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MASTERCARD CERTIFIES NYMCARD AS PRINCIPAL MASTERCARD ISSUER IN UAE
Mastercard has certified NymCard, a plug-and-play banking-as-a-service (BaaS) provider, as a Principal Mastercard Issuer in the UAE. The milestone announcement marks the first time a FinTech in the UAE is licensed to issue cards by Mastercard.
The license from Mastercard enables NymCard to become the UAE’s one-stop provider for FinTechs and digital partners, removing the need for multiple vendors and payment rails by offering its clients open and modern APIs.
Now, FinTechs and financial institutions can plug and play into NymCard’s modern BaaS infrastructure to issue their own Mastercard cards and enable their unique business models faster than ever before. Through their Principal Mastercard License, NymCard will empower digital partners, enabling them to go live in as little as a few weeks.
“Partnerships play a vital role in realizing the full potential of the digital economy. We are proud to join hands with NymCard; together, we will deliver industry-leading and scalable payment technology solutions that enable fintechs across the region to quickly and easily issue their own cards through the power of our global network.”
Ngozi Megwa, SVP, Digital Partnerships, Eastern Europe, MENA, Mastercard.
“We are delighted to welcome NymCard as the UAE’s first Principal Mastercard Issuer in the fintech space. We are committed to accelerating the booming fintech market and paving the way for all players to help realize the UAE’s vision to become a global fintech hub.”
J.K. Khalil, Cluster General Manager, MENA East, Mastercard.
MENA-based Banking as-a-Service (BaaS) provider NymCard has built its tech stack from the ground up and is fully regulated by the central bank of the UAE. They offer FinTechs and other industry innovators the infrastructure to plug and play ready finance into their applications, enabling them to frictionlessly scale their payments programs across multiple markets.
“As the only banking-as-a-service (BaaS) provider in the MENA region, our mission is to enable innovators to build, launch and scale payment programs with no friction. Working with Mastercard will enable fast, convenient, and cost-efficient card issuing! It represents a real opportunity for us as a fintech enabler to expand our embedded finance capabilities across the whole of MENA,”
Omar Onsi, CEO and Founder, NymCard.
KBC LAUNCHES KATE COIN
KBC is the first financial institution in Europe to roll out its own digital coin based on blockchain technology, Kate Coin.
The launch of the e-money token comes a year and a half after the Belgian bank’s launch of Kate, a personal digital assistant for mobile and online banking.
Customers will be able to acquire Kate Coins and effectively use them via their Kate Coin wallet in KBC Mobile in a ‘closed loop’ environment, outside of which the coin has no monetary value. Kate Coin is fully collateralized by KBC and pegged to the euro on a 1:1 basis, at a rate of 1 euro per Kate Coin.
“A completely new economy is currently developing on the basis of new technology such as web 3.0, cryptocurrencies, NFTs. With Kate Coin, we are entering this new world. This is how we are preparing KBC for the future.”
Johan Thijs, CEO KBC Group.
This weekend, Werchter Boutique will be the scene of the first large-scale test of the Kate Coin, where 8,000 KBC employees present at the festival will be able to pay for snacks and drinks with the token.
The first limited test in the past few weeks with 200 KBC employees was already successful. With the larger-scale test at Werchter Boutique, KBC wants to check whether the permission-based KBC blockchain platform can also process a large number of small transactions within a relatively limited timeframe.
The bank is further investigating ways to open up the coin to third-party applications on its mobile ecosystem, enabling the transfer of goods and services to its 1.8 million users underpinned by the digital token. In this scenario, the bank is contemplating a contractual relationship that would enable customers to purchase goods at a discount using Kate coins.
“The blockchain technology used by KBC ensures that the Kate Coin is fully programmable. KBC may attach specific conditions to both the acquisition and use of the Kate Coin. This allows for flexibility in, for example, the number of coins in exchange for a specific service, the scope of an acquired coin, or the period in which it can be used for this purpose. The customer can acquire Kate Coins in the function of a certain loyalty, at a certain product purchase, if he performs certain actions … and can use these KBC Coins again, e.g. for a discount on another KBC product.”
“Customers earn Kate Coins when they undertake sustainable actions, such as taking out a loan for an electric bike. They can then use the earned Kate Coins for other initiatives, such as investing in a socially responsible investment fund. KBC can also increase the value of those coins (temporarily or otherwise) when they are used for a sustainable purpose. Kate, the personal digital assistant, can proactively inform the customer for which sustainable solutions he can use the earned Kate Coins.”
Erik Luts, chief innovation officer KBC.
COMMBANK PARTNERS WITH MAMBU TO DEVELOP UNLOAN
Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) has selected SaaS cloud banking platform Mambu as the technology foundation of its next-gen digital mortgage brand, Unloan.
Unloan is set to be a revolutionary force in the Australian mortgage industry, with the new offering able to provide loan refinancing applications in as little as 10 minutes and a discount that increases every year for up to 30 years.
