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Finovate Blog
Tracking fintech, banking & financial services innovations since 1994
Halloween is right around the corner. But have no fear of being out of the loop when it comes to the latest in fintech news — Finovate’s Fintech Rundown has you covered!
Deposit and loan origination software solutions provider Amountintroduces its AI Policy Optimizer to enhance credit, pricing, and fraud policy management.
Cryptocurrencies
Cryptocurrency exchange Bitstampsecures a MiFID Multilateral Trading Facility (MFF) license.
Digital banking
U.K.-based banking group Lloydsunveils new Link pay capability in its mobile banking app.
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’slaunch of Payfinia instant payments solution, and Token.io’s real-time payments partnership with Santander.
This week’s edition of Finovate Global features news from the fintech scene in Hong Kong.
Worldline partners with BOCHK
International payment services company Worldline has forged a partnership with the Bank of China (Hong Kong), also known as BOCHK. The partnership makes the bank the first Hong Kong-based customer of Worldline’s open platform card solution, Paysuite Essential Edition. Previously called “Cardlite,” the solution will enable BOCHK to enhance the customer experience with new offerings, including its multi-currency Mastercard debit card.
“We are excited to partner with BOCHK, a prestigious bank in the region, to launch our new innovative Paysuite Essential Edition in Hong Kong,” Worldline’s Head of Financial Services Asia-Pacific, Noel Chow, said. “The partnership highlights the trust and confidence from leading financial institutions in our innovative open platform solutions. We believe the partnership paves the way for other banks to modernize their card systems and migrate from legacy systems to open systems.”
BOCHK’s partnership with Worldline reflects the trend in the payments industry toward open platform solutions. Already available in other markets, Worldline’s Paysuite Essential Edition offers issuing, acquiring, authorization, switching, and routing functionality. The technology supports Mastercard’s multi-currency card, and provides an infrastructure that accelerates time-to-market and deployment of new products and services.
Additionally, Worldline will provide a local support team with local expertise to assist BOCHK as it scales its operations in the future. This team will also help ensure the institution will meet Hong Kong banking industry compliance requirements.
“As open platform solutions are the future in digital payments, BOCHK is pleased to partner with Worldline, known for its comprehensive innovative fintech solution and unparalleled local support it offers, to provide our customers with the Mastercard multi-currency debit card powered by its Paysuite Essential Edition,” said Daniel Li, Chief Digital Officer of Personal Banking & Wealth Management, BOCHK. “This collaboration marks a significant step forward in our commitment to delivering seamless payment experiences to our valued customers and promote the wider use of digital payments.”
Worldline made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2017. At the conference, the company demoed its Connected Piggy Bank, which helps parents provide financial education for their young children via a “playful” end-to-end savings solution. Today, Worldline processes more than 43 billion payment transactions a year, serves more than 14 million merchants, and is active in 170 countries. Founded in 1972, Worldline is headquartered in Bezons, France.
RD Technologies secures $7.8 million investment
RD Technologies, a Hong Kong-based financial platform that seeks to “bridge the worlds of Web2 and Web3,” has raised $7.8 million in Series A1 financing. Participating in the round were HongShan, Hivemind Capital, Aptos Labs, Hash Global, SNZ Capital, Solana Foundation, Anagram, and Upward Capital. The company will use the funds to further build out its financial platform and help encourage the development of the Web3 ecosystem in Hong Kong.
“The legacy payment industry is ripe to be disrupted using blockchain technology and stablecoins to provide more efficient and cheaper cross-border payment networks,” RD Technologies CEO Rita Liu said. “Hong Kong is leading the world in virtual asset regulation. We are confident that compliant and transparent stablecoins will invigorate the market and address the pain points of traditional payments and finance to bring in institutions and help Hong Kong become a global Web3 hub.”
Founded in 2020, RD Technologies offers two primary solutions via its subsidiaries: the RD Wallet and the HKDR stablecoin (HKDR). RD Wallet is a licensed Stored Value Facility that enables businesses around the world to open multi-currency fiat accounts via mobile device anywhere and at any time. The wallet supports eight currencies — HKD, CNY, USD, JPY, SGD, EUR, GBP, and AUD — that are commonly used in the region, offers fund transfer via TT and CHATS, and provides competitive FX rates with a 0% fee.
