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PNC PLEDGES $20 BILLION IN ENVIRONMENTAL FINANCE
The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE: PNC) announced today it is committing $20 billion over five years in support of environmental finance. This commitment is an extension of PNC’s long-standing support for accelerating the transition to a low-carbon economy, and is complementary to the bank’s recently announced Community Benefits Plan, which pledges $88 billion in loans, investments, and other financial support to bolster economic opportunity for low- and moderate-income (LMI) individuals and communities, people and communities of color, and other underserved individuals and communities.
BARBERSHOP FINTECH: SQUIRE BRINGS FINANCIAL SERVICES TO UNDERSERVED INDUSTRY
Squire Technologies, the premier barbershop management and point of sale system software, and Bond Financial Technologies Inc., the leading enterprise-grade platform for embedded finance, today announced the launch of the Squire Card. Seamlessly integrated into Squire’s mobile app, the Squire Card helps barbershops better manage their cash flow. The card brings better financial tools to a profession that is underserved by traditional financial institutions by allowing barbers to get paid faster, pay bills and track expenses easier, and withdraw funds based on future bookings.
ONEBLINC LAUNCHES NEW ONEBLINC DEBIT MASTERCARD TO OFFER FAIR FINANCING PRODUCTS FOR UNDERSERVED CUSTOMERS
OneBlinc announced today the launch of its new debit card, powered by the Mastercard network, which offers fair financing options to the over 22% of U.S. households that are unbanked or underbanked – according to a report by the Federal Reserve. Alongside this new debit card offering, OneBlinc is also debuting its free OneBlinc checking account service.
OneBlinc, the disruptive fintech that drew industry attention in 2019 by offering instant loans to poor-credit individuals through its proprietary scoring algorithms, has since expanded its portfolio of fair financing products, including salary advances and overdraft protection. Today’s announcement is the next step in the company’s mission to elevate the underserved, while giving them access to the latest in payment technologies. Even more, these new offerings can help customers better manage their finances, as debit cards provide an easy way to track and control money.
FINASTRA SECURES SWIFT COMPATIBLE APPLICATION LABEL FOR TRADE FINANCE
Finastra today announced that it is the first technology provider to secure the SWIFT Compatible Application label 2021 for Trade Finance. The achievement proves that Fusion Trade Innovation, Finastra’s global trade and supply chain booking engine and processing solution, meets rigorous SWIFT industry standards. The solution is ready to support customers ahead of the SWIFT SR2021 go-live in November this year, which impacts Category 7 Guarantees and Standby Letters of Credit messages.
Anastasia McAlpine, Head of Product for Trade and Supply Chain Finance at Finastra said, “SWIFT SR2021 completes the cycle of the most significant set of changes to the trade finance messaging interface in nearly 30 years, with the updated message structures and the introduction of new message types. We are delighted to have secured this SWIFT Compatible Application label as it demonstrates Fusion Trade Innovation’s strong capabilities to align with the extensive and complex SWIFT standards. It is also testament to the solution’s ability to support customers as the industry evolves.
FUTURE FINTECH ESTABLISHES UK SUBSIDIARY TO DEVELOP DIGITAL FINANCIAL SERVICES BUSINESS IN EUROPE
Future FinTech Group Inc. (NASDAQ: FTFT) (“hereinafter referred to as “Future FinTech”, “FTFT” or “the Company”), a leading blockchain-based e-commerce business and a fintech service provider, announced today that it has incorporated a new subsidiary, FTFT UK Limited (“FTFT UK”), as an operating base from which to develop fintech business in Europe.
FTFT UK plans to provide high-quality digital inclusive financial services to individual customers and businesses through financial technology by building a new digital banking ecosystem based on blockchain technology to create a highly competitive financial services platform relative to traditional banks. The first phase will be to focus on the development of a ‘super app’ that will include a wide range of personal digital financial products and services. FTFT UK plans upon designing this app to include functionality for mobile payments, international transfers, wealth management advisory services, membership rewards, etc., as well as proprietary industry-disruptive applications. We anticipate that our mobile app will enable customers to engage in a comprehensive suite of mobile banking capabilities anytime and anywhere.
DRIPS COMPLETES FINANCING WITH WELLS FARGO CAPITAL FINANCE
Drips, the founders of Conversational Texting®, today announced that, concurrently with its previously announced growth investment, they established a credit facility with Wells Fargo Capital Finance’s Technology Finance group.
