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Jack Henry Launches Real-Time Payments Fraud Feature
Jack Henry announced the launch of Payrailz Fraud Monitor, an AI-powered, cloud-based feature of the Payrailz digital payments platform that provides real-time fraud detection as transactions occur. payment translation is started. This exclusive, highly customizable feature supports person-to-person (P2P) payments, consumer and business bill payments, and account-to-account outbound transfers (A2A ) is powered by the Payrailz digital payment platform.
Payrailz Fraud Monitor leverages AI and machine learning to simultaneously detect and weigh multiple fraud attributes and metrics, including known and unknown fraud cases and patterns, to generate composite scores, which can be action as you make each scheduled payment transaction. Financial institutions can configure score ranges and other thresholds based on their own risk tolerance, and the AI-powered fraud engine continuously learns to detect evolving fraud patterns and emerging. Based on behavioral analysis, Fraud Monitor can significantly reduce payment fraud, including account takeovers (ATOs) where fraudsters possess real user credentials and try to quickly withdraw money from their account.
“It’s an unfortunate reality that every payment channel is being impacted by fraud and fraud attempts,”
“And we know that mitigating payments fraud takes a multi-layered approach that targets fraud attempts at the different stages of a payment transaction. We’re excited to offer Fraud Monitor to our clients and empower them with a sophisticated, AI-driven feature that scores 100% of P2P, A2A, and bill payments in real-time. The ability to leverage transaction attributes, user profiles, and atypical behavior patterns uniquely balances the ability to immediately detect and prevent fraudulent transactions with a frictionless payments experience.”
Tede Forman, president of Payment Solutions at Jack Henry.
“Fraud Monitor delivers a wide range of benefits for our credit union,”
“In addition to the critical benefit of helping us stop fraud in real-time, Fraud Monitor helps with workflow efficiencies by drastically reducing the number of suspicious transactions that need our manual review and automatically stopping fraudulent transactions. Fraud Monitor provided us the flexibility we need to respond to dynamic fraud schemes and patterns as well as the ability to tailor score thresholds and other configurations that support our risk preferences.”
Adam Jones, vice president of digital experience at Georgia’s Own Credit Union.
Payrailz Fraud Monitoring supports Jack Henry’s strategic commitment to providing innovative solutions that help banks and credit unions reduce fraud and fraud schemes inherent in individual payment channels. multiply today. As part of its technology modernization strategy, Jack Henry will also launch Jack Henry Financial Crimes Defender™, an industry-leading, cloud-based, multi-channel fraud detection platform that will launch widely in the summer of 2023.
BlackRock invests in Avaloq
Blackrock and Avaloq announce strategic partnership to deliver integrated technology solutions that meet the evolving needs of asset managers
This partnership will enable private bank and wealth managers to improve their operations throughout the customer journey, including referrals, portfolio building, client reporting and management. risk management. By combining Avaloq’s core banking, CRM and mobile banking services with the robust risk analysis and portfolio management capabilities of the Aladdin Wealth platform, the two companies aim to deliver one of the most technologically advanced services available to the property management industry.
“Avaloq is excited to enter into this strategic partnership with BlackRock. Through our relationship with BlackRock and the integration of their Aladdin Wealth capabilities, Avaloq is further solidifying our commitment to providing innovative investment technology solutions for the wealth management industry,”
“This partnership will help us empower our clients to streamline processes, enhance risk analytics, and make more informed portfolio decisions, ultimately delivering greater value to their clients.”
Martin Greweldinger, Co-CEO of Avaloq.
“BlackRock and Avaloq joining forces will help clients reduce the complexity and friction inherent in many of today’s digital transformations. Our combined offering will make it extremely convenient for clients to implement and adopt Aladdin Wealth’s industry leading capabilities as it will be deeply integrated with Avaloq’s core banking solutions,”
Venu Krishnamurthy, Global Head of Aladdin Wealth Tech.
