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FNCB BANK ANNOUNCES EXPANSION INTO EQUIPMENT FINANCING
FNCB Bancorp, Inc. the parent company of FNCB Bank (“the Bank”), announces that the Bank has recently launched 1st Equipment Finance, a new equipment financing solution offered by the Bank, which is based in its Exeter, Pennsylvania location. 1st Equipment Finance provides equipment financing solutions, including leasing alternatives, for business customers, vendors, manufacturers and municipalities and is led by Executive Vice President, Equipment Sales Officer, Gary P. Cook, a four-decade industry veteran.
BNP PARIBAS LINKS UP WITH APOLLO FOR INVENTORY FINANCE
BNP Paribas has partnered with asset management firm Apollo and its subsidiary Athene to set up a new inventory finance platform. Eliant Inventory Solutions, which is now live, is built on tech provided by software company GEP Worldwide. Athene, which merged with Apollo this month, serves as Eliant’s primary financing partner, while Apollo will act as investment manager.
BNPL FINTECH JIFITI LAUNCHES FIRST-OF-ITS-KIND SPLIT PAYMENT SOLUTION
Jifiti, a leading fintech company, announced today the launch of the first-of-its-kind white-labeled Split Payment solution, which will round out their existing platform of BNPL offerings. The company already facilitates point-of-sale financing for leading banks and merchants globally through its white-labeled platform, enabling them to easily deploy and scale any consumer loan program at any point of sale.
NEW MEXICO TAX LAW UNINTENTIONALLY CUTS INTO CITY REVENUES
The city of Hobbs is pushing to amend a state law that city officials say is resulting in an unintended loss of gross receipts tax revenue for the community.The measure passed by the New Mexico Legislature and enthusiastically signed by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham in 2019 included complex changes to state tax laws. Among other things, it was billed as a way to help communities by requiring a company to pay gross receipt tax where services are provided rather than where the company is located.
CHINA FINANCE ONLINE CO. LTD. RECEIVES NOTICE OF DELISTING FROM NASDAQ
China Finance Online Co. Limited, a leading web-based financial services company that provides Chinese individual investors with fintech-powered online access to securities trading services, wealth management products, securities investment advisory services, as well as financial database and analytics services to institutional customers, today announced that it received a letter, dated January 19, 2022, from the Nasdaq Hearings Panel (the “Panel”) informing the Company that it has determined to delist the Company’s ADSs from Nasdaq by filing a Form 25 (Notification of Delisting) with the Securities and Exchange Commission after applicable appeal periods have lapsed and will suspend trading in our ADSs effective at the open of business on January 21, 2022.
BANK OF AMERICA PROFIT BEATS ESTIMATES ON LOAN GROWTH, M&A BOOST
Bank of America Corp reported a better-than-expected 30% jump in quarterly profit on Wednesday, driven by loan growth and record-breaking M&A volumes in its investment banking business.Flush with cash and emboldened by soaring stock market valuations, large buyout funds, corporates and financiers struck billions of dollars worth of deals in the fourth quarter, generating record advisory fees of $850 million for BofA, up 55% from a year earlier.
VINSON & ELKINS LAUNCHES AVIATION FINANCE PRACTICE
Vinson & Elkins announced today that it has expanded its global Finance practice group with the addition of partners David Berkery and Niels Jensen, who between them have advised many of the world’s leading financial institutions, investment banks, airlines, aircraft leasing companies and private investors on all aspects of the acquisition, leasing, financing and trading of aircraft. Joining them is a team of associates, including Demetria Hueth and Coral O’Connor, both from Milbank in New York. The group will be located in the firm’s New York office.
HALO ADVISORY LAUNCHES INDEPENDENT MORTGAGE BROKERAGE
Founder Stephen Thomas recently recognized as the Best Commercial Mortgage Broker launches a Mortgage Brokerage focused on Commercial Mortgages. HALO today announced HALO Mortgage Advisory Inc., a new full service Commercial Mortgage Brokerage. HALO Mortgage Advisory Inc. is an independent mortgage brokerage which offers commercial mortgage services to commercial property owners, residential mortgage brokerages, and commercial real estate industry professionals.
