Fintech Rundown: A Rapid Review of Weekly News

Fintech Rundown: A Rapid Review of Weekly News

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.

Digital banking

Cloud-native core banking operating system 10x Banking enters collaboration with Deloitte Australia.

Monzo reports first profitable year.

Genesis offers new tools and incentives to financial industry software developers.

Meniga partners with Handelsbanken in Norway to amplify digital banking experience.

Fraud prevention

iProov achieves FIDO Alliance certification for facial biometric identity verification.

Fenergo unveils new AI-powered Client Lifecycle Management (CLM) tool to help customers keep pace with evolving regulations.

U.K.-based digital compliance and AML solutions provider SmartSearch launches its International Individual Check solution.

Bunq improves its fraud-detection model’s training speed nearly 100x using NVIDIA AI.

Payments

Payouts orchestration PayQuicker launches its on-demand, earned income access product, Insta-Pay.

Uruguayan cross-border payment platform dLocal partners with cross-border money transfer firm Ria Money Transfer.

Payments leader Jacob Eisen named ICBA Payments President and CEO.

Forward announces $16 million seed round led by Commerce Ventures, Elefund, and Fiserv.

The Bank of London forms strategic partnership with allpay Limited to improve banking and payments in the U.K. Social Housing market.

Vallarta Supermarkets taps Sezzle to offer Buy Now, Pay Later for grocery purchases.

Onbe to power Eisen’s digital solution that issues funds to consumers following account closures. 

Temenos and Mastercard join forces to expand cross-border payment capabilities through Mastercard Move.

allpay partners with Enfuce to provide payments for the U.K. public service sector.

NCR Atleos launches U.K. ATM cash deposit service.

REPAY empowers credit unions with enhancements to CU*Answers integration.

Small business finance

Corporate card and spend management provider Torpago raises $10 million in Series B round co-led by Priority Tech Ventures and EJF Ventures.

Commercial lending software provider for U.S. financial institutions, Abrigo, launched its commercial loan origination solution for SME lending.

insightsoftware acquires Fiplana to strengthen Qlik’s extended planning, analysis, and write-back capabilities.

i2c and Affiniti Finance partner to expand financial access for America’s underserved small businesses.

Spend management company Ivalua forges a collaboration with Visa.

Credit Cards

Credit repayment fintech Incredible raises $1 million.

Pinnacle Bank partners with CorServ to implement a modern credit card program for commercial, business, and consumer customers.

Insurtech

Scott Credit Union selects BUNDLE by Insuritas to launch its insurance agency.

Investment and wealth management

Brokerage-as-a-Service innovator DriveWealth forges new partnership with Turkish fintech Papara.

Lending

Plaid unveils Consumer Report, a new solution that brings businesses real-time cash flow data along with credit risk insights through Plaid Check, its consumer reporting agency.

Open banking

Mastercard teams up with Atomic to launch new open banking solutions.

Financial inclusion

Visa teams up with non-profit Plain Numbers to support inclusive financial services for adults in the U.K./


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Meniga Lands $16.5 Million to Drive New Strategy

Meniga Lands $16.5 Million to Drive New Strategy
  • Meniga has raised $16.5 million (€15 million) in Series D funding, bringing its total raised to $60.5 million (€55 million).
  • The round will be used to fuel the company’s new strategy that focuses on creating hyper-personalized insights and enabling payments capabilities that leverage open finance ecosystems for financial services companies.
  • Meniga is pursuing the new strategy after appointing Raj Soni as new CEO earlier this year.

Personal finance solutions fintech Meniga has landed $16.5 million (€15 million) in Series D funding.

Today’s round boosts the U.K.-based company’s total funding to $60.5 million (€55 million). Contributors include major European banks, Groupe BPCE and Crédito Agrícola, Omega ehf, and several existing shareholders.

