Daily news

BNP Paribas Partners with Ant International

BNP Paribas Partners with Ant International
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Daily news
  • BNP Paribas has partnered with Ant International on multiple initiatives.
  • Among the projects, BNP Paribas will allow its merchant clients to accept payments via Ant International’s Alipay+, BNP Paribas will sponsor Ant International’s WorldFirst to participate in the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) scheme, and BNP Paribas will leverage Ant International’s Whale platform to explore opportunities in tokenized deposits.
  • Ant Group, which was originally an affiliate of Alibaba, created Ant international to foster international expansion efforts.

French bank BNP Paribas announced this week it has teamed up with Ant Group subsidiary Ant International. The two agreed to work together on four projects to help BNP Paribas foster its digital payment initiatives.

For the first collaboration, BNP Paribas will work with Ant International’s Alipay+, a cross-border mobile payment solution. The partnership will allow BNP Paribas’ merchant clients that use its acquiring service across Europe to accept payments from more than 25 international mobile partners via Alipay+.

The two will also work to help WorldFirst participate in the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) scheme. WorldFirst, which is Ant International’s digital payment and financial services platform for global businesses, aims to reinforce its participation in SEPA to help businesses make online cross-border payments and fund transfers within the SEPA Zone. Under the agreement, BNP Paribas will sponsor WorldFirst’s participation in the SEPA scheme, allowing WorldFirst to expedite its integration and onboarding onto SEPA. Ultimately, WorldFirst’s clients will be able to access SEPA payment schemes in real-time and automate treasury payments.

Additionally, BNP Paribas will leverage Ant International’s Whale platform to explore opportunities in tokenized deposits for global treasury management. In turn, Ant International will use BNP Paribas’ infrastructure to build out its Whale platform further.

The Whale platform leverages the blockchain to facilitate commercial digital payments and financial services on a global scale. The treasury management tool offers cross-border payment solutions that leverage tokenized deposits, support for digital wallet functionality integrated into Alipay+, and provide data analytics tools that offer insights into customer behavior and transaction patterns, and more.

“Through our collaboration with a leading industry partner, we will bring together digital payments and innovative technology solutions from Ant International, with BNP Paribas’s depth of experience in the European market, to deliver greater connectivity and make global travel and trade more convenient,” said Ant International President Douglas Feagin.

Ant International is headquartered in Singapore. The firm’s parent company Ant Group, which was originally an affiliate of Alibaba, created Ant international to foster international expansion efforts. In addition to Alipay+ and WorldFirst, Ant International’s other brands include Antom, Anext Bank, and Bettr.

BNP Paribas operates in 63 countries and has about 183,000 employees, including more than 145,000 in Europe. The bank was officially established in May of 2000, after the merger of France-based BNP and international investment bank Paribas.

Photo by Floriane Vita on Unsplash

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Bain Capital to Acquire Envestnet for $4.5 Billion

Bain Capital to Acquire Envestnet for $4.5 Billion
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, Envestnet, Mergers & Acquisitions
  • Wealthtech innovator Envestnet has agreed to be acquired by Bain Capital in a deal valued at $4.5 billion.
  • Also participating in the deal is Reverence Capital. Strategic partners BlackRock, Fidelity Investments, Franklin Templeton, and State Street Global Advisors also have agreed to invest in the transaction.
  • Envestnet has been a Finovate alum since 2016. The company most recently demoed its technology on the Finovate stage at FinovateFall 2021.

Technology, data, and wealth solutions company Envestnet has agreed to be acquired by Bain Capital. The transaction values Envestnet at $4.5 billion or $63.15 per share. Also participating in the deal is Reverence Capital, along with a number of strategic partners that have agreed to invest in the transaction. These partners include BlackRock, Fidelity Investments, Franklin Templeton, and State Street Global Advisors, and each will hold a minority position in the company once the transaction is completed.

