumni News, Daily news
  • BMO has partnered with digital customer engagement solutions company Agent IQ.
  • The bank will deploy Agent IQ’s Lynq secure chat platform to enable customers to easily access both AI chatbots and human bankers.
  • Agent IQ most recently demoed its technology on the Finovate stage at FinovateFall in New York last September.

BMO announced a partnership with digital customer engagement solutions provider Agent IQ this week. Courtesy of the collaboration, BMO will deploy Agent IQ’s secure chat platform Lynq, which enables customers to engage bankers in real-time, blending human-centered customer service with the efficiency of computer intelligence. The technology gives customers the ability to query a chatbot to answer basic account and banking-related questions, while maintaining the option to readily access a banker for a one-on-one conversation.

“With Agent IQ’s Lynq, BMO customers can engage a banker for all their financial needs across any digital channel, making digital banking easier and quicker than ever before,” Agent IQ co-founder and CEO Slaven Bilac said.

Lynq offers 24/7 chatbot support as well as direct video communication with a banker, including screen sharing. Answers to frequently asked questions are available instantly, and customers can connect to human bankers both during and outside of office hours. BMO Head of U.S. Digital Channels Brianna Elsass said that the partnership was an “example of BMO’s Digital First strategy” to provide future-ready solutions that deliver “loyalty, growth, and efficiency” for customers.

Left to right: Agent IQ COO Soren Bested and CMO Matt Phipps demoing Lynq at FinovateFall 2022.

With total assets of $1.14 trillion as of October 2022, BMO is the eighth largest bank by assets in North America. Operating via three primary groups: Personal and Commercial Banking, BMO Wealth Management, and BMO Capital markets, the financial services provider offers a range of personal and commercial banking, wealth management, and investment products and solutions to its 12 million customers.

Agent IQ made its Finovate debut in 2019 at FinovateSpring and most recently demoed its technology live at FinovateFall in New York last fall. At the conference, the San Francisco, California-based company demoed its Lynq platform, which leverages augmented intelligence to help bankers better connect with, engage, and support banking customers. “Put simply, Aqent IQ makes personal digital engagement simple,” company CMO Matt Phipps explained from the Finovate stage back in September. “We make it easy for you, and easy for your customers.”

Agent IQ has raised $18.5 million in funding from investors including Acronym Venture Capital and Mendon Venture Partners. The company was founded in 2015.

Photo by Anete Lusina

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Globalization Partners Taps Wise to Lower the Cost of Global Contractor Payments

Globalization Partners Taps Wise to Lower the Cost of Global Contractor Payments
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, TransferWise, Wise
  • International hiring and employment platform Global Partners (G-P) has tapped cross-border money transfer company Wise for its payment tools.
  • Under the agreement, G-P will embed Wise’s international payment tool in its Contractor platform with an aim to simplify worker disbursements.
  • With Wise, businesses will be able to use their payment method of choice to pay contract workers, while the contractors will be able to select their preferred payout method.

International hiring and employment platform Global Partners (G-P) has turned to cross-border money transfer company Wise to help its business clients to pay some of their workforce.

G-P was founded in 2012 to help businesses quickly hire contract and freelance workers across borders in a compliant manner while solving for legal, tax, and HR issues. Under the partnership, Wise will enable G-P’s business customers to access Wise’s payment solution directly from the G-P Contractor platform. As a result of the integration, G-P will offer their customers more flexible payment options, as well as more transparency into the payments process.

“Together with Wise we are creating a world that is unhindered by traditional financial systems, providing customers and contractors an ethical and transparent employment and payment process for all talent through our Global Employment Platform,” said G-P Chief Product and Strategy Officer Nat Rajesh Natarajan. “At G-P, our mission is to create a borderless and equitable world of work. Delivering flexible payment options is critical to delivering on that mission and meeting the needs of today’s professionals.”

Wise was founded in 2011 under the name TransferWise and has since helped 13 million people and businesses send money across international borders. The company offers a multi-currency account that enables users to hold up to 50 currencies and get account details to receive money in 10 currencies. TransferWise prides itself on its transparency by showing fees up front and charging the mid-market rate for money transfers.

With Wise, G-P Contractor clients will be able to use their payment method of choice. They’ll also benefit from batch payments for invoices in the same or different currencies, and will be able to see payment summaries that show a breakdown of costs. Additionally, contract and freelance workers receiving payment via G-P’s platform will have their choice of payout method, including bank transfer, virtual card, digital wallet, ACH, wire and international wire.

