Alumni News

Mastercard to Offer Real Time Cross-Border Payments for Commercial Clients

Mastercard to Offer Real Time Cross-Border Payments for Commercial Clients
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, MasterCard
  • Mastercard launched Move Commercial Payments, a real-time cross-border payments solution that operates 24/7.
  • The new commercial payments tool leverages a multi-rail system that includes SWIFT and Mastercard’s proprietary networks.
  • Move Commercial Payments offers features like liquidity management, integration with existing SWIFT systems, and helps to reduce counterparty risk.

Mastercard unveiled an offering this week that will allow commercial users to make cross-border payments in near-real-time. The payments giant introduced Mastercard Move Commercial Payments today, which facilitates payments 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Mastercard Move Commercial Payments leverages a multi-rail approach that includes SWIFT, and Mastercard’s proprietary networks to facilitate the cross-border payments. Relying on multiple rails enables banks and their commercial clients to send near-instant, transparent, and predictable transactions any time of day, any day of the week.

Cross-border payments have become increasingly crucial for businesses operating in a global economy. According to a 2023 McKinsey study, global payments revenue grew by double digits in both 2021 and 2022. However, many businesses still struggle with cross-border payments, frustrated by hidden costs and unpredictable settlement speed.

Mastercard Move Commercial Payments offers more than just real-time settlement. The tool also includes several features designed to enhance its value for banks. These features include multiple settlement options that improve liquidity management, a multi-party arrangement to reduce counterparty and default risks, integration with existing SWIFT messaging systems, and compatibility with current correspondent banking relationships. These elements help banks maximize operational efficiency while minimizing risk.

“By powering fast, predictable and transparent payments, Mastercard Move Commercial Payments will bring what is already the norm in domestic payments to the commercial cross-border payment space,” said Mastercard Head of Transfer Solutions Alan Marquard. “Our latest product innovation aims to directly address the pain points that are currently affecting the commercial cross-border payments market. By shifting to this new model, they will be empowered to generate new revenue streams while reducing risk and enhancing the offering for their corporate customers.”

Mastercard Move Commercial Payments, which is part of the company’s Move portfolio, was piloted in the U.K. with Lloyds Banking Group and UBS. This initial phase marked an important step in refining the platform’s capabilities for large-scale deployment. By collaborating with major financial institutions, Mastercard was able to validate the efficiency of its multi-rail payment system, demonstrating the platform’s market readiness and paving the way for broader adoption.

Mastercard’s launch competes with Visa’s real-time payments solution called Visa Direct, which enables fast and secure money movement to different endpoints across the globe. Similar to Mastercard’s Move Commercial Payments, Visa Direct also leverages a multi-rail approach that supports card-based and account-to-account transfers that integrate with The Clearing House RTP and FedNow.

Today’s launch comes amid a string of other payments-related news releases this month, as both fintechs and traditional financial services firms seek to capitalize on the recent consumer awareness of real-time payments generated from last year’s FedNow launch. Just last week, for example, we covered news from Worldline, which unveiled an account-to-account transfer tool in Europe, Tyfone’s launch of Payfinia instant payments solution, and Token.io’s real-time payments partnership with Santander.

Photo by Lea L on Unsplash

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Apex Fintech Solutions Acquires FinTron

Apex Fintech Solutions Acquires FinTron
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Apex Clearing Corporation, Daily news
  • Apex Fintech Solutions has agreed to acquire fintech design agency, FinTron. Terms of the transaction have not been disclosed.
  • The digital wealth management company will leverage FinTron’s technology to provide its customers with the ability to create customized user interfaces and experiences.
  • Apex Fintech Solutions’ subsidiary Apex Clearing made its Finovate debut at FinDEVr Silicon Valley in 2015.

Digital wealth management company Apex Fintech Solutions has agreed to acquire FinTron, a fintech design agency that creates high-end digital experiences for investors and advisors around the world.

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed and the deal is subject to approval by FINRA. Once completed, the strategic acquisition will enable Apex’s customers to deliver customized user interfaces and experiences for brokerage platforms that are pre-integrated into the Apex platform. This will enable them to easily deploy turnkey investing experiences and front-ends from within their current digital footprint, powered by Apex’s custody platform.

