Funderbeam Lands $40 Million for Angel Investing and Trading Platform

Funderbeam Lands $40 Million for Angel Investing and Trading Platform
  • Funderbeam has received $40 million in funding, boosting its total raised to just under $60 million since it was founded in 2013.
  • Venture private equity group VentureWave led the round, taking a majority stake in Funderbeam.
  • The investment also brings a strategic partnership between Funderbeam and VentureWave, as the two seek to facilitate venture deals and offer access to the secondary market.

Angel investing and trading platform Funderbeam received $40 million in funding this week. The investment brings the U.K.-based company’s total funding to just shy of $60 million. Leading the round is Ireland-based venture private equity group VentureWave, which now holds a strategic majority stake in Funderbeam.

With this week’s fresh funding and strategic partnership, the two organizations will combine efforts to facilitate venture deals and offer access to the secondary market for venture deals for both institutional and angel investors.

“VentureWave’s investment in Funderbeam is a game-changer for the industry, shaping the future of venture markets and enabling access to global venture deals and secondaries,” said VentureWave Chairman Alan Foy. “Together, we have the necessary assets, technology, and capital to take on the entire venture investment life cycle. This represents a transformative moment to put impact at the centre of the investment industry.”

Notably, the partnership will enable Funderbeam to serve institutional clients, including VC funds, family offices, brokers and investment banks. The company will continue to serve investor networks and provide its flagship private-market-as-a-service offering, Angel Market. Additionally, as Funderbeam Founder and CEO Kaidi Ruusalepp noted, the deal will enable his firm to accelerate its vision, which he described as “to serve venture investments across borders and create a unique secondary market for private assets.”

Additional investors in today’s round– which is subject to approval by regulators in the U.K., Singapore, and Estonia– include Mistletoe, Draper Associates, and Ruusalepp.

Founded in 2013, Funderbeam offers a platform to help solve liquidity for angel and venture investments. The company’s technology helps investor networks, accelerators, and other venture investors manage their syndicated investments, post-investment flows, and handle secondary transactions across borders.

Velmie Launches Payment Card-as-a-Service

Velmie Launches Payment Card-as-a-Service
  • Velmie added a card module to its updated white-label BaaS solution.
  • The new card module will help businesses offer their own customized physical or virtual payment card.
  • Velmie’s new release also enables businesses to issue physical and virtual corporate cards to their employees.

Mobile e-wallet platform Velmie released an updated white-label solution that offers the addition of a card module. The new BaaS offering will help companies build and launch their own fintech business.

The card module is a new feature of Velmie’s white-label solution and will offer businesses a comprehensive tool set to launch their own customized physical or virtual payment card product. The solution integrates with both Apple Pay and Google Pay, and includes 3D Secure to protect against fraud.

Additionally, Velmie enables businesses to issue physical and virtual corporate cards to their employees. Doing so offers businesses visibility and control over expenses, enables them to set spending limits, and provides them control over transaction types.

“Velmie built white-label solutions not only to speed up time to market for new fintech products but to make them scalable and future-proof,” said Velmie Founder and CEO Slava Ivashkin. “We’re excited to release our upgraded Velmie application. We believe it will be valuable for fintech companies and banks looking to create innovative solutions that meet the changing needs of their customers.”

Facilitating this week’s launch are Velmie’s recent fintech partners, including  payment, open banking, and sustainability services fintech Enfuce and all-in-one business financial platform ConnectPay.

Velmie was founded in 2010 and its technology helps traditional banks and mobile wallet companies provide compliant and scalable mobile banking, e-wallets, remittance platforms, payroll solutions and more to their end customers. With three office locations spanning from the U.S., the U.K., and Lithuania, Velmie serves customers across four continents.


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Venmo Adds Crypto Transfers

Venmo Adds Crypto Transfers

PayPal-owned Venmo is continuing its journey into DeFi this month. Late last month, the California-based company unveiled a new peer-to-peer crypto transfer capability. The new feature enables users to transfer crypto to friends and family using Venmo, PayPal, and external wallets and exchanges.

Venmo first introduced crypto to its users in 2021, but the capabilities were limited. Within the Venmo app, users could only buy, hold, and sell cryptocurrency. This month’s development adds to the company’s crypto wallet capabilities, rounding out the utility from saving and investing into spending and giving.