Issued by RD InnoTech Limited, the HKDR stablecoin is backed 1:1 by the Hong Kong dollar, with high-quality, liquid assets kept in segregated custody accounts with licensed financial institutions. In July, the firm was one of the first companies to be admitted to the stablecoin issuer sandbox by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority.
“Hivemind is thrilled to support RD Technologies as they seek to lead the future of stablecoins and cross-border payments,” Hivemind Partner and Head of Asia Stanley Huo said. “We believe regulated stablecoins are a critical growth area in crypto, offering real product-market fit, particularly as global demand for regulated stablecoins rises among enterprises and institutions.”
Checkout.com launches Octopus in Hong Kong
London-based Checkout.com is the first international payment services provider (PSP) to offerOctopus, the leading payment method in Hong Kong, as a payment option at checkout.
With 98% penetration in a region with 7.5 million residents, Octopus is Hong Kong’s first, “homegrown” fintech. Octopus was launched in 1997 as a contactless card for multimodal transportation. In the years since, the solution has grown into a popular and versatile payment system, used for retail and shopping as well as food and beverage transactions both in Hong Kong and abroad. The company introduced its mobile app in 2012 and now reports that there are more than 4.5 million Octopus digital wallets.
“At Octopus, we pride ourselves (on) making everyday life easier,” Octopus Head of Business Development and International Business Edwin Lai said. “This partnership with Checkout.com will enhance and broaden the payment experience not just for our customers, but also merchants within Hong Kong and beyond. We anticipate robust demand from global and local businesses eager to access Hong Kong’s consumers. We hope this collaboration will help support the growth of the city’s digital commerce.”
“Catering to local payment preferences is crucial for success in the Hong Kong market,” Checkout.com General Manager of APAC Brian Sze said. “Our strategic partnership with Octopus underscores Checkout.com’s commitment to investing in our Asia footprint, delivering localized payment solutions that empower merchants to thrive in this dynamic region.”
Founded in 2012, Checkout.com processes payments for thousands of companies around the world. The company’s international digital payments network supports more than 145 currencies, and processes billions of transactions a year. Checkout.com’s technology helps merchants increase acceptance rates, lower processing costs, fight fraud, and transform payments into a significant source of revenues. The company has raised $1.8 billion in funding, most recently closing a $1 billion Series D round in January 2022. Guillaume Pousaz is founder and CEO.
Hong Kong’s fintech celebration only weeks away
Some of the biggest fintech news in Hong Kong is likely less than three weeks away. Hong Kong Fintech Week begins on October 28 and extends through November 1. The event expects to host 30,000 participants and feature 800 speakers and 500 startups. Finovate participated in the city’s Fintech Week back in 2018 as part of FinovateAsia.
We’ll have more to say about fintech in Hong Kong in the wake of the city’s conference. For now, check out this interview with Lareina Wang, who was appointed chair of the FinTech Association of Hong Kong (FTAHK) in August. In this interview, Wang — who is also executive director, head of digital and innovation at DBS Bank Hong Kong — talks about some of the major issues facing both the growth of the association as well as fintechs in Hong Kong.
“We have some of the world’s best universities in town, while, overall, the fintech industry is short of fintech talent,” Wang told FinanceAsia. “Advocating for policies and reaching collaborations might not appeal to them, but they are interested in being educated around fintech topics.”
Founded in 2017, the FTAHK has 300 corporate members.
Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.
Central and Southern Asia
86400, a payments technology firm based in India and formerly known as Mobileware Technologies, raised $1.8 million (INR 15.6 crore).
The New South Wales (NSW) government teamed up with Indian incubator Afthonia Labs to help NSW fintech startups enter the Indian market.
An industry organization consisting of fintech lenders, Fintech Association for Consumer Empowerment (FACE), secured “self-regulatory organization” status from the Reserve Bank of India.
Latin America and the Caribbean
Brazilian paytech Barte raised $8 million in Series A funding in a round led by AlleyCorp.
Norway’s MeaWallet partnered with Peru-based neobank B89.
Grupo Bancolombia’s crypto platform, Wenia, launched its WeniaCard that lets users pay with cryptocurrency at any merchant that accepts Mastercard.
Asia-Pacific
Singapore-based fintech Surfin announced a $12.5 million Series A investment from Insignia Ventures Partners.
