This Week’s Top Stories in Fintech – February 17th 2023

https://ffnews.com/newsarticle/this-weeks-top-stories-in-fintech/

As Valentine’s Day came and went, we saw a fair few partnerships in fintech this week. Visa & Froda, Fintech Alliance & Seeders and DNA Payments & Mastercard. Plus, we’ve had a slew of senior appointments and some intriguing business moves. Check them all out in this week’s top stories in fintech from FF News!

Visa & Froda Unveil World’s First Instant Push-Payment Solution

Access to financing has long been a major hurdle for businesses eyeing growth. Against this backdrop, Visa, Froda and Lunar are announcing a global partnership and launching a new, innovative technology aimed at resolving these issues – for good. The product, which for the first time utilizes push-payment functionality for financing, aims to reduce transaction times to mere seconds. Ordinarily, this process would have taken months.

The fintech company Froda has formed a partnership with Visa to develop a brand-new loan solution for businesses. Initially, Froda and Visa are joining forces with the Nordic digital bank Lunar. Within the framework of the partnership, Lunar’s customers gain access to business loans through Froda’s proprietary embedded lending platform, featuring direct payments and repayments via Visa’s card. Visa’s presence in over 200 countries and territories provides a consistent experience regardless of market, making the product globally scalable.

“I am thrilled to announce our collaboration with Visa and Lunar to bring a new level of convenience and efficiency to the world of business lending for SMEs. Our goal was to create a new ecosystem within embedded lending that would offer entrepreneurs easy access to financing and instant payouts. With the support of Visa, we are able to offer this innovative solution to both neobanks and incumbent banks across multiple markets. We couldn’t be more excited about this partnership and look forward to seeing this new ecosystem grow” says Olle Lundin, CEO at Froda.

Read the full article here

Synechron Makes Two Senior Hires to Support its 14,000+ Workforce and Business Growth

Synechron, Inc., a leading global digital transformation consulting firm, has made two executive appointments. The appointments include a Chief Human Resources Officer and Chief Marketing Officer, who will both play a crucial role in supporting the company’s business growth and nurturing the best talent in the industry. This will ensure that Synechron continues to deliver exceptional client services and pioneer technological solutions.

Synechron is a global leader in digital transformation, consulting and technology with deep specialism in the financial services and technology innovation sectors. Its workforce has expanded to over 14,000+ innovative minds worldwide.

Christin Spigai has joined as Chief Human Resources Officer and will be responsible for the company’s global people strategy, strengthening the Synechron culture anvd employee experience, proactively creating ways to attract the best talent and increase retention, while driving diversity, equity and inclusion programs.

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Synpulse Launches First Office in Dubai to Cater to Middle East’s High Demand for Digital Transformation

Synpulse, the global professional services provider to major banking and insurance institutions, has officially announced the opening of its first office in Dubai to provide onshore support to its growing number of clients and serve as a hub for the Middle East. The office opening was also announced at a by-invitation-only client event held on the 8th of December at The Capital Club Dubai, where top financial services leaders were in attendance.

Dubai’s goal to become a leading digital economy has prompted a high demand for digital transformation and innovation. The new Synpulse office, alongside its geographic location serving as a gateway to the Middle East markets, is seizing this opportunity to increase the firm’s market visibility in the region. The expansion is consistent with its “follow our clients” approach, ensuring close proximity and relationships with all its clients.

Over the past couple of years, Synpulse has developed a strong pipeline of clients in insurance and banking in Bahrain, Dubai, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the rest of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Service offerings for insurance clients will focus on target operating model, underwriting automation with AI, and digital health. For banking clients, on the other hand, the focus will be on digital banking, wealth transformation, and platform design.

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Driverly achieves UK first with FCA authorisation for dynamically priced app based insurance

Driverly has announced it has received direct authorisation from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to sell car insurance after a thorough review of its processes and governance structure. This is believed to be the first successful FCA application centred solely around a monthly, dynamically priced proposition. It marks one of the final stages for Driverly in its mission to deliver its disruptive car insurance service to the UK.