“This is a validation of Envestnet’s proven ability to operate at market-leading scale – serving more assets, accounts, and advisors and effectively connecting our company and our technology,” Envestnet EVP Business Lines Tom Sipp said. Calling the acquisition an “exciting new chapter,” Sipp highlighted the opportunities that lie ahead in Envestnet’s status as a private company rather than a public one. “As a private company, we can accelerate our ability to further elevate our market-leading platform with greater functionality and an even broader solution set that enables advisors to better serve clients at all stages of their financial life.”

A giant in the field of wealth management, Envestnet manages more than $6 trillion in assets, nearly 20 million accounts, and counts 109,000+ financial advisors as users of its technology. This includes more than 800 asset managers that use Envestnet’s Wealth Management Platform. Founded in 1999 and headquartered in Berwyn, Pennsylvania, the company works with 17 of the 20 largest banks in the U.S., and 48 of the 50 largest wealth management and brokerage firms. This year, Envestnet has forged partnerships with Salesforce, Australian wealthtech HeirWealth, insurtech Ladder, and fellow Finovate alum Ocrolus, which specializes in financial document automation and analysis.

Envestnet made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2016. More recently, the company brought its data aggregation and analytics platform, Envestnet | Yodlee, to FinovateFall 2021 in New York. At the conference, the company showed how the platform leverages Conversational AI to deliver hyper-personalized financial insights and goals-based micro-savings applications.

Takeover talk had been circulating around Envestnet for months. A report in Bloomberg from late May indicated that the company was “drawing takeover interest from buyers including Advent International and GTCR.” The report also noted an uptick in private equity’s interest in the sector, crediting “reliable cash flows” that can be “scaled up through acquisition.”

“This is a great outcome for Envestnet’s clients and employees, and one that maintains its entrepreneurial spirit,” Envestnet Co-Founder Bill Crager said. “Envestnet is exceptionally well-positioned to continue to build a gateway to the future of financial advice. I couldn’t be more excited about the company going forward, its continued success, and ability to serve more advisors – enabling them to deliver more holistic financial advice.”

Photo by cottonbro studio

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Fintech Rundown: A Rapid Review of Weekly News

Fintech Rundown: A Rapid Review of Weekly News
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alkami Technology, Alumni News, Coinbase, Daily news, Envestnet, Fintech Rundown, VISA

We’re starting off the newsweek with a bang as Bain Capital announces that it will take wealthtech and Finovate alum Envestnet private in a deal valued at $4.5 billion. Be sure to check back all week long with the latest fintech news and headlines.

Crypto / DeFi / Web3

Payment orchestration platform FinMont partners with Bitcoin and cryptocurrency payment servics firm, BitPay.

Coinbase launches new web app to help users better manage their digital assets portfolio.

Blockchain payment network Partior secures $60 million in Series B funding.

Wirex and Visa announce an expanded partnership to promote Web3 payments.

Payments

Mangopay teams up with European marketplace ManoMano to bring new payment capabilities to marketplace merchants.

Allied Payment Network introduces new Chief Financial Officer Hank Vanjaria.

U.K. payments platform Payset partners with ClearBank to access the U.K. payment system for local and cross-border transactions.

BNPL company Affirm teams up with Canadian retailer RONA, enabling the store to offer flexible online payment options.

Singapore based fintech Qashier launches its payment linked loyalty program, Treats.

TerraPay partners with YeePay to enhance the customer experience.

Nala raises $40 million to build B2B payments platform, scale remittance services.

Stripe reaches $70 billion valuation.

Klarna considers Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and JPMorgan for lead banking positions for a potential 2025 IPO.

Payments processor Tapi lands $22 million.

Temenos teamed up with Visa to integrate Visa Direct with Temenos Payments Hub and make available to banks via Temenos Exchange.

Investing and wealth management

Apex Fintech Solutions launches its real-time, B2B investment infrastructure, Ascend for Fintechs.

Bain Capital to buy Envestnet for $4.5 billion.

InvestFi forges partnership with HiFin Technology.