Asset management clients in Europe and Asia will benefit from access to an integrated wealth management technology platform that unleashes the entire value chain, including:
Digital portal improves customer experience Comprehensive client reporting, powerful referral tools and risk profiling Extensive portfolio building capabilities and advanced portfolio analysis technology
Unified data model provides consistency throughout the customer journey
Avaloq is a leading provider of wealth management technology, providing best-in-class software and support services to financial institutions worldwide. Its powerful systems currently manage approximately $4 trillion in customer assets. BlackRock’s Aladdin Wealth platform provides sophisticated risk analysis and portfolio management capabilities that help asset management clients scale their businesses, manage risk, and build strong portfolios. and enrich the dialogue with clients about their investments.
“We are delighted to have BlackRock’s investment in Avaloq as it demonstrates their recognition of the value and potential of Avaloq’s wealth management technology solutions,”
“This collaboration will not only fortify NEC’s strengthened position in the realm of digital finance but also reinforce its unwavering commitment to orchestrating a brighter world. NEC looks forward to working with BlackRock to grow the Avaloq business.”
Tomoki Kubo, Chairman at Avaloq, as well as Corporate SVP and Head of the Digital Finance Global Business Unit.
Toast picks FreedomPay as preferred payments gateway partner
FreedomPay, the world’s first standalone commerce platform, and Toast, an all-in-one digital platform designed for the entire restaurant community, have signed a partnership agreement for FreedomPay to become a gateway partner FreedomPay Toast’s preferred payment for certain corporate brands.
Toast will be able to offer its cloud-based digital restaurant platform to leading corporate merchants in the US and Canada who are using the award-winning FreedomPay commerce platform.
“As the restaurant industry rapidly adapts to new service models, Toast continues to deliver the industry’s trusted digital platform to help restaurants of all sizes and types—including franchisees—drive profitability, create the streamlined dining experiences guests expect, and make managing food service operations across properties easier than ever. We look forward to partnering with FreedomPay as we drive our enterprise expansion.”
Kelly Esten, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Enterprise at Toast.
“This exciting collaboration between FreedomPay and Toast delivers advanced capabilities to large merchants. We are quite simply ‘unleashing the power of pay’ to thousands more businesses to help support Toast’s growth across enterprise level merchant solutions.”
FreedomPay Senior Vice President, Sales & Digital Development Nate Ware.
UBS completes Credit Suisse acquisition
UBS has completed the acquisition of Credit Suisse today, crossing an important milestone. Credit Suisse Group AG has been merged into UBS Group AG and the combined entity will operate as a consolidated banking group.
Ad hoc announcement pursuant to Article 53 of the SIX Exchange Regulation Listing Rules
- Combined entity now operates as consolidated banking group
- Today marks last trading day of Credit Suisse shares on SIX Swiss Exchange
- Shareholders to receive 1 UBS share for every 22.48 Credit Suisse shares
- Board of Directors nominations announced for certain Credit Suisse entities, including Credit Suisse AG
- UBS expects its CET1 capital ratio throughout 2023 to be around 14%
Today marks the last trading day of Credit Suisse Group AG shares on the SIX Swiss Exchange. Credit Suisse Group AG ADS will no longer be traded on the New York Stock Exchange. As announced on 19 March 2023, Credit Suisse shareholders will receive 1 UBS share for every 22.48 Credit Suisse shares held.
As previously announced, UBS will operate the following governance model pending further integration:
• UBS Group AG will manage two separate parent banks – UBS AG and Credit Suisse AG. Each institution will continue to have its own subsidiaries and branches, serve its clients and deal with counterparties.
• The Board of Directors and Group Executive Board of UBS Group AG will hold overall responsibility for the consolidated group.
Upon completion of the acquisition, UBS announced appointments to the boards of directors of several Credit Suisse entities. Subject to regulatory approval, Credit Suisse AG’s Board of Directors will include Lukas Gähwiler (Chairman), Jeremy Anderson (Vice President), Christian Gellerstad (Vice President), Michelle Bereaux, Mirko Bianchi (until 30th). June 2023), Clare Brady, Mark Hughes, Amanda Norton and Stefan Seiler.
“I‘m pleased that we’ve successfully closed this crucial transaction in less than three months, bringing together two global systemically important banks for the first time. We are now one Swiss global firm and, together, we are stronger. As we start to operate the consolidated banking group, we’ll continue to be guided by the best interests of all our stakeholders, including investors. Our top priority remains the same: to serve our clients with excellence.”