Photo by Markus Spiske

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DirectID Secures $9.5 Million in New Funding

DirectID Secures $9.5 Million in New Funding
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, Direct ID, Funding
  • DirectID, a credit risk assessment and decisioning platform based in Scotland, has raised $9.5 million (€9 million) in funding.
  • The funding was led by Ingka Investment, the investment arm of Ingka Group – which is the world’s largest IKEA retailer.
  • DirectID will use the new capital to accelerate the launch of its predictive credit and risk models built using open banking data.

Credit risk assessment and decisioning platform DirectID has raised $9.5 million (€9 million) in funding from Ingka Investments, the investment arm of Ingka Group. The company will use the additional funding to help fuel the launch of its predictive credit and risk models built using open banking data. DirectID also plans to bring its credit risk solutions to new markets, as well as accelerate its development of models for each stage of the credit lifecycle – from originations to portfolio management to collections.

“We are excited to be shaping a new global standard in credit scoring that enhances people’s lives by enabling access to products they need in an affordable way,” DirectID founder and CEO James Varga said. “Our coverage, advanced insights, and predictive models provide a unique opportunity to achieve this by creating the world’s first real-time, inclusive, credit score based on open finance data.”

The funding takes DirectID’s total equity capital to more than $23 million. No valuation information was provided in the company’s funding announcement.

Headquartered in Scotland, DirectID is the current incarnation of a project that began in 2016, when Varga rebranded his company miiCard to The ID Co. The move was intended to reflect the growth of the company’s B2B embedded, integrated verification solution, DirectID. Four years later, the company took the Direct ID name in a move Varga said was necessitated by the fact that “data has become such an important part of our offering.”

Ingka Group is the world’s largest IKEA retailer, representing approximately 90% of IKEA’s retail sales. Ingka Investments, the company’s investment arm, has $21.2 billion (€20 billion) in assets under management. The firm’s investment activity is oriented around three “key strategic movements”: financial resilience, business development, and sustainability. Peter van der Poel, who is the managing director for Ingka Investments, credited DirectID for its ability to “complement and disrupt the traditional credit and risk market”. He noted that the company’s efforts promote greater financial inclusion for consumers and will “add value to Ingka’s financial services proposition” going forward.

DirectID closed out 2022 by forging a partnership with U.K.-based SME capital provider Got Capital. The alliance will facilitate the digitalization of the application process for small businesses seeking financing. Since inception, Got Capital has provided more than $362 million (£300 million) to more than 12,000 small businesses in the U.K. Also late last year, DirectID’s Varga was one of 13 business leaders named as the first “Scottish Export Champions” by the Department for International Trade (DIT). The organization also named DirectID as the new “FinTech Champion for Scotland.”

“Whether it’s working with other industry figures to promote the U.K. as a place to do business, or sharing knowledge of our experience exporting to multi-national organizations, I’m proud to be supporting the growth of the £11 billion U.K. fintech economy,” Varga said.

Photo by Isaque Pereira

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TransUnion Rebrands Business Solutions

TransUnion Rebrands Business Solutions
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Alumni profile, TransUnion

TransUnion’s business solutions are getting a fresh start this week with a new look. The global information and insights company has rebranded its lines of business solutions in the U.S., organizing them into seven different categories.

“TransUnion’s rebrand clarifies our product offerings and better demonstrates our expertise in both our heritage and new markets, while also making it easier for customers to find what they need,” said company President and CEO Chris Cartwright. “It’s the next logical step in the company’s evolution. We can now offer more powerful consumer insights than ever before, allowing us to meet the needs of our customers in more ways, and at a much deeper level.”

The seven business solutions leverage TransUnion’s “organic investments,” as well as the company’s recent acquisitions of digital identity solutions companies Neustar and Sontiq which TransUnion purchased in 2021 for $3.1 billion and $638 million, respectively. The company has built upon its expertise in consumer identity to expand beyond credit into fraud management, marketing solutions, and communications.