The company reports that, over the past year, more than 74% of its crypto customers have continued to hold crypto in their accounts. “In addition,” today’s announcement said, “since the beginning of 2023, nearly 50% of customers with existing crypto balances have added to their crypto holdings on Venmo.”

To send their crypto to friends and family, customers use the Crypto tab within the Venmo app and use the transfer arrows to transfer a select amount of their crypto to a Venmo account, or to a recipient’s PayPal wallet address or other external wallet. To receive crypto, users show their unique crypto address QR code with other users.

Select Venmo customers will have the ability to send crypto transfers starting this month. The company will roll out the new capability to more users over the coming months.


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BioCatch Secures $40 Million Minority Stake Investment from Permira Growth

BioCatch Secures $40 Million Minority Stake Investment from Permira Growth
  • Behavioral biometrics and fraud detection innovator BioCatch has raised $40 million in funding.
  • The investment gives Permira a “significant minority stake” in the Tel-Aviv-based company.
  • BioCatch made its Finovate debut at FinovateFall 2014.

Behavioral biometrics innovator BioCatch has raised $40 million in funding courtesy of an investment from Permira Growth Opportunities. The capital gives Permira a “significant minority stake” in the New York and Tel Aviv-based company. In fact, along with Bain Capital and Maverick Capital, this week’s capital infusion makes Permira BioCatch’s third largest shareholder.

“Permira is one of the leading global private equity firms in the world, with particularly strong experience in the technology space,” BioCatch CEO Gadi Mazor said. “We believe its deep sector expertise and company-building capabilities will help us to expand our business and strengthen our global position.”

The funding takes BioCatch’s total capital raised to more than $213 million. No new valuation information was provided. BioCatch will use the capital to help support geographical expansion, product development, and potential M&A.

BioCatch is a pioneer in behavioral biometric intelligence and advanced digital fraud detection. Its technology leverages AI and machine learning to collect thousands of data signals to analyze the cognitive intent of users. This enables BioCatch to provide highly accurate insights into the legitimacy of a user’s identity and behavior. Financial institutions using BioCatch’s technology have been able to better fight fraud, accelerate digital transformation efforts, uncover new revenue opportunities, and boost customer satisfaction.

Founded in 2011, BioCatch made its Finovate debut at FinovateFall in 2014. In the years since, the company has grown into a fraud detection leader with a global footprint of 22 countries. More than 100 international banks rely on BioCatch’s technology to fight financial crime and defend themselves against fraud. BioCatch announced early this year that 2022 had been the firm’s “most successful” – with annual recurring revenue growth of more than 40%. BioCatch also revealed that the company added more than 100 leading global banks as customers in 2022 and detected more than $1.5 billion in fraud, saving banks nearly $1 billion.


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Celerant Technology Partners with Buy Now Pay Later Innovator Sezzle

Celerant Technology Partners with Buy Now Pay Later Innovator Sezzle
  • Retail software company Celerant Technology has partnered with BNPL innovator Sezzle.
  • Celerant will integrate Sezzle’s SezzlePay solution into its platform. SezzlePay enables consumers to pay for purchases in four, interest-free installments over six weeks.
  • Sezzle made its Finovate debut at FinovateSpring 2016.

Retail software provider Celerant Technology announced a partnership with consumer financing solutions company Sezzle. The partnership will enable retailers who use Celerant eCommerce to add Sezzle Pay to their payment choices. This option gives consumers the ability to take advantage of Sezzle’s buy now, pay later (BNPL) financing, with 0% APR. Retailers will also benefit from engagement with potentially millions of Sezzle users, an opportunity that could lead to increased online sales and new customers.

“We’re excited to partner with a leader in the retail software industry and to bring Sezzle’s Buy Now, Pay Later financing to the millions of consumers that shop at Celerant’s diverse ecosystem of brands,” Sezzle co-founder and Chief Revenue Officer Paul Paradis said.

Paradis underscored the popularity of BNPL financing among millennials and Gen Z consumers. He pointed to the fact that BNPL financing charges no interest and no fees when purchases are paid for on time, as well as the ability to use BNPL to build credit, as two factors in favor of the financing option. “It’s a runaway hit,” Paradis said.