KREPLING RELEASES ONE-CLICK WALLET FOR E-COMMERCE
Krepling, one of the fastest-growing e-commerce platforms on the market, has announced the launch of the world’s first agnostic digital wallet for eCommerce, Krepling Pay.
Unlike the platform’s existing competitors – Apple, Google, and ShopPay – Krepling Pay is compatible with every device and every browser, providing users with a truly versatile payments solution.
Right now, eCommerce merchants are facing a $1 trillion problem. According to the Krepling Commerce Consumer Report 2021, 70% of customers abandon their cart at checkout, failing to complete purchases. And in the majority of instances, this is due to poor payment processes. While 37% of shoppers are deterred by long and complex forms, a further 23% resent the need to create an account prior to making a purchase. And 8% of abandoned baskets are attributed to merchants not providing enough ways to pay.
Providing an optimized 1-click checkout with no passwords or forms, Krepling Pay provides a simple solution to all of those problems. The checkout process, which is entirely localized according to currency and language preferences, enables merchants to benefit from cross-border commerce.
Optimized for conversions, Krepling Pay provides the ultimate solution for seamless both one-off and recurring transactions, generating more complete checkouts and more repeat purchases. And operating with five fewer clicks and eight fewer fields than regular e-commerce gateways, each transaction is processed between 45-100 seconds faster than other payment types.
The Krepling Pay system has also been devised for simple integration with existing stacks, to enable as many merchants as possible to benefit from the new technology.
‘There are an estimated 12 million – 24 million eCommerce sites currently in operation, with the vast majority managed by independent merchants. And yet there remains a significant divide between the services available to SMEs and corporations. Ensuring that the large, established brands always have the edge.
‘With Krepling Pay, we’re seeking to level the playing field. Providing small and medium-sized businesses with the payment solutions they need to attract and retain customers. If all the hurdles preventing a smooth checkout are removed, more customers will feel confident enough to complete their transactions, helping businesses to grow. And that’s the main ambition of the solution.
‘As the world’s first 1-click checkout and agnostic digital wallet for eCommerce, Krepling Pay holds a huge amount of potential for a wide range of businesses. And we’re really excited to see how merchants respond to the solution.’
Liam JE Gerada, Founder & CEO of Krepling.
NORDIC EXPENSE MANAGEMENT FIRM FINDITY RAISES SEK50 MILLION
The fintech company, Findity, is raising 50 million SEK to accelerate its international expansion and complete a comprehensive company rebrand.
The company’s two brands, Companyexpense and Findity, come together under one roof, allowing full focus on continued innovation and expansion.
The Swedish expense management provider Findity raises 50 million SEK from private investors such as Johan Blomquist, a former partner at Altor, Niklas de Besche, former CEO of Meltwater, as well as existing owners and staff. The company will use the investment to accelerate its international expansion and product development. Furthermore, a comprehensive rebrand brings their two brands together under one Findity.
Findity’s product for expense claims, entertainment, mileage, and per diem is today used by more than 30,000 customers. Through its white-label offering, the company provides partners such as American Express, Fortnox, and Visma with expense management solutions in their respective brands.
“Findity is in an exciting phase of expansion. With a proven product, a unique white label offer, and strong demand, the possibilities are endless.”
Johan Blomquist, a former partner at Altor.
Having built a top product and gained a leading position in Sweden, the focus is now on international expansion. At the same time, the company changes the name of its product Companyexpense, which will be called Findity.
“We see significant demand from businesses that want to improve employees’ everyday lives, and the investment allows us to strengthen our position internationally. We want customers and partners to enjoy easier expense management. The new united brand helps us continue to focus on innovation and improve every day for people using our product.”
Patrick Olsson, CEO of Findit.
VOLOPAY JOINS VISA’S FINTECH FAST TRACK PROGRAMME
Volopay, corporate cards, and payable management fintech firm backed by Y-Combinator, today announced it has signed a partnership with Visa to be part of Visa’s Fintech Fast Track Program which will significantly expand Volopay’s offering of financial management solutions in the Australian market.