Colm Kelleher, UBS Group AG Chairman.
“Today we welcome our new colleagues from Credit Suisse to UBS. Instead of competing, we’ll now unite as we embark on the next chapter of our joint journey. Together, we’ll present our clients an enhanced global offering, broader geographic reach and access to even greater expertise. We’ll create a bank that our clients, employees, investors and Switzerland can be proud of.”
Sergio P. Ermotti, CEO of UBS Group AG.
UBS expects its CET1 capital ratio to be around 14% in Q2 2023 and to stay around this level through 2023. UBS expects Credit’s significant restructuring and operating losses Suisse will be offset by a reduction in RWA.
In the future, UBS will present the consolidated financial results of the combined group under IFRS in USD. Results for Q2 2023 will be announced on August 31, 2023.
The summary presentation of the pro forma financial information contained in the F-4 registration statement has been updated to reflect the most recent and definitive revision to the registration statement.
Westpac to issue accessible cards for visually impaired
Westpac is launching a new set of card designs to make payments more accessible to customers who are blind or visually impaired.
Credit, debit and prepaid cards will incorporate new accessibility features, including different notches along the short edge to allow customers to distinguish their payment cards from each other with a single touch. .
Thanks to Mastercard’s Touch Card feature, the notches – squares for credit cards, circles for debit cards and triangles for prepaid cards – help customers identify the card and orient it correctly when using it, such as such as to make payments or to use an ATM.
The cards will also include a braille marker, providing another tactile feature to help blind or visually impaired customers distinguish between credit, debit and prepaid cards.
“The features of the new cards are a simple but innovative step forward that will make a big difference in the day-to-day lives of many blind or low vision Australians.
“Our strategy is to continue to develop products and services that are accessible to all customers. This builds on a range of initiatives we already have in place such as accessibility mode on all our EFTPOS Now terminals, online applications that meet accessibility requirements and accessible digital card functionality when customers use voice-over and talk back.”
Westpac chief brand and marketing officer, Annabel Fribence.
Madison Dearborn Partners Completes Acquisition of MoneyGram
MoneyGram International, Inc., a leading global financial technology company connecting communities around the world, and Madison Dearborn Partners (“MDP”), a leading private equity investment firm headquartered in Chicago, announced today that MDP-linked funds have completed their all-cash transaction. acquired MoneyGram for $11.00 per share. MoneyGram’s common stock has ceased trading and will be delisted from the Nasdaq stock exchange.
“Completing the transaction with MDP marks the beginning of a transformative new chapter for the organization,”
“With MDP’s support, MoneyGram is uniquely positioned to accelerate our growth strategy, expand our network to reach more consumers worldwide, and advance our position as the leader in cross-border payment technology.”
“We are incredibly appreciative of our employees, agents and partners, who have placed their trust in us and continued to provide innovative solutions to our customers throughout this process. We’re excited to work alongside them and our new investment partners at MDP as MoneyGram builds on its commitment to deliver exceptional products and value to our customers.”
Alex Holmes, MoneyGram Chairman and CEO.
“We see tremendous opportunity for MoneyGram’s leading financial technology solutions, particularly in light of the continued, rapid digitization of the global economy,”
“MDP looks forward to providing the platform and resources for the MoneyGram team to capitalize on the numerous opportunities ahead and further enhance its market-leading cross-border capabilities.”
Brendan Barrett, a Managing Director on MDP’s Financial and Transaction Services team.
Allica Bank enlists ClearBank to boost business banking for UK SMEs
ClearBank, a company that provides integrated banking services and real-time clearing for financial institutions, today announced a partnership with Allica Bank, a fintech bank dedicated to supporting small businesses. Small and medium enterprises based in the UK.
Allica Bank was established to serve established UK SMEs (companies with 10-250 employees) and to provide them with on-demand, human support. powered by the latest banking technology, which has left SMEs struggling to get from the big banks. It offers business-appropriate checking and lending products, powered by state-of-the-art lending technology, such as instant, automated decision-making for business mortgages. business. It aims to be the right bank for established businesses over the next decade and after significant growth in 2022, including revenue growth of 534%, reaching £1.35 billion in loans and With a staff growth of 76%, it is well positioned to meet this ambition.