Just as notable as the investment is what the funds will be used for. Meniga plans to use the round to fuel the company’s new strategy that focuses on creating data enrichment and hyper-personalized insights for financial services companies. Meniga will also shift to emphasize enabling payments capabilities that leverage open banking and open finance ecosystems for financial services firms.

The new strategy hatched after the company appointed Raj Soni as the new CEO earlier this year. Soni’s aim to simplify Meniga’s product portfolio, diversify into verticals beyond banks, target new customers in emerging markets, and create new operational hubs to drive growth and offer customer support.

“We are looking forward to seeing [Meniga’s] continued focus on enrichment as well as personalized insights,” said Groupe BPCE Chief Digital Officer Emmanuel Puga Pereira. “These capabilities are critical for all BPCE banks to effectively engage with their end users and we have seen firsthand how Meniga’s solution is a key component for banks to succeed.”

Meniga notes that part of today’s funding will also be used for clearing the company’s debt, which will make Meniga almost debt-free.

Founded in 2009, Meniga empowers digital banking experiences for 10 million end users and serves more than 100 million banking customers across 30 countries in Europe, North America, the Middle East and Asia. Among the company’s clients are UOB, UniCredit, Groupe BPCE, Crédito Agrícola, Swedbank, and Commercial Bank of Dubai.

Meniga is among many fintechs and financial services firms that are shifting their focus to operate in the new open finance economy, where accessibility, data-driven insights, and personalized experiences reign supreme. Meniga’s strategic pivot underscores the industry-wide recognition that open banking and open finance will transform financial services for the better. It also sets a precedent for customer-centric developments going forward into 2024.

Landsbankinn Selects Meniga to Bring Open Banking Capabilities to Iceland

Landsbankinn Selects Meniga to Bring Open Banking Capabilities to Iceland
  • Iceland-based Landsbankinn has selected Meniga to help it offer open banking amenities to its customers.
  • With Meniga’s help, the bank will offer both Payment Initiation Services and an Aggregation Service.
  • Meniga is calling the offerings a “breakthrough” when it comes to open banking developments in Iceland.

Iceland’s largest bank, Landsbankinn, is embracing open banking in its newest partnership with Meniga. The bank has tapped the digital banking platform to offer Payment Initiation Services (PIS) and an Aggregation Service (AIS).

The PIS will help the bank’s customers initiate funds transfers to other Icelandic banks without having to leave the Landsbankinn app. With the AIS, customers can use the bank’s app to see an aggregated view of their accounts across other banks in Iceland. Since the AIS places all of a customer’s financial information in one location, it makes it easier for them to manage their finances.

“By collaborating with Meniga, we are not only simplifying and enhancing the banking experience for our customers but also contributing to the modernization of banking in Iceland,” said Landsbankinn CEO Lilja Björk Einarsdóttir. “The launch of PSD2/Open Banking services reinforces our commitment to delivering the best financial solutions and options to our customers.”

Introducing Icelandic citizens to open banking seems like a big step for such a small nation. However, Iceland has a leg up over other regions because of its small size. The country has only three commercial bank and one investment bank, making it easier for all banks to agree on a communication protocol.

Meniga notes Landsbankinn’s offerings as a “breakthrough” when it comes to open banking developments in Iceland. Björk Einarsdóttir agrees. “We are excited to offer our customers these innovative services, which mark a pivotal moment in the Icelandic banking industry,” she said.

London-based Meniga, which was originally headquartered in Iceland, said that the partnership broadens its global reach. The fintech was founded in 2009 and powers banking apps for more than 165 banks across the globe, reaching more than 90 million people in 30+ countries. Among Meniga’s other offerings are tools such as data management, PFM, and cashflow analysis; as well as cashback rewards, carbon footprint tracking, and market insights.

Meniga’s current CEO Raj Soni took the reins from Simon Shorthose last year. Shorthose was brought in in August of 2022 to replace Co-founder Georg Ludviksson, who had served as CEO for 14 years.