Cardiff-based Driverly, provider of a unique, app-based car insurance service, is delighted to announce it has received direct authorisation from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to provide car insurance to customers. After a detailed review of its customer-centric processes and corporate governance structure, Driverly received direct authorisation to sell car insurance courtesy of the behavioural data collected from its ground-breaking app.

The Driverly app monitors and records dozens of different driving criteria for users to build an accurate picture of their driving habits, which can directly benefit them financially in the form of rewards and discounted premiums.

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Comun Raises $4.5M to Promote Financial Inclusion with Latino-First Approach to Banking

Comun, a Latino-founded neobank that provides modern banking solutions for Latino families, announced today it closed a $4.5M seed round led by Costanoa Ventures with participation from South Park Commons and FJ Labs. The company plans to use the funds to build a financial hub with expanded solutions and resources for Latino immigrants in the U.S

Despite 44 million Latinos with Spanish as a primary language in the U.S., no incumbent bank offers a full Spanish language banking experience. Latinos are three times more likely to be unbanked and two times more likely to fall into predatory loans. Currently, 41% of Latinos have no credit score, limiting their financial growth and mobility. All this, despite Latinos in the U.S. having a GDP of $2.8 trillion, the economic equivalent to the fifth largest economy in the world (Center for Economic Research & Forecasting 2022 U.S. Report).

“We built Comun to make it easier to thrive as an immigrant family in the U.S.,” said Andres Santos, Co-Founder & CEO of Comun. “Banking is a gateway to accessing many services that are vital to a person’s livelihood. My co-founder and I both experienced how challenging it can be to navigate the banking system as immigrants. Our goal is to empower families to be successful in both their finances and the U.S. with a financial partner that they can trust and understand.”

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FinTech Alliance partners with Seedrs to facilitate funding opportunities for founders

Today, FinTech Alliance -the Government-backed digital ecosystem that brings together and champions the UK’s vibrant FinTech community – has announced its latest partnership with private investment platform Seedrs.

The partnership will allow FinTech Alliance to connect community companies, looking to raise capital, with Seedrs. Once connected, the Seedrs team will assist them through the onboarding process, helping them set up a campaign on their platform. FinTech Alliance will continue to support the businesses raising by enabling them to set up a microsite, publicise their campaign, and connect with other founders and potential investors.

Seedrs is Europe’s leading online private investing platform that allows individuals to invest in startups, growth companies, and top VC funds for eligible investors, as well as enabling ambitious entrepreneurs in all sectors to raise capital from their communities, angels, and institutional investors. Since its launch in 2012, Seedrs has funded more than 1,800 deals, with over £2.3bn invested on the platform to date. With the recent acquisition of Seedrs by Republic, it is now part of the largest private investing platform in the world.

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DNA Payments Partners with Mastercard to Deliver Click to Pay

Fintech DNA Payments, one of the largest independent, fully vertically integrated omnichannel payments companies in the UK, has partnered with Mastercard to deliver Click to Pay for merchants across the UK and Europe. Mastercard Click to Pay offers a simple and secure checkout experience giving consumers instant access to their preferred cards on every device, eliminating the need to manually enter card details or remember passwords.

DNA Payments provides acquiring services and card payment acceptance solutions to retailers in-store, online, and via mobile. Adding Click to Pay to DNA Payments’ Ecommerce gateway services will present a seamless upgrade to merchants’ existing payment solutions. There’ll be no additional integration or onboarding for existing merchants and partners and no uplift in fees; the merchants will benefit from increased security, faster customer checkouts and an improved customer experience.

Mastercard Click to Pay is embedded directly within checkout, creating a better user experience for consumers with fewer interruptions and buttons to click. Consumers can store and manage all their cards in a single secure profile which is automatically updated. Returning customers are intelligently recognised via their device or email address, making it easier for them to check out.

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Clearspeed Welcomes Manjit Rana as GM of UK, EMEA, and APAC Regions

With over three decades of experience in the insurance industry, combined with spearheading the inception of numerous startups and propelling innovation for prominent global enterprises, Manjit Rana now joins Clearspeed in the capacity of General Manager and Head of its insurance markets in the UK, EMEA, and APAC. Given his unique abilities to develop insurtech companies, Manjit brings valuable expertise to Clearspeed’s unwavering pursuit of growth and expansion both within and beyond the insurance industry. His experience is an additional layer of thought leadership and development to Clearspeed, as our mission, product offering, customer experience, and expertise continue to evolve across multiple sectors.