Celerant’s eCommerce platform enables retailers to offer Sezzle to customers directly from their website. The process is straightforward. Customers select SezzlePay as their payment option during checkout. This will enable them to split the cost of the transaction into four interest-free payments over six weeks. Sezzle pays the merchant in full at the time of the transaction; funds are direct deposited in the merchant’s account within one-to-three business days. Sezzle also assumes full risk of any missed payments.

“With more consumers turning to instant credit apps to make ends meet, it was important to expand our technology with additional consumer financing options,” Celerant President and CEO Ian Goldman said. “As a popular ‘buy now, pay later’ solution in the industry, partnering with Sezzle provides more options for our retailers to offer their customers payment flexibility and help financially with larger purchases, and in turn increase our retailers’ online sales.”

Sezzle made its Finovate debut at FinovateSpring in 2016. The company returned to the Finovate stage two years later for FinovateFall. Sezzle began 2023 as the first BNPL company in Canada to offer free credit-building service to users. The firm also began the year as a profitable company, growing from a net loss of $75.2 million in fiscal year 2021 to ending 2022 with net income in Q4. The turnaround came as a result of major cost-cutting strategies. These efforts included layoffs; a retreat from potential expansion in Asia, Europe, and Latin America; and a renegotiation of merchant fees. Sezzle also benefitted from a premium membership drive that brought on more than 132,000 subscribers.

Founded in 2016, Sezzle is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota.


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inbanx Taps Corserv To Launch Visa Commercial Card Offering

inbanx Taps Corserv To Launch Visa Commercial Card Offering
  • Business budgets and digital payments platform inbanx has partnered with Corserv.
  • inbanx will leverage Corserv’s Payment Cards as a Service API to offer its business customers a Visa commercial credit card.
  • According to Juniper Research, the number of payment cards issued via digital platforms will grow 170% between now and 2027.

Business budgets and digital payments platform inbanx is boosting its offerings today by partnering with card issuer Corserv. Texas-based inbanx is integrating Corserv’s Payment Cards as a Service API (PCaaSA) into its platform to offer a more holistic business payments platform.

Integrating Corserv’s PCaaSA will enable inbanx to offer a Visa commercial credit card to its business clients. The new modern payment card solution will offer real-time, configurable spend controls and cooperative authorization for businesses that rely on hierarchical approvals and spending limits.

“Our highly configurable PCaaSA platform simplifies complex processes for inbanx to launch and embed commercial cards in a secure, compliant and flexible way,” said Corserv CEO Anil Goyal. “We are thrilled to work with inbanx to integrate with their innovative budget and expense management solution.”

Founded in 2021, inbanx helps businesses budget, manage their card program, and control spending across teams. By automatically reporting the expenses, inbanx’s solution eliminates the need for employees to fill out manual expense reports.

“We serve our customers with an innovative and easy-to-use solution that adopts the next generation of payment capabilities to allow businesses and their employees to spend efficiently,” said inbanx CEO Rob Kaczmarek. “Corserv’s payment card platform was the only solution that afforded us the customizability and flexibility to build exactly what we needed for our customers.”

Corserv has been helping banks and fintechs offer issuing processing and program management services for credit, debit, and prepaid cards since it was founded in 2009. The Atlanta, Georgia-based company has raised $2.1 million in funding and recently named Anil Goyal as its new CEO.

Modern card issuing is a hot space in the fintech realm, especially as banking-as-a-service and embedded finance becomes more popular. Juniper Research expects the number of payment cards issued via digital platforms to grow 170% between now and 2027, increasing from 500 million in 2023 to 1.3 billion by 2027. Global leaders in the modern card issuing space include Thales, G+D, FIS, Fiserv, and Marqeta.


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Avalara Teams Up with eBay to Bring Cross-Border Compliance Support to Merchants

Avalara Teams Up with eBay to Bring Cross-Border Compliance Support to Merchants
  • Seattle, Washingtion-based regtech Avalara has teamed up with online marketplace eBay.
  • Together, the two companies have launched eBay International Shipping, a compliance support solution for merchants operating across borders.
  • Avalara made its Finovate debut as part of our developer’s conference, FinDEVr Silicon Valley, in 2015.