JCB enabled Google Pay for customers in Japan starting on September 6.
Checkout.com added Octopus as a payment method in Hong Kong.
Sub-Saharan Africa
Mastercard and ACI Worldwideteamed up to bring real-time card payments to South Africa.
Network International went live with new payments services in Kenya.
Nigerian’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced a crackdown on fraud in the country’s fintech industry.
Central and Eastern Europe
INDEXO Bank partnered withMambu as part of its launch in Latvia.
Austrian payment orchestration platform IXOPAY introduced new CTO Ronnie Thomson.
Croatia-based fintech Fonoa acquired PwC UK’s GITC product to faciliate management of partial tax exemptions.
Middle East and Northern Africa
Calcalist interviewed former CEO of Bank Leumi and current Managing Partner at Team8 Rakefet Russak-Aminoach on the current state of fintech in Israel.
The UAE announced that cryptocurrency transactions will be exempt from value-added tax (VAT) effective November 15.
American Express Middle East forged a partnership with Dubai-based payment gateway Telr.
Mastercard has agreed to acquire subscription management platform Minna Technologies. Terms were not disclosed.
Minna Technologies offers technology that enables users to manage their subscriptions from within their bank app or website, saving users millions of dollars in spending on unwanted subscriptions.
Minna Technologies made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2019. The company is headquartered in Gothenburg, Sweden.
Terms were not disclosed. But Mastercard announced today that it has agreed to acquire Swedish subscription management platform Minna Technologies. The transaction, which is subject to regulatory approval, will bring greater simplicity and clarity to the subscription process and help enhance the engagement between merchants and their customers.
“This is significant recognition of the strength, growth, and impact of Minna Technologies in powering the global subscription economy, partnering with top-tier banks, fintechs, and subscription businesses,” Minna Technologies CEO and Chair Amanda Mesler said. “We look forward to joining Mastercard’s world-class team and helping businesses to empower consumers with control, convenience, and flexibility in managing their subscriptions and recurring payments.”
Minna Technologies offers banks and other financial institutions a subscription management platform that enables users to take control over their subscriptions via an automatically generated overview of all the user’s recurring expenses. Individuals can use Minna to cancel unwanted subscriptions as well as identify and quickly switch to new utility service providers. Mastercard’s acquisition comes as the number of subscriptions globally has climbed to 6.8 billion, with analysts at Juniper Research expecting that number to climb to 9.3 billion by 2028.
That said, the experience of our subscription economy can be a mixed one for consumers. Changing, extending, or canceling a subscription is often much more difficult than it needs to be. Additionally, the proliferation of subscription-based services means that many people have trouble keeping track of what they subscribe to, and when those subscriptions will be renewed. In the U.S., for example, the average person has 4.5 subscriptions. Additionally, more than 85% of Americans say that they have at least one paid subscription that goes unused each month.
Minna provides a payment-scheme agnostic service that empowers subscribers to manage their subscriptions from within their banking apps and websites. Bringing this technology into Mastercard’s suite of offerings is yet another example of how some of the biggest companies in financial services are leveraging acquisitions to add new solutions – from account-to-account payment functionality to enhanced cybersecurity – to their product mix. To that point, just last week, we shared news that Mastercard rival Visa had agreed to acquire fraud prevention company (and Finovate alum) Featurespace.
Founded in 2014, Minna Technologies demoed its technology at FinovateEurope in 2019. Today, the Sweden-based company has connected with more than 22,000 subscription businesses, served more than 120 million retail bank and fintech users, and saved customers more than $1 billion in spending on unwanted subscriptions.
This week’s edition of Finovate Global looks at recent developments in the fintech scene in Canada.
First up, we head over to Toronto, Ontario, where embedded payroll software company Nmbrhas secured $5.6 million (CAD$7.6 million) in seed funding. The round featured investors Panache Ventures, Golden Ventures, Motivate Venture Capital, and Luge Capital. In a statement, the company indicated it will use the funding to fuel growth and accelerate product development. And while focused presently on the Canadian market, Nmbr believes the investment will enable the firm to explore expansion opportunities in other countries.
“We’re incredibly grateful for our investors’ support and their confidence in our mission to empower businesses across the country with embedded payroll solutions,” Nmbr Co-Founder and CEO Simon Bourgeois said. “With these integrated systems already gaining traction in the U.S., we’re excited to extend these proven strategies to Canada.”