Visa’s Fintech Fast Track Program enables Volopay to issue Visa cards to its customers in Australia, making it the only fintech company in the country with the ability to do this, and this offers a one-of-a-kind for Australian businesses.
“The Visa Fintech Fast Track Program gives us an edge that we haven’t had before,”
“The ability to issue our own cards sets us apart from other fintech providers who are merely distributing cards. This way, we have full control over the product we provide to our clients. We are also able to create a well-rounded financial stack with enhanced offerings to our Australian clients.”
“Australia represents a huge market opportunity for Volopay, with over three million registered businesses across the country. As businesses look to improve their financial processes to gain better efficiencies and productivity, Volopay is well-positioned to assist businesses on this front,”
Rajith Shaji, CEO and Co-founder of Volopay.
In Australia, Volopay counts homegrown companies such as employee management platform Deputy, edtech firm Cluey Learning and mobile video solution company m-View, as customers. Volopay’s products offer businesses the unique benefits of a single dashboard bringing together approvals, vendor payments, corporate cards, and automated expense management. Volopay also provides a line of business credit to companies that need smarter spending resources in order to scale. Volopay’s platform is suitable for a five-person business, as it is for a 500-person company.
The partnership with Visa allows Volopay to pivot from being a card distributor to an issuer and enables the company to expand its product offerings to customers. Upgraded features of the Volopay platform include a custom integration to support Xero and MYOB users and more cost-effective usage models, all aimed at helping Australian businesses operate digitally, better manage their financial processes, and accelerate their growth.
Key hires to reinforce the leadership team
Volopay is further strengthening its leadership team in the country with the addition of Nirvikar Jain as a Global Business Officer. Jain holds an MS (Sloan fellow) from Stanford GSB and is currently co-authoring an MIT press book on fintech-led disruption. He previously worked at Citibank, First Abu Dhabi Bank (India CEO), and Bank of America, as well as in key executive roles with tech startups, and in fintech advisory. As Volopay’s Global Business Officer, he will play a key role in strategizing Volopay’s scalability and expansion framework in Australia through exciting partnership opportunities and fresh industry perspectives.
“I am excited by the opportunity to work with the Volopay team and expand our partners in Australia,”
“There is plenty of scope for what can be done with Volopay and we will continue building adjacent offerings and customizations that solve multiple problems for finance departments in Australia and the rest of the world. The entire Volopay team is talented, ambitious, and geared up to scale it up globally. This is just the beginning of a very exciting journey for all of us.”
Nirvikar Jain, Global Business Officer, Volopay.
Volopay recently raised US$29 million in its Series A round which included participation from JAM Fund, Winklevoss Capital Management, Rapyd Ventures, Accial Capital, fintech veteran, and angel investor and Acorns founder Jeffrey Cruttenden, along with Access Ventures, Antler Global, and VentureSouq.
The funding will allow Volopay to expand its current team and business operations in Australia. The raised capital will go towards Volopay’s upcoming market launches, building and innovating new technologies to complement its existing product as well as enhancing integrations with leading enterprise software and project management applications.
DESERVE SECURES $250M CREDIT FACILITY FROM GOLDMAN SACHS, CROSS RIVER AND WATERFALL ASSET MANAGEMENT
Deserve, the venture-backed fintech company expanding and powering the real-time credit card economy, announced today a new $250 million credit facility with Goldman Sachs, Cross River, and Waterfall Asset Management.
With Deserve’s digital-first, mobile-centric, and highly configurable credit card platform, the company will use this new funding to meet the growing demand from financial institutions, fintechs, and consumers.
In the last year, Deserve’s platform business has successfully launched credit card programs for partners such as BlockFi, M1 Finance, OppFi, Seneca Women, Notre Dame Global Partnerships, and KrowdFit, among others. In 2022 and beyond, Deserve plans to bring innovative card programs that help consumers manage subscriptions, augment BNPL, unlock their home equity as well card programs for SMBs and commercial customers.