“We’ve selected Mambu to underpin our new home loan brand, Unloan, and look forward to working closely with Mambu as we continue to digitally transform our suite of CBA Group brands. Partnering with Mambu is an investment in future-proofing CBA. Mambu’s SaaS cloud banking platform will enable us to bring in best-in-class solutions from other high-performing FinTechs and vendors, build financial solutions that meet the demands and expectations of our customers, and retain our position as Australia’s leading bank.”
Brendan Harrap, Chief Architect at CBA.
Mambu is a true SaaS cloud banking platform with a uniquely composable approach that enables the assembly of independent components, systems, and connectors to meet business needs and end-user demands.
This approach aligns perfectly with CBA’s goal to understand and anticipate its customers’ evolving needs, utilizing next-gen technology like data analytics, AI, and cloud to deliver personalized, agile, and flexible finance solutions to consumers.
“There has been a profound shift in the way people think about their finances over the last two years, with a significant acceleration in the adoption of digital technologies and greater expectations from consumers. People aren’t content to just get what they’re given anymore; they want personalized customer service and products that are tailored to their circumstances. That’s what Mambu can enable at a fraction of the cost and much more quickly than traditional banking technology. We are so excited to be working with CBA as it takes this next leap into the digital future.”
Werner Knoblich, Chief Revenue Officer at Mambu.
Mambu, the cloud banking platform, has teamed up with Western Union, a global leader in cross-border, cross-currency money movement and payments, to integrate its solution into the latter’s next-generation real-time multi-currency digital wallet and digital banking platform in Europe.
FLIP SECURES THE SECOND CLOSE OF ITS SERIES B FUNDING ROUND, BRINGING THE TOTAL TO OVER $100M
Flip, Indonesia’s consumer payments platform, announced a second close of a Series B funding round led by Tencent, with participation from Block, Inc. and existing investor Insight Partners. A number of eminently experienced operators participated meaningfully in this extension round, including Guillaume Pousaz, Founder & CEO of Checkout.com, through Zinal Growth; Gokul Rajaram, Executive at Doordash and Board Member at CoinBase and Pinterest; and Michael Vaughan, former Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Venmo.
This new funding brings Flip’s total Series B to more than $100 million and follows on the heels of Flip’s first Series B round in December 2021, which was co-led by Sequoia Capital India, Insight Partners, and Insignia Ventures Partners. Flip will use the capital to ramp up its workforce with a focus on engineering and product teams, invest in new product and technology development to provide a higher quality of service, and further accelerate its business expansion.
“The growth opportunity of the Indonesian digital economy is vast with its massive population and favorable demographics,”
“We are laser-focused on helping millions of Indonesians, both individuals and businesses, execute various money transactions at a low cost through our platform. We believe in the vast potential of P2P (peer-to-peer) payment because it is customary in Indonesia to send money via transfer for both personal, family, or household purposes. Despite many others trying and failing, we have succeeded in capturing the market because of our customer-focused understanding.”
Rafi Putra Arriyan, Co-Founder & CEO of Flip.
Flip aims to be the world’s most customer-centric financial technology company by enabling individuals and businesses to conduct fair, low-cost financial transactions from anywhere to anyone on a digital platform. Flip’s innovative solutions solve common problems experienced while conducting financial transactions, such as money getting stuck while transferring, lengthy transfer processes, and inconvenient product experiences with complicated flows. The company’s most prominent products include online P2P payments with interbank transfers to more than 100 domestic banks, international remittances, e-wallet top-ups, and business solutions.
Flip was founded by University of Indonesia alumni Rafi Putra Arriyan, Luqman Sungkar, and Ginanjar Ibnu Solikhin who started building the company while studying. The platform is an answer to the problem Rafi himself experienced as a college student long turnaround time to transfer funds and incurring a transfer fee each time to different banks.
“We are humbled to receive trust and continuous support from our investors. We are also thrilled to welcome Tencent and Block, who share the same purpose of making fintech accessible to everyone in Indonesia. The knowledge and expertise from our strong partners, both renowned global firms and angel investors will help us to grow our business amid the challenging times facing today’s global market and tech landscape. This investment phase invigorates our aspiration to have an even greater positive impact on society by continuing to expand our FinTech solutions and by promoting the digital economy ecosystem in Indonesia.”
Gita Prihanto, Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Flip.
CERTEGY AND TRUST PAYMENTS COLLABORATE TO ENHANCE ONLINE SHOPPING EXPERIENCES
Certegy, an ACH payments and risk management company, announced a new collaboration with Trust Payments, the disruptive leader in FinTech specializing in frictionless commerce and value-added services, that will bring Certegy’s white label Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) and BankPay offerings together with Trust Payments’ eCommerce and payment solutions to their combined merchants across the US. The partnership will premiere at the South East Acquirers Association 2022 Annual Conference.