Small business finance

America First Credit Union turns to Loquat to enhance onboarding for small business members.

J.P. Morgan Payments selects Slope to provide clients access to a short-term financing solution, leads the fintech’s new round of $252 million in combined debt and equity.

9Spokes launches automated cashflow tool to help financial organizations elevate financial insights for SMBs.

Digital banking

Digital wealth management solutions company Quantifeed forges partnership with banking technology firm Thought Machine.

Digital banking solutions provider Alkami receives certification by J.D. Power for its mobile banking platform.

Banco Santander introduces a new digital service for customers with hearing challenges that translates the bank’s website into British Sign Language (BSL).

Flybits integrates with Q2’s Digital Banking Platform.

Trexis launches suite of digital banking solutions.

Anne Boden quits Starling Bank to focus on AI.

Brightfin launches healthy spending app to remove anxiety around money.

Insurtech

Digital insurance firm Lemonade launches new home insurance offering in the U.K.

Insuritas partners with Integral Group Solution (IGS) to integrate home services product into its embedded insurance platform.

Lending

Mexican fintech OCN secures $86 million in Series A funding.

Open banking

Salt Edge launches the latest version of its Open Banking Gateway API, API V6.

Goldman Sachs’ alternatives unit is leading a consortium investing $540 million in a continuation vehicle created by VC firm NEA, which includes stakes in 11 of NEA’s companies, including Plaid.

Photo by Lukas

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ebankIT and Centrilogic Team Up to Deliver Secure Cloud-Based Solutions

ebankIT and Centrilogic Team Up to Deliver Secure Cloud-Based Solutions
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, ebankIT
  • Digital banking solutions provider ebankIT announced a partnership with public and private cloud services provider Centrilogic.
  • The partnership will help banks and other financial institutions leverage cloud services to accelerate their digital transformations.
  • ebankIT made its Finovate debut in 2015. The company most recently demoed its technology on the Finovate stage at FinovateEurope 2023.

A partnership between digital banking solutions provider ebankIT and multicloud services provider Centrilogic will bring secure, cloud-based solutions to financial institutions. ebankIT will combine its adaptable architecture and core-agnostic capabilities with Centrilogic’s expertise in private and public cloud services to help banks and other financial institutions innovate quickly and achieve their digital transformation goals.

“Centrilogic has extensive experience helping financial institutions achieve success through their digital transformation journeys by delivering reliable and secure cloud-based systems and infrastructure,” Centrilogic CEO Robert Offley explained. “Together with ebankIT, we look forward to empowering banks and credit unions with the foundation necessary to provide industry-leading digital experiences to their clients.”

Courtesy of the collaboration, ebankIT will leverage Centrilogic’s Managed Security Service. This technology provides comprehensive security monitoring to enhance data protection with capabilities such as security logging, vulnerability scanning, and intrusion detection systems.

“An efficient infrastructure management is essential for seamless operations,” ebankIT CEO Renato Oliveira said. “Centrilogic’s expertise will help ebankIT optimize infrastructure, enhance scalability, and improve overall performance.”

Based in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, Centrilogic offers both private and public cloud services to mid-market businesses. The firm offers multicloud management, application innovation, data and analytics, and IT advisory to help businesses turn their technology platforms into “business-driving assets”. Centrilogic began 2024 with the appointment of Doug Tracy as the company’s President. The privately-held firm counts TriSpan LLP and Long Point Capital among its investors.

A Finovate alum since its Best of Show winning debut at FinovateEurope in 2015, ebankIT most recently demoed its technology at FinovateEurope 2023. At the conference, the company showed a number of new features on its Omnichannel Digital Banking Platform, including a new tool to help banks better anticipate customer needs. More recently, the company has forged partnerships with financial institutions like Metropolitan Commercial Bank as well as with fintechs like fellow Finovate alums Finotta and Glia.

Founded in 2014, ebankIT is headquartered in Porto, Portugal.