ClearBank is a key driver of Allica’s ambitious growth. ClearBank provides Allica Bank with customer accounts and access to UK payment systems, including Faster Payments (FPS), CHAPS and Bacs, powered by cloud-native API technology .
Allica launched a business checking account for established businesses late last year, offering cashback, no monthly fees, and relationship manager support, as well as an access savings market leading integrated instant 3R. It can also provide fast and secure transactions using FPS, Bacs and CHAPS. Allica believes it is important to partner with a supplier that closely aligns with its values and growth goals to help the company scale rapidly.
ClearBank works with 15 of the UK’s newest banks. Instead of competing with its own customers, it is a stable and profitable “bank for banks”.
“By offering a relationship-backed service, powered by modern technology, Allica is building the future of banking for established businesses. It is vital that we work with industry-leading partners that can grow with us as we scale. ClearBank is a leader in its field and is an obvious partner for us—we are on the same path both in growth trajectory, and in our values.”
Keith Middlemass, Chief Operating Officer, Allica Bank.
“With its focus on SMEs, Allica Bank is supporting the backbone of our economy—and we’re committed to helping them boost business banking in the UK. We’re providing the speed, flexibility, and security Allica Bank needs to provide the very best services to UK SMEs.”
Charles McManus, Chief Executive Officer, ClearBank.
The two banks have been working together since July 2021. Around this time both announced that they were profitable – Allica was one of the UK’s fintech companies to hit the mark. the fastest profits – amid a slowing overall fintech sector.
BNP Paribas and NatWest Go Live with CobaltFX’s ‘Dynamic Credit’ for FX Credit Management
BNP Paribas and NatWest have partnered with fintech CobaltFX to simplify and streamline the allocation of credit for foreign exchange (FX) trades between banks.
The implementation of CobaltFX’s ‘Dynamic Credit’ solution marks a step forward in enhancing market access and control while optimizing credit disbursement.
CobaltFX, part of United Fintech, has been a longstanding partner of BNP Paribas and NatWest. This latest collaboration aims to manage credit exposures, addressing manual processes as well as improving market access and control.
Joe Nash, digital COO for foreign exchange, rates, and commodities at BNP Paribas, emphasized the industry-wide trend of adopting innovative techniques to manage credit exposures and maintain market stability through digitalization.
“By providing a standardized and digitized approach, and aggregating IT infrastructure across multiple venues, ‘Dynamic Credit’ gives banks unprecedented control to navigate fast-moving FX markets and proactively manage credit exposure,”
“This is a very important step in delivering a solution for credit providers, taking full advantage of new technical advancements.”
Joe Nash, digital COO for foreign exchange, rates, and commodities at BNP Paribas.
Since its acquisition by United Fintech in late 2022 and subsequent relaunch in early 2023, CobaltFX has gained notable traction.
“It as a prime example of United Fintech and partner companies collaborating to drive innovation in big banks’ digital transition. This aligns with the growing trend of banks and financial institutions seeking engagements with broader technology vendors to address compliance and security concerns effectively.”
Marc Levin, CEO of CobaltFX.
“Leading financial institutions are aiming to decrease the number of third-party vendors and work with broader technology vendors to challenge legacy providers.”
“Our prediction is that we will see many more banks and fintechs follow suit and join each other’s journeys on our digital platform.”
Christian Frahm, founder and CEO of United Fintech.
Unlimit to boost inDrive expansion with global payment solution
Unlimit, a global FinTech company, has announced a partnership with inDrive, the growing online car sharing service in the United States.
Under the partnership, inDrive will leverage Unlimit’s proprietary payments infrastructure to continue its global expansion with local payment solutions in new markets, including local currency payment processing and through secure payment methods.
Unlimited provides enhanced liquidity through a scalable financial interface to startups and businesses worldwide.
inDrive meets the mobility needs of users in more than 700 cities and 47 countries.