Photo by Tomáš Malík

FinovateEurope’s Alumni Alley: Pioneering PFM, French Fintech, and an Investor Social Network

FinovateEurope’s Alumni Alley: Pioneering PFM, French Fintech, and an Investor Social Network

FinovateEurope’s Alumni Alley is a great way for our pioneering alums to show that, more than a decade later, they are still driving fintech innovation. Check out our Finovate Alumni Alley hub for more information on how to get involved.

To celebrate the launch of this new opportunity, we’re going to highlight alums that demoed their technologies at some of the earliest FinovateEurope events. From Best of Show winners to late blooming breakouts, FinovateEurope has spent the past dozen years showcasing the companies that have become many of fintech’s favorites. Over the next few weeks heading into the winter holidays, we will share their stories here.


A Best of Show Winner – Meniga

One of four companies to win Best of Show in our inaugural FinovateEurope in 2011, Meniga introduced itself as a mobile PFM solution provider for retail banks in Europe. Hailing from Reykjavik, Iceland, and founded in 2009, the company partnered with Íslandsbanki to help its technology reach 5% of households within the first year of launch.

Today the company has grown into a digital innovation partner for more than 165 banks around the world and grown its workforce ten-fold. From its start as a white-label PFM innovator, Meniga has added to its finance management offering with Cashflow Assistant and Smart Money Rules solutions, and added a suite of data management solutions for consolidation, enrichment, and discovery to its product mix. The company also now offers Beyond Banking solutions for banks, as well. These products include customer engagement/empowerment solutions like Carbon Insight and solutions for SME customers such as Cashback Rewards and Market Intelligence.

Meniga co-founder Georg Ludviksson introducing Meniga to the FinovateEurope audience in 2011.

Long-time Meniga CEO and co-founder Georg Ludviksson stepped down in August. The company’s new CEO, Simon Shorthose, said in a statement that the company was in a “prime position for growth” due to the “rapid modernization of banking technology and the move to real-time cloud infrastructures.” He added “Meniga’s solutions are at the forefront of helping banks take their digital banking experience to the next level of hyper-personalization.”


A Late Blooming Breakout – Linxo

One of the benefits of FinovateEurope is not just the ability to showcase for companies in Europe in general, but also for the opportunity of countries not always associated with fintech innovation to show what entrepreneurs in their nations are up to.

France is one example of such a country and Linxo – which made its Finovate debut in 2011 and, nine years later, was acquired by Credit Agricole for an undisclosed sum – is one example of just such a company. Co-founded in 2010 by CEO Bruno Van Haetsdaaele and headquartered in France, Linxo demoed its platform that represented the first bank account aggregation service for French financial institutions.

Linxo co-founder and CEO Bruno Van Haetsdaele on stage at FinovateEurope 2011.

“This transaction enables us to accelerate and strengthen our services for the Crédit Agricole Group, while giving us the opportunity to develop our offering in France and internationally for our clients and prospects with Oxlin, our ACPR-authorized payment institution, and to continue the development of Linxo, one of France’s most popular personal financial management apps,” Van Haetsdaele said when the acquisition was announced.

More than three million users in France leverage Linxo’s mobile app to manage their budgets and simplify their finances. Linxo had raised more than $26 million in funding prior to its acquisition.


From Good to Great and Still Going – eToro

Helping investors navigate the financial markets was the goal of many fintechs that demoed their technologies on the Finovate stage in the early years. But one of the innovators in this space to make a big first impression that only has grown bigger over time is eToro.

Another company to win Best of Show in the first FinovateEurope, eToro was an established investing network with more than 1.5 million registered users from 120+ countries in 2011. The company is among the pioneers in social investing, with innovative solutions that helped novice traders and investors learn from successful, veteran traders and investors, and improve their own outcomes in the market.

eToro CEO Yoni Assia demonstrating the eToro network at FinovateEurope in 2011.