Founded in 2023, Nmbr simplifies complex financial products like payroll. The company’s technology enables businesses to embed Canadian payroll within their offering in days or weeks, rather than in years as is often the case with traditional payroll systems. Companies partnering with Nmbr have added payroll alongside operations such as AP/AR automation, employee scheduling, e-commerce, employee benefits management, and more. In addition to its funding announcement, Nmbr also reported that RBCx, the technology and innovation arm of Royal Bank of Canada, will serve as the company’s banking partner.
Staying in Ontario, but traveling 300 or so miles east, takes us to Ottawa and the home of Salt Edge, an open banking solution provider for banks, lenders, and other fintechs. This week, the Canadian fintech announced that it is helping Multitude Bank enhance its loan repayment processes to enable instant loan repayments.
“Salt Edge’s solution stood out due to its flexibility, competitive pricing, extensive coverage, and readiness to adapt to Multitude’s specific needs,” Multitude Bank CBO and Deputy CEO Dario Azzopardi said. “These factors were pivotal in choosing Salt Edge as a partner in this initiative.”
A core subsidiary of the Multitude Group, Multitude Bank will leverage Salt Edge’s technology, specifically using open banking method Pay-by-Link to provide customers with timely notifications about upcoming installments. The bank will use Salt Edge’s Payment Initiation solution to enable its customers to make instant loan repayments instead of relying on traditional online banking methods. The new process reduces transaction costs and connects bank clients with more than 2,300 banks across Europe.
“Open banking offers flexibility, and we’re happy to assist Multitude in supporting its clients with a safe and faster payment solution powered by open banking,” Salt Edge VP of Sales Erica Virlan said.
Salt Edge’s partnership with Multitude Bank comes just days after Moldova-based Victoriabank announced it was teaming up with Salt Edge to help ensure compliance with impending national legislation that will transpose European 2nd Payment Services Directive (PSD2) into Moldovan law. Also this month, the Canadian company forged new partnerships with international financial services company Ebury and Moldova’s Comertbank.
Salt Edge made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2018 in London. The company offers an Open Banking Gateway that enables financial institutions to secure instant access to accounts in 5,000 banks across Europe, GCC, APAC, and the Americas for account information and payment initiation. Salt Edge also offers an Open Banking and Compliance Solution that helps banks and Electronic Money Institutions (EMIs) become compliant with PSD2 and open banking requirements.
Canada has a well-deserved reputation as a welcoming country. As of 2023, with more than eight million immigrants earning permanent residence status in Canada, immigrants currently make up approximately a fifth of the country’s population.
With this in mind, it is heartening to read news that Scotiabank has expanded its partnership with Canadian cross-border credit bureau Nova Credit. The two entities will work together to help newcomers from countries including Australia, India, Kenya, Mexico, and Nigeria to leverage their credit history from their home country to help them access higher credit limits when applying online for financing in Canada.
“Canada relies heavily on the success of our immigrant population and the contributions they make to our economy,” Scotiabank SVP for Retail Customers, Tanya Eisener said. “In an increasingly digital world, a person’s history doesn’t have to start over when they move to a new country. Being able to access their foreign credit report through Nova Credit’s credit service allows us to get a better understanding of their credit risk and ultimately help them settle in Canada faster.”
The expanded partnership between Scotiabank and Nova Credit is designed to tackle the challenge of “credit invisibility” or the absence of a credit record. In Canada, based on data from 2015 through 2019, more than 25% of those considered “credit invisible” were immigrants. Further, more recent immigrants, those who had been in the country for less than two years, were nearly twice as likely to be credit invisible compared to native-born Canadians.
Scotiabank is a multinational banking and financial services company based in Toronto, Ontario. The bank offers a range of services including personal and commercial banking, wealth management, private banking, corporate and investment banking, and capital markets. The institution has more than 90,000 employees and assets of more than $1.3 trillion as of April 2023.
Headquartered in San Francisco, California, Nova Credit is a consumer-permissioned credit bureau that specializes in helping businesses make informed decisions on thin-file, no-credit history, and new-to-country credit applicants. Founded in 2016, Nova Credit expanded to Canada in 2023 as part of its initial partnership with Scotiabank.
Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.