Photo by Nick Karvounis on Unsplash

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Conversations Platform Provider Eltropy Unveils Voice+

Conversations Platform Provider Eltropy Unveils Voice+
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, Eltropy
  • Unified Conversations Platform company Eltropy has introduced a range of new enhancements to its offering.
  • The enhancements include Skill-Based Routing, new Lobby Management features, and a voice and contact center solution, Voice+
  • A Finovate alum for more than seven years, Eltropy most recently demoed its technology at FinovateFall 2022.

Unified Conversations platform provider Eltropy recently unveiled a set of new enhancements to its offering. The upgrades include Skill-Based Routing (SBR 2.0), new Lobby Management features, and a modern voice and contact center solution, Voice+.

“These enhancements reaffirm our commitment to quality and mark one of our most significant engineering efforts to date,” Eltropy CEO and Co-founder Ashish Garg said. “We’re excited about the opportunities these improvements will create for credit unions and community banks to elevate their overall member, customer, and employee experience in banking.”

Eltropy Voice+ brings voice functionality to digital channels such as text, video, and chat. Enhanced by an AI layer, Voice+ provides a unified contact center solution for voice, digital, and AI interactions, and gives agents a single interface to support greater efficiency. Skill-Based Routing (SBR 2.0) provides users with several features including the ability to prioritize high-value interactions, match agent proficiency based on language skills, and identify simultaneous channel handling via cross-channel concurrency. Lobby Management, first introduced earlier this year, now combines the best of digital banking with traditional branch services with efficient check-ins, queue management, branch traffic analytics, and resource planning tools.

Howie Meller, President and CEO of People First Federal Credit Union — which was among the early adopters of Eltropy’s Voice+ — praised the enhancements as a benefit for members and credit union employees alike. “Voice+ will make a big difference in how we serve our members,” Meller said. “Our agents can now use voice alongside text, video, co-browsing, and AI help. This means we can solve problems faster and better, all in one place. It’s a real improvement for our members.”

Eltropy made its first Finovate appearance in 2017, and most recently demoed its technology on the Finovate stage at FinovateFall 2022. In the years since then, the company has partnered with several community financial institutions such as Cyprus Credit Union, InRoads Credit Union, and Magnifi Financial, as well as fellow Finovate alums Jack Henry, Fiserv, and Alkami. In fact, Eltropy began the year celebrating its 600 customer milestone. The company opened the doors to its new headquarters in Santa Clara, California, in May.

Photo by Alex Andrews

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Anodot Inks Strategic Partnership with YäRKEN

Anodot Inks Strategic Partnership with YäRKEN
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Anodot, Daily news
  • Cost management platform Anodot has inked a strategic partnership with FinOps and TBM platform.
  • The partnership will integrate technology from both firms to help clients better manage cloud costs.
  • Virginia-based Anodot made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2022.

Cloud-based cost management platform Anodot has forged a strategic partnership with FinOps and TBM platform YäRKEN. The partnership will integrate technology from both firms to enable clients to manage cloud costs – both on-premises and in the private cloud – from a single interface.

“Anodot and YäRKEN are a perfect strategic match,” Anodot CEO and Co-founder David Drai said. “Our technology uses AI to help enterprises discover inefficiencies in their cloud spend, and YäRKEN’s platform helps those same organizations manage cloud spend across on-prem and cloud deployments.”

YäRKEN offers a tech cost management platform that gives users comprehensive cost optimization across cloud, on-premise, and hybrid environments to enhance profitability and reduce tech spend. YäRKEN’s platform features legacy platform TCO, Application TCO, IT planning, and Showback/Chargeback. Based in Auckland, New Zealand, YäRKEN announced earlier this year that the company’s solutions were now available on the AWS Marketplace. This news followed confirmation that YäRKEN had secured FinOps platform certification from the FinOps Foundation, underscoring the firm’s commitment to excellence and industry best practices. Ravi Kuppan is YäRKEN CEO and Co-founder.