“FinTron has revolutionized the process of launching a brokerage or wealth management platform,” Apex CEO Bill Capuzzi said. “Their innovative platform aligns perfectly with our mission to empower the next generation of investors through technology. This acquisition is a significant step in our journey to provide a fully integrated, digital-first platform that meets the diverse needs of our clients.”

Known for its white-label and embedded components, as well as its Software Development Kit (SDK) for mobile and web platforms, FinTron empowers brokerages and wealth management firms to embed self-directed and managed investing functionality into their offering. Apex will leverage its acquisition of FinTron to expand its services to clients ranging from financial advisors and fintech firms to neobanks, insurance companies, and retirement planning companies. In fact, FinTron’s technology already has been integrated into the company’s suite of services to streamline investment processes, enhance the user experience, and bring more advanced investment capabilities to a wider audience of investors.

“We are thrilled to join forces with Apex,” FinTron CEO and Founder Wilder Rumpf said. “Our shared vision of democratizing financial services and providing intuitive, powerful tools to investors will only be strengthened through this partnership. Together, we can make a significant impact on the financial futures of many.”

Headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, FinTron was founded in 2017. The company has raised more than $14 million in funding from investors including Connecticut Innovations and Sage Venture Partners. FinTron’s embedded wealth solutions help broker-dealers, community banks and credit unions, investment advisors, and fintechs lower CAPEX and time to market, capture engagement, and offer clients versatile digital wealth experiences.

Apex Fintech Solutions introduced itself to Finovate audiences at our developers conference, FinDEVr Silicon Valley in 2015, via its subsidiary, Apex Clearing. Recently, the New York-based company launched its real-time cloud-native investment infrastructure, Apex Ascend, and announced a collaboration with wealth management solution provider YourStake. FinTron is Apex’s fourth acquisition; the firm purchased AdvisorArch, its third acquisition, in March of this year.

Photo by Marek Piwnicki

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Worldline Launches Account-to-Account Transfer Tool in Europe

Worldline Launches Account-to-Account Transfer Tool in Europe
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, Worldline
  • Worldline has launched Bank Transfer by Worldline, an account-to-account payment tool.
  • The new pay-by-bank solution enables retailers to accept bank draft payments and handle high-value transactions, including B2B payments, across 10 European countries.
  • Bank Transfer by Worldline also facilitates cross-border payments, leveraging Worldline’s open banking network to connect with over 3,500 banks, providing merchants a seamless way to initiate payments directly from customer bank accounts, reducing transaction fees and declines.

Payments services company Worldline is launching yet another payment tool this week. After debuting its embedded payments tool earlier this month, the France-based company is launching Bank Transfer by Worldline, an account-to-account payment method.

The new pay-by-bank solution enables retailers to accept bank draft payments and allows for non-traditional payment methods, including invoices and high-value transactions. Bank Transfer by Worldline boasts many of the same benefits that popular pay-by-bank tools offer.

The solution is notably different from traditional pay-by-bank offerings in the U.S. because it facilitates cross-border payments. This is key for merchants operating across multiple geographies. Additionally, the new payments tool specializes in high-value transactions– including B2B transactions– that typically incur higher fees and reduces the number of declined transactions, since funds are validated directly from the bank account.

“With Bank Transfer by Worldline, we have developed a payment method grounded in trust and simplicity, leveraging existing European payment networks and offering innovative customer experience,” said company Head of Merchant Services Paul Marriott-Clarke. “This launch reinforces our commitment to making payment solutions accessible for all.”

Bank Transfer by Worldline, which went live in August of 2024, allows merchants to accept payments from around 300 million customers. After a nine-month pilot phase, the solution now counts about 500 Worldline merchants clients using Bank Transfer by Worldline’s online payment solutions and pay-by-link services.

“By integrating Worldline’s open banking solution, which connects to over 3,500 banks across European countries, Bank Transfer by Worldline offers merchants a solution that simplifies payment initiation via bank transfer and unifies the customer experience,” said Worldline Head of Financial Services Alessandro Baroni.

The new tool is available for merchants in 10 European countries, including Austria, Belgium, Croatia, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Slovenia and Spain. The company aims to launch in another four regions– Poland, Slovakia, Czech Republic and Hungary– by the end of 2024. Eventually, Bank Transfer by Worldline will be available to all eligible merchants across the EU.