Automated sales tax solution provider Avalara announced a new tool to help make it easier to sell products on eBay and ship them around the world. eBay International Shipping leverages Avalara’s technology to streamline the process of cross-border compliance for merchants on eBay’s platform.

“With eBay International Shipping, we’re making global connections even more accessible, affordable, and profitable, significantly increasing the volume of items available to shoppers in 200+ countries and making it even easier for our sellers to tap a universe of new business opportunities,” eBay U.S. VP and GM Adam Ireland said.

According to Juniper Research, the value of cross-border ecommerce will top $2.1 trillion this year. But the cross-border ecommerce market is not without its complications. Businesses must navigate through a range of customs duties and import taxes in a process that can be both complex and costly. Using Avalara’s software, eBay International Shipping determines Harmonized System (HS) commodity classification codes, identifies item-level trade restrictions, and generates landed cost pricing for more than 200 items hosted on eBay. The new offering will help the platform’s more than five million merchants sell to more than 70 million buyers worldwide.

“With Avalara’s cross-border solutions embedded within eBay’s International Shipping program, we’re able to simplify cross-border compliance complexity and reduce potential customer experience disruptions by providing more transparent landed cost pricing for global buyers and helping ensure parcels meet local customs requirements,” Avalara EVP and GM of Indirect Tax Jayme Fishman said.

Avalara made its Finovate debut at our developer’s conference, FinDEVr SiliconValley in 2015. In the years since, the company has grown into a leading regtech with more than 30,000 customers across 95 countries. Avalara went public in 2018. The firm was acquired in 2022 by Vista Equity Partners in a deal valued at $8.4 billion. Headquartered in Seattle, Washington, Avalara was founded in 2004. Scott McFarlane is CEO.


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Raisin U.S. Appoints New CEO

Raisin U.S. Appoints New CEO
  • Raisin has appointed Cetin Duransoy as CEO of the company’s U.S. division, SaveBetter by Raisin.
  • Duransoy comes to Raisin from Fundbox, where he served as President and COO.
  • Today’s announcement follows Raisin’s $64.7 million capital raise in March of this year.

Savings and investment product marketplace Raisin has appointed a new CEO for its U.S. savings division. The Berlin-based company has selected Cetin Duransoy to head SaveBetter by Raisin, its U.S. savings platform originally launched in 2020.

Duransoy

Raisin launched SaveBetter in 2020 to serve as an online marketplace where customers can choose from a variety of savings products, including savings accounts, money market deposit accounts, and certificates of deposit. The savings tool enables users to access more favorable rates than most traditional savings accounts from a single portal.

SaveBetter has seen impressive growth recently, having added $1 billion in assets under management in the past three-to-four months. Additionally, over the same time period, the company has brought 30 financial brands onto its online marketplace. 

In the release, Duransoy said this is an “exciting time” to join Raisin as CEO. “Having already established itself in the U.S. market, demonstrating scale to banking partners and tangible benefits in increased returns for everyday Americans, Raisin is poised to lead the way in further disrupting the American cash savings market and providing a valuable tool to help millions of savers secure their financial future,” he added.

Duransoy has more than 20 years of experience in financial services. He most recently served as President and COO Fundbox, and has also held senior positions at companies including Capital One and Visa.

Today’s announcement comes just over a month after Raisin raised $64.7 million (€60 million) in a Series E funding round led by M&G’s Catalyst and Goldman Sachs. The round boosted Raisin’s total funding to almost $305 million since it was founded in 2012.

Raisin counts more than one million customers and $31.7 billion (€38 billion) assets under management across the U.S., U.K., and European Union. The company taps its network of more than 400 banks and financial service providers from 30+ countries to offer its catalogue of savings, investment, and pension products. Tamas Giorgadse is Co-Founder and CEO.


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Digital Banking Solutions Company Tyfone Raises Capital and Announces Merger

Digital Banking Solutions Company Tyfone Raises Capital and Announces Merger
  • Digital banking solutions company Tyfone has secured a “significant investment” from Demopolis Equity Partners.
  • The Portland, Oregon-based company also announced a merger with digital banking provider Cubus Solutions.
  • Tyfone made its Finovate debut in 2008 at FinovateSpring.