The app has been downloaded more than 150 million times. Unlimited will provide inDrive with one of its proprietary payment infrastructures, support for a variety of payment methods, including mobile and cash payments, global and local card programs, digital wallets number and direct transfer.
This will allow inDrive to accept payments in local currency and through alternative payment solutions.
Currently, Unlimited is the main payment solutions provider for inDrive in Mexico and also supports the company’s payment processing needs in Colombia, Jamaica, Peru and Chile, where drivers use the platform to top up. money into their personal accounts. However, the two companies are looking to expand their cooperation to other new markets later this year.
“We are very excited to be partnering with inDrive, a customer-centric company that is driven to empower people and ensure prices are fair. They have chosen to partner with us because we provide world-class payment solutions that are flexible, dynamic, and adaptable to any market, whether local or international. We believe we can help them unlock the full potential of their app by making payments faster, easier, and more convenient for both passengers and drivers alike, wherever they are in the world.”
Irene Skrynova, Chief Customer Officer, at Unlimit.
“inDrive’s partnership with Unlimit represents a powerful alliance that seamlessly combines cutting-edge technology and innovative financial services. This collaboration will specifically benefit drivers, offering them a seamless and efficient method to quickly and securely refill their accounts, ensuring uninterrupted services and enhancing their overall experience on the road.”
Alexander Afanasov, VP, of Fintech, at inDrive.
TerraPay partners with Safaricom to enhance cross-border payments
TerraPay, a global payments infrastructure company, has partnered with Safaricom, a financial services, IT and telecommunications provider based in Kenya.
TerraPay Group company Mobex (Kenya), a remittance service provider, will enable over 30 million M-PESA mobile wallet owners in Kenya to send real-time payments through TerraPay’s interoperable network to all wallets in Bangladesh and Pakistan, with plans to roll out to India and Nepal in the next few months.
Through this partnership, the two companies aim to create a financially inclusive payments ecosystem while promoting empowerment and financial independence.
“We believe this breakthrough collaboration with Safaricom will usher a world of new possibilities for mobile financial service operators to directly scale globally and provide customers with the choice to send payments in a secure, transparent, and swift manner. Our partnership with Safaricom will further boost our capabilities in providing an inclusive global financial ecosystem with excellent technical solutions.”
Ambar Sur, Founder & CEO, TerraPay.
TerraPay is a global partner of banks, mobile wallets, remittance operators, merchants and financial institutions, creating a larger and more inclusive international financial ecosystem.
“We are thrilled to partner with TerraPay as it comes at a time when a growing number of customers are embracing digital payments to send money to their loved ones. TerraPay’s interoperable technology platform will enable our customers to execute secured & low-cost payments across key regions, further encouraging the adoption of digital payments in the region. We look forward to a successful collaboration.”
Peter Ndegwa, CEO Safaricom.
FNZ launches FNZ Yield Plus cash alternative solution for investors
FNZ, the global wealth management platform, has launched FNZ Yield Plus Notes to offer professional investors such as corporates, pension funds, banks, insurers, asset managers and other institutional investors a low-risk cash alternative and strengthens its global proposition.
The FNZ Yield Plus bond offers investors a higher yield than an equivalent rated government bond of the same maturities. Yield Plus Notes can provide an improved risk profile compared to bank deposits, with enhanced collateral security and regular cash coupon payments committed on a periodic. Tickets are available in USD, EUR and GBP and can be customized for other currencies.
The notes reinforce FNZ’s global client proposition to professional investors by adding a simple yet sophisticated investment product to its existing comprehensive wealth management platform. Investing in FNZ Yield Plus Bonds is as easy as purchasing any other bond security available through the existing Investor Depository. Yield Plus Notes can also be personalized, white-labelled, and curated for distributors. They are currently available to professional investors.
FNZ Yield Plus allows professional investors to benefit from recent rate hikes with low risk. As a result, investors have access to innovative solutions and improved returns over alternatives without incurring unwarranted risks to the bank, no asymmetry. liquidity, maturity or market risk and does not affect credit quality.