“At Deserve, we’re committed to helping organizations quickly and securely launch any type of credit card product in the cloud, customized to their specific audience – a valuable touchpoint with customers and a must-have in today’s landscape of competitive brand loyalties,”
“Because our platform is digital-first and mobile-centric, customers can, in turn, begin using their Deserve-powered credit card minutes after application, no plastic required. We’re excited about what this new financing will enable us to do as we amplify our reach and help more fintechs, financial institutions, SMB lenders, and brands connect with and grow their customer base.”
Kalpesh Kapadia, CEO, and Co-Founder of Deserve.
“We’re proud to support Deserve’s growth with our credit facility, and we’re excited to play a role in bringing a more modern and complete credit card experience to consumers nationwide through Deserve’s credit card as a service platform,”
Rahul Jha, Head of Strategic Direct Lending at Cross River Bank.
This $250 million credit facility announcement comes on the heels of Deserve’s $50 million Series D equity raise, led by Mission Holdings, Goldman Sachs, and Sallie Mae with participation from Visa, Mastercard, and Ally Bank in October 2021. Deserve witnessed tremendous growth in 2021 with 650% growth in transactions volume and 800% growth in receivables and this new credit facility should help them scale even higher levels in 2022 and beyond.
In April 2022, Deserve was recognized by Financial Times and Statista as one of The Americas’ Fastest-Growing Companies 2022, ranked in the Top 10 of the Financial Services category. In November 2021, Tearsheet’s Embedded Awards lauded Deserve as the Best Card Issuing Platform of 2021. Additionally, the LendIt Fintech Industry Awards recognized Deserve as a finalist in the 2021 Innovation in Digital Banking category. Deserve was also ranked #4 on the 2020 Inc. 5000 Series list of the fastest-growing private companies in California.0
CION INVESTMENTS, MAN GROUP, AND ICAPITAL PARTNER TO SCALE ALTERNATIVE INVESTING ACCESS
CION Investments (CION), a leading manager and distributor of alternative investment solutions, and Man Group, a global active asset manager with $151.4 billion1 in AUM, announced today that they have partnered with iCapital2, the leading global fintech platform driving access and efficiency in alternative investments for the asset and wealth management industries.
CION and Man Group are teaming up to create unique, scalable, and accessible investment solutions offered through a joint venture partnership, CION Man Management (CMM). CMM pairs Man Group’s origination, operational, and asset management expertise and CION’s investment acumen, retail product management, and distribution experience. The initial collaboration began with Man Global Private Markets (Man GPM), Man Group’s private markets business.
CMM will leverage iCapital’s customized technology, services platform, and diligence solutions for financial advisors and their high-net-worth clients seeking access to alternative strategies.
“Advisors are responding to the changing, more volatile economic landscape by incorporating alternatives in their client portfolios. Products that simplify access to institutional-caliber investments and managers are seeing increased demand,”
Michael A. Reisner, co-Chief Executive Officer, CION Man Management.
iCapital has transformed how wealth management, banking, and asset management industries facilitate access to private markets investments for their high-net-worth clients by providing intuitive, end-to-end technology and service solutions that digitize the subscription, administration, and operational and reporting processes of alternative investing.
“We are pleased to support CION and Man Group in their venture to meet the needs of advisors for accessible alternative investments,”
“As the industry continues to expand, tech-forward, scalable solutions will support increased appetite.”
Lawrence Calcano, Chairman, and CEO of iCapital.
H.I.G. GROWTH PARTNERS LEADS $120 MILLION SERIES E FUNDING FOR PYRAMID ANALYTICS
H.I.G. Growth Partners, the dedicated growth capital investment affiliate of H.I.G. Capital, is pleased to announce that it has led a $120 million round of total financing, inclusive of debt and equity, as part of the Series E funding for Pyramid Analytics, a next-generation decision intelligence platform for enterprises. The Series E round includes new investors, H.I.G. Growth, Clal Insurance Enterprise Holdings, Kingfisher Capital, and General Oriental Investments, with significant participation from existing investors, Jerusalem Venture Partners, Sequoia Capital, and Viola Growth. The investment will be used to expand product development, marketing, and sales, as well as promote the hiring of exceptional and diverse talent around the globe.