Among the more popular companies to demo at FinovateEurope, with six Best of Show trophies won from 2011 through 2017, eToro today is still one of the biggest social investing communities in the world with more than 30 million registered users currently sharing their investment strategies on the platform. The company launched its mobile app in 2012, offered trading in cryptocurrencies in 2017 and, this year, unveiled both fractional share investing with zero commissions and eToro Options for options traders in the U.S.

This month, eToro teamed up with Broadridge Financial Solutions to enable proxy voting for investors on its platform. The ability to cast proxy votes will extend to investors holding fractional shares, as well. The partnership is a victory for advocates of corporate accountability by enabling eToro investors to weigh in on issues ranging from mergers and executive pay to ESG initiatives and goals.


Photo by Peter Spencer

Meniga Appoints New CEO

Meniga Appoints New CEO
  • Meniga has appointed Simon Shorthose as its new CEO.
  • Shorthose will be replacing Meniga Co-founder Georg Ludviksson, who served as CEO for 14 years.
  • Shorthose has previously worked at fintech SaaS companies Kyriba and Mambu.

Digital banking company Meniga announced a change in leadership today. The Iceland-based company has appointed Simon Shorthose as its new CEO.

Shorthose comes to Meniga having previously worked at fintech SaaS companies Kyriba and Mambu, where he served as Executive Leader and Head of Global Sales, respectively. He has also been on the management team of two unicorn tech companies.

“It is a huge privilege to lead Meniga, and I am very excited about taking on the challenge of helping major banks build greater digital engagement and insights and financial coaching with their customers and helping drive enhanced targeted marketing,” said Shorthose. “Looking forward to the future, I remain focused on delivering the best service to our customers and taking Meniga through the next stage of growth. I’d also like to thank Georg for trusting me with this responsibility and for his remarkable leadership from the start.”

Shorthose said that Meniga is in a “prime position for growth” with the recent shift toward the cloud and modernization in banking technology. He also cited demand for improved mobile channels, deeper customer engagement, and enhanced loyalty.

Meniga Co-founder Georg Ludviksson, who served as the company’s CEO for 14 years, is stepping down but will remain a shareholder of the company. “After a most exciting and fulfilling 14 years, I am now passing the baton over to Simon. I’ve seen first-hand his strengths and feel confident that Meniga will thrive under his leadership,” said Ludviksson. “With his 20-year track record of proven results in tech on a global scale, I put my complete trust in Simon to continue our mission to help banks create an unrivaled digital banking experience and bring Meniga to new heights.”

Meniga was founded in 2009 and powers banking apps used by more than 100 million people in more than 30 countries. The company offers tools such as data management, PFM, and cashflow analysis; as well as cashback rewards, carbon footprint tracking, and market insights.

The company presented at FinovateEurope earlier this year. The demo showcased how Meniga leverages information on users’ carbon footprint to help banks provide customers with contextual recommendations on sustainable products and investments.

FinovateEurope 2022 Sneak Peek: Meniga

FinovateEurope 2022 Sneak Peek: Meniga

A look at the companies demoing at FinovateEurope on March 15 digitally and live in London on March 22 and 23, 2022. Register today and save your spot.

Meniga is a global leader in helping banks create value from digital channels such as customer engagement, loyalty, new customers, and revenue.

Features

  • Create a trusted, lasting relationship with customers
  • Drive revenue growth by positioning the right products for them
  • Achieve return on spent investments in banking services

Why it’s great

Meniga augments the everyday personal banking experience by giving the right information to the right customers, at the right time.