Manjit has a proven track record of identifying loopholes in the insurance market and leveraging them to develop and promote distinctive products, trends, and offerings. Through his ventures, such as InsurTech Scout, and as the founder of Ingenin, an award-winning insurance innovation consultancy, Manjit has remained ahead of the curve by forecasting and predicting industry trends. His visionary perspective on upcoming market developments is what makes him a fascinating addition to Clearspeed’s leadership team.

Clearspeed has been a positive disruptor since its inception in the insurtech industry, and as a veteran in the field, Manjit quickly recognized the uniqueness of Clearspeed’s value proposition to the global insurance ecosystem. His partnership with Clearspeed is founded on his long-standing friendship with the CEO, Alex Martin. Manjit has great admiration for Clearspeed’s military roots, and this partnership aligns with Clearspeed’s values of creating trust through visionary leadership, innovative technology, and exceptional customer experiences.

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Payoneer receives UK E-Money license from Financial Conduct Authority

Payoneer , the financial technology company empowering the world’s small businesses to transact, do business and grow globally, has received (via its subsidiary – Payoneer Payment Services UK Ltd) its Electronic Money License (EMI) from the United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The license is a key requirement for digital financial institutions to continue operating in the UK and will allow Payoneer to keep providing its full suite of services to UK-based businesses.

The FCA authorisation demonstrates Payoneer’s commitment to the UK market as it seeks to continue providing regulated financial solutions. The license enables Payoneer to carry on empowering UK businesses to grow globally in the digital global economy. Payoneer will also look to grow its footprint in the UK, seeking to help more businesses navigate the world of global digital commerce.

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Today’s Top Stories – February 17th 2023

https://ffnews.com/newsarticle/todays-top-stories-in-fintech-february-17th-2023/

Fintech SmartOSC has officially partnered with Gr4vy, an award-winning cloud-native payment orchestration platform renowned for taking the complexity out of building and managing payment stacks.

With a focus on redefining payments by delivering an intuitive and secure experience for both merchants and consumers, Gr4vy has quickly become a sought-after solution for businesses looking to streamline their payment processes and security. The company doubled its valuation since launching to an impressive $115M, allowing the company to further accelerate its global expansion and meet demand.

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UK fintech company Zipabout and Malaysian mobility-as-a-service (MaaS) platform company Asia Mobiliti announced a government-backed collaboration to improve access to transport for millions of people in Kuala Lumpur.

The official signing ceremony of the Collaboration Agreement took place at the British High Commission in the Malaysian capital, hosted by British High Commissioner to Malaysia, His Excellency Charles Hay MVO. The event was also attended by guests from the Department for Business and Trade and Capital A (formerly known as Air Asia).

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Monzo, the UK-based digital bank, has launched a new product that enables customers to easily save and access their money at any time.

The new Instant Access Savings Pot is designed to provide customers with a simple and hassle-free way to save money.

The Instant Access Savings account offers a competitive interest rate of 3.00%, which is calculated daily and paid out monthly. Customers can easily transfer money in and out of the account as they please, without any restrictions or penalties. With no minimum deposit or balance requirements, the account is accessible to anyone looking to start saving. The maximum you can have in a Personal Instant Access Savings Pot and a Joint Instant Access Savings Pot is £100,000 each.

As well as earning 3.00% AER on an Instant Access Savings Pot, Monzo Plus and Premium customers also earn 1.00% AER and 1.50% AER respectively on the first £2,000 held across their current account and Pots (now including Instant Access Savings Pots, but not Easy Access, Fixed Term, or ISA Pots provided by partner banks).

