Citi

Citi Launches Citi Real-Time Funding for Corporate Clients

Citi Launches Citi Real-Time Funding for Corporate Clients
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Citi, Daily news
  • Citi launched Citi Real-Time Funding (RTF), a real time funds transfer tool.
  • The new tool helps commercial clients move funds between cross-border accounts automatically, based on pre-defined rules.
  • Citi Real-Time Funding (RTF) is now available in Australia, Hong Kong, and the U.K.

Citi announced today that it is offering faster funds transfers for some clients. Today, the bank unveiled Citi Real-Time Funding (RTF), a real-time funds transfer tool that helps commercial clients move funds between cross-border accounts automatically, based on pre-defined rules.

Citi RTF is launching as part of the bank’s real-time treasury suite of solutions for corporate clients and is now available in Australia, Hong Kong, and the U.K. Citi plans to expand the capability to additional geographies later this year.

“With the introduction of Citi RTF, Citi continues to deliver best-in-class, real-time treasury solutions to help our clients remain competitive and agile,” said Citi Services Global Head of Liquidity Management Services Stephen Randall. “With the proliferation of instant payments and evolving business models, treasuries must be able to support rapidly growing, 24/7 cash flows. Citi RTF complements our existing treasury products like Real-Time Multibanking, On-Demand Sweeps and Real-Time Liquidity Sharing that are powering our clients’ journeys to real-time liquidity management.”

Because the funds transfer rules are set by the client, clients can tailor the solution to ensure that cash is available when and where it’s needed. Transfers between intercompany accounts can be done 24/7, including intraday, afterhours, weekends, and holidays. The new tool also offers clients complex cash forecasting and a consolidated view of their accounts, including intercompany loans and cash positions, in a single report.

As real-time money movement services become more prolific in commercial banking, they are poised to become indispensable components of sophisticated treasury management systems. The speed of money movement, combined with the increased visibility of real-time funds, offers businesses greater financial agility and strategic advantage.

Photo by Renel Wackett on Unsplash

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Citi Dips Toe into Crypto Waters, Leading $6 Million Round in xalts

Citi Dips Toe into Crypto Waters, Leading $6 Million Round in xalts
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Citi, Daily news, Funding
  • Hong Kong-based digital asset investment startup xalts received $6 million in funding.
  • The round was co-led by Citi Ventures and Accel.
  • The investment marks a first for Citi; it is the first digital asset manager in which the bank-owned venture firm has invested.

Digital asset investing company xalts landed $6 million in funding in a Seed round co-led by Citi Ventures and Accel.

The investment, which is xalts’ first round of capital, also marks a first for Citi Ventures. xalts is the first digital asset manager in which the bank-owned venture firm has invested. “xalts is our first investment in a digital asset manager, and we support its vision of creating innovative products to meet the growing appetite of institutional investors for more efficient and robust crypto-access investments,” said Citi Ventures Managing Director Luis Valdich.

While the investment is a first for Citi, however, the move into crypto is not uncommon for traditional financial firms. In fact, just a few weeks ago, Charles Schwab, Citadel Securities, and Fidelity Investments announced the launch of a new cryptocurrency exchange, EDX markets, to serve both individual and institutional investors.

Headquartered in Hong Kong, xalts is a global digital investment firm that helps financial institutions across the globe access digital assets while remaining compliant. The company was founded earlier this year by Goel Ashutosh and Supreet Kaur.

“With xalts, we are building innovative, institutional-grade investment products and solutions which focus on high compliance and control standards – things institutional investors care about,” said Goel, xalts’ Chief Investment Officer. “The next leg of growth in digital assets will be driven by institutional participation in the asset class. We are starting to see the early signs of that with a lot of new initiatives coming from banks and asset managers.”

Photo by Tom Fisk

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Ten Finovate Alums Join FedNow Instant Payments Pilot Program

Ten Finovate Alums Join FedNow Instant Payments Pilot Program
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: ACI Worldwide, Alumni News, Capital One, Citi, Daily news, Finastra, Finzly, FIS, Fiserv, Green Dot, Jack Henry, List series, Temenos

More than two years in the making, the FedNow payments initiative – launched by the U.S. Federal Reserve to accelerate payments and transfers – is picking up speed. The project currently has more than 110 banks, financial services providers, and other organizations slated to participate, and among them are ten Finovate alums.