For its part, Anodot is a cost management platform that identifies waste, tracks savings, and gives users transparency into both current and future costs. The platform enables users to facilitate strategic financial planning and management of multi-cloud, Kubernetes pods and SaaS tools. The solution also features a multi-tenant, multi-billing platform that optimizes costs across departments, teams, products, and unit economics.

“Anodot’s AI capabilities in cost optimization are a perfect match for YäRKEN, enabling us to cover the full spectrum for Anodot’s and YäRKEN’s existing client base,” Kuppan said. “Together, we extend the power of FinOps to include on-prem tech spend.”

Founded in 2014 and headquartered in Ashburn, Virginia, Anodot made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2022. At the conference, Anodot demoed its payments monitoring tool that leverages AI to constantly monitor and correlate payments activity and business performance to identify revenue-critical issues and provide real-time actionable alerts.

Photo by engin akyurt on Unsplash

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Curinos and Adrenaline Forge Strategic Partnership

Curinos and Adrenaline Forge Strategic Partnership
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Alumni profile, Curinos, Daily news

A partnership between data intelligence business Curinos and brand experience company Adrenaline will help banks and credit unions leverage data to make better decisions. The integration of Curinos’ Distribution Optimizer data solution into Adrenaline’s Connected Intelligence offering will also help financial institutions maximize the growth potential of their retail networks.

“We’re excited about incorporating Curinos’ leading-edge data into our already robust analytics offering and making more decision-making tools available to our clients, particularly smaller community banks and credit unions,” Adrenaline Managing Director of Retail Strategy Ben Hopper said. “Now, we’ll be able to quickly and efficiently gather the same data that big banks get and focus our team’s efforts more on translating the information into meaningful insights to drive strategy, for expansion and growth – something that all financial institutions need.”

Curinos’ Distribution Optimizer data tool integrates large volumes of both public bank and proprietary data into a consistent analytical framework that banks and credit unions can use to evaluate their networks and spot potential future opportunities. Adrenaline’s Connected Intelligence is an online platform that supports the access, analysis, visualization, storage, management, receipt, and distribution of market analysis and research. Integrating the technologies will help level the playing field between smaller and mid-market financial institutions and their larger rivals.

“The retail network in banking is undergoing massive transformation as traditional banking institutions are losing share to digital competitors,” Curinos Managing Director of Distribution and Sales Performance Andrew Hovet said. “No matter what their size or service area, these providers are looking for ways to amplify their impact through their branch networks. To maximize growth, they need to leverage analytics and smart strategies to make the best decisions for their networks. This partnership provides them with exactly that.”

Founded in 2021, Curinos made its Finovate debut at FinovateSpring 2023 in San Francisco. At the conference, the New York-based company demoed its Amplero Personalization Optimizer, which uses machine learning and AI to enable bank marketing teams to deliver hyper-personalized, omnichannel experiences in minutes rather than months.

Earlier this month, Curinos introduced new Chief Technology and AI Officer Olly Downs. Downs joined the company as Chief Data Scientist in 2023. In April, the company announced a partnership with mortgage pricing technology firm Lender Price and reported that Achieva Credit Union ($2.8 billion in assets; 194,000+ members) had become the first customer to integrate Curinos’ Deposit Optimizer Essentials system. Deposit Optimizer Essentials enables credit unions and community banks to leverage data analytics to better manage member deposits and reach funding targets.

“As rates shift, we needed a robust, easy-to-navigate solution, enabling us to reach quickly and efficiently to changing market conditions,” Achieva Product Development Manager Veronica Schornheuser said, “We chose Curinos for the exceptional level of service we have received from them in the past and the intuitive nature of the Deposit Optimizer Essentials platform.”

Craig Woodward is Curinos’ CEO.

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio

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AutoRek Teams Up with JP Morgan Payments

AutoRek Teams Up with JP Morgan Payments
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, AutoRek, Daily news, JP Morgan Chase
  • Automated reconciliation software company AutoRek has announced a partnership with JP Morgan Payments.
  • The partnership will help insurance companies better manage financial data flows from banking sources.
  • AutoRek made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2023 in London.