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Clearspeed Welcomes Manjit Rana as GM of UK, EMEA, and APAC Regions

https://ffnews.com/newsarticle/clearspeed-welcomes-manjit-rana-as-gm-of-uk-emea-and-apac-regions/

“With Manjit’s addition to our team at Clearspeed, we’re doubling down on expansion and growth in InsurTech leadership,” said Alex Martin, CEO. “At a time where companies are hedging bets, we’re the odd one out – in a good way. We know what we possess, we know who to bring to the table, and we’re setting ourselves up for a charged year ahead.”

With the insurtech space gaining greater momentum, his arrival at Clearspeed comes at the perfect time in our journey to establish the brand as a multinational and multifaceted provider of intelligent insurance technology. Manjit is positioned to expand Clearspeed’s offering in the UK, EMEA, and APAC regions, and further Clearspeed’s trusted, optimised and accurate solutions for insurance partners.

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What is Fintech? 2023 Edition

https://ffnews.com/newsarticle/what-is-fintech-2023-edition/

What is Fintech?

Financial technology, commonly known as Fintech, refers to novel technologies that aim to enhance and automate the delivery of financial services. In essence, Fintech is utilized to aid businesses, entrepreneurs, and individuals in better managing their financial operations and processes through the use of specialized software and algorithms on computers and increasingly on smartphones. The term Fintech is a conjunction of the words “financial” and “technology.”

Initially, the term Fintech was applied to the technology employed in the back-end systems of established financial institutions. However, over time, there has been a shift to more consumer-oriented services, resulting in a broader definition of Fintech. Today, Fintech encompasses a wide range of sectors and industries, including education, retail banking, fundraising, and non-profit organizations, investment management, and more.

Furthermore, Fintech includes the development and utilization of cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin, which often garners the most attention. However, it is important to note that the traditional global banking industry, with its multi-trillion-dollar market capitalization, remains the main source of revenue within the Fintech market.

Wrapping Your Head Around Fintech

In general, the term “financial technology” can encompass any advancement in how individuals conduct business, ranging from the creation of digital currency to the technique of double-entry bookkeeping. Nevertheless, since the advent of the Internet and the mobile Internet/smartphone revolution, financial technology has experienced a tremendous surge in growth. Initially, fintech referred to the use of computers in the operational aspect of banks or trading companies, but nowadays, it encompasses a broad range of technological innovations in personal and commercial finance.

Fintech now incorporates a diverse array of financial activities, including transferring money, depositing checks via smartphone, bypassing bank branches to apply for loans, acquiring funds for a business start-up, or managing investments, usually without human assistance. According to EY’s 2017 Fintech Adoption Index, approximately one-third of customers utilize two or more fintech services, and these consumers are increasingly familiar with fintech’s role in their daily lives.

How Fintech Innovations Happen

The buzz around fintech startups is due to their potential to disrupt and potentially replace traditional financial service providers. These startups aim to achieve this by being more agile, targeting underserved populations, and offering faster and/or superior services. The top fintech startups that have received massive funding share this common trait.

In essence, fintech startups offer solutions to financial problems that many consumers have experienced in the past, such as the arduous process of applying for a mortgage with traditional lenders. Fintech companies aim to answer questions such as, “Why is my credit score so mysterious, and how is it used to determine my creditworthiness?”

Fintech startups have the potential to revolutionize financial services. They offer innovative solutions to financial problems and cater to underserved populations. Therefore, it’s not surprising that they have received massive funding and continue to garner attention in the financial industry.

The Ever-Expanding Growth of Fintech

Previously, financial institutions offered a broad range of services within a single framework. These services included traditional banking operations as well as mortgage and trading services. Fintech, in its most basic form, unbundles these services into individual offerings. By combining streamlined offerings with technology, fintech companies can operate more efficiently and reduce the costs associated with each transaction.

The term ‘disruption’ best describes how fintech innovations have transformed traditional trading, banking, financial advice, and products. Financial products and services that were once exclusive to brick-and-mortar branches, salesmen, and desktops have now transitioned to mobile devices or become more accessible to the masses away from large, entrenched institutions.

However, entrenched traditional banks have been keeping a close eye on these developments and have heavily invested in transforming their operations to mimic the fintech disruptors. For example, Goldman Sachs, an investment bank, launched a consumer lending platform, Marcus, in 2016 and recently expanded its operations to the United Kingdom.