The Pyramid Decision Intelligence Platform uniquely combines Data Prep, Business Analytics, and Data Science in a single environment, allowing business and data analysts to combine, query, visualize, and leverage advanced analytics to unlock insights from enterprise data. Coupled with AI guidance and predictive intelligence, Pyramid helps organizations speed up time to insights, scale adoption, and simplify analytics; while also maintaining enterprise-grade security, access controls, and data governance. Purpose-built for upper mid-market and enterprise customers, Pyramid delivers superior scale and performance, uptime & reliability, and high levels of customer support to organizations globally. Pyramid is incorporated in Amsterdam and has regional headquarters in global innovation and business centers, including London, New York City, and Tel-Aviv.
“H.I.G. is excited to partner with Pyramid in their next stage of growth. Pyramid drives exceptional ROI to customers by empowering them to make faster, more- informed business decisions leveraging advanced analytics and data insights. We’re thrilled to support their leadership team who have brought a truly innovative, differentiated technology to market.”
Scott Hilleboe, Co-Head and Managing Director of H.I.G. Growth Partners.
HCL TECHNOLOGIES TO ACQUIRE DIGITAL BANKING AND WEALTH MANAGEMENT SPECIALIST CONFINALE
HCL Technologies UK Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of HCL Technologies (HCL), a leading global technology company, has signed a definitive agreement for the acquisition of Confinale AG, a Switzerland-based digital banking and wealth management consulting specialist and Avaloq Premium Implementation Partner. Through this strategic acquisition, HCL will increase its footprint in the global wealth management market with emphasis on Avaloq consulting, implementation, and management capabilities.
Founded in 2012, Confinale focuses on IT consulting in key specialist areas in the banking and wealth management sector. Confinale has one of the largest independent pools of Avaloq-certified specialists in Europe and its in-house developed products and solutions accelerate the implementation of the Avaloq platform. Confinale is one of only four companies to be awarded the title of Avaloq Premium Implementation Partner. With offices in Switzerland including Zurich, Zug, and Geneva; as well as Düsseldorf and London, Confinale works with a host of leading banks and wealth advisors.
The intellectual properties that are a part of this acquisition support HCL’s strategy to create specialized vertical domain capabilities and position the company as a leader in the end-to-end implementation and lifecycle management of the Avaloq platform. This builds upon HCL’s recently expanded global partnership with Avaloq and its acquisition of German IT consulting company gbs in association with apoBank in December 2021.
“Becoming part of HCL is an exciting new chapter for Confinale”, “We strongly believe in the need for banking expertise combined with software competence and HCL is the perfect fit for this. It is a truly global player with strong heritage in the financial services sector. HCL’s reach will enable us to further our growth and at the same time expose our team to new learning and innovation opportunities.”
Roland Staub, CEO, Confinale.
“There is significant disruption taking place in global wealth management and this means an opportunity for technology-led innovation”, “This acquisition significantly strengthens HCL’s digital wealth and asset management capabilities and expands our presence in the heart of the global investment banking sector. We welcome the team from Confinale and look forward to continuing to drive digital banking innovation alongside Avaloq.”
Rahul Singh, President of Fs and Digital Process Operations, HCL Technologies.
“At Avaloq we welcome the coming together of two of our key strategic partners”, “Both HCL and Confinale have considerable domain knowledge in financial services and deep understanding of our technology. We see the combination as immensely beneficial as Confinale has strong implementation credentials, including being awarded as best implementation partner in 2020 and 2021. We believe that this coming together will help accelerate digital wealth transformation for our clients and in turn increase the pace of adoption of Avaloq’s products and services globally.”
Martin Greweldinger, Co-Chief Executive Officer, Avaloq.
The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions, which are expected to be completed in due course.