“We are excited to take this next step in the expansion of our innovative BNPL and BankPay offerings with our partnership with Trust Payments and to benefit from being able to offer their expansive portfolio of innovative products and services, including Stor, to our customers,”
“As digital payments continue to grow and evolve, it will become crucial for businesses to take the hassle out of providing BNPL and direct payment solutions to their clients. The combined offerings will give thousands of merchants the added benefit of offering payment flexibility options to their consumers without redirecting them to a third-party site combined with Trust Payments’ expertise, this will truly help to make the entire checkout process easier and more seamless.”
Greg Lipari, VP Strategy & Commercial Development, Certegy.
Certegy’s white label BNPL and BankPay solutions will provide all Trust Payments’ merchants spanning the most demanding business sectors from travel and hospitality to crypto, gaming, and financial services, a simple and convenient way to accept payments and payout to their customers securely. Under the collaboration, all Certegy merchants will also benefit from access to Trust Payments’ broad product portfolio, including payment gateway, verification tools, and webshop building technology within its all-in-one eCommerce platform, Stor.
Trust Payments will be bringing the Certegy BNPL solution to its merchants to offer their end customers the opportunity to split the cost of purchase easily and securely into several interest-free installments while the merchant is still funded immediately for the full transaction. BankPay will allow Trust Payments merchants another simple and safe way for customers to make payments by connecting their preferred bank account. This digital, direct payment solution will enable Trust Payments merchants to enjoy lower risk and lower costs. For Certegy merchants that require a payment platform solution, BNPL and BankPay can be leveraged using the same payment credentials making the overall experience for the merchant convenient and frictionless – delivering a full services solution provided by the collaborative Trust Payments and Certegy partnership.
“Our mission is to help merchants optimize business growth by creating and facilitating enhanced digital customer commerce experiences, bridging traditional and emerging verticals and markets in a responsible way. As we continue to help small businesses that struggle with digitization strategies, this partnership with Certegy will give them the access to provide BNPL and BankPay options in a safe and easy-to-use way to our merchants and open doors for us to collaborate with their customers, too,”
“We’re excited to partner with Certegy to deliver a full-service solution in response to multifaceted clients where we jointly deliver compliance and payments services to continue to add more value to our customers and deliver our Trust Payments solutions to their consumer’s needs.”
Jonathan O’Connor, Chief Commercial Officer & CEO of US, Trust Payments.
VIRGIN MONEY PARTNERS WITH SUREPAY TO PREVENT FRAUD AND MISDIRECTED PAYMENTS
SurePay, the Confirmation of Payee provider, announced that it had supported Virgin Money by implementing its UK Confirmation of Payee solution to protect consumers against fraud and misdirected online payments.
“SurePay’s aim is to make online payments safer and easier to use for the benefit of our clients and their customers. Ensuring best-in-class fraud prevention for consumers has never been more important as online spending continues to grow, and so does fraudulent activity. We are incredibly proud to be working with Virgin Money. Together we bring a best-in-class solution helping to keep their consumers safe.”
David-Jan Janse, CEO of SurePay.
Confirmation of Payee gives consumers greater assurance that their payments are being routed to the intended recipient and are not accidentally or deliberately misdirected. The SurePay algorithm is specifically designed for Confirmation of Payee from scratch and fully operates in line with the Pay.UK requirements and specifications.
According to UK Finance, there has been a 71% increase in authorized push payments (APP) fraud during the first half of 2021, with APP fraud overtaking card fraud losses for the first time. SurePay already covers over 99.5% of the Dutch market, having performed nearly 5 billion checks and leading to an 81% drop in fraud to Dutch IBAN’s and 67% fewer misdirected payments. In the UK, SurePay was selected to protect some of the country’s leading financial institutions’ customers, checking 35% of all bank transfers.
Since July 2021, the Confirmation of Payee functionality has been extended with a revised capability and simplified processes. This second phase ensures the value of Confirmation of Payee is introduced more widely to new participants to increase the number of customers that can benefit from the extra layer of security.
“We are committed to protecting our customers from fraud, and Confirmation of Payee is a valuable tool in achieving that. SurePay has extensive experience in providing Confirmation of Payee solutions, both in the UK and other countries, which is why we chose to work with them to implement this important protection for our customers.”
Fergus Murphy, Chief Customer Experience Officer at Virgin Money.
ATOMIC AND BOND STRENGTHEN PARTNERSHIP WITH REPAY TO OFFER CONSUMERS NEW FINANCIAL LIFELINES
Atomic, the market-leading payroll connectivity solution, and Bond Financial Technologies Inc., the leading embedded finance company, announced the deepening of their existing partnership with the launch of Atomic’s Repay product, which allows customers to embed repayment of financial obligations over time directly from their paycheck.