The Wells Fargo facility will support Drips’ intense growth as it expands its team and improves its already advanced conversational SMS messaging platform. Drips differentiates itself from its competitors by capturing intent and driving meaningful conversations designed to promote engagement.
GUIDEHOUSE AND ONESTREAM SOFTWARE ANNOUNCE STRATEGIC ALLIANCE TO HELP ORGANIZATIONS DRIVE FINANCE TRANSFORMATION EFFORTS
Guidehouse, a leading global provider of consulting services to the public and commercial markets, today announced it has entered into a strategic alliance with OneStream Software, a leader in corporate performance management (CPM) solutions for the world’s leading enterprises, to provide intelligent finance solutions that unify and streamline processes through one platform.
The strategic alliance will leverage Guidehouse’s expertise as a leading consulting services provider supporting clients in both the public and commercial markets and OneStream’s unified and cloud-based CPM software platform to support activities ranging from project delivery to marketing and strategic business collaboration. Through the alliance, clients can optimize their resources and accelerate delivery of a comprehensive solution to address their complex corporate performance needs.
AEP RELEASES SUSTAINABLE FINANCE FRAMEWORK
American Electric Power (Nasdaq: AEP) has developed a Sustainable Finance Framework, which will allow the company and its subsidiaries to issue green, social and sustainability bonds, loans or other financial instruments and allocate the funds to investments that enable positive social and environmental change.
The framework strengthens the link between AEP’s finance strategy and its clean energy commitments and social values. Net proceeds from the instruments will be used by AEP or its subsidiaries to finance or refinance, in whole or in part, new or existing projects or assets that support renewable energy, energy efficiency, clean transportation, access to essential services and socioeconomic advancement and empowerment. The framework aligns with eight of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals: quality education; gender equality; affordable and clean energy; decent work and economic growth; industry, innovation and infrastructure; reduced inequalities; sustainable cities and communities; and climate action. AEP appointed Sustainalytics to provide a second-party opinion on the framework, and Credit Agricole CIB advised AEP on the development of the framework.
AZURE POWER: OPERATIONAL AND FINANCIAL UPDATE
Azure Power Global Limited , a leading independent renewable power producer in India, today announced certain operational and financial updates in connection with the Rights Offering that was also announced today.
This is not an offer to sell or purchase nor the solicitation of an offer to sell or purchase securities and shall not constitute an offer, solicitation or sale in any state or jurisdiction in which, or to any person to whom such an offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful.
MONTFORT AG OPENS ITS REGULATED DIGITAL ASSETS TRADING PLATFORM TO THE PUBLIC
Monfort AG, FinTech company offering products and services for the investment and digital assets sector, announced today that its flagship product, the trading platform, is now available to business users and institutions in eligible jurisdictions within Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America. The trading platform leverages asset management tools in blockchain space with regulatory compliance frameworks, giving institutional investors access to low-cost transactions and greater liquidity.
AIZEN ‘CREDITCONNECT’, NEW PARADIGM FOR AI BANKING
People can see the banking democratization trend, where bigtechs and fintechs present a new form of threat to traditional banks. AIZEN, which ranked second in the Global Category of MAS FinTech Awards 2020 (Singapore FinTech Festival, MAS FinTech Awards) alongside Swiss Re (insurance) and BNY Mellon (banking), announced that it would provide banking-as-a-service for banks and data platforms.
AIZEN is a financial techonology (fintech) company that made Artificial Intelligence (AI) financial innovations in Korea, Singapore, and Vietnam within five years since its establishment by the financial and AI experts from global companies. AIZEN developed the finance-specialized, machine-learning automated solution called “ABACUS” to commence the digitization project for financial companies. AIZEN has been selected as the second placer globally at the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) FinTech Awards, the first placer at the 2020 Hong Kong FinTech Week, the Top Ten FinTechs by Standard Chartered Hong Kong, and the cool vendor in AI for FinTech at the Gartner Cool Vendor 2018, accelerating its potential growth rapidly. Furthermore, AIZEN has been selected as the Top Ten FinTechs for responsible AI companies, along with VISA Inc., Suite of analytics software (SAS) Institute, Experian PLC, and Ernst & Young Global Ltd. AIZEN is expanding its businesses into Vietnam and Indonesia with the “CreditConnect” launch, an AI-based data-combined banking service that enlarges the business model.