SCALABLE CAPITAL EXPANDS DIGITAL WEALTH MANAGEMENT SERVICE
Scalable Capital, a leading digital investment platform in Europe, is launching eight new investment strategies in its digital wealth management service. As of now, clients can choose from eleven different ETF-based investment approaches – including new strategies focusing on climate protection, value investing, and crypto. This means that investors can have their wealth managed in a way that is even more tailored to their preferences, starting from just 20 euros per month. The services remain as comprehensive as before: a continuously optimized selection of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and other exchange-traded securities for cryptocurrencies (ETPs) and commodities (ETCs), with dedicated customer support as well as transparent and low costs. All investment strategies are also available to customers of ING except the cryptocurrency strategies.
“For us as a pan-European digital investment platform, the offering represents a new milestone,”
“It is targeted at people who want to incorporate proven investment approaches such as Ray Dalio’s ‘all-weather portfolio’ or new trends, such as the addition of crypto investments, to their portfolio. We now cover the range from self-directed investors in our broker through to those wanting professional wealth management, even more comprehensively. We are increasingly becoming a one-stop-shop for investing.”
Erik Podzuweit, co-founder and co-CEO of Scalable Capital.
“We offer digital, cost-effective, and now even more tailored wealth management from as little as 20 euros per month,”
“The demand for individual strategies in wealth management is huge. We now have a solution for all market cycles and every investor type. Whether it’s investing in value strategies like Warren Buffett, hedging against turbulence in the markets, or aligning with the Paris Climate Agreement with our climate protection portfolio, every investor will find a suitable managed ETF portfolio on our platform.”
Franziska Grotz, VP Wealth & Sustainability Officer at Scalable Capital.
Digital wealth management according to individual preferences
In addition to the established investment approaches “Sustainable”, “Sustainable with Gold” and “Dynamic Risk Management”, the following strategies now complement the product offering:
- Climate protection: global investment by the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement
- Crypto: Investment strategy based on the world’s most important cryptocurrencies
- Value: Investment strategy with a focus on fundamentally undervalued shares, made famous by investor legend Warren Buffett.
- All-weather: a robustly positioned global portfolio for every market phase, aligned with the strategy of star investor Ray Dalio
- All-weather + Crypto: the All-weather strategy expanded to include the most important cryptocurrencies
- GDP Global: global equity portfolio weighted by the gross domestic product (GDP) of the countries
- Megatrends: Investment strategy geared toward long-term future trends and technologies such as artificial intelligence, biotechnology, or robotics
- Sustainable with Crypto: globally diversified sustainable investment strategies with equity ratios from 0 to 90 percent expanded to include the cryptocurrency asset class
With the various approaches, Scalable Capital clients can prioritize their wealth management based on thematic priorities. In addition, they can tailor their investments more closely to their life situation – for example, regular savings for students with smaller budgets or the investment of a larger lump sum after an inheritance. With each chosen strategy, Scalable Capital manages the ETF portfolios for its clients and independently selects the best and most cost-efficient funds from thousands of ETFs available. On average, 10 exchange-traded funds are used per strategy.
An extensive range of information helps with strategy selection
Scalable Capital supports interested investors in the selection of their investment strategy via a video tutorial on the public website and in the signup flow via the web and app. In addition, the company will gradually publish short videos on the respective investment strategies. Scalable Capital will continue to provide information about its investment philosophy and all questions related to investing in newsletters, webinars, blog posts, social media, and customer events.
Scalable Capital continues to develop digital wealth management
With its digital wealth management, Scalable Capital has been offering a broad group of investors access to low-cost ETF-based investments since the beginning of 2016. Clients can choose between different strategies that are continuously monitored and automatically adjusted to the market situation. They invest in the asset classes equities, government bonds, corporate bonds, cryptocurrencies, commodities (+ gold), and real estate. For a few months now, a savings plan with no initial one-off payment has been possible from as little as 20 euros a month and a one-off investment of as little as 1,000 euros. At the same time, Scalable Capital has adapted its sustainable investment strategies. The sustainable ETF portfolios with SRI criteria are currently subject to the strictest sustainability criteria available on the market. The wealth management service is available in Germany and Austria.