Repay allows consumers to make recurring payments, such as breaking up monthly rent or repaying a loan in smaller installments instead of larger lump sums. This service saves financially strained consumers from taking out a loan or missing repayment dates by connecting repayments from their wages instead of a bank account. In the case of an employer benefit, the administrative costs are assumed by employers, making it a desirable option for those seeking easier ways to make ends meet.
“Repay gives consumers the tools to take control of their personal finances, both income and liabilities, and for customers to proactively tailor products to their user’s financial profile with payroll data. For financially vulnerable consumers, it works as a fractional repayment plan that gives them a lifeline to pay for things they need without having to risk falling behind on bills and incurring an avoidable fee. “Meanwhile, our customers now have a novel option to build goodwill with consumers by offering better interest rates while minimizing default and late repayment risks.”
Jordan Wright, Co-founder, and CEO of Atomic.
Atomic uses Bond’s embedded finance infrastructure to create and open user bank accounts and avoid the burdensome integration with a sponsor bank, as well as managing KYC, ongoing transaction monitoring, and compliance. When a user signs up, Repay connects payroll information, Bond opens a demand deposit account (DDA) for the user, calculates the fractional deposits, manages payment according to the due date, and automatically makes the payments on time. As an added benefit, users have full visibility into how their funds are moving around — the system monitors all deposits and distributions, provides continuous access to activities, and when needed, will refund any overpayment to the user — reconciling it all, usually in under a week.
“Bond is thrilled that we could partner again with our friends at Atomic. “Atomic and Bond together bring a seamless, integrated solution to a major problem that often leaves employees confused and employers concerned about their workers’ financial well-being.”
Roy Ng, CEO, and Co-founder of Bond.
Several partners have joined Atomic’s Repay beta and the initial consumer sentiment for the product is positive. Dónde, which offers travel savings accounts as an employment benefit, enables workers to save and pay for travel, increasing usage of paid time off and improving overall workplace satisfaction.
“Our customers know the importance of taking time off, but their employees must figure out how to save and plan for a vacation in a way that doesn’t add more stress and negate the benefit of time away. Repay can meet a popular pain point for workers to stably fund the account from their payroll and maximize their employer match. Atomic’s solution has made it seamless for us to deliver on our promise to help employees stay centered,”
Rilee Buttars, CEO of Donde.
UNBLU ANNOUNCES INTEGRATION WITH Q2’S DIGITAL BANKING PLATFORM TO OFFER CONVERSATIONAL SOLUTIONS
Unblu Corp., the modern conversational platform for financial institutions, today announced its integration with Q2’s digital banking platform. Q2 Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: QTWO) is a leading provider of digital transformation solutions for banking and lending. Through the integration, via Q2’s Partner Accelerator Program, part of the Q2 Innovation Studio, Unblu is now making its conversational platform available within Q2’s digital banking platform, enabling financial institutions to provide a humanized, digital in-person experience. Unblu will offer Q2 customers a pre-enabled platform that allows them to text, talk or collaborate securely with their clients to deliver meaningful advice via their existing digital channels.
“Digital experiences have become high stakes. Getting digital transformation right is critical. “The Q2 Innovation Studio enables companies to innovate faster and compress time-to-deployment. It’s allowed us to develop a standard integration of Q2 and Unblu that enables FIs who want to leverage Unblu inside the Q2 platform to accelerate digital transformation, reduce costs and ultimately become more agile. We are delighted to be a part of Q2’s vision to support best-in-class digital banking experiences.”
Lisa Merrill Joseph, President of Unblu.
The Q2 Partner Accelerator Program allows financial services companies to leverage the Q2 SDK and create standard integrations of their technology to the Q2 digital banking platform. Financial institutions can work with these partners to purchase their solutions and rapidly deploy standardized integrations to their account holders.
FV BANK ANNOUNCES INTEGRATION WITH CIRCLE
FV Bank, the U.S. licensed global digital bank that offers a vertically integrated suite of traditional and digital asset banking and custody services to FinTech and blockchain firms, has today announced the launch of a new service for FV Bank account holders: the ability to instantly and automatically convert Circle’s USD Coin (USDC) into USD at the moment of deposit.
A leading provider of financial technology, Circle Internet Financial Ltd. also produces the USD Coin (USDC) and Euro Coin (EUROC). One of the stablecoins with the quickest market growth, fully reserved and controlled, USDC has supported more than USD 5 trillion in on-chain transactions to date. It stands for one of the most reliable and safe stablecoins on the market.
Customers of FV Bank will now be able to receive USDC directly into their bank accounts with an immediate conversion of the funds into USD. Due to the fact that this service makes money transfers substantially quicker than in the traditional banking industry, it will greatly minimize the friction associated with domestic and, in particular, foreign settlements.
Money transfers using this service will not only be significantly faster than conventional techniques like bank wires and draughts, but they will also be more affordable and involve fewer touchpoints per transaction, simplifying the process of receiving and transferring money. This enables owners of FV Bank Accounts to send USDC-based invoices to their clients abroad and get payment without worrying about wallets, currency conversions, or other expenses.