TransUnion’s new business solutions include:

  • TruAudience includes omnichannel audience targeting and advanced analytics to enhance marketing and media performance. The solution includes all TransUnion marketing products, as well as all marketing offerings from Neustar.
  • TruValidate offers fraud prevention and identity proofing products. TruValidate includes all of TransUnion’s fraud products, as well as all fraud offerings from Neustar.
  • TruVision is comprised of risk management products that help balance risk and identify best-fit customers across the account. Among the products in the TruVision line are all TransUnion risk tools, including those formerly known as CreditVision, CreditVision Link, and DriverRisk.
  • TruIQ offers advanced analytics products and services that provide insights into the decision-making process. TruIQ includes offerings formerly known as Prama and Innovation Lab, as well as other custom analytic services.
  • TruEmpower is comprised of consumer engagement products including consumer-facing tools such as those formerly known as CreditView Dashboard, as well as offerings from IdentityForce and Cyberscout.
  • TruLookup offers investigative products that help organizations conduct faster due diligence or issue resolution, and includes TLOxp, TransUnion’s skip tracing, investigative research, and risk management tool.
  • TruContact includes communications and contact center products to help restore trust in communications, enhance customer outreach, and streamline delivery of telecom connectivity services. TruContact includes products from Neustar’s Communications and Contact Center Solutions.

TransUnion’s Chief Global Solutions Officer Tim Martin anticipates that the move to rebrand will both simplify its offerings and allow customers from a range of industries to navigate the products.

Launched as a consumer credit reporting agency in 1968, TransUnion has since pivoted to focus more holistically on data. The company is publicly listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker TRU and has a market capitalization of $12.8 billion.

Photo by Vojtech Okenka

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Payoneer Earns E-Money License from the U.K.’s FCA

Payoneer Earns E-Money License from the U.K.’s FCA
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, Payoneer
  • Payoneer received its e-money license from the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority.
  • The license will enable the digital commerce company to continue serving its U.K.-based customers.
  • Having earned the license, Payoneer now plans to grow its footprint in the U.K. region.

Global digital commerce company Payoneer received its e-money license from the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) this week. The license will enable Payoneer to continue to provide its e-money services to U.K.-based businesses.

“The FCA traditionally sets the tone of financial regulation globally and therefore we are extremely proud to be receiving our e-money license in the U.K., said Payoneer Payment Services CEO and SVP of Payoneer Europe James Allum. “We’re excited to be able to continue serving our customers in the U.K. and with our relationship with the FCA. Our customers in the UK now have confidence in Payoneer’s consistent ability to provide regulated financial services of the highest standard.”

With the new U.K. money license, Payoneer will grow its footprint in the region, offering its digital money services to U.K.-based businesses.

Payoneer was founded in 2005 and offers multi-currency accounts to five million customers ranging from marketplaces, sellers, freelancers, gig workers, manufacturers, banks, suppliers, and buyers. With a mission to “democratize access to financial services and drive growth for digital businesses of all sizes from around the world,” Payoneer helps users pay, get paid, and manage funds on a global scale. The company also offers working capital– providing advances to Amazon and Walmart sellers, as well as to small businesses.

In 2021, Payoneer went public via a SPAC merger with FTAC Olympus Acquisition Corp. The company listed on the NASDAQ in June 2021 under the ticker PAYO. Scott Galit is CEO.

Photo by Pixabay

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Market Data Firm QUODD Acquires Competitor Xignite

Market Data Firm QUODD Acquires Competitor Xignite
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, Mergers & Acquisitions, Xignite
  • QUODD has agreed to acquire fellow market data company Xignite.
  • Combined, the two companies will serve more than 2,200 firms, ranging from large banks and wealth management platforms to smaller digital investment tools.
  • Financial terms of the deal were undisclosed.

Two market data firms are combining this week, as QUODD Financial Information Services acquires Xignite. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

QUODD said the purchase reinforces its commitment to become “the premier cloud-based global financial market data and content provider.” Company CEO Bob Ward added, “Xignite is well known for being an early adopter of delivering high-quality market data solutions via the cloud as well as for its extensive API-driven data catalog. I look forward to working with Stephane Dubois, CEO of Xignite, and his team to help us fuel our next chapter of growth delivering the most accessible and reliable data for our customers.”

Combined, Xignite and QUODD will serve more than 2,200 companies, ranging from large banks and wealth management platforms to smaller digital investment tools. QUODD will leverage Xignite’s technology to enhance its QUODD Fuel, which will integrate Xignite’s content catalog; and Universe+, which will leverage Xignite’s market data.