Automated reconciliation software provider AutoRek has teamed up with JP Morgan Payments to enhance premium processing for insurance companies. The partnership will help insurance firms better manage financial data flows from banking sources, as well as improve their ability to manage cash allocation, matching, and credit control.

“Working with a specialist company like AutoRek will complement our existing solutions to help deliver an end-to-end solution across the entire insurance value chain,” JP Morgan Payments Head of Insurance, EMEA, Darren Snoxell said. “Together we will deliver tangible benefits to brokers, carriers, reinsurers, multinational insurance programs, captives, and across the London Market. We look forward to working with the team.”

Processing nearly $10 trillion payments a day, JP Morgan Payments operates in more than 160 countries and transacts in 120+ currencies. The firm combines treasury services, trade and working capital solutions, and card and merchant services to facilitate payments to both customers and employees around the world.

“We are proud of this partnership, which presents a powerful combination of proven solutions, and will deliver optimal results for clients in the insurance market,” AutoRek Global Insurance Lead Piers Williams said. “By working together, we will unlock many opportunities for insurance firms to streamline the premium receivables process. This will help them to increase efficiency, accelerate cash flow, reduce write-offs and enhance controls.”

Headquartered in Glasgow, Scotland, AutoRek made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2023. At the conference, the company showed how its automated reconciliation technology helps banks, insurance firms, building societies, and other financial services companies overcome high-volume reconciliation challenges, improve auditability, and keep operating costs low.

Earlier this month, AutoRek was named “Best CASS Solution” at the Systems in the City Fintech Awards 2024. The recognition marked AutoRek’s fifth consecutive win in this category. In May, the company announced that insurance broker Howden had selected AutoRek to drive digital transformation and boost efficiency for a number of key back-office processes using intelligent automation.

“Insurer statement reconciliations are especially onerous on our resources and we expect AutoRek to significantly reduce the expenditure of effort in this area, which in turn will not only enhance our service to our markets, but will also release our staff to concentrate on more value-added tasks,” Howden Head of IBA UK Operations Guy Turner said. “We are very much looking forward to deploying the solution in this regard.”

AutoRek was founded in 1994. Gordon McHarg is CEO.

Photo by Pixabay

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Ascend Money Lands $195 Million from MUFG

Ascend Money Lands $195 Million from MUFG
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Daily news, Funding
  • Ascend Money has received a $195 million investment.
  • The funding round was led by Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG) Bank with contributions from Finnoventure Private Equity Trust I.
  • The Thailand-based fintech will use the funds to build inclusive financial services in the region.

Thailand-based Ascend Money announced this week it has received $195 million in funding from Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG) Bank. The bank led the round, and Finnoventure Private Equity Trust I fund managed by Krungsri Finnovate Co. also contributed.

“This is a significant milestone for Ascend Money, which not only validates our commitment to innovation and financial inclusion in Thailand but also demonstrates a growing interest and confidence in Ascend Money’s potential,” said Ascend Money Founder and Chairman Suphachai Chearavanont.

Ascend Money anticipates the funds will help it accelerate its mission to provide inclusive financial services for underserved consumers and small businesses and ultimately foster economic growth and financial well-being in Thailand.

Ascend Money is Thailand’s largest digital financial services provider, with a presence in seven countries across Southeast Asia. The fintech’s TrueMoney platform offers e-payment, lending, BNPL, investment, and insurance. Ascend Money has 30 million active users in Thailand and serves its customers through its network of leading corporations, businesses, and merchants.

“MUFG considers the Asia Pacific its second home market, and as part of our commitment to this region, we have been making  strategic investments in leading digital finance players in the region,” said Senior Managing Corporate Executive, Head of Global Commercial Banking Business Group Yasushi Itagaki. “Ascend Money is a promising fintech player in Thailand with widespread penetration in the country’s consumer segment and deep understanding of their daily payments and financial requirements. With this investment,  we are making a significant contribution to the ongoing development of Thailand’s digital economy and financial inclusion, further underscoring MUFG’s commitment to the sustainable development of the country and the broader region as a whole.”