“We couldn’t be more pleased to work with Circle and bring almost instantaneous deposits and conversion of USDC to our account holders,”
“It was imperative for us to work with a stablecoin issuer who has an excellent track record and whose values align with our own. We look forward to growing our working relationship with Circle, as we collaboratively help bridge the traditional financial system with the world’s leading blockchains to unlock further growth in the digital asset sector.”
FV Bank’s CEO, Miles Paschini.
A new generation of financial services and business applications that carry the promise of increasing global economic prosperity through the frictionless exchange of financial assets are being created through Circle’s transaction and treasury services.
MONEYGRAM AND E& INTERNATIONAL EXPAND PARTNERSHIP, ENABLING 160M CONSUMERS ACROSS ASIA, AFRICA AND THE MIDDLE EAST TO SEND MONEY GLOBALLY
MoneyGram International, Inc., a global leader in the evolution of digital P2P payments, and e& international from e& (formerly known as Etisalat Group), one of the world’s leading technology and investment conglomerates, today announced an expansion to their strategic partnership. The expansion enables e& international’s large and fast-growing customer base of nearly 160 million to use the e& money mobile wallet to send money around the world in near real-time. Through MoneyGram’s expansive network of mobile wallet operators, bank account and card deposit services, and retail locations, recipients around the world now have the ability to choose how to receive money based on their unique needs.
“As a result of our strategy to invest in our digital network that now extends to over 100 countries, we’re seeing increased demand to access our global platform. As more digital partners seek to embed our leading fintech capabilities into their service offerings, we see a significant growth opportunity to efficiently add transactions to our scalable platform,”
“Our collaborative relationship with e& has grown to become one of our strongest and most successful digital partnerships. We’re thrilled to continue to expand our relationship as their preferred partner for cross-border payments across all of the 16 markets in which they operate.”
Alex Holmes, MoneyGram Chairman and CEO.
The Etisalat Group, which was founded more than 40 years ago in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as the nation’s first telecom operator, has changed its name to e& and expanded to over 16 markets in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. As the company develops its high-growth digital business across the area, the relationship between MoneyGram and e& builds on its ongoing success and worldwide expansion.
“As more people across the world embrace digital financial services, we are continuously seeking new ways to empower our customers with the best solutions, and embark on value-adding partnerships that help them to access financial services quickly and easily,”
“International money transfer is a crucial service that enables our customers across our footprint to send and receive money from their families, given the large expat population living in the markets where we operate.”
Mikhail Gerchuk, CEO, e& international.
“We have always aimed to revolutionize customer experience through innovative solutions that help meet the financial needs of our customers,”
“The strategic partnership with MoneyGram has been enabling us to continue building this solid foundation of growth, adding to the array of financial products and services that enhance and add value to our customers’ lives. We will continue to work with MoneyGram and its vast network for the benefit of e& money subscribers while addressing the growing demand for a financial super app marketplace.”
Khalifa Al Shamsi, CEO, e& life.
The service is currently available in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Afghanistan. Egypt, Pakistan, and a number of other African markets are anticipated to follow soon.
WELAB AND ASTRA COMPLETE THE ACQUISITION OF BANK JASA JAKARTA
WeLab, a pan-Asian FinTech platform, announced the completion of the acquisition of an Indonesian commercial bank, PT Bank Jasa Jakarta (BJJ), together with PT Astra International Tbk (Astra), one of Indonesia’s largest public companies.
The Financial Services Authority’s granting of acquisition permission serves as a sign of completion (OJK). WeLab-led consortium Welab Sky Limited (WeLab Sky), along with Astra subsidiary PT Sedaya Multi Investama, took part in the acquisition for this deal (Astra Financial). Numerous current and new investors, including Allianz X, Boyu Capital, Horizons Ventures, SCBX Group, and TFB (Taipei Fubon Bank) Capital, have lent their support to the WeLab-led consortium.
WeLab and the shareholders of BJJ entered into a Share Purchase and Subscription Agreement in December 2021, and WeLab successfully invested 24% of BJJ. As a result of the most recent transaction, WeLab and Astra now jointly control the bank and hold a combined 49.56 percent of the BJJ stock. The deal is the largest digital bank M&A deal in Southeast Asia in 2022, demonstrating the significant investment in and contribution to the digitization of Indonesia’s banking sector. The stockholders want to make BJJ become Indonesia’s most cutting-edge digital bank.
“Expanding WeLab’s digital banking presence across Asia, first in Hong Kong and now in Indonesia, has been one of our key strategic moves. This partnership with Astra reinforces WeLab’s strategic focus on enhancing cross-country and business synergies with partners to increase scale and reach, in order to further strengthen the breadth and depth of the existing pan-Asian fintech platform. We’re excited that our long-term partner, Astra will be collaborating with us to deliver the best tech-driven banking services through BJJ in Indonesia. We look forward to bolstering the customer trust level with the collaboration with Astra.”