Digital banking solutions company Tyfone hit the fintech headlines with a pair of big announcements in recent days. First, the company has received a significant investment from Demopolis Equity Partners. The amount of the funding was not disclosed.

Tyfone is also announcing that it has merged with digital banking provider Cubus Solutions. The two companies will move forward under the Tyfone brand. The investment and merger are designed to help accelerate the adoption of Tyfone’s nFinia digital banking platform. The addition of Cubus’ customers, digital solutions, and expertise will help the combined entity better serve financial institutions, helping them boost revenues and efficiency.

“Today success in digital banking – in fact, success in any financial technology – is all about engaged digital experiences and the ability to scale,” Tyfone CEO Dr. Siva Narendra said. “That means scaling up to power digital growth for larger institutions and scaling down to facilitate the smaller ones (to) stay relevant.”

Cubus CEO John-Ashley Paul added: “It is rare to find two companies so culturally well-aligned that also complement each other technologically. Our best-of-breed loan payments, loan skips, e-statements, and rewards solutions will extend the Tyfone digital banking ecosystem, leading to tighter integration and a truly exceptional user experience.”

Tyfone demoed its technology at FinovateSpring in 2008. In the years since, the Portland, Oregon-based company has grown into a provider of market-leading software for credit unions and community banks. This year, Tyfone has announced partnerships with Southwest Financial, a Texas based financial institution with 9,200 members and $81 million in assets; and with Members Advantage Credit Union, a credit union based in Wisconsin Rapids with 11,000 members and $178 million in assets.


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Splitit Launches SplititExpress to Enable Checkout in Under 2-Seconds

Splitit Launches SplititExpress to Enable Checkout in Under 2-Seconds
  • Splitit is launching a new white-labeled payment offering called SplititExpress.
  • The new tool supports installment payments via GPay and ApplePay, and helps customers check out in under two seconds.
  • The merchant-branded checkout experience eliminates the typical visual clutter of online checkout interfaces by removing logos.

Buy now, pay later (BNPL) company SplitIt is launching a new white-labeled payment offering called SplititExpress. The new tool enables companies to facilitate a checkout process that takes fewer than two seconds while also supporting installment payments via GPay and ApplePay.

SplititExpress allows for a merchant-branded experience that eliminates the visual clutter by removing multiple logos and checkout options. It also empowers businesses by giving them full ownership of their customers’ journey and first-party data.

Splitit’s Installments-as-a-Service product is a BNPL tool that leverages Checkout.com’s payment-acquiring capabilities to enable consumers to pay for a good or a service in installments, interest-free. The Installments-as-a-Servce tool differentiates itself from traditional BNPL offerings, however, because it is completely white-labeled and offers customers a merchant-branded experience. Because of this, during the checkout flow, customers are not redirected to a third party. What’s more, because Splitit relies on a consumer’s existing credit card, the company does not require additional credit checks. All of this results in less friction for the customer and better control over customer relationships for the merchant.

“Reducing technical uplift for our Merchants is always top of mind at Splitit, that’s why SplititExpress can be embedded into their checkouts by simply adding a few lines of code,” said Splitit Chief Technology Officer Ran Landau. “The result is an end-to-end process that takes less than 2-seconds for a consumer to pay with installments, compared to the average 1 to 2-minutes that even the fastest legacy BNPL’s offer.”

SplititExpress also enables merchants to add their own branding and messaging, and choose the repayment option that best suits their customers. By helping merchants customize these details of the payments experience, SplitIt anticipates it will help improve the overall user experience during the checkout process.

 Founded in 2012 as PayItSimple, Splitit is based in Atlanta with offices in London and Australia, as well as an R&D center in Israel. The company is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) under ticker code SPT and also trades on the US OTCQX under tickers SPTTY and STTTF. In recent years, Splitit has partnered with Stripe, Shopify, and Alipay to act as an Installments-as-a-Service option for their merchant clients.