“FNZ Yield Plus is an important milestone in our mission to open up wealth and make investing as innovative, transparent, and efficient as possible. For the first time, through our structured investment team, we have delivered an outsourced manufacturing note to investors. We are excited to bring this unique cash alternative solution to our professional clients and continue to invest in the breadth of personalized solutions the market increasingly demands.”
Adam Green, FNZ’s CEO of Global Asset Management Solutions.
“The FNZ Yield Plus solution solves a complex cash management problem for professional investors. When we first discussed the FNZ Yield Plus solutions with the structured investment team, we realised it would also be the perfect solution for our own strategic cash and decided to allocate some of our own cash to the same Yield Plus notes as those available to our clients.”
Kristopher Love, Group CFO FNZ.
Yield Plus is part of FNZ’s wealth management solutions that enable investment managers to deliver personalized investment plans and portfolios at scale. By connecting integrated tools with real-time data and analytics, FNZ wealth management solutions enable complex optimizations and deliver remarkable insights.
Global Payments Leader, Convera Chooses Temenos to Modernize Payments in the Cloud
Temenos announced that Convera, the largest non-bank global B2B payments provider, has selected Temenos Payments Hub running in the Temenos Cloud to modernize its payments infrastructure.
The move to Temenos Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) will help Convera to drive efficiency in payment processing from inbound funding to outbound disbursements and massively scale with the aim to double its payments volumes in the next five years and expand its payment rails. Temenos SaaS will help enable Convera to compete in the highly dynamic payments market.
Convera will overhaul its payments engine by progressively replacing legacy systems with Temenos’ robust, scalable platform to standardize its international commercial payments on a single platform. Temenos’ platform capability to intelligently route payments over Convera’s global partner bank network will allow for greater efficiencies and improved customer service. Convera will also use Temenos’ data hub capabilities for real-time data management. Temenos’ composable platform can easily integrate with Convera’s existing infrastructure which includes integrated compliance systems and payment gateways, increasing automation and time to value.
Temenos’ highly scalable platform with proven localization and ongoing investment in US and global compliance will enable Convera to process payments in a highly efficient and standardized manner. Temenos’ cloud-native platform will offer real-time payments and resilience giving Convera the business agility required to benefit from new market initiatives such as instant payments and ISO 20022. With Temenos payments platform, Convera will also continue to enhance its straight through processing (STP) rates through advanced exception handling.
Convera – which was previously part of Western Union – is the largest non-bank fintech in global B2B payments and makes cross-border money transfers simple by allowing its customers to transact globally with ease. Convera offers services ranging from currency exchange to hedging solutions and has capabilities in 140+ currencies across 200+ countries and territories. The company serves more than 30,000 customers, which range from small business owners and enterprise treasurers to educational institutions, financial institutions, law firms and NGOs.
Convera selected Temenos after a competitive process including US incumbent vendors and specialized payment vendors. Temenos offers a single platform across all banking verticals, fintechs, and associated business segments including payments and core banking, and as a result it benefits from higher investment in R&D.
“Temenos payments platform will underpin Convera’s growth strategy as it transforms into a modern, technology-led, global B2B payments organization, focused on innovation, value, and exceptional customer service. After extensive assessment, we selected Temenos both for its superior cloud technology capabilities and the trust in the team and its local operations. Temenos is the platform of choice for massive scale; we have a clear path for global expansion and look forward to partnering with Temenos with its global expertise to support us along the way.”
Patrick Gauthier, Chief Executive Officer, Convera.
“We are excited to be selected by Convera, one of the largest fintechs, to modernize its payments infrastructure. We see tremendous growth opportunities in the payments space, and we continue to heavily invest in our single code base across core banking and payments making our offering the most compelling in the market. With Temenos Payments Hub running on Temenos SaaS, Convera will have a modern payments platform which can scale massively and propel its expansion plans. With our SaaS solution, Convera will stay agile and at the forefront of innovation and deliver fast, reliable, and transparent payment services to its corporate customers. Temenos offers a proven SaaS model together with robust US pre-configured capabilities, which is compelling for financial institutions of all sizes to move to Temenos.”
Philip Barnett, President Americas, Temenos.