Simon Loong, Founder and Group CEO of WeLab.
Longtime collaborators in Indonesia’s FinTech sector are WeLab and Astra. Since the establishment of PT Astra WeLab Digital Arta (AWDA), a joint venture for fintech financing, in 2018, this is WeLab’s second strategic collaboration project with Astra. The complementary strengths of the partners—including WeLab’s expertise and technology in developing and operating digital banking, along with Astra’s strong business ecosystem, experience, and extensive distribution network—are highly synergistic and essential success factors for advancing BJJ’s digital transformation and turning it into an innovative digital bank that can meet the country of Indonesians’ needs for digital banking services.
“Investment in BJJ is in line with Astra aspirations in financial services pillars to become leading retail financial providers in Indonesia and support the growth of financial services industry as well as the economy of Indonesia.”
President Director of Astra, Djony Bunarto Tjondro.
JEFF BEZOS-BACKED CHIPPER CASH PARTNERS WITH HIGHNOTE TO LAUNCH CARD PRODUCT FOR THE US, BROADENING FINANCIAL INCLUSIVITY FOR MILLIONS
Chipper Cash, a cross-border payments app used by over five million people throughout Africa and its diaspora, today announced its partnership with Highnote, the world’s most modern card issuance platform, to soon launch a new card capability. This new service will empower US-based Chipper Cash customers to access their Chipper Cash digital wallets to make transactions in the US and abroad that require a card payment, such as e-commerce purchases.
Cross-border trade is anticipated to rise by 5% between 2018 and 2022, and digital money is moving at higher volumes and faster rates than before. With its simple, no-transfer-fee, cross-border payment technology, Chipper Cash was able to grow to meet the needs of its consumers across Africa, making it one of just seven technological unicorns on the continent. Currently, Chipper Cash is utilizing Highnote to satisfy that demand for its clients in the US, which is the destination of roughly 30% of all international remittances to sub-Saharan Africa and is home to over 2.1 million immigrants from that continent.
In September of last year, just one month before it reached its $2 billion value, Chipper Cash made its US debut. The Highnote card will be its first virtual card product offered in the US, despite Nigeria being one of the biggest markets in Africa for Chipper Cash.
“I moved to the US from Ghana for school,”
“My father back in Ghana could only send me cash through a system that was slow, frustrating, and expensive. This was the genesis of Chipper Cash: a dream to make cross-border remittances to Africa, the US, and the world easier and economical.”
Maijid Moujaled, Co-Founder of Chipper Cash.
“Building on this, we want to give our customers in the US the power to use the money they earn or have in their wallets to spend on things they need,”“This is why we are so excited to partner with the Highnote team. We believe we have found a partner that can future-proof with us. Highnote offers great capabilities and platform flexibility, which will enable us to expand the Chipper Cash offering and find new ways to bring accessible financial services to people living in Africa and beyond.”
Chipper Cash Cards Product Lead Tefiro Serunjogi.
Highnote is in a unique position to provide card capabilities catered to Chipper Cash customers as the most cutting-edge card-issuing platform in the world created specifically for cutting-edge digital firms. A ledger, for instance, will be part of the new card capabilities and enable frictionless money transfers between a user’s current Chipper Cash digital wallet and their card account. Additionally, Chipper Cash can expand its card program at scale while minimizing the operational difficulties and complexity associated with running such programs today because of Highnote’s highly scalable and adaptable design.
“This partnership highlights our belief that innovative companies like Chipper Cash, paired with modern world-class payments infrastructure, open the floodgates for people to participate in so much of the digital payments revolution from which they have previously been excluded. We couldn’t be more excited to partner with Chipper Cash in support of their mission to bring financial inclusivity to millions,”
John Macilwaine, Co-Founder and CEO of Highnote.
CAIXABANK BECOMES THE ONLY EUROPEAN BANK SELECTED BY THE ECB TO COLLABORATE IN PROTOTYPING THE DIGITAL EURO
The European Central Bank (ECB) has selected CaixaBank and four other organizations to collaborate in the development of a prototype of a digital euro. The institution launched a call with the aim of selecting entities to develop technology projects associated with the creation of the European digital currency. CaixaBank, is the only European bank selected for the project and will be responsible for producing a prototype for peer-to-peer (P2P) online payments using the digital euro.
Beginning in September and continuing through the end of the year, CaixaBank will create a mobile application that mimics the steps users must take to add digital euros to their accounts and/or send digital euros to other users.
One of the most important factors taken into account by the ECB throughout the selection process was CaixaBank’s vast experience and leadership in the fields of innovation and payment methods, as well as the quality of its services, internal capacity to create such initiatives, and market coverage.
Objective to explore solutions for digital euro payments
The ECB issued a call in April of this year inviting banks, payment service providers, and other key market players to collaborate on the development of prototypes for customer-facing digital euro payment services. 54 businesses responded, ranging from banks to large international technology firms.