Presenters

Hamza Behzad, Senior Manager of Product Strategy
Behzad leads Meniga’s Product Strategy and advises clients on how to bring the best product ecosystem to bear for maximum business impact.
LinkedIn


Isabel Moratiel, Director of Sales Operations
Moratiel leads Sales Operations at Meniga where she focuses on the overall productivity and effectiveness of the sales organization.
LinkedIn

Visa Acquires Tink in $2 Billion Deal; Meniga Backs New PFM Offering from Länsförsäkringar

Visa Acquires Tink in $2 Billion Deal; Meniga Backs New PFM Offering from Länsförsäkringar

Eighteen months after the U.S. Justice Department blocked Visa’s attempt to acquire Plaid, the company is back at the counter with a similarly ambitious acquisition: the purchase of European open banking platform Tink for $2.1. billion (€ 1.8 billion).

“Visa is committed to doing all we can to foster innovation and empower consumers in support of Europe’s open banking goals,” Visa CEO and Chairman Al Kelly said. “By bringing together Visa’s  network of networks and Tink’s open banking capabilities we will deliver increased value to European consumers and businesses with tools to make their financial lives more simple, reliable and secure.” 

Tink will retain both its brand and its current leadership team, and will remain headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden. The company is integrated with more than 3,400 banks and financial institutions, enabling millions of bank customers across Europe to benefit from aggregated financial data and smart financial services.

“Joining Visa, we will be able to move faster and reach further than ever before,” Tink co-founder and CEO Daniel Kjellén said. “Visa is the perfect partner for the next stage of Tink’s journey, and we are incredibly excited about what this will bring to our employees, customers and  for the future of financial services.


Another alum from Europe that made fintech headlines late in the week was Meniga. The company, which demoed its Carbon Insight solution at FinovateEurope Digital earlier this year, has teamed up with Länsförsäkringar, one of Sweden’s largest financial institutions, to help the firm launch its new personal finance management solution. Specifically, Länsförsäkringar will use Meniga’s data management platform to enable the new offering to provide customers with access to real-time spending data.

“We are extremely excited about joining forces with Länsförsäkringar,” Meniga co-founder and CEO Georg Ludviksson said. “Partnering with such a reputable bank will no doubt prove instrumental in further cementing our position as the go-to digital banking solutions provider in the Nordics. Having worked assiduously with Länsförsäkringar to create an outstanding and first-class personal finance management experience for their customers, we are also very pleased to have been able to assist them during a time when so many people are in need of support and looking to take control of their finances.”


Be sure to check out our interview with Pablo Viguera, co-founder and co-CEO of Open Finance innovator – and “Plaid of Latin America” – Belvo.


Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.

Asia-Pacific

Sub-Saharan Africa

Central and Eastern Europe

Middle East and Northern Africa

Central and Southern Asia

Latin America and the Caribbean


Photo by Shvets Anna from Pexels

Meniga Brings in $11.8 Million Investment to Build Out Green Banking

Meniga Brings in $11.8 Million Investment to Build Out Green Banking

On the heels of its FinovateEurope demo this week, digital banking player Meniga has raised $11.8 million (€10 million). The investment brings the company’s total funding to $55.7 million.

Velocity Capital and Frumtak Ventures led the round, followed by Industrifonden and Meniga customers UniCredit, Swedbank, Groupe BPCE, and Íslandsbanki.

“Meniga has established itself as a trusted strategic partner to top-tier banks around the world for Personal Finance Management and Business Finance Management tools, which are built on top of its market-leading data consolidation and enrichment technologies,” said Willem Willemstein, General Partner & Founder at Velocity Capital Fintech Ventures. “We’re extremely excited about the growing demand for the personalised banking experiences that Meniga delivers, such as its new product, Carbon Insights, which uses transaction data to measure a bank customer’s carbon footprint.”

Meniga will use the funds to increase its R&D efforts and further build its sales and service teams. The company also said it will use the funds to bolster its green banking products.

The latter point is notable because Meniga has been making a name for itself in the green banking arena since the launch of its Carbon Insights tool. While multiple digital banking providers, such as Aspiration and Treecard, have launched in an effort to promote ESG banking for individual consumers, there have not been many players helping incumbent banks to compete by offering their own green banking products.