A partnership between Mastercard and ZOOD will bring virtual Buy Now, Pay Later cards for consumers in Uzbekistan. Read more about fintech in Uzbekistan in our Finovate Global interview with Oliver Hughes of TBC Uzbekistan.
Latin America and the Caribbean
Uruguayan cross-border payment platform dLocal teamed up with Asia-based mobile wallet ShopeePay.
Proclaiming itself the first digital bank dedicated to customers with disabilities, Brazil’s Parabank partnered with Dock to launch a new suite of credit and prepaid cards.
Payments innovator NETSTARS teamed up with ACI Worldwide to boost development of cashless payments in Japan.
Singapore-based Bybit introduced new Shariah-compliant cryptocurrency accounts for Muslim investors.
HSBC launched new financing plan for SMEs in Hong Kong.
Sub-Saharan Africa
Africa-focused investment firm Helios Investment Partners led a $100 million Series D funding round in Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) and infrastructure API provider M2P Fintech.
Coming to America! African paytech Flutterwave has expanded its Send App remittance service to 49 states in the U.S. courtesy of a partnership with MainStreet Bank.
PayZeep, a Nigerian fintech startup, partnered with the Amalgamated Union of App-based Transporters of Nigeria (AUATON) to bring new payment options to drivers.
Loan intelligence system company Parlay will join Mastercard’s Start Path Small Business program. Parlay is one of eight companies selected.
Parlay’s technology complements a bank’s or credit union’s loan origination system to streamline and enhance small business loan processing.
Parlay made its Finovate debut at FinovateSpring 2024 in May as part of our Sustainability & Inclusion Scholarship program.
Parlay, which offers an AI-powered Loan Intelligence System (LIS) to help community banks and credit unions boost small business loan volume, is one of eight startups selected to participate in Mastercard’sStart Path Small Business program.
The incoming cohort consists of startups that have shown “dedication to democratizing financial tools and providing cutting-edge services for SMEs,” Mastercard noted in a statement. The statement underscored specific functions – such as spend management, onboarding, risk monitoring, loan approvals, and embedded finance solutions – that innovative fintech startups are helping digitize for small businesses.
Joining Parlay in the upcoming cohort of the program are Ballerine, Boost, CredibleX, Digi, Merge, Prime Dash, and RedOwl. The four-month program will give these startups the opportunity to leverage Mastercard’s network and subject matter expertise to forge product partnerships that help small businesses digitize their operations.
Parlay’s embedded fintech software helps lenders achieve a 64% increase in approved loans and an 87% reduction in manual underwriting workload. A white-label solution that complements loan origination systems, Parlay’s technology enables lenders to generate high-quality loan packets and maximize the eligible applicant pool. The company’s LIS also offers readiness insights to help businesses improve their creditworthiness; pre-screening to identify prime, marginal, and ineligible candidate pools; and pipeline analytics to enable loan officers to monitor applicant progress and underwriting eligibility.
“After a decade of work in economic development, our team realized that 77% of small businesses still struggle to access affordable capital and lack the insights need to navigate the lending process,” Parlay founder and CEO Alex McLeod said in a statement announcing the final eight startups invited to join the program. “We envision a future where community lenders, powered by Parlay’s AI-driven loan intelligence system, can get millions more small businesses approved for loans using unique, personalized insights that help both lenders and borrowers.”
Parlay made its Finovate debut at FinovateSpring in May as part of our Sustainability & Inclusion Scholarship program. The program is designed to spotlight underrepresented founders, as well as startups that are tackling issues such as climate change, diversity, and financial inclusion. Scholarships provide startups with complimentary demo participation, as well as the ability to network with our 2,000+ senior-level fintech attendees, fellow demoing companies, and more.
Past scholarship winners include Best of Show winning companies like Debbie, which won Best of Show at FinovateFall 2023, as well as Kobalt Labs and Remynt, both of which won Best of Show at FinovateSpring 2024.
Founded in 2022, Parlay is headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia.
As 2024 works its way toward halftime, we’re seeing an uptick in partnership and collaboration activity from crypto to regtech. Check back all week long for updates on the latest in fintech news.
DataVisorenhances multi-tenancy capabilities for scalable, secure, and flexible fraud and AML solutions.
E-Commerce
Klarnadivests its Klarna Checkout (KCO) division for $520 million.