Ascend Money was founded in 2013 and has since processed $14 billion in the region. In 2021, the company received a $1.5 billion during its $150 million funding round.

“We are confident that Ascend Money’s strong growth trajectory, combined with MUFG’s expertise and network, will enable us to create a more inclusive and vibrant financial ecosystem to accelerate both regional and local digital transformation, benefiting millions of people and contributing to the country’s economic development,” said Chearavanont.

Photo by Dan Freeman on Unsplash

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U.S. Marshals Service Selects Coinbase to Hold & Trade Digital Assets

U.S. Marshals Service Selects Coinbase to Hold & Trade Digital Assets
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Coinbase, Daily news
  • The U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) has selected Coinbase Prime to hold and trade the agency’s “Class 1” (large cap) digital assets.
  • The agency will use Coinbase Prime for asset seizure and forfeiture, evidence management, and to support in financial investigations.
  • Coinbase Prime launched in 2021 and currently safeguards $330 billion worth of digital assets.

The U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) announced it has selected Coinbase to hold and trade the agency’s “Class 1” (large cap) digital assets. The USMS will use Coinbase Prime to centrally manage these Class 1 digital assets to facilitate various law enforcement activities.

The USMS, a federal law enforcement agency within the Department of Justice, holds multiple roles within the U.S. judicial system. The agency may be able to use Coinbase Prime the following instances:

  • Asset seizure and forfeiture: The USMS often seizes digital assets from criminals as part of legal proceedings. Coinbase will help the agency manage the assets in a way that they are preserved, can be liquidated, and that the proceeds can be used to fund law enforcement activities or be returned to victims.
  • Evidence management: Digital assets often serve as evidence in investigations or court cases. Coinbase will help to ensure the assets are properly managed to maintain their integrity and will ensure they are easily accessible for legal processes.
  • Supporting financial investigations: By handling large cap digital assets in a central location, Coinbase can help the USMS track and analyze transactions related to criminal activities to aid law enforcement in combating financial crimes such as money laundering, fraud, and cybercrime.

Launched in 2021, Coinbase Prime is a full-service prime brokerage platform with everything that institutions need to execute trades and custody assets at scale. Coinbase Prime currently has $171 billion in institutional assets under custody and safeguards $330 billion worth of digital assets.

Coinbase began supporting law enforcement agencies in 2014 when it founded its law enforcement program. The California-based company currently works with every major U.S. federal, state, and local law enforcement agency, as well as multiple international agencies.

“Growing the cryptoeconomy means promoting safe and efficient markets,” the company said in its blog post announcement, “and these partnerships are critical to our mission.”

Coinbase was founded in 2012 and is currently under fire from another U.S. governmental agency, the Securities and Exchange Commission, for allegedly operating as an unregistered securities exchange. Earlier this week, Coinbase sued the SEC and FDIC, demanding more transparency when it comes to crypto regulations.

Photo by Zach Lisko on Unsplash

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State Bank of India Launches SME Lending Solution

State Bank of India Launches SME Lending Solution
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Daily news
  • State Bank of India unveiled MSME Sahaj, a digital lending solution for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
  • The tool leverages data from the applicant’s Goods and Services Tax Identification Number, bank statements, and credit card payment histories to underwrite a loan for short-term, working capital.
  • MSME Sahaj will be available on State Bank of India’s YONO digital banking app.

State Bank of India (SBI), the nation’s largest bank, announced a new digital lending solution for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) this week. The new offering, MSME Sahaj, is a web-based digital business loans solution for MSMEs’ invoice financing.

“The launch of MSME Sahaj aims to provide the fast and most intuitive lending solution, further solidifying our position as the leading MSME lender in the country,” said SBI Chariman Dinesh Khara.