Photo by Adrien Olichon

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Velera Partners with Arroweye Solutions

Velera Partners with Arroweye Solutions
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Arroweye Solutions, Daily news
  • Payments credit union service organization (CUSO) Velera has turned to Arroweye Solutions for its dual interface debit and credit card portfolio.
  • The multi-year partnership will provide faster speed to market and change orders, as well as zero inventory to avoid having to manage stores of pre-printed cards.
  • Headquartered in Nevada, Arroweye made its Finovate debut at FinovateSpring 2011.

Payments credit union service organization (CUSO) Velera has partnered with Arroweye Solutions to provide card production, personalization, and fulfillment for Velera’s dual interface debit and credit card portfolio.

The multi-year partnership announced this week will enable Arroweye to provide Velera and its financial institution partners with a variety of benefits for their card programs. These include fast speed to market and change orders; dynamic card personalization; zero inventory as cards are manufactured, personalized, and fulfilled as needed; quality materials, vertical or horizontal orientation, and other options.

“Supporting Velera’s card diversification strategy, Arroweye’s capabilities will help Velera enhance time to market and deliver a more seamless, frictionless card personalization experience to our financial institutions’ clients,” Velera SVP for Product Enablement & Growth, Cody Banks said. “We view Arroweye as a true financial services partner and look forward to integrating their suite of capabilities into our core offering.”

Arroweye CEO Dan Oswald praised Velera as a “premier fintech solutions provider for credit unions in North America.” Oswald added, “Arroweye’s solutions and capabilities align perfectly with Velera’s card issuance needs today and into the future, and we look forward to providing Arroweye’s best-in-class services to their financial institutions.”

Created via a merger between PSCU and Co-op Solutions earlier this year, Velera is both a premier payments credit union service organization (CUSO) and an integrated fintech solutions provider. Velera serves more than 4,000 financial institutions throughout North America, offering a product portfolio that features solutions for payment processing, fraud and risk management, data and analytics, digital banking, instant payments, strategic consulting, ATM and POS networks, and more. Charles E. Fagan III is President and CEO.

Founded in 2000, Arroweye Solutions made its Finovate debut at FinovateSpring 2011. In the years since, the Henderson, Nevada-based company has grown into a leading card delivery firm, offering EMV, dual-interface, and magnetic stripe cards approved by Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, and UnionPay.

This year, Arroweye has formed partnerships with small business financial services platform Affinity Finance and professional banking services provider BankPro, a subsidiary of FxPro Group. The company has raised more than $76 million in funding according to Crunchbase, and includes Multiplier Capital and Landa Ventures among its investors.

Photo by Pixabay

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Tyfone Spins Out New Entity for Instant Payments

Tyfone Spins Out New Entity for Instant Payments
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Alumni profile, Tyfone

Tyfone announced the formation of a new spinout today. The company launched the new entity, Payfinia, to provide instant payment solutions to both financial institutions and third-party organizations.

Payfinia aims to help financial institutions access and establish ownership of their instant payments services. The company also helps third-party organizations across various industries integrate instant payments with traditional payment tools into their existing payment and money movement use cases including A2A, P2P, Bill Payment, B2B and B2C disbursements.

Tyfone formed Payfinia by shifting its IP and technology, including advanced UX and security protocols, to the new company. Payfinia hinges on Tyfone’s Instant Payment Xchange (IPX), a money movement gateway to FedNow that will serve as Payfinia’s flagship offering.

Tyfone launched its IPX platform in July 2023, in conjunction with the Federal Reserve’s FedNow instant payment service. Since launch, IPX has converted nearly 30% of same-day ACH credit transactions into send transactions on push instant payment systems, routing existing payment solutions through networks like FedNow. Launching Payfinia will help Tyfone further build on the instant payments experience.

“We’ve seen remarkable results with our Instant Payment Xchange, achieving 50% less fraud compared to Same-Day ACH and fourfold reductions over other P2P solutions,” said Tyfone CEO Siva Narendra. “As we launch Payfinia, we’re doubling down on security with cryptographic, deterministic methods aimed at countering AI-driven fraud risks, while ensuring instant payments remain efficient, secure and accessible. This is just the beginning of Payfinia’s impact across industries.”