QUODD’s technology enables clients to stream, embed, look up, and download pricing data for global equities, fixed income, indices, options, futures, and end-of-day pricing for global mutual funds. The company is owned by NewSpring Holdings’ Financeware, a probability-analysis technology and marketing strategies provider, which acquired QUODD in 2019 for an undisclosed amount.

NewSpring Holdings has lofty ambitions for the Xignite buy. “Our goal for the combined organization is to create the industry’s leading provider in centralized market data augmented with superior customer service, anchored in the strength of long-standing relationships and supported by leading technologies, which is why this transaction was a perfect fit,” said NewSpring Holdings General Partner Jim Ashton. “2022 was another year of strong organic growth for QUODD and, combined with Xignite, we are continuing to raise the bar in transforming the digital adoption of financial data for market participants.”

Founded in 2000, Xignite offers market data APIs to its brokerage, wealth management, and fintech clients. The company’s APIs offer a range of market data– including real-time stock prices, historical stock prices, options prices, futures prices, mutual fund prices, ETF prices, foreign exchange rates, bond prices, and more. Combined, the company’s customers use Xignite’s APIs more than half a trillion times each month.

Photo by Pixabay

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Experian Teams Up with Envestnet | Yodlee to Bring the Benefits of Open Data to Lenders

Experian Teams Up with Envestnet | Yodlee to Bring the Benefits of Open Data to Lenders
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Envestnet, Experian, Yodlee
  • Experian announced a partnership with Envestnet | Yodlee to help lenders in Australia take advantage of open data.
  • The collaboration will help Experian manifest its open data strategy in the country following its application to be an Accredited Data Recipient.
  • Both Experian and Envestnet | Yodlee have been Finovate alums since 2012 and 2016, respectively.

Information services company Experian has picked a partner as its official Open Data API provider in Australia. The company is teaming up with data aggregation and analytics platform Envestnet | Yodlee in an alliance that will allow Experian to access data under the Consumer Data Right (CDR) from data holders including Australia’s Big Four banks and more than 70 Australian FIs.

“Open Data solutions have the capability to solve two of the biggest challenges for Australian lenders: the accuracy of data to support responsible lending and streamlining the customer experience to get a faster decision,” General Manager of Experian Digital Simone Jemmett explained. “The more consumers that opt in to share data through Open Banking, the faster it will deliver the value it has in more mature data markets spurring innovation and greater competition among lenders,” Jemmett said.

The partnership news comes in the wake of Experian’s application to the Australian Competition ad Consumer Commission (ACCC) to become an Accredited Data Recipient under the CDR back in December. This is key step in becoming a part of Australia’s open banking ecosystem, and enabling Experian to focus on delivering fast and accurate affordability assessments. By leveraging Envestnet | Yodlee’s APIs, Experian will be able to help lenders shift to an emphasis on using Open Data sources rather than the traditional credit application process that requires manual uploads and data entry, as well as other inefficient practices.

“Lending is a valuable use case for Open Data with tangible benefits for lenders and borrowers,” Envestnet | Yodlee A/NZ Country Manager Tim Poskitt said. “With Experian coming into the CDR ecosystem, Australian Open Banking is reaching a tipping point and we’re ready for adoption to accelerate in 2023.”

A Finovate alum for more than a decade, Experian made its most recent appearance on the Finovate stage at FinovateFall in 2018. More recently, the company has partnered with fellow Finovate alum Zopa, which integrated Experian Boost into its credit-decisioning process. Experian began the year teaming up with decentralized and secured lending portfolio provider Credefi, and launching a new solution called CreditLock. This new feature enables customers to lock their Experian Credit Report to defend themselves against fraud and identity theft. “Our goal is to create products that help improve people’s financial wellbeing and give them more control over their finances,” Experian Head of Product Management Jayne Sankoh-Beacom said. “With this new feature we can now give our customers that extra layer of protection against identity fraud.”

Making its most recent Finovate appearance at FinovateFall 2021, Envestnet | Yodlee finished 2022 with news of a “deeper integration” between its Redi2 BillFin client billing solution and Schwab Advisor Services. This deeper integration gives advisors on Schwab’s platform who are using BillFin to access capabilities such as flexible billing setup and standardized templates, as well as reminders and alerts. “This deeper level of integration will allow even more data to seamlessly flow back and forth between the BillFin and Schwab platforms,” Envestnet Head of Billing Technology Fermin Garcia explained.