“We’re gratified by the industry’s tremendous interest and willingness to devote time and energy to help us develop the FedNow Service,” Esther George, executive sponsor of the Federal Reserve’s payments improvement initiatives, said. George, who is also President and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, added that the pilot has had to “adjust” to accommodate greater than expected interest.

The idea behind the service is to expand the reach of instant payment services offered by financial institutions and enable businesses and individuals to send and receive instant payments, with full access to their funds within seconds. The FedNow Service will leverage the Federal Reserve’s FedLine network, which connects to more than 10,000 financial institutions directly or via their agents.

The pilot program is designed to review the technology’s features and functionality, assess the user experience, and greenlight the product for further testing and eventual general availability. Participating institutions will be retained, post-launch, to provide additional review and advice with regard to issues like adoption roadmap, industry readiness, and overall payments strategy.

“The FedNow Service marks a turning point in the industry’s move to making real-time payments a reality,” Booshan Rengachari, founder and CEO of Finzly, explained. Finzly is one of Finovate’s newest alums – most recently demoing its technology at FinovateWest Digital last fall – and is one of the participants in FedNow’s pilot program.

Rengachari further suggested that this “turning point” was a moment his company had anticipated. “We created our Payment Hub specifically to help FIs prepare and go to market faster with newer RTP networks,” he said. Finzly’s CEO added that this helps “address the challenges of offering single payment API for multiple payment networks without having to run disparate payment systems from multiple vendors.”

The 10 Finovate alums participating in the FedNow project are listed below.

Photo by Inge Wallumrød from Pexels

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Banking-BigTech Deals Are on the Rise: Citi Partners with Amazon

Banking-BigTech Deals Are on the Rise: Citi Partners with Amazon
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Alumni profile, Citi

Point of sale financing is all the rage in fintech right now. Consumers are looking to continue buying habits despite lower income and merchants are vying for ways to boost consumer spending.

So when it comes to one of the biggest online merchants launching a buy-now-pay-later offering, its a big deal. It is, anyway for Citi, which struck up a partnership with Amazon this week to provide a buy-now-pay-later option for Citi credit cardholders.

The tool is called the Citi Flex Plan and offers Citi credit cardholders a way to pay for larger purchases over time. Loan terms range from three to 48 months with terms ranging from 6.74% APR to 8.74% APR depending on the amount financed. Borrowers face no credit inquiries, no incremental fees, and are not required to fill out a formal application.

“Amazon is one of the most popular destinations for our customers to shop and redeem ThankYou Points,” said CEO of Citi U.S. Consumer Bank Anand Selva. “We want to meet them where they are with another instant, convenient and easy payment option.”

Essentially, Citi cardholders have two forms of credit in one when they shop on Amazon. How do the logistics work? When they place their order, the total purchase amount will be deducted from their available credit. The monthly payment– the amount that varies based on the purchase price– is due to Citi at each billing cycle.

After Citi initiated a partnership with Google in 2019 and yesterday’s news of six more traditional banks following suit, today’s announcement comes as no surprise. Challenger banks are on the rise, and consumers are opening new accounts with these alternative banking providers at a faster rate than before.

By providing its customers with the new buy-now-pay-later option, a traditional financial services provider such as Citi is appealing to the lower income group that is most attracted to challenger banks. The bank is also helping to position its card at the top of consumers’ virtual wallets when they shop at Amazon. This is key since more than one-third of active Citi cardmembers made at least one purchase on Amazon in the past year.

Additionally, partnering with a big tech company helps Citi align more with the tech side of banking. And indeed, the bank has been closer to the forefront of fintech than many of its rivals. At our developers conference Citi showcased its developer hub and sandbox.

Photo by Morning Brew on Unsplash

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Kyckr Deepens Relationship with Citi

Kyckr Deepens Relationship with Citi
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Citi, Daily news, Kyckr

Regtech company Kyckr, which first partnered with its client Citigroup in 2016, has extended its relationship with the bank. Kyckr announced today that it will now provide Citi Commercial Bank with its client verification platform.

Kyckr’s verification platform has information on more than 200 company registries and 170+ million legal entities across 120 countries. Citi Commercial Bank will use the company’s API to verify business information using documents that detail ownership and control, financials, solvency, and more when onboarding new commercial clients.