The other four businesses chosen for this stage, in addition to CaixaBank, will create prototypes for additional digital euro user interfaces, such as offline P2P payments, POS payments (including distinct procedures depending on whether they are initiated by the business or the customer), and e-commerce payments.
The ECB is actively looking into the potential design of a digital euro. If a digital euro were to be introduced, it would not take the place of currency or other accepted forms of payment but rather would add to them by offering yet another alternative, so promoting financial inclusion and accessibility.
CaixaBank, the leader in innovation
For CaixaBank, innovation and technology are essential. The bank works daily to develop new models that are able to meet the requirements and needs of its customers and that bring its products, services, and financial culture closer to all citizens. With more than 11 million users of its digital banking service, the bank has the largest customer base in the Spanish financial sector.
With a 32.1% market share in-store turnover and more than 3 million mobile payment customers, CaixaBank is the top bank in terms of payment methods. Mobile payments are now an option in CaixaBank’s digital banking app CaixaBankNow and are incorporated into a wide range of payment management services. With versions for iOS and Android, Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, Garmin Pay, and FitBit Pay are also supported by CaixaBankNow. CaixaBank is also the first bank in Spain to support Swatch Pay, enabling transactions using Swatch’s analog watches.
The banking firm boasts diverse teams that spread innovation throughout the entire organization as well as its own technological division, CaixaBank Tech. It has started a number of projects that are based on blockchain technology, quantum computing, artificial intelligence, big data, cloud computing, and other technologies as part of its digitization strategy. These technologies are used to enhance the resources available to CaixaBank’s financial advisors so they can better assist their clients, drive the customization of the bank’s commercial offering to increase customer loyalty, create new financial services, and speed up the decision-making process.
As a result of its digital transformation strategy, CaixaBank has earned numerous international recognitions, including “Most Innovative Financial Institution in Western Europe 2022” by Global Finance and “Most Innovative Bank in the World 2021” at the EFMA & Accenture Awards. CaixaBank is now one of the highest-rated banks in the world for the quality of its digital products and services. It was recognized by Global Finance as the “Best Retail Bank Website Design in Western Europe 2021” and the “Best Retail Banking Mobile Application in Western Europe 2021” in terms of digital banking, earning the title of “Best Digital Retail Bank in Spain 2021.”
The UK magazine PWM (Financial Times Group) named CaixaBank the “Best Private Banking Entity in Big Data and Artificial Intelligence Analysis in Europe 2022” and the “Best Private Bank in Digital Marketing and Communication in Europe 2022” in the private banking category. Global Finance named CaixaBank the “Most Innovative Private Bank in Western Europe 2022.”
CODAT AND NCINO PARTNER TO HELP BANKS UNDERWRITE SMALL BUSINESS LOANS BETTER AND FASTER
Codat, the universal API for small business data, announced a partnership with nCino, the worldwide leader in cloud banking, to automate and accelerate banks’ ability to underwrite small business loans around the world.
“Our platform makes it easier for credit analysts to gain a clear picture of credit risk,”
“Financial institutions have the opportunity to deliver a better experience to their customers by automating the flow and exchange of data throughout the lending lifecycle. We’re proud to be partnered with Codat to further automate processes that enable financial institutions to significantly improve efficiency, accuracy, and create cost savings whilst being able to respond to actual customer need in real time.”
Thomas Byrne, General Manager, EMEA at nCino.
The time it takes banks to “spread financials,” or transmit data from a borrower’s financial statements into the bank’s financial analysis platform, is drastically reduced by nCino’s seamless solution. More than 1,750 financial institutions use the nCino Bank Operating System worldwide. It will be quicker and simpler for small businesses all across the world to get financing thanks to the partnership with Codat, which will bring the same efficiency to underwriting loans for the banks nCino serves.
“The process of underwriting small businesses remains incredibly labor-intensive for most institutions,”
“A large number of the banks we speak to are still having to request financial data from customers on a quarterly basis and manually input that data into their loan management system – a process that is prone to error and a pain for the customer. The power of this partnership is that we’ve built our automated data collection and categorization capabilities directly into the nCino platform, which is already used by over a thousand institutions worldwide. They can get started now with very little lift to implement.”
Codat’s CEO Pete Lord.
One of the first financial institutions to adopt the new integration, Recognise Bank, eliminated significant data entry requirements.
“As a bank focused on SMEs, using technology from best-in-class providers that offer us scalability and flexibility is a key to our success. We looked at other solutions for streamlining the collection of data from customers, but Codat was the clear choice because it offers the ability to automatically categorize accounts and validate accuracy across multiple data sources. Automating our internal underwriting processes means we can provide our customers with a quicker, more efficient and frictionless service. The integration between nCino and Codat further supports our mission to make small businesses’ lives easier,”
Mo Fadaei, Director, Banking Platforms and Partnerships, Recognise Bank.