Integrating FedNow’s instant payments service, which the U.S. Federal Reserve launched in July of 2023, has led to a host of challenges for banks. These challenges include building a complex integration for real-time payment systems, maintaining compliance with security standards, and ensuring a seamless user experience across digital platforms.

With IPX, Payfinia is positioned to help financial services companies overcome these obstacles. That’s because the IPX platform offers real-time connectivity to both FedNow and RTP networks, helping banks eliminate the need for multiple integrations when adopting both instant payment systems. Additionally, Payfinia provides enhanced security and compliance as well as user-friendly digital tools that can help firms integrate the new technology into their existing interface. Payfinia also ensures a scalable, unified experience across multiple channels.

Tyfone is one of the earlier Finovate alums, having demoed at the first Finovate event to take place in San Francisco– FinovateSpring 2008. At the show, Tyfone Co-Founder Siva Narendra demoed a memory card for a mobile phone that facilitated contactless payments. The company, which used to focus on mobile-only solutions, began developing for multiple channels in 2014.

Tyfone was founded in 2004 and provides digital banking and payment solutions. In addition to its instant payments tools, the Oregon-based company offers nFinia, an enterprise solution that allows community financial institutions to deliver a hyper-personalized digital banking experience to both retail and commercial customers. The configurable solution offers more than 300 financial functions and provides an open ecosystem with direct integrations with more than 160 players.

Photo by Pixabay

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Token.io Teams Up with Santander to Drive Innovation in Payments

Token.io Teams Up with Santander to Drive Innovation in Payments
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, Token
  • Token.io has teamed up with Santander UK, a subsidiary of Banco Santander.
  • Santander UK will leverage Token.io’s open banking connectivity and infrastructure to enable account-to-account payments for credit card repayment.
  • Founded in 2015, Token.io most recently demoed its technology on the Finovate stage at FinovateEurope 2017.

Account-to-account (A2A) payment infrastructure company Token.io has forged a partnership with Santander UK.

The goal of the collaboration is for the bank to leverage Token.io’s open banking connectivity and infrastructure to enhance the customer experience and develop new, real-time payment solutions. Santander will first use Token.io’s infrastructure to enable direct payments from external bank accounts as an option for credit card repayments, creating a more seamless payment experience compared to both direct debit and manual bank transfer. These direct account-to-account payments for card repayments also support biometric Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) for payments made on mobile devices.

“We are thrilled to partner with Santander, a forward-thinking institution committed to driving open banking innovation and enhancing the experience of millions of customers,” Token.io CEO Todd Clyde said. “Token.io’s technology, combined with Santander’s dedication to exceptional service, will undoubtedly set new standards for how financial institutions leverage open banking to create innovative value propositions that meet the evolving needs of consumers and businesses.”

A subsidiary of Banco Santander, Santander UK has more than 14 million customers in the U.K. The bank offers mortgages, auto financing, unsecured loans, credit cards, banking, savings and investment accounts, as well as insurance products. In addition to using Token.io’s technology to support its A2A offering, Santander UK also plans to leverage the fintech’s infrastructure to enhance its real-time money movement capabilities for its retail banking customers.

This week’s news from Token.io comes just days after the U.K.-based fintech announced that it had expanded its partnership with global payments platform Ecommpay. The global payments platform added Token.io’s virtual accounts in four new markets — France, Ireland, the Netherlands, and Spain — to its Open Banking Advanced solution. The virtual accounts will enable e-commerce companies to get real-time settlement confirmation and make API-powered refunds or payouts, boosting both the speed and efficiency of transactions.

“Our partnership with Ecommpay continues to demonstrate the immense potential of open banking in transforming payment experiences and also highlights the opportunities that PSPs can realize when they embrace innovative, customer-centric solutions,” Clyde said.

Token.io made its Finovate debut at FinovateSpring 2015 and returned to the Finovate stage two years later at FinovateEurope in London. The company provides direct connectivity to more than 567 million bank accounts in 20 markets. Token.io’s customers include HSBC, BNP Paribas, and Global Payments, as well as fellow Finovate alums Mastercard and ACI Worldwide. The company has raised $90 million in funding according to Crunchbase, most recently securing a Series C investment of $40 million in 2022.