MSME Sahaj is what the SBI is calling a “data-driven invoice financing credit assessment engine.” The holistic tool will allow MSMEs to apply for and receive a loan within 15 minutes. The system will also automatically close the loan on the due date.

Leveraging data from the applicant’s Goods and Services Tax Identification Number, bank statements, and credit card payment histories, MSME Sahaj allows businesses to take out a loan against their GST registered sales invoices of up to around $1,200 (₹1 lakh).

“MSME Sahaj – Digital Business Loans for Invoice Financing will offer a proposition to our existing Micro SME units who are part of the GST regime to get immediate on tap short term credit for working capital requirement through digital mode on SBI’s Yono app,” said SBI MD – Retail Banking & Operations Vinay Tonse.

SBI said that the purpose of the loans is to offer businesses a quick way to access short-term credit on its digital banking platform, YONO. YONO, which stands for, “You Only Need One” is a mobile app designed to meet a variety of customer needs, including banking, investment, insurance, travel booking, and daily shopping needs.

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Tuum Teams Up with Debt Management Specialist Flexys

Tuum Teams Up with Debt Management Specialist Flexys
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, Tuum
  • Core banking platform provider Tuum announced a partnership with debt management specialist Flexys.
  • The partnership will help banks improve their debt collection workflows.
  • Tuum won Best of Show in its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope earlier this year.

U.K.-based core banking platform Tuum has teamed up with debt management specialist Flexys. The partnership will help banks streamline and enhance their debt collection processes at a time when legacy core systems are limiting financial institutions’ ability to better serve their customers. These “old cores” also make it more difficult for FIs to keep up with stricter regulations surrounding credit and debt management.

“Flexys and Tuum are tackling debt management pain points head-on,” Tuum VP of Global Partnerships Jean Souto said. “Our partnership gives banks high-tech tools to streamline collections from end-to-end, reducing hassles through automation – a win for everyone involved.”

The partnership will help banks deal with the dual problem of tightening regulations and outdated, cumbersome debt management technology. Not only can legacy core systems inhibit the ability of financial institutions to readily meet compliance requirements, they can also fall short when it comes to providing more personalized service to customers. Integrating the two platforms enables FIs to swap out their old core systems in favor of cloud-based, debt collection workflows, and benefit from real-time data to help personalize the experience for each customer.

“We’re thrilled to team up with Tuum and help banks break out of the legacy debt management rut,” Flexys CEO James Hill said. “With our integrated platforms, lenders can ditch inefficient processes in favor of frictionless digital experiences that genuinely support customers when they need it most.”

U.K.-based Flexys offers state-of-the-art debt management solutions that enable financial institutions to automate and digitize their customer interactions. The company’s flagship offering, Control+, is a cloud-native, real-time, “intelligent debt resolution” platform that provides enterprise-grade collections functionality from digital self-serve to agent management and recoveries. Founded in 2016, Flexys began this year partnering with another Finovate alum, Thought Machine, which integrated Flexys’ Control+ platform into its core banking solution, Vault Core.

Tuum made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2024, winning Best of Show in its demonstration of its modular, cloud-native, API-first banking platform. In the months since then, the company has forged partnerships with Islamic fintech solution provider DDCAP Group, digital banking and wealth management firm CREALOGIX, and KYB/KYC automation solutions company TransactionLink. In June, Tuum announced a strategic partnership with open banking company Ozone API. The union will help Tuum’s bank and financial institution customers comply with open banking regulations.

“Our collaboration with Tuum marks a new chapter for open banking and finance globally,” said James Bushby, Ozone API GM for Europe and Global Partnership Lead. “Our combined strengths will enable financial institutions to tackle compliance challenges while harnessing the immense opportunities of open banking.”

Founded in 2019, Tuum has raised more than $48 million in funding according to Crunchbase. In March, the company announced that Citi Ventures has become a strategic investor in the firm as a follow-on to its Series B round.

Photo by micheile henderson on Unsplash

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