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Payments Consulting Firm Yeeld Teams Up with Stripe

Payments Consulting Firm Yeeld Teams Up with Stripe
  • Payments consulting startup Yeeld has teamed up with Stripe.
  • Two former Stripe employees – Emily Tsitrian and Mira Boora – founded Yeeld in the fall of 2022.
  • Earlier this month, Yeeld announced a partnership with Merit Software Holdings.

Payments consulting company Yeeld has announced a partnership with Stripe. What makes the partnership interesting is that Yeeld was launched just a few months ago by a pair of former Stripe employees: Emily Tsitrian and Mira Boora. The two financial services professionals are leveraging their more than 24 years of payments experience to help businesses optimize all aspects of the payments process – from managing chargebacks to streamlining payouts. Yeeld’s partnership with Stripe is the most recent example of this effort.

“Payments is no longer a commodity – it’s a strategy,” Tsitrian said. “It involves customer experience, geographic expansion, managing risks, and building for scale. Yeeld is passionate about helping businesses of all sizes achieve their payments-related ambitions, and partnering with Stripe will help (us) to do so faster.”

Yeeld offers service at three tiers: Kickstarter, Premium, and Enterprise. These tiers target tech-enabled SMEs and startups; marketplaces, mid-sized businesses, and e-commerce firms; and established companies, respectively. All Yeeld customers benefit from an initial, deep dive into the company’s current payment operations. This enables Yeeld to determine the best path toward optimizing the company’s system. Companies also receive a customized integration guide, a detailed project plan, as well as developer support and custom training. In its few months of existence, Yeeld already has gained 18 clients and completed 20 projects.

Earlier this month, Yeeld announced its partnership with Merit Software Holdings. Merit Software acquires, manages, and builds vertical software businesses. Yeeld will serve as the firm’s embedded payments consulting partner for Merit’s portfolio companies.

“We are excited to leverage the deep industry expertise from the Yeeld team to further accelerate growth and deliver even greater value to our customers, portfolio, and future acquisitions,” Merit CEO John Burke said.

Headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, Yeeld was founded in November 2022.


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Plumery Raises $4.5 Million for its Component-Based Banking Tech

Plumery Raises $4.5 Million for its Component-Based Banking Tech
  • Banking technology provider Plumery raised $4.5 million in seed funding.
  • Tomorrow Ventures, Headline, Seedcamp, and Cocoa Ventures led the investment.
  • Former Mambu CTO and CPO Ben Goldin founded Plumery in 2020.

Component-based banking technology company Plumery has raised $4.5 million in funding. Better Tomorrow Ventures, Headline, Seedcamp, and Cocoa Ventures led the investment. Also participating in the funding were business angels Didier Valet, Ricky Knox, and Alan Morgan. Valet is former deputy CEO of Société Générale. Knox is the founder of Tandem Bank. Morgan is a former senior partner at McKinsey. Ben Goldin, former CTO and CPO of Finovate alum Mambu, founded the company in 2022. Plumery will use the capital to fuel product development.

“The banking industry has changed and continues to evolve every day,” Goldin said. “Today, consumers are looking for a seamless digital onboarding and customer experience, continuous product improvements that are personalized, and reliability when it comes to their bank. However, many traditional banks aren’t able to make these changes as easily as one would think which is why it’s essential that we build a next-generation platform.”

Plumery offers a software overlay that enables banks to develop and launch mobile and web apps faster. Financial institutions can use Plumery’s technology without having to overhaul their existing banking infrastructure. The company expects to launch a publicly accessible version of its solution via a subscription-based model later this year.

Headquartered in Amsterdam, Plumery was founded in December 2022. Goldin, who serves as the company’s CEO, brings more than 20 years of experience to the new venture. He spent more than five years at Mambu as CTO, CPO, and Strategic Advisor. Previously to his tenure at Mambu, Goldin spent more than four years at Backbase – another Finovate alum.

In a LinkedIn post, Headline General Partner Jonathan Userovici explained the role he believed Plumery would play in helping banks innovate better.

“Something we all noticed,” Userovici wrote, “successful tech companies, including some challenger banks, improve their mobile applications up to 5x more frequently than traditional banks. With Plumery, everyone will be able to implement mobile and web apps blazingly fast and at a fraction of current costs.”


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