Photo by Markus Spiske

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Revolut Debuts Payment Terminal Hardware

Revolut Debuts Payment Terminal Hardware
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, Revolut
  • Revolut has announced the launch of Revolut Terminal, a wireless POS device aimed at larger businesses in the U.K. and Ireland.
  • Revolut Terminal offers advanced features like multi-location management, customer analytics, and integration with Revolut Pay.
  • Revolut Terminal is different from the Revolut Reader, which targets micro-businesses.

International challenger bank Revolut is pushing further into the business-to-business space this year. The company just announced the pending launch of Revolut Terminal, an advanced Point of Sale (POS) device designed for larger businesses across the U.K. and Ireland.

The new payment terminal, which is wireless and claims 99.9% uptime, is geared toward helping businesses manage transactions efficiently and securely across multiple physical locations. Revolut plans to launch the Revolut Terminal just ahead of Black Friday, which is timely for businesses that want to prepare for the increase in retail traffic before the holiday season.

Revolut’s new POS device integrates with Revolut Pay and will allow customers to make payments directly from their Revolut accounts without having to enter card or bank details. For merchants, Revolut Pay provides competitive transaction fees, which, at 0.5% + £0.02, are considerably less than traditional card processing fees.

“We’re excited to be offering Revolut Terminal as an all-in-one, powerful POS solution for our business customers,” said Revolut General Manager of Merchant Acquiring Alex Codina. “This launch comes as we continue to invest into our B2B offering and particularly double down on the hospitality and retail industries as an acquirer. A truly reliable payment solution is the difference between closing the sale and losing money, with Black Friday round the corner, Revolut Terminal is built to withstand high customer demand; and it could be yours in time for the busy season at an exclusive, reduced rate.”

In addition to the competitive pricing, the Revolut Terminal provides access to advanced POS features, including multi-location management, table mapping for restaurant businesses, analytics and insights into customer behavior, and integration with customer catalogues.

The Revolut Terminal builds on the success of the Revolut Reader, which the company launched in 2022. The Revolut Reader is a smaller, wireless dongle-type of payment acceptance tool aimed to help micro-businesses and entrepreneurs accept payments at 0.8% + £0.02 per transaction. The lightweight, portable card reader integrates with Revolut Business accounts and offers essential POS functionalities, including tipping and analytics.

Revolut offers an entire suite of tools for its business users. In addition to its flagship multi-currency accounts, the company also provides expense management tools, corporate payment cards, as well as a line of payment acceptance tools that includes hardware, APIs, analytics, and integrations.

“We’re continuing to see lots of momentum in Revolut Business, having this summer surpassed $500 million in annualized revenue and onboarding over 20,000 new customers per month,” said Revolut Business General Manager James Gibson. “Revolut Terminal marks the latest investment in our business customers, with merchants of all sizes now able to easily accept payments directly into their Revolut Business accounts, without juggling multiple providers.”

Last month, the company spun out its wealth management app into a standalone entity. And earlier this year, the company cemented its reputation as Europe’s most valuable fintech after receiving a $45 billion valuation.

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TSB Bank Teams Up with Financial Literacy App Doshi

TSB Bank Teams Up with Financial Literacy App Doshi
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, Doshi App
  • Financial literacy platform Doshi has teamed up with London-based TSB Bank.
  • TSB bank will visit schools to encourage students to use Doshi’s financial literacy app.
  • Headquartered in London, Doshi made its Finovate debut earlier this year at FinovateEurope 2024.

Gamified financial literacy platform Doshi has teamed up with London-based TSB Bank. The financial institution will spend the next six months traveling to schools to encourage students to use Doshi’s app to learn about responsible savings and spending, as well as other issues critical to financial literacy.

The initiative is targeting 1,000 students between the ages of 13 and 18. Doshi features a series of interactive lessons on financial topics based on financial goals such as managing debt or avoiding stress over saving and spending. The app leverages gamification strategies including awarding points and showcasing leaderboards to enable users to check their progress. The app also rewards students who complete the learning modules with perks like shopping vouchers to help boost engagement.

“Entering adulthood Money Confident is vital to ensuring young people are set up to enjoy a lifetime of stable finances and informed financial decisions,” TSB Head of Responsible Business Kate Osiadacz said. “We’re on a mission with Doshi to help young people boost their knowledge using the app’s innovative learning platform, so that they start their financial lives in the best place possible.”