Nonetheless, many industry watchers with tech-savvy skills caution that keeping up with fintech-inspired innovations requires more than just increasing technology spending. To compete with agile fintech startups, banks must embrace a significant shift in thinking, processes, decision-making, and even overall corporate structure.

An Overview of the Fintech Landscape

Fintech has experienced explosive growth since the mid-2010s, with startups securing billions of dollars in venture capital and becoming unicorns, while established financial firms have either acquired or developed their fintech offerings.

North America remains the leading region for fintech startups, followed closely by Asia, then Europe. Fintech innovation is highly active in various sectors, including:

Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and digital tokens such as NFTs and digital cash, which commonly rely on blockchain technology. This distributed ledger technology (DLT) maintains records across a network of computers, without a central ledger. Additionally, smart contracts are enabled through blockchain, utilizing code to automatically execute contracts between parties, such as buyers and sellers.
Open banking, an idea that suggests people should have access to bank data to build applications creating a network of interconnected financial institutions and third-party providers. One example of this is the all-in-one money management tool Mint.
Insurtech, which aims to simplify and streamline the insurance industry by leveraging technology.
Regtech, a sector that assists financial service companies in meeting industry compliance regulations, especially those related to Anti-Money Laundering and Know Your Customer protocols that combat fraud.
Robo-advisors, like Betterment, use algorithms to automate investment advice, reducing costs and increasing accessibility.
Unbanked/underbanked services, which aim to serve disadvantaged or low-income individuals who are ignored or underserved by traditional banks or mainstream financial services companies. These applications promote financial inclusion.
Cybersecurity. With the surge in cybercrime and the decentralized storage of data, fintech and cybersecurity are closely intertwined.

Who are the Users?

Fintech, short for financial technology, has seen enormous growth in the past decade. It has opened up new avenues of financial services to a wider audience, creating opportunities for four broad categories of users.

The rise of fintech has been driven by various trends such as mobile banking, increased information, data, and more accurate analytics. As a result, the decentralization of access will enable these four groups to interact in new and innovative ways.

The adoption of fintech among consumers is highly correlated with age. Younger individuals tend to have a greater understanding and knowledge of fintech compared to older individuals. Consumer-oriented fintech is primarily targeted towards millennials, given their huge size and earning potential. However, there is a belief among some fintech experts that this focus on millennials has more to do with the size of that marketplace, rather than the ability and interest of Gen Xers and baby boomers in using fintech. Fintech has yet to address the problems of older consumers.

Fintech has had a significant impact on the world of business. Prior to the advent and adoption of fintech, business owners or startups had to approach a bank to secure financing or startup capital. If they intended to accept credit card payments, they would have to establish a relationship with a credit provider and even install infrastructure, such as a landline-connected card reader. However, with the rise of mobile technology, these challenges have become a thing of the past.

In conclusion, fintech has brought about significant changes to the financial services industry, opening up new opportunities for banks, businesses, and consumers alike. As the industry continues to evolve, it will be interesting to see how fintech will shape the future of finance.

Regulation & The Industry

Among the world’s most highly regulated sectors are financial services. As fintech companies proliferate, it is no surprise that regulation has become the primary concern of governments.

The integration of technology into financial service processes has multiplied the regulatory problems for fintech firms. These issues are often related to technology, while in other cases, they reflect the impatience of the tech industry to disrupt finance.

One example of such issues is the automation of processes and digitization of data, which makes fintech systems vulnerable to hacking. Recent cyber attacks on credit card companies and banks illustrate how easily malicious actors can gain access to systems and cause irreparable damage. In such cases, consumers’ most pressing questions are about who is responsible for these attacks, as well as how personal and financial data is being misused.

Regulation also poses a challenge in the emerging world of cryptocurrencies. Initial coin offerings (ICOs) allow startups to raise capital directly from lay investors, but in most countries, they are unregulated and have become a breeding ground for scams and fraud. The uncertainty around regulation of ICOs has allowed some entrepreneurs to pass off security tokens as utility tokens, enabling them to avoid fees and compliance costs.