Photo by Catarina Sousa

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Digital Asset Platform Bakkt Bets on B2B, Pivots from Consumer Crypto

Digital Asset Platform Bakkt Bets on B2B, Pivots from Consumer Crypto
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Alumni profile, Bakkt, Daily news

The decision by digital asset platform Bakkt to pivot toward B2B technology solutions and away from consumer-based crypto products appears to be part of the greater re-evaluation that many fintechs are doing in the wake of the crypto crash of 2022. The company, which made its Finovate debut at FinovateFall last September, announced this week that it was turning the page on its consumer-facing app, launched in March 2021. Instead, the Alpharetta, Georgia-based fintech will focus on helping businesses provide crypto and loyalty experiences to its customers via SaaS and API solutions.

“As we continue to gain traction with our B2B2C strategy, we are laser focused on providing our partners and clients with seamless solutions that best serve their needs,” Bakkt President and CEP Gavin Michael said. “The discontinuation of the app ensures we are supporting the relationship our partners and clients have with their customers. With this move, we are focusing our investment on our core solutions that have product-market fit and are positioned to scale quickly.”

Bakkt’s decision to shutter its consumer-based crypto app comes in the wake of the company’s agreement to acquire crypto trading platform Apex Crypto from Apex Fintech Solutions back in November 2022. With more than 30 fintech partners and more than five million customers, Apex Crypto is expected to help support Bakkt’s B2B2C strategy of bringing more crypto-based solutions to clients in a range of verticals.

Bakkt’s consumer crypto app is set to sunset just over one month from now, on March 16. Current users of the app will continue to be able to access their crypto and cash on the platform courtesy of a new online, device-agnostic solution. The new experience will enable users to check crypto balances, as well as access transaction reports for tax purposes.

Founded in 2018, Bakkt demoed its Crypto Connect technology at FinovateFall last year. The solution helped consumers use their current financial services institution’s mobile app to buy, sell, and hold cryptocurrencies in a secure, trusted environment. In December, Bakkt laid off 15% of its exempt employee base in a bid to better control costs as the cryptocurrency downturn and FTX scandal soured the much of the public – as well as investors – on the space.

A publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange since the fall of 2021, Bakkt is listed under the ticker “BKKT.” The firm has a market capitalization of $433 million.

Photo by RODNAE Productions

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FIS Breaks Off Merchant Solutions, Plans to Restore Worldpay Brand

FIS Breaks Off Merchant Solutions, Plans to Restore Worldpay Brand
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, FIS, WorldPay
  • FIS is letting go of its Merchant Solutions business, along with the Worldpay brand, which it originally acquired for $34 billion in 2019.
  • The company states that Worldpay needs a different capital allocation strategy to enable the brand “to pursue more aggressive investment opportunities, including M&A.”
  • The spin-off is expected to take 12 months.

FIS acquired Worldpay for $34 billion in 2019, and after rumors of a break-up swirled last week, the Florida-based firm announced plans to let go of and restore the Worldpay brand. Specifically, FIS is spinning out the Merchant Solutions business it created from the Worldpay acquisition.

Jeffrey A. Goldstein, FIS Chairman of the Board, said that “… the spin-off of Worldpay will unlock shareholder value by improving both companies’ performance, enhancing client services, and simplifying operational management. We are confident that this is the right time for the separation of Worldpay.” Goldstein added that the Merchant Solutions business requires “increased investment in growth and a different capital allocation strategy” than FIS.

In its press release announcing the change, FIS explained that this different capital allocation strategy will enable Worldpay “to pursue more aggressive investment opportunities, including M&A.” The long-term goal of the spin-off is for Worldpay to expand geographic coverage of its eCommerce tools, strengthen its enterprise offerings, and shift toward software-led payments.

After the split, which is expected to be completed in the next 12 months, FIS and Worldpay will retain strong ties. As a result, FIS’ Merchant Solutions business will take on the Worldpay brand, which will be restored. Originally founded in 1971, Worldpay conducted $2 trillion in payments volume in 2022. Charles Drucker, who was Worldpay CEO from 2004 until the acquisition in 2019, will oversee the spin-off and will once again serve as the company’s CEO when the separation is finalized.

Founded in 1968, banking technology company FIS has acquired a total of 17 companies, two of which were purchased after the Worldpay acquisition in 2019. The company offers 450+ solutions and processes more than 110 million transactions each day. FIS is publicly listed on the NYSE and has a current market capitalization of almost $40 billion.