According to the Young Persons’ Money Index, more than 81% of young people worry about money and/or personal finances. Additionally, the same percentage of young people also want to learn more about better managing their finances as part of their school curriculum.

“Only two out of five young adults have received financial education in secondary school,” Doshi CEO Daniel Rose said. “At Doshi, we believe that financial education is essential for building healthy, confident lives.”

In addition to the Doshi app, the company’s technology is available via its own branded, out-of-the-box website as well as via API integration. Regardless of environment, Doshi delivers more than 1,000 pieces of financial wellness and education content, tools, and videos. With more than 30,000 engaged users, the platform has provided more than 100,000 hours of learning and handed out thousands of rewards to users.

Headquartered in London, Doshi App made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2024. At the conference, the company demoed its white-label app that helps banks, credit unions, and fintechs promote financial literacy via a personalized, gamified, learning journeys. In August, the company partnered with Yorkshire Building Society to help provide financial education to first-time, prospective homebuyers.

The partnership between Doshi and TSB Bank is a product of the financial institution’s Money Confident Communities program. This program sends TSB Bank professionals to schools as volunteers to help young people learn more about financial wellness and financial independence. Doshi was one of the companies to successfully apply to TSB Bank’s TSB Labs program which partners with fintechs to enhance the bank’s financial literacy offering.

At the same time, such partnerships are fuel for innovation for fintechs, as well. “As a startup, you don’t get many opportunities to collaborate with senior leaders of a leading U.K. bank,” Rose noted. “Working with TSB has enabled us to co-create an exciting solution with the potential to change the lives of thousands of young adults.”

Photo by Pixabay

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ANNA Money Brings Biometric Re-Authentication to Fraud Fight

ANNA Money Brings Biometric Re-Authentication to Fraud Fight
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, ANNA, Daily news
  • ANNA, a small business banking and tax app for SMEs, has implemented biometric re-authentication strategies to fight fraud.
  • The new re-authentication procedures are designed to help combat the threat of Authorized Push Payment (APP) fraud.
  • U.K.-based ANNA made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2020 in Berlin.

All-in-one business and tax app for SMEs, ANNA, has become one of the first financial institutions in the U.K. to deploy biometric re-authentication strategies to fight financial crime. The new procedures are being used specifically to prevent fraudsters from using accounts they have accessed illegally.

“ANNA was one of the first in the industry to start pushing these changes live and we continue to make updates and improvements,” ANNA Chief Compliance Officer Leven Li said. “Our random biometric re-authentication programme went live this week and we expect that other financial institutions will likely follow our lead.”

The re-authentication process is initiated whenever someone attempts to access an ANNA account on a mobile device that is different from the one used to initially set up the account. When this occurs, a request for a selfie is issued. Insofar as the fraudster will not be able to produce an accurate facial match, the access attempt is stopped and the account is immediately suspended. Additionally, ANNA has introduced random biometric authentication checks that also leverage a customer selfie to re-verify identity.

The new procedures come as new laws designed to stop Authorized Push Payment (APP) fraud in the U.K. came online this week. APP fraud occurs when a person is tricked into sending money to a fraudster who is posing as a legitimate payee. The new regulations require payment services providers (PSPs) such as ANNA to reimburse eligible claims from APP victims when the fraud takes place via faster payments and CHAPs.

And while ANNA currently has a number of strategies to help prevent fraud, including the use of national databases like CIFAs and limiting ANNA accounts to U.K. residents and businesses, the new requirements are designed to help financial institutions, fintechs, and their customers stay one step ahead of continuously-evolving fraud threats – without compromising the customer experience.

“While these measures are mainly aimed at detecting accounts accessed and misused by criminals who have not been through our Know Your Customer process, there’s no friction at all for our regular customers,” Li said. “It’s just a quick selfie — which we are all used to doing — and it’s keeping our customers and their accounts much safer from day-to-day threats, like fraudsters trying to scam their way in or phone snatchers who try to access accounts by bypassing security protections.”