“Onboarding new clients when opening a bank account is the first stage in customer verification, involving gathering vital information on the customer and conducting identity checks to comply with Know-Your-Customer regulations,” said Kyckr CEO Ian Henderson. “More and more businesses are looking into automated and accurate means of adhering to Anti Money Laundering and Know Your Customer obligations to prevent fraud, and this is where our technology is well positioned in the market.”

Along with Citi Commercial Bank, Kyckr also serves Citi’s Institutional Clients Group (ICG) and Trade and Transaction Services (TTS) with its corporate data solutions.

Kyckr has provided APIs and cloud-based automated decision engines to help companies with KYC compliance, due diligence, and customer onboarding since it was founded in 2007. The Australia-based company is listed on the ASX under the ticker KYK and has a market capitalization of $10.85 million (AUD $16.9 million). Since going public, Kyckr has raised $11 million in post-IPO equity.

In addition to Citigroup, Kyckr’s clients include DemystData, the Bank of Ireland, and others.

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Finovate Alumni News

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: aixigo, CashSentinel, Chetu, Citi, Coinbase, Minna Technologies, MX, Neustar, PayPal, ThetaRay, ti&m, TransferWise, Worldline

On Finovate.com

  • ti&m and aixigo Partner to Digitize Wealth Management.
  • TransferWise Inks International Payments Deal with EQ Bank.
  • Coinbase’s New Partnership Helps Give Back with Crypto.

Around the web

  • ThetaRay Names Edward Sander as Chief Product Officer.
  • Frontier Communications deploys Neustar Certified Caller STIR/SHAKEN technology across its IP network to digitally certify phone calls.
  • Citi and PayPal expand partnership for institutional clients.
  • Worldline and CashSentinel partner to provide a payment solution to comply with Swiss and European online marketplaces.
  • Alaska USA Federal Credit Union selects MX to power mobile banking platform.
  • Minna Technologies deepens partnership with OP Financial Group.
  • Chetu continues European expansion, opens new UK office.

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

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Finovate Alumni News

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Citi, Finastra, Optimove, Revolut, Sezzle, Signicat

On Finovate.com

  • Signicat Inks Payments Verification Partnership with Twikey

Around the web

  • Citi goes live with Citi Global Collect, a new cross-border B2B payments tool.
  • Sezzle opens new office in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
  • Finastra hires Lisa Fiondella as Chief Data Officer.
  • ZagTrader wins full certification for its market making technology from Bourse Kuwait.
  • Optimove extends partnership with multiplatform gaming service provider Funstage.
  • Revolut taps Pierre Decote as its new Chief Risk Officer.
  • Signicat teams up with Twikey on payments.

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

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Finovate Alumni News

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: BLUERUSH, Citi, CurrencyFair, Micronotes, Outsystems, PayPal, Xignite

On Finovate.com

  • On Earth Day (and Every Day) Paperless is the Way to Be.
  • OutSystems Brings Benefits of Low Code Dev to U.K.s Biggest Manufacturers.

Around the Web

  • PayPal’s Venmo considering credit cards for monetization.
  • Micronotes awarded U.S. patent for AI-driven interactive marketing system.
  • CurrencyFair adds Indian Rupee to currency list.
  • Citi introduces biometric authentication for institutional customers in the APAC region.
  • With its IndiVideo solution, BlueRush and Chilean partner, Kunder, win Best Financial Services Online Video at the 2019 Internet Advertising Competition awards.

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

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Citi Forges Strategic Partnership with Feedzai

Citi Forges Strategic Partnership with Feedzai
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Citi, Feedzai

Citi’s Treasury and Trade Solutions will integrate transaction monitoring technology from Feedzai. The integration comes courtesy of a newly-announced strategic partnership, and reflects a relationship that extends back to 2016, when Citi Ventures made a strategic investment in the AI-based real-time risk management solution provider.

“Citi is one of the most successful banks in the world for a reason, because they invest in their customers’ experience,” Feedzai CEO and co-founder Nuno Sebastiao said. “We’re proud to continue working together to be part of that innovation that helps Citi to continue to show the world what world-class digital transformation for banks looks like.”