Photo by Monstera

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Visa Partnership Fuels Wirex Crypto Card Issuance

Visa Partnership Fuels Wirex Crypto Card Issuance
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, VISA
  • Wirex deepened its partnership with Visa.
  • The new agreement enables Wirex to issue its crypto debit and prepaid cards to more than 40 countries.
  • The company is working on finalizing another partnership that will facilitate card issuance in Australia.

Cryptocurrency payments company Wirex unveiled a strategic partnership with Visa this week. The agreement makes Wirex a member of Visa in the U.K. and in the Asia Pacific region and will enable the fintech to issue its crypto debit and prepaid cards to more than 40 countries.

The two players began their partnership at Wirex’s launch in 2015, when the U.K.-based company unveiled its crypto-enabled Visa card. The payment card enables users to buy, hold, exchange, and sell 150 currencies– from traditional to cryptocurrencies. Additionally, Wirex customers can use their Visa card to spend their currency holdings at live rates at more than 80 million locations where Visa is accepted.

In addition to the live crypto-to-fiat conversion, Wirex offers free international ATM withdrawals, zero monthly fees, free fiat-to-fiat exchanges, and up to 8% back in crypto rewards on every purchase.

“It’s great to strengthen our partnership with Visa, who have played an important role in allowing us to bridge the gap between the traditional and digital economies,” said Wirex APAC Regional Managing Director Svyatoslav Garal. “Visa’s proven commitment to safety, security and innovation will help us to continue developing a next-generation app and card.”

The partnership aligns well for payments giant Visa, which is working to position its brand in the Web3 space. “Visa wants to bring more payment options to consumers by connecting digital currencies with our network of banks and merchants,” said Visa Head of Digital Partnerships, Asia Pacific Matt Wood. “We’re excited that Wirex is expanding their focus on Asia Pacific, making it easy and seamless for people to spend their crypto balance at the millions of merchants that accept Visa in the region.”

Wirex was founded 2014 by Pavel Matveev and Dmitry Lazarichev. Since then, the company has raised $27.8 million in funding and facilitated more than $20 billion in crypto transactions. Wirex, which expanded to the U.S. last year, said it plans to make a partnership announcement “in the coming weeks” that will facilitate card issuance in Australia.

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Finzly’s New API Offers Access to FedNow Payment Rails

Finzly’s New API Offers Access to FedNow Payment Rails
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, Finzly
  • Finzly has released an API connection to the U.S. FedNow Service.
  • The API enables developers to test out the new set of payment rails in a sandbox environment.
  • FedNow, the U.S. Federal Reserve’s real-time payment rails, is set to launch later this year.

Banking-as-a-service provider Finzly released its new API that offers connection to the U.S. FedNow Service in a sandbox environment.

Through its sandbox, Finzly enables fintech, bank, and third party developers to use its API to build real-time payment experiences via the FedNow’s pilot version.

“The future of the economy is connected and real-time. Insurance payouts, government benefits, healthcare payments, online commerce, subscriptions, point of sale, investment, lending, treasury, and several other platforms are expected to connect to the new FedNow Service for an integrated, cardless, bank-to-bank, instant payment experience,” said Finzly Founder and CEO Booshan Rengachari. “Finzly APIs and its direct connection to the FedNow service will accelerate the adoption of instant payments in several use cases. We are excited about being the world’s first player to offer access to FedNow service via an API.”

Launching later this year, the U.S. Federal Reserve’s FedNow Service is a set of new, real-time payment rails. The service will facilitate instant money transfers to and from any U.S. financial institution at any time of day, on any day of the week for both commercial and retail customers.

Today’s news comes a little over two years after Finzly announced it was among 110 other organizations participating in the FedNow pilot program, a beta test of the new rails. Other non-bank pilot participants include ACI Worldwide, Finastra, Jack Henry & Associates, and Q2 Software.

Founded in 2012, Finzly offers banking-as-a-service tools via Finzly OS— which it demoed at FinovateSpring last year– that enable users to launch a modern bank from scratch. The company offers an API that connects to all U.S. payment rails, including Fed ACH, Fedwire, RTP, SWIFT, and now FedNow. Formerly known as SwapsTech, the North Carolina-based company recently added a handful of clients, including Veritex Community Bank, Coastal Community Bank, First Internet Bank, and ICBA Bancard. Finzly recently

Photo by Benjamin Svobodny

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