ANNA made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2020 in Berlin. At the conference, the company demoed its automated tax calculation solution that manages self-assessment and VAT return. The technology automatically categorizes and reconciles expenses, and calculates VAT and tax in real time. The solution then completes and submits tax and VAT returns to the HMRC.

This spring, ANNA acquired business spend management platform GetCape for an undisclosed sum. The transaction enabled ANNA to enter the Australian market; GetCape is headquartered in Sydney. The goal of the acquisition was to provide a challenge to Australia’s Big Four banks when it comes to offering expense management and corporate cards to SMEs.

ANNA was founded in 2017 and is headquartered in the U.K. Boris Dyakonov and Eduard Panteleev are Co-CEOs.

Photo by Evgeniy Alyoshin on Unsplash

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3 Takeaways from Klarna Checkout’s Rebrand as Kustom

3 Takeaways from Klarna Checkout’s Rebrand as Kustom
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, Klarna, List series

This week, Klarna Checkout, also known as KCO, announced its official rebrand as Kustom. The rebrand comes 12 years after the launch of Klarna Checkout, which at the time set a new standard for e-commerce in Northern Europe. The rebrand also arrives months after Klarna sold KCO to a consortium of investors led by BLQ Invest CEO and Founding Partner Kamjar Hajabdolahi.

“Klarna Checkout is very dear to me, and the impact it’s had on Klarna’s journey is immense,” Klarna CEO and Co-Founder Sebastian Siemiatkowski said in June when the divestment was announced. “I’m so pleased it’s finding a new home, with owners who are carefully handpicked to continue to create outstanding value for our merchant partners.”

A new home back then, and now, a new name. As Kustom, the digital checkout solution stands as one of the largest digital checkout providers in Europe. Kustom has 24,000 e-merchants and annual transaction volume of more than $14 billion (150 billion SEK). Kustom will focus on e-merchants and will add to its suite of payment methods, while keeping Klarna a key component of Kustom’s offering. Additionally, Kustom will focus on optimizing the checkout experience and building related services as opposed to offering its own payment methods or credit products.

“Our full focus will now be on our merchants and continuing to develop this great product based on their needs,” Hajabdolahi said. “We have an incredibly strong customer base, we are profitable, and we have secured financing for strategic acquisitions, which provides an excellent foundation. In the coming months, we will put all our efforts into further developing our infrastructure to expand our offering in 2025, including the introduction of new payment methods.”

Here are a trio of top takeaways from the rebrand.

Kustom will start strong

The rebrand comes at a time of strength for the digital checkout platform. The solution has a market share of more than 40% in Sweden and more than 20% across the Nordics. Kustom will also benefit from its new owners who have been credited for their “Buy and Build” strategy when it comes to acquisitions.

Strategic partnership with Stripe

In addition to its rebrand announcement, Kustom also shared news of a new strategic partnership with payments innovator Stripe. Stripe’s platform will be instrumental to Kustom’s plans to introduce new features and payment methods for e-merchants, starting in the first half of 2025.

Continued collaboration with Klarna

Despite the summer sale and the autumn rebrand, Kustom will retain its relationship with Klarna and, in fact, plans to offer Klarna’s payment methods in the future. Also many of the personnel moves accompanying the rebrand reflect more continuation than separation. Jesper Eriksson, previously Country Manager for Klarna in Sweden, will become Chief Commercial Officer for Kustom. Rasmus Fahlander, previously Senior Product Director for Klarna Checkout, will become CPO. Alexander Olsson, former finance director for the U.S. at Klarna, will take the role of CFO.

Photo by Leeloo The First

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AutoRek Joins Swift Partner Program

AutoRek Joins Swift Partner Program
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, AutoRek, Daily news
  • Automated reconciliation software company AutoRek has joined the Swift Partner Program.
  • The partnership will enable companies to have greater integration between their operations and third-party data sources.
  • Scotland-based AutoRek made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2023.

AutoRek, an automated financial controls platform based in Scotland, has joined the Swift Partner Program. The move will enhance the consolidation and reconciliation of financial data and provide greater integration between companies’ operations and their third-party data sources. Leveraging its predefined catalog of API connections, AutoRek will consume messages directly from the Swift network, making the reconciliation process more efficient and providing wider data management. This will eliminate the need for AutoRek customers to both source and manage files and statements from the third-parties they are working with. Futhermore, AutoRek will investigate the creation of additional solutions to help its customers maximize the company’s connection with the Swift network.