Powered by advanced machine learning technology, Feedzai’s transaction monitoring platform will combine with Citi’s proprietary services and platforms to give clients better control and risk management for payment transactions. The technology analyzes and identifies potential customer payment behavior anomalies before the payments are sent for clearing, while at the same time ensuring prompt and efficient processing. Citi plans to go live with a new, Feedzai-powered risk management solution in 2019.

“Our strategic partnership with Feedzai demonstrates our deep commitment to using technology to drive innovation,” said Manish Kohli, Global Head of Payments and Receivables for Citi’s Treasury and Trade Solutions. “With the help of Feedzai’s solution, we can scale rapidly in an effort to deliver value to our clients, allowing them to make payments securely, efficiently, and without friction, across the globe,” Kohli said.

Feedzai’s strategic partnership news comes just a few weeks after the company announced the release of its financial crime prevention solution, Risk Ledger. This summer, Feedzai announced that it would offer its machine learning technology, AutoML, to automate and streamline the work of data scientists. A partnership with e-commerce bank, Credorax, reported in July, will empower the merchant acquisition specialist to offer better anti-fraud protections for its partners.

Founded in 2008 and based in San Mateo, California, Feedzai demonstrated its fraud prevention technology at FinovateEurope 2014. The company’s platform scores $5 billion in transactions daily and protects 10 of the largest 25 global banks against transaction fraud. Feedzai has raised $82 million in funding from investors including Data Collective DCVC, Sapphire Ventures, Citi Ventures, and Oak HC/FT.

Citi participated in our developers conference, FinDEVr New York 2017, providing a discussion on OAuth tokenization and the company’s Developer Hub. The bank, with more than 200 million customer accounts, was founded in 1812 and conducts operations in more than 160 countries and jurisdictions around the world.

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Finovate Alumni News

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Avaloq, Braintri, Citi, Clinc, Envestnet, Experian, Feedzai, TransferWise

On Finovate.com

  • Citi Forges Strategic Partnership with Feedzai.

Around the web

  • Clinc Brings Conversational AI to Turkey’s Isbank.
  • FinTech Futures sits down with TransferWise’s Stuart Gregory to talk about the power of partnerships.
  • Intelligent CIO looks at the merger of Polish fintechs, Braintri and iCompass.
  • Experian launches Experian Boost, an online platform that enables consumers to instantly improve their credit scores by providing additional financial information.
  • Envestnet president Bill Crager is featured in Financial Planning’s 19 People Who Will Change Wealth Management in 2019.

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

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FinDEVr APIntelligence

FinDEVr APIntelligence
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: ACI Worldwide, Citi, FICO, FinDEVr APIntelligence, Fiserv, InComm, Kabbage, MasterCard, NuData Security, PayPal, Xero

FDLD17_EventLogoV1_wdate(large) (1)We saw some great stuff at FinDEVr New York last month; stay tuned for videos of the live presentations! If you missed out, check out FinDEVr London on June 12 & 13 during London Tech Week. Register today and save big time.

On FinDEVr.com

  • InComm Partners with WeChat Pay Parent Tencent.

Alumni updates

  • Kabbage extends $3 billion in funding to more than 100,000 small business customers.
  • PayPal extends partnership with Visa into Asia-Pacific region.
  • HyperPay to leverage ACI Worldwide’s Mobile Commerce SDK to offer merchants a mobile checkout solution.
  • FICO launches cloud-based origination solution to help mid-market lenders automate small business lending decisions.
  • Twilio launches programmable fax service.
  • Citi takes API developer hub to Hong Kong.
  • Mastercard Adds to Authentication Arsenal with Acquisition of NuData Security.
  • Xero named a “2017 Top Rated Accounting & Budgeting Software” on TrustRadius.
  • Iroquois Federal Savings & Loan Association to deploy core processing system from Fiserv.
  • Braspag announces integration of e-commerce and anti-fraud technology from ACI Worldwide.

Stay current on daily news from the fintech developer community! Follow FinDEVr on Twitter.

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Finovate Alumni News

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Citi, Coinbase, Ripple, Tyfone

Around the web

  • Tyfone Named Top 10 Mobile Banking Solution Provider for Third Consecutive Year by Banking CIO Outlook.
  • American Banker: Coinbase granted N.Y. approval to offer ether trades.
  • Citi takes API developer hub to Hong Kong.
  • The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ to join Ripple’s Global Payments Steering Group.

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

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