Launched last year, Carbon Insights enables banks to inform customers about their carbon footprint based on their spending habits and offers them the ability to reduce or offset it. Earlier this month Iceland’s Íslandsbanki became Meniga’s first client for Carbon Insights.

During the company’s FinovateEurope demo, Meniga CEO and Co-founder Georg Ludviksson noted that the company is currently implementing Carbon Insights with banks in four separate countries. “The demand is growing fast,” he added. “Carbon-concious consumers are here to stay.”

Founded in 2009, Meniga powers banking apps used by more than 100 million people in more than 30 countries. The company is headquartered in the U.K. with offices in Reykjavik, Stockholm, Warsaw, Singapore, and Barcelona.


Photo by Alena Koval from Pexels

FinovateEurope Digital 2021 Sneak Peek: Meniga

FinovateEurope Digital 2021 Sneak Peek: Meniga

Meniga is a global leader in white-label digital banking solutions. Their new product, Carbon Insight, helps banks seamlessly integrate a digital carbon footprint journey into their mobile banking app.

Features

  • Awareness – overview of carbon footprint
  • Insight – carbon benchmarking and advice to spend more sustainably
  • Action – offset via certified programs

Why it’s great
Carbon Insight enables banks to inform customers about their carbon footprint and the power to reduce or offset it.

Presenter

Georg Ludviksson, CEO & Co-Founder
Ludviksson co-founded Meniga in 2009. He is a global thought leader on how banks need to reinvent themselves in the ever-changing landscape of financial services.
LinkedIn

Meniga Enables Carbon Footprinting for Iceland’s Islandsbanki

Meniga Enables Carbon Footprinting for Iceland’s Islandsbanki

Interested in activism that’s truly “global” in its appeal? Then the news that Meniga has partnered with Íslandsbanki, one of the largest banks in Iceland, to launch its new green banking solution, Carbon Insight, should be music to your ears.

“With more and more people around the world growing anxious about the consequences of climate change, the need for solutions and initiatives that empower people to take action to help protect our planet has become a business imperative,” Meniga CEO and co-founder Georg Ludviksson said.

Carbon Insight enables users to estimate and track how their spending decision impacts the environment via their carbon footprint. This footprint is derived via the Meniga Carbon Index, which was developed by a team of data scientists who leveraged environment research into the carbon emissions of various products and services. Carbon Insight works by multiplying spending transaction amounts by a “carbon intensity value” to give the user a reasonable carbon footprint estimate. This information can be used to help inform the user to which activities are potentially more environmentally impactful.

“We have seen great enthusiasm for our Carbon Insight product over the past few months, from banks and other key financial players, which is an encouraging sign from our industry that more green initiatives are still to come,” Ludviksson said.

As part of the partnership with Meniga, Íslandsbanki has agreed to integrate Carbon Insight into its digital banking solution. The Icelandic bank sees the new offering as a way to increase customer engagement and build on its environmental, social, and governance (ESG) strategy.

“Consumers are increasingly interested in improving their carbon footprint and having a positive impact on the environment,” Birna Einarsdóttir, Íslandsbanki CEO said. “Meniga’s Carbon Insight solution will enable Íslandsbanki’s customers to estimate the carbon footprint of their private consumption, identify carbon intensive purchases, and ultimately reduce their carbon footprint while saving money at the same time.”

Founded in 2009, Meniga most recently demonstrated its technology at FinovateFall 2019. Last fall, the company launched in the U.S. and, that summer, announced a $9.4 million fundraising that took the firm’s total funding to more than $43 million.


Photo by Tatiana from Pexels

Meniga Launches in U.S.

Meniga Launches in U.S.

Oh say, can you see… new digital banking technology landing on U.S. shores? Meniga can.

The U.K.-based company with Icelandic roots is expanding operations into the U.S. with a New York City headquarters location. The U.S. team, led by North America Heads of Sales, Wim Van Lerberghe and Paul Renken, will work remotely until the offices open next year.