“AutoRek is on a mission to set the benchmark in trust for finance operations and controls,” AutoRek Head of Strategic Partnerships Alastair MacKenzie said. “As a member-owned organization, we believe this collaboration with Swift will allow us to gain in-depth insights to help meet the needs of the world’s leading financial services firms.”

SWIFT, which stands for Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, offers a network that enables financial institutions to communicate and exchange information about financial transactions in a secure manner. Launched in 1973 and owned by the banks and member institutions that use the messaging network, the Belgian-based cooperative connects more than 11,500 banking and securities organizations, market infrastructures, and corporate customers in 200+ countries and territories.

AutoRek made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope last year. At the conference, the company’s Kashif Aslam demonstrated how AutoRek’s technology helps financial institutions — including banks, asset managers, insurers, and payments businesses — manage high-volume reconciliation challenges. “Some of the benefits include a significant reduction in cost through automation of otherwise manual and intricate business processes, an increase in control over your data through increased transparency so you can see and track everything that’s happened to your data throughout its lifespan within the system, and an increased ability to demonstrate compliance with financial regulation,” Aslam explained.

In the months since then, AutoRek has forged partnerships with J.P. Morgan Payments, global funds network Calastone, and French IT services and consulting firm Capgemini. The company’s customers include fellow Finovate alums eToro and Marqeta.

Founded in 1994, AutoRek is headquartered in Glasgow, Scotland. Gordon McHarg is CEO.

Photo by Richard Harris

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Glia Unveils Unified Interactions Index Online Calculator

Glia Unveils Unified Interactions Index Online Calculator
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, Glia
  • Customer interaction technology company Glia launched its Unified Interactions Index Online Calculator this week.
  • The new offering is based on the company’s Unified Interactions Index, and enables financial services companies to benchmark the quality of their customer interactions against that of their peers.
  • A multiple-time Finovate Best of Show winner, Glia most recently demoed its technology at Finovate’s all-digital conference in 2021.

Leave it to customer interaction technology innovator Glia to take the idea of “Knowing Your Customer” to another level.

This week, Glia unveiled its Unified Interactions Index Online Calculator. Based on the company’s Unified Interactions Index, the new tool enables financial services companies to benchmark themselves against more than 500 peer companies in terms of the efficiency, effectiveness, and overall experience in customer interactions.

“Customer interactions are the new litmus test for loyalty, but until now financial institutions haven’t had an accessible way to compare their interaction strategy with peers and relate it to tangible KPIs,” Glia Co-Founder and CEO Dan Michaeli said.

Glia’s calculator gives financial institutions apples-to-apples benchmarking data on how they compare against peers and competitors. From the answers to 14 questions, the calculator provides a score that categorizes respondents into one of three areas –front runner, pacer, or straggler — based on the efficiency, effectiveness, and experience of their customer interaction strategy. With this information, Glia provides customer recommendations to help the institution improve its interaction strategy, and improve business results based on their own unique circumstances.

“Our calculator offers a quick, simple way to evaluate where an institution stands and then provides actionable steps on easy areas of improvement,” Michaeli added. “This ultimately helps deliver the information and tools necessary to modernize and enhance customer interactions and drive successful business outcomes.”

Headquartered in New York, Glia made its Finovate debut (as SaleMove) at FinovateFall in 2015, earning its first of several Best of Show awards. Most recently, the company demoed its technology before Finovate audiences at our all-digital conference in the spring of 2021. Today, Glia has partnered with more than 500 banks, credit unions, insurance companies, and other financial institutions around the world to help them improve the customer experience, boost loyalty, and drive revenues. The Glia Interaction Platform unifies voice, digital customer service, and AI in an architecture that eliminates data siloes and enables companies to shift traffic between channels, enabling customer interactions to evolve naturally.

The launch of Glia’s new offering follows the introduction of the company’s ChannelLess AI-powered Interactions for Financial Services experience. This platform, in the words of Glia Chief Product Officer Jay Choi, combines a best-in-class virtual assistant, back-end AI tools, and a data analysis solution for managers to help them “find new ways to drive efficiency, performance, and increase the value delivered by the contact center.”

Photo by Yan Krukau

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