Temenos Payments is ranked #1 best-selling payments system in the IBS Sales League Table 2022.
Marqeta announces expansion into Brazil with Fitbank partnership
Marqueta, a global card issuance platform, has announced an expansion into Brazil. The company cooperates with Latin American banking platform Fitbank and certifies the network with Visa
As part of Marqeta’s partnership with Fitbank, the company will be a Marqeta customer, use it as a payment processor, and will act as a BIN sponsor for Marqeta customers who want to get started in the area.
“We have followed Marqeta’s growth and global expansion for some time now, and given we are also expanding globally, there couldn’t be a more natural card issuing partner for Fitbank in Brazil,”
“Through our partnership, I believe we can enable global companies and local innovators to bring amazing payment products to market, amplifying the strengths of each of our companies.”
Otávio Farah, co-founder and CEO at Fitbank.
Fitbank provides a complete and personalized cloud banking and credit infrastructure to thousands of customers, and is one of the state-of-the-art platforms licensed and integrated by the Central Bank. Direct integration with PIX, Brazil’s real-time payment system.
They are currently a key member of Visa with plans to expand the network. Marqeta will serve as Fitbank’s technology platform to support payment processing and local card issuance in Brazil. It will also use Marqeta’s real-time decision engine to enhance its fraud management capabilities. Fitbank will also act as the local BIN sponsor and banking service provider of Marqeta.
“We are thrilled to be announcing our launch in Brazil to bring the Marqeta platform to one of the most exciting FinTech markets in the world,”
“Our new partnership with Fitbank puts us on a great footing in Brazil. The two companies have great DNA fit. Fitbank is a tech-forward platform interested in building innovative payment solutions.”
Todd Pollak, Chief Revenue Officer at Marqeta.
Citi Commercial Bank launches new digital client platform, CitiDirect Commercial Banking
Citi has announced the launch of a new platform, CitiDirect® Commercial Banking, specifically to address the needs of Citi Commercial Bank (CCB) clients. This is part of Citi’s significant strategic investment plan to meet the growing global needs of these clients by delivering a single-entry point digital platform.
CitiDirect® Commercial Banking brings together Citi’s global products and services into a single digital platform, providing clients with a 360° consolidated view of their Citi banking relationship across Cash, Loans, Trade, FX, Servicing and Onboarding.
The platform is currently live in the U.S., with over two thirds of our U.S. client base actively using the platform, and CCB plans to pilot it in the second half of 2023 across Hong Kong, India, Singapore, and the U.K.
The CitiDirect® Commercial Banking platform has been created in close collaboration with CCB clients, and as a result offers an intuitive and seamless digital experience. Key features include access to data driven insights necessary to help inform decision making, efficient management of day-to-day banking interactions with Citi in one place. Clients can also digitally open accounts and request new products and services, extending our self-service features, which significantly enhances the experience for clients as they grow, and their needs evolve.
“This is an important milestone in delivering on our commitments set out during Citi’s 2022 Investor Day. At the time, we spoke about our intention to deliver on a differentiated client experience through a single digital platform, that will empower clients and save them time, while offering them complete visibility and control. We anticipate that CitiDirect® Commercial Banking will continue to evolve to support our clients as they grow their businesses globally.”
Tasnim Ghiawadwala, Global Head of CCB.
“Our new banking platform has been designed and built with a client-centric focus. The outcome is an innovative platform that responds to our clients’ complex needs and their expectations of a simple and intuitive digital banking experience. We are delighted with the response from clients and continue to invest whilst targeting key market roll outs throughout 2023 and beyond.”
Mark Sugden, Head of CitiDirect Commercial Banking & Digital Transformation.
“The launch of CitiDirect Commercial Banking demonstrates how our Institutional Clients Group ecosystem works together to deliver excellence for our clients. We are very pleased that our partnership with our colleagues in Commercial Banking has resulted in this new and differentiated service.”
Shahmir Khaliq, Global Head of Treasury and Trade Solutions.