Regtech
E-document management platform A-Cube APIannounces collaboration with Salt Edge to facilitate compliant document digitization.
DeFi
Decentralized finance (DeFi) platform 1inchpartners with Web3 security provider Blockaid.
Embedded finance
Cotribute, an embedded fintech platform serving credit unions, partners with APCU and Center Parc Credit Union to launch an automated digital account opening solution.
Embedded finance platform for technology purchases Gyngerraises $20 million in a Series A round led by PayPal Ventures.
Banking-as-a-Service
Payments and financial solutions provider Finzlypartners with Frost Bank to bring FedNow and RTP Instant Payments to business and retail customers.
In this latest venture, the two companies are advancing their partnership to offer core banking and payment solutions to financial institutions. Mastercard is integrating its network and digital solutions with Thought Machine’s cloud-native core banking platform to help banks transition from their legacy core banking and payment technologies to cloud-native ones. Ultimately, the two hope the move will increase their efficiency, reduce costs, and create more integrated, personalized, and customer-centric experiences.
“As we expand our partnership with Mastercard, we plan to leverage their global presence and payment expertise to deliver our core banking and payment platforms to banks worldwide,” said Thought Machine CEO and founder Paul Taylor. “We are excited to simplify and enhance the modernization experience for complex banks worldwide and make it even easier for them to deliver sophisticated customer experiences.”
Today’s partnership also focuses on pay-now solutions. Specifically, the two will help financial institutions digitize debit cards linked to current accounts.
“We’ve had a longstanding relationship with Thought Machine, and they’re now our first strategic, end-to-end partner in the core banking space,” said Mastercard Europe President Mark Barnett. “We’re providing leading banks and financial institutions with a comprehensive core banking and card issuing solution that meets tomorrow’s payment needs, and we look forward to scaling our joint capabilities.”
Mastercard and Thought Machine first partnered in 2020, when Thought Machine participated in the Mastercard Start Path startup engagement program. In 2022, the two teamed up to develop Vault Payments, an issuer processing solution that leverages Mastercard’s cloud technology. Vault Payments supports various card and non-card use cases, tapping Mastercard’s extensive payment network with Thought Machine’s banking technology.
U.K.-based Thought Machine has raised $563 million in funding since it was founded in 2014. The company offers two main products: Vault Core, a tool that leverages smart contracts to help organizations design and build new financial products; and Vault Payments, a payments processing platform that enables banks to run all payment types for different payment methods, schemes, and regions across the globe. Among Thought Machine’s clients are Lloyds Banking Group, Standard Chartered Bank, Intesa Sanpaolo, and Curve.
A holiday-filled week that began with Father’s Day, continues through Juneteenth, and brings us the first official day of summer.
Don’t be surprised if this week yields a lower than usual fintech news flow as the temperatures rise and the days stretch long. We’ll keep you posted if you decide to step outside and enjoy the season.
Payments
Uruguayan cross-border payment platform dLocalforged a partnership with Lithuanian gaming marketplace Eneba.
Digital payments platform CleverCardsraises $8.5 million (€8 million).
Shift4acquires a majority stake in Vectron Systems, one of the largest European suppliers of point-of-sale (POS) systems to the restaurant and hospitality verticals.
Trulioo and Mastercard have partnered to help clients streamline onboarding while combatting fraud.
Trulioo will leverage Mastercard’s identity solutions to gain insight into identity and risk scores.
Mastercard will tap Trulioo’s global business identity verification services to enhance its Onboard Risk Check product by adding a layer of assurance to merchant and consumer onboarding solutions.
Global identity platform Truliooannounced today it has teamed up with Mastercard to help merchants streamline digital onboarding while helping them combat fraud.
Under the agreement, Trulioo will leverage Mastercard’s identity solutions to power two of its products– Person Match and Risk Intelligence. This will offer Trulioo insights into identity and risk scores through a customizable, intuitive dashboard, extending the company’s offerings beyond API-based products and further enhancing its onboarding processes.
“Trulioo is proud to partner with Mastercard and shares their dedication to industry-leading business verification and fraud prevention,”said Trulioo CEO Steve Munford.“As organizations navigate the complexities of the digital payments industry, fraud and business identity theft are constant threats. This is a pivotal milestone in our joint endeavor that will pave the way for a more secure global digital landscape.”