To evaluate the implications of technology in the financial sector, regulators have created fintech sandboxes. The passing of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the EU, a framework for the collection and use of personal data, is another effort to restrict the amount of personal data available to banks. Several countries, including Japan and South Korea, have taken the lead in developing regulations for ICOs to protect investors.

FAQ’s

What are some examples of Fintechs?

Fintech, or financial technology, has found its way into numerous areas of finance. Below are a few examples of Fintechs that are transforming the financial industry.

Robo-advisors are applications or online platforms that help you invest your money optimally, automatically, and often at a low cost. These platforms are accessible to ordinary individuals, making investing more accessible than ever.
Investment apps, like Robinhood, make it easy to purchase and sell stocks, ETFs, and cryptocurrencies from your mobile device, often with little or no commission. These platforms provide users with the ability to invest with ease, making investing accessible to a broader range of people.
Payment apps, such as Paypal, Venmo, Block (Square), Zelle, and CashApp, offer a quick and convenient way to pay individuals or businesses online. These payment apps allow for immediate transactions and are rapidly gaining popularity, making them a new favorite payment method for many people.
Personal finance apps, such as Mint, YNAB, and Quicken SimpliFi, enable you to view all of your finances in one place, establish budgets, pay bills, and manage your finances with ease. These apps help you take control of your finances and save time by providing you with a comprehensive view of your financial situation.
P2P lending platforms, like Prosper, Lending Club, and Upstart, enable individuals and small business owners to obtain loans from various individuals who contribute microloans directly to them. This concept makes it easier for people to obtain loans and allows investors to earn a return on their investment.
Crypto apps, including wallets, exchanges, and payments applications, allow you to transact and hold cryptocurrencies and digital tokens such as Bitcoin and NFTs. These applications have revolutionized the way people perceive digital currencies and have made them more accessible and easier to use.
InsurTech is the application of technology specifically to the insurance space. One example would be the use of devices that monitor your driving in order to adjust auto insurance rates. These technological advancements provide a more personalized experience for users and help insurance companies better understand and price their policies.

Is Fintech Limited to Banking?

No, fintech has grown beyond basic banking services like checking and savings accounts, bank transfers, credit/debit cards, and loans. While traditional banks and startups have developed innovative fintech applications in these areas, many other fintech niches related to personal finance, investing, and payments (among others) have surged in popularity.

How Do Fintech Companies Generate Revenue?

Fintech companies earn money in various ways based on their specialization. For instance, fintechs in the banking sector may generate revenue from fees, loan interests, and selling financial products. Investment apps may charge brokerage fees, use payment for order flow (PfOF), or collect a percentage of assets under management (AUM). On the other hand, payment apps may earn interest on cash amounts and charge for features like early withdrawals or credit card usage.

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Laurence Leyden Appointed as Vice President of Financial Services at Workday

https://ffnews.com/newsarticle/laurence-leyden-appointed-as-vice-president-of-financial-services-at-workday/

Laurence Leyden has been appointed as the Vice President of Financial Services at Workday.

Leyden, an industry veteran with over 30 years of experience, has previously worked at senior levels in financial services companies such as Barclays and SAP. In his new role, he will lead a talented vertical team focused on supporting customers’ digital transformation journeys and delivering successful outcomes.

Laurence Leyden, a seasoned leader with extensive experience in management and technology, has previously developed a novel concept in social media known as StopGiver.

This innovative platform enables individuals to raise awareness for a cause, keep track of their contributions, and see the total impact of their giving across multiple causes. In addition, StopGiver allows businesses to engage with their customers by donating to their preferred causes through a sponsored ‘like’ concept.

Prior to founding StopGiver, Laurence held various senior management roles at SAP, including General Manager for Financial Services, Telcos, and Service Industries in EMEA South. He was also responsible for SAP’s Financial Services business in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, where he worked with top global banks to develop collaborative and innovative roadmaps for addressing the challenges of digitization.

Laurence is an expert in banking, digital technologies, emerging technology concepts, and future concepts. He has worked with numerous banks, including Barclays, Lloyds TSB, HSBC, and Woolwich, as well as Asian banks such as ADB, BPI, Dah Sing, and Far East Bank.

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