Meniga is making the expansion to meet new, pandemic-induced demand for digital banking solutions. “In the current economic climate, it is crucial that Americans are getting the support they need from their banks, and help with the management of their personal finances. But if the bank fails to respond with anything but an efficient and enjoyable user experience, those customers will go elsewhere,” said Meniga CEO and Cofounder Georg Ludviksson. “We know that the unrivalled expertise and local market insight brought by Wim and Paul will allow us to fully export our technology to the U.S., granting American banking partners access to cutting-edge digital products and apps that their customers will love to use every day.”

While many know Meniga as a PFM solutions provider, the company has broadened its approach. The company now has leveraged data to offer a more personalized customer experience via predictive analytics and personalized engagement technologies including spending reports, automated budgeting, personalized nudges, savings challenges, and personalized cashback rewards.

Unique to Meniga is the company’s transaction-based carbon insights tool. Launched earlier this year, the carbon insights tool allows end users to track the carbon emissions that result from their spending.

Meniga has brought this technology to 165+ banks across 30+ countries, reaching more than 90 million end-users across the globe. The company has offices in London, Reykjavik, Stockholm, Warsaw, and, as of last year, Barcelona and Singapore.

“Since expanding into the Southeast Asian market just last year, we’ve also been instrumental in getting some of the area’s most popular banking apps to market. By opening up to the U.S., we’re going to be leading the charge here too,” said Renken. “We see banks as the bastions of the customer, designed to protect and manage assets, particularly during such a financially unstable climate. However, in order to remain competitive, this means they also need to move, and digitalize, with the times. With Meniga’s technology and expertise, banks all across The States will be able to achieve this; creating a customer experience that is intuitive and seamless as well as secure and reliable.”

Among Meniga’s clients are UniCredit, Santander, and UOB. Founded in 2009, the company has raised $43.9 million.


Photo by Duane Swaby on Unsplash

Digital Banking Solution Provider Meniga Raises $9.4 Million in New Funding

Digital Banking Solution Provider Meniga Raises $9.4 Million in New Funding
Photo by Niki Nagy from Pexels

As a company, the only thing better than a customer that loves your services and solutions is a customer that wants a piece of the action as well. That’s the happy situation digital banking solution provider Meniga finds itself in; the multiple-time Finovate Best of Show winner has just secured a $9.4 million (€ 8.5 million) strategic investment from current customers Grupo Credíto Agrícola, UniCredit, and Groupe BPCE, which led the round.

The investment, which takes Meniga’s total equity funding to more than $43 million, will help fuel the company’s R&D activities, as well as bolster its sales and service teams. Also participating in the round were current investors Velocity Capital, Industrifonden, and Frumtak Ventures.

Having Groupe BPCE, the second largest banking group in France, as both a customer and an investor is no accident. “Partnering closely with our customers is a key part of our strategy to be the preferred digital innovation partner to our clients,” Meniga co-founder and CEO Georg Ludviksson explained. “An equity relationship is an excellent way to strengthen such partnerships and we appreciate the continued vote of confidence and growing business we have with our impressive global client base.”

Meniga’s funding announcement comes amid a flurry of activity worldwide from the London-based company. In April, Meniga partnered with UniCredit to offer an enhanced version of its smart banking app in the Czech Republic. Also that month, Meniga teamed up with payments and transaction services firm Worldline to help boost digital customer engagement via personalization. Opening a new office in Warsaw, Poland in March, Meniga began the year by receiving its AISP license from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the U.K.

“The FCA license is an important milestone for Meniga,” Ludviksson said when the license was granted this February, “We will now be able to test new innovations against the Open Banking APIs and with real use cases, which will help us develop products of outstanding quality.”

Meniga’s technology is used by more than 90 million digital banking customers in +30 countries. Founded in 2009, the company most recently demonstrated its technology at FinovateFall in 2019.