Mastercard will also see benefits from the strategic partnership. Trulioo’s global business identity verification services will enhance Mastercard’s Onboard Risk Check product by adding a layer of assurance to merchant and consumer onboarding solutions, helping to mitigate risk, reduce fraud, and increase trust in payments made across the globe.
“The digital economy thrives when people trust it and trust each other,” said Mastercard executive vice president, Identity Products, and Innovation Dennis Gamiello. “The ability to verify people are who they say they are instills confidence on both sides of digital interactions. Together with Trulioo, we are fueling the connections that make a vibrant digital economy possible.”
Canada-based Trulioo was founded in 2011 to help organizations navigate compliance by offering real-time verification of more than 13,000 ID documents and 700 million business entities across the globe, while checking against more than 6,000 watchlists. The company has raised $475 million.
Will the new month bring new challenges in fintech? Or will the news cycle take a much-needed vacation as summer approaches? Stay tuned to this week’s news for updates and evolutions throughout the week.
Pinnacle Bankpartners with CorServ to implement a modern credit card program for commercial, business, and consumer customers.
Insurtech
Scott Credit Union selectsBUNDLE by Insuritas to launch its insurance agency.
Investment and wealth management
Brokerage-as-a-Service innovator DriveWealthforges new partnership with Turkish fintech Papara.
Lending
PlaidunveilsConsumer Report, a new solution that brings businesses real-time cash flow data along with credit risk insights through Plaid Check, its consumer reporting agency.
This week, Finovate Global looks at recent fintech developments in France.
French start-up Lydiaannounced the launch of a new digital banking brand this week. Named Sumeria, Lydia plans to invest more than €100 million in the new initiative, as well as hire 400 people over the next three years. Sumeria, according to a post on LinkedIn, offers 4% interest and is designed to be a “simple and accessible banking super app.
“We are convinced that technology (cloud, mobile) is not an end in itself, but a way to simplify life, through everyday details,” the company noted in a statement on its website. Arguing that current accounts should be neither “trendy gadgets” nor make users captive to a given app, system, or institution, the company explained: “It should solve a real problem. This is why Lydia’s choices, with Sumeria, are motivated by common sense and its ambition to be universal: for everyone, for everything.”
Lydia’s brand announcement follows a decision by the company to split its digital banking app into two components. Originally launched in 2013 as a P2P payments app, Lydia’s solution scaled, adding more and more financial services features over the years. It was the launch of its Lydia Accounts offering convinced the company that a change was necessary to keep its early adopters – who relied heavily on the P2P service – onboard. The result was to offer the P2P services separately from Lydia’s digital banking proposition through the Lydia Accounts app. The original Lydia app will become Sumeria, with the new features mentioned above – such as stock trading, savings accounts and loans – to be ported to the new banking brand.
Headquartered in Paris, Lydia has raised more than $259 million in funding. The company’s investors include Accel and Echo Street Capital. In addition to the launch of Sumeria, Lydia is also seeking a credit institution license from the French Prudential Supervision and Resolution Authority.
Paris, France-based private wealth management startup RockFiraised €3 million in funding this week. The round was led by Varsity I and featured the participation of numerous business angels in technology and private management. The company plans to use the capital to grow its workforce by 3x by the end of 2024 so as to provide private banking and wealth management expertise to clients throughout France.
“Since the beginning of the year, we have seen strong client traction eager for a new model to manage their wealth,” RockFi Co-Founder and CEO Pierre Marin said. “With a market of €4.8 trillionin assets ahead of us and no tech leader yet in France and Europe, our ambition is very high for the coming years.”
RockFi’s model combines human expertise and technology to offer services including banking, wealth management, life insurance, and pension savings. The firm has a targetable clientele with assets of more than €100,000, representing six million households in France.
“Three months after our official launch this is an important step that anchors a strong momentum and allows us to further accelerate the construction of the new private management,” the company wrote on its LinkedIn page this week. “The ambition remains: to surround ourselves with the best talent and partners in each field and to deploy a tech ecosystem to unleash the potential of independent wealth managers at the service of their clients.”
Meet Finovate’s French Alums!
Over the years, Finovate has been proud to showcase a number of fintech innovators based in France. Here’s a look at some of French fintechs that have demoed their technology on the Finovate stage in recent years.