According to a 2021 poll by BDO, 97% of financial institutions have plans for digital transformation, but just 30% are actively putting those plans into action. This is due to the fact that the majority of banks are constrained by the difficulties and costs involved in retrofitting current systems to include new capabilities while adhering to stringent compliance regulations.
This collaboration is the most recent in Codat’s range of tools for streamlining and automating the credit process. After receiving countless requests from the company’s lender clients for a product that would support quicker business decisions without escalating risk, Codat launched Assess earlier this year, enabling smarter credit decisions on small to medium-sized businesses with real-time customer data via a single API.
FLUTTERWAVE ENABLES ENAIRA COLLECTIONS FOR BUSINESSES IN NIGERIA
Flutterwave, Africa’s leading payments technology company, announced that merchants can now accept eNaira payments from their customers on their platform. This is an addition to other payment methods on Flutterwave, including cards, bank transfer, Barter by Flutterwave etc.
“With our new adoption of eNaira as a payment method on Flutterwave, we’re enabling various payment methods to merchants and their customers to ensure everyone has access to payment solutions that work for them,”
“Flutterwave will continue to strive to be at the forefront of innovation as we develop and implement new solutions to facilitate global payments for our customers.”
Olugbenga GB Agboola, Founder and CEO of Flutterwave.
The Central Bank of Nigeria created and governs the digital currency known as eNaira to serve as a means of trade and a store of value. Users just need to register and use the wallet through the eNaira mobile app to utilize wallet, which was introduced on October 25, 2021, whether or not they have a bank account. Users can use the app to create one-time tokens or scan QR codes to conduct transactions on Flutterwave.
Global companies, payment service providers, and Pan-African institutions can accept and process payments through any channel thanks to Flutterwave’s technology, infrastructure, and services (Web, Mobile, ATM & POS). Currently, the business operates in Africa, Europe, North America, and other developing markets by offering a range of payment tools that allow more than 1 million businesses to accept payments from their clients in more than 150 different currencies, including the Naira and eNaira, from anywhere in the world. For the benefit of their consumers, Flutterwave merchants can enable the eNaira payment option on their dashboard.
“We’re the payment solution that strives to allow individuals and businesses with various payment needs and requirements to do business, easily. The eNaira feature is important for merchants and customers because it offers an alternative payment method that many users find seamless. It’s a key update to Flutterwave and we continue to look out for opportunities like this to improve our offering to our range of customers.”
Azeez Oluwafemi, Flutterwave’s Senior Vice President, Products and Design.
AIG UNIT COREBRIDGE RAISES $1.68 BLN IN YEAR’S LARGEST IPO
AIG Inc’s life insurance and retirement division Corebridge Financial Inc (CRBG.N) raised $1.68 billion on Wednesday in the biggest initial public offering (IPO) so far this year, braving market volatility and ending a seven-month lull in major listings.
AIG said it sold 80 million Corebridge shares at $21 per share, which was at the lower end of their indicated target range of $21 to $24 per share.
Corebridge is valued at $13.6 billion in the IPO.
According to a previous filing with the U.S., AIG will receive 100% of the IPO profits and the new firm won’t be soliciting any additional funds. Commission for Securities and Exchange.
The share sale by Corebridge might help rouse the IPO market from its slumber. Since February, rising interest rates and the Russian invasion of Ukraine have driven stock market volatility, making it challenging for businesses to move through with IPOs.
Dealogic, which records listing data going back to 1995, reports that IPOs in the United States is on pace to have their worst year in more than 20 years. According to the data provider, companies have raised around $18 billion so far this year, compared to over $231 billion during the same period last year.
Due to the volatility, a number of businesses, including social networking platform Reddit and software provider ServiceTitan, have been forced to postpone their planned IPOs this year.
The Corebridge transaction, which raised $1.7 billion, is also the largest U.S. IPO this year, surpassing the $1.1 billion listing of private equity company TPG Inc. (TPG.O) in January.
BIGGEST IPO OF 2022
The insurance behemoth first declared it will separate its life and retirement division and float it as a new public company in 2020, allowing it to concentrate on its property and casualty operations.
Given their various shareholder return profiles, insurers are increasingly choosing to concentrate on a single product line. AIG has successfully resisted this trend for years, including a campaign by activist investors that called for a separation in the middle of the 2010s.
AIG filed for the Corebridge offering in March after selling a 10% share to private equity company Blackstone Inc (BX.N) for $2.2 billion last year. It initially intended to finish the listing by the end of June, but it postponed it because of market volatility. View More
The AIG subsidiary in Houston offers insurance and retirement products in the United States.
After the listing, AIG will hold roughly 78% of the company’s shares, with Corebridge trading under the symbol “CRBG” on the New York Stock Exchange.
The principal underwriters for the IPO are Piper Sandler Co., Morgan Stanley, and JPMorgan Chase & Co. The IPO’s principal underwriters also include Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, and Bank of America.