Francisco Partners Acquires Macrobond from Nordic Capital; Focuses on Growing its Global Presence
Francisco Partners, a leading global investment firm specializing in partnerships with technology companies, today announced the acquisition of Macrobond, a leading financial data and technology innovation company, from Nordic Capital, one of Europe’s leading private equity investors. Macrobond founder Tomas Liljeborg will continue as chief executive officer and remain an important shareholder of the company.
Since 2008, Macrobond has transformed the workflow of economists, analysts and strategists worldwide, increasing productivity, fostering deeper collaboration, and enabling them to analyze and forecast financial and macroeconomic data more efficiently. Macrobond partnered with Nordic Capital in 2018 and has experienced significant growth since then, with 230 employees operating from offices in Europe, Asia and the US.
Today, Macrobond provides the world’s largest macroeconomic and financial database, providing nearly 300 million time series, as well as tools and technologies to rapidly analyze, visualize, and analyze Share information from an intuitive integrated workflow platform. Macrobond serves more than 800 institutions worldwide, including some of the world’s largest banks and asset managers, as well as hedge funds, central banks and research firms.
“When I founded Macrobond in 2008, our goal was to deliver the world’s most comprehensive source of economic and financial intelligence for financial professionals that helps them quickly comprehend relevant data. Now in 2023, we are focused on further expanding our presence and customer personas across the globe, as well as accelerating technological innovation and growth across new datasets,”
“Partnering with Francisco Partners will help Macrobond increase our growth and innovation across our market-leading product suite.”
Tomas Liljeborg, Founder and Chief Executive Officer at Macrobond.
“Customers attest that the Macrobond platform, through its highly reliable, current and comprehensive data as well as its easy-to-use search, visualization, and analytics engine, helps them do their jobs better. Tomas and the team have grown the business by continuously improving the value they deliver to these customers, and we are delighted to back Macrobond to further improve its growth and impact,”
Mario Razzini and Ashley Evans, Partners at Francisco Partners, and Quentin Lathuille, Principal at Francisco Partners.
“We’re delighted to have been on this journey with Macrobond and are proud of their tireless devotion during this period. Together with Tomas and the rest of the management team, Nordic Capital has focused on expanding the company’s offering to support its focus on becoming the platform of choice for people working in financial and economic research worldwide. We are proud of Macrobond’s achievements and remain convinced that they will continue to deliver outstanding services to customers around the world and see this transaction as a start of an exciting next phase for Macrobond,”
Emil Anderson, Partner, Nordic Capital Advisors. The investment is subject to customary closing conditions.
Moelis & Company served as financial advisor and Paul Hastings served as legal counsel for Francisco Partners. Arma Partners, PWC and White & Case act as advisors to Nordic Capital and Macrobond.
Alfii secures $2.5m pre-seed funding to launch FinTech-powered HR Platform
Dubai-based technology startup Alfii has announced an upfront funding of $2.5 million to expand its team and further expand its FinTech-based HR automation platform.
The round was led by Preface Ventures, a venture capital firm focused on US-based infrastructure companies. Kayan Ventures, UAE-based Aditum Ventures and Wayfinders, and a number of local and regional angel investors participated in the round.
Alfii will use this funding to further develop and enhance its FinTech-based software platform. In the short term, a revolutionary payroll that gives customers a smarter and faster way to manage payroll and payroll, greatly simplifying what would otherwise be a tedious and time-consuming process for HR leaders. We will continue to focus on building out our feature suite.
“We are looking to build the next generation of this product class, and we are building it entirely in-house, which means we need to bring on world-class talent to grow our business and better serve our customers,”
Yousef Albarqawi, alfii’s CEO and Co-founder.
Alfii’s advances are part of a larger trend in the SaaS world, adapting tools originally offered to the enterprise, making them accessible and suitable for small businesses and start-ups. However, especially when it comes to HR software, there are many weaknesses to be overcome by existing solutions in the MENA region.
“Data interoperability is an industry-wide challenge in the HR stack, but in developing regions like MENA, those challenges are further exacerbated by local and regulatory infrastructure,”
“With alfii’s all-in-one software suite, companies will be able to understand better and manage their human capital resources while improving the user experience for employees with features like digital-to-cash remittances, benefits selection, and more.”
Farooq Abbasi, General Partner of Preface Ventures.