INNOVATION, FINTECH AND THE FUTURE OF INVESTING
The global reach of finance is undeniable. Around 15 billion shares of stock are traded every day, while 100 million credit card transactions occur daily. The incredible capacity of global monetary networks is only made possible by evolving, innovative technologies that connect parties around the world and create never-before-seen financial instruments.
As finance and technology continue to coalesce, the rise of new asset classes is set to change the industry forever. Not only are new alternative asset products being offered as a result of technology, the invest-tech platforms that make them possible have already altered the way ESG and impact investing is done.
HALLMARK FINANCIAL ANNOUNCES DECISION TO DISCONTINUE PURSUIT OF IPO TO SEPARATE SPECIALTY COMMERCIAL BUSINESS
Hallmark Financial Services, Inc. , a property and casualty insurance company comprised of three business segments (Specialty Commercial, Standard Commercial, and Personal), today announced that it is no longer actively pursuing the previously announced separation of its Specialty Commercial business segment. As a result, the Company does not intend to proceed with the previously announced initial public offering of the specialty commercial business.
Current evaluations by Hallmark’s board of directors note the significant progress achieved over the past 18 months, including the successful completion of a loss portfolio transfer transaction, improved underlying operating results (including pre-tax income of $14.6 million and 6% growth in book value per share for the nine months ended September 30, 2021), and A.M. Best’s recent affirmation of Hallmark’s Financial Strength Rating (FSR) of A- (Excellent).
MOGO LAUNCHES MOGOTRADE COMMISSION-FREE STOCK TRADING APP
Mogo Inc., a digital payments and financial technology company, today announced the launch and phased rollout of MogoTrade, a stock trading app that sets a new bar for commission-free trading in Canada.
The MogoTrade app is now available for download through the App Store and on Google Play. Members get immediate access to free live-streaming stock prices and will be added to the waitlist for access to the commission-free trading feature, which is being released in a phased rollout through Q1 2022.
PCI PAL PROVIDES SECURE, COMPLIANT PAYMENTS FOR TALKDESK GLOBAL CUSTOMERS
PCI Pal® , the global provider of secure payment solutions, is working closely with Talkdesk, the global customer experience leader for customer-obsessed companies, to provide a growing list of customers with innovative customer service and security capabilities. The companies’ expanding customer list includes Air Business, Metabolic Living, Resideo, Scotts, Tucows, and Weekendesk.
As a Talkdesk AppConnect partner, PCI Pal offers secure payment solutions for Talkdesk to resell to thousands of customers worldwide, enhancing the Talkdesk suite of integrations, which includes more than 80 industry-leading applications that enable businesses to rapidly expand their contact center capabilities. With fraud on the rise – taking only 14 months to reach an added one million complaints according to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) – companies are prioritizing their customers’ personal data more than ever and integrating additional security solutions into their contact centers. As Talkdesk helps companies build custom contact center solutions leveraging the Talkdesk CX Cloud platformTM, customers can further look to PCI Pal to ensure this process embeds advanced security practices into the solution to safeguard customers’ financial information.
BLUE OCEAN ATS ANNOUNCES DATA & TRADING CONNECTIVITY PARTNERSHIPS WITH ACTIV FINANCIAL SYSTEMS, LEK SECURITIES & RAPTOR TRADING SYSTEMS
Blue Ocean Technologies (BOT), a unique capital markets fintech leader in global afterhours trading, announced today new connectivity and data partners, along with new broker-dealer subscribers. Blue Ocean ATS, also known as BOATS announced it is partnering with ACTIV Financial Systems as a data provider and with Raptor Trading Systems as a trading provider. Also, BOATS welcomed new subscriber Lek Securities, continuing to grow its reach and providing broader access of its afterhours trading.
ACTIV Financial Systems will incorporate and display Blue Ocean ATS data feed content via its ActivFeed and its broad language support through the ACTIV API. The data will be implemented across ACTIV’s global backbone, over the public Internet, and through ACTIV’s AWS based ticker plant for regional and local access. Raptor Trading Systems, Inc., a leading global provider of trading technology with access to over 200 brokers and buyside networks, is now connected to Blue Ocean ATS. BOATS is now a part of Raptor’s Industry Leading Technologies and Global Trading Network, providing access 24 hours a day.