The Paypers, Posted March 8, 2023

Indonesia-based bank BTPN has partnered with Surecomp to launch its DOKA solution in order to streamline back-office trade finance processing automation.

The service replaces the previous trade finance application that was incorporated by the financial institution and is currently hosted in Jakarta, after being developed by Surecomp’s team.

The Bank BTPN can now deliver a more efficient customer service that is designed with internal processing of its trade finance transactions in the form of Letters of Credit (LCs), trade loans, and documentary collections. This will happen through seamless integration with the bank’s other trade-related systems for limits and position management, collateral management, core banking, sanction screening, and SMIFT connections. 

#Digital Banking

Crowdfund Insider, Posted March 8, 2023

Global payments and financial platform Airwallex has secured a payment business license in China, following the successful acquisition of “a 100% stake in Guangzhou Shang Wu Tong Network Technology Co., Ltd., an information and online payment services company. Shang Wu Tong Network Technology has a license for online payment services.”

The acquisition “received approval and endorsement from all relevant China regulatory authorities.”

Kai Wu, Chief Revenue Officer and General Manager of APAC at Airwallex, said:

“We are excited to achieve this milestone, and to have completed the acquisition. Looking ahead, we can now significantly enhance our capabilities to empower entrepreneurs and modern businesses to leverage technology and grow without borders.”

This latest approval “adds to Airwallex’s existing licenses across major markets around the world, including Australia, the European single market, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Singapore, the United Kingdom and the United States.”

#Payments

Crowdfund Insider, Posted March 7, 2023

AsiaPay, a provider of digital payment solutions in the Asia Pacific, has launched Visa Instalments in Hong Kong and will further extend to Southeast Asia to provide merchants more flexible payment options and enhance the purchase experience of consumers.

Leading a new trend in credit card shopping, the launch of value-added service products, such as installment for consumers, “not only greatly alleviates the pressure of their short-term capital, meets the consumption desire to buy, improves the quality of life, for businesses, improves the transaction flow, transaction volume, and commodity purchase conversion rate.”

Lastly, it will also “promote good business for the majority of consumers and businesses.”

PayDollar, an advanced multi-channel payment platform of AsiaPay is now “supporting Visa Instalments in Hong Kong and soon in Singapore, and Malaysia, providing buyers with more flexible instalment choices.”

#Visa

Altfi, Posted March 8, 2023

London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) business GIACT is partnering with Mastercard to provide secure account verification with its open banking technology.

The identity and authentication company will make use of the global tech giant’s open banking capabilities to allow businesses to use a multi-method approach to verifying account information for more than 95 per cent of US-deposited accounts.

“By providing customers with consumer-permissioned open banking account verification through Mastercard, our customers can more effectively manage fraud and meet their compliance obligations, whilst providing a differentiated digital experience to their customers,” LSEG group head of customer and third-party risk solutions Phil Cotter said.

“Together with Mastercard, LSEG is building on two decades of experience in developing customer and third-party risk solutions for the world’s leading global banks and corporations.”

Cotter said the partnership will extend LSEG’s offerings across customer risk screening, due diligence, identity verification and fraud prevention to support customers’ digital strategies.

#Mastercard

The Paypers, Posted March 7, 2023

Weavr has confirmed the acquisition of B2B Open Banking platform, Comma Payments, in a first-of-its-kind deal within the world of embedded finance. 

The acquisition, which is largely equity-based, will see Weavr retain most of Comma’s current workforce, including the company’s CEO and founder. As a result of the acquisition, Comma’s unique technology enhances Weavr’s Plug-and-Play Finance proposition for embedded finance.

With Comma, Weavr has become the first embedded finance provider to bring together Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) and Open Banking into an optimised embeddable payment solution for B2B applications ranging from payroll, accounts payable, and other forms of mass payments.

Together with Weavr’s current BaaS capabilities, the combination will enable customers to progress seamlessly from making payments via their own existing bank accounts to doing so through Weavr-provided accounts that offer richer controls and payment options than those given by many banks to small businesses.

Comma has been a pioneer in the Open Banking sector by providing solutions that eliminate the need for manual payments that plague millions of small businesses. The company’s technology can be embedded into B2B financial software to enable data-driven payments for the first time. Businesses can save time and cost by making bulk payments for processes such as accounts payable and payroll processes, while greatly reducing the risk of manual errors.

#Payments

Altfi, Posted March 7, 2023

Revolut is launching another crypto learning course to help make digital assets more accessible.

Eight months on from the release of its first lot of crypto educational courses which reward users with tokens, the fintech is launching a “Polkadot Bonus” course made up of two lessons.

Having mastered the crypto basics in the first set of courses, users will now be introduced to the ins and outs of staking, one month after Revolut announced it would be launching crypto staking on DOT, XTZ, ADA  and ETH crypto assets.

“We are continuing to make the crypto world more accessible as the interest in cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology continues to rise,” Revolut crypto general manager Emil Urmanshin said.

Millions of customers have completed the ‘Learn & Earn’ courses, with one million people completing the course in the first month alone.

#Revolut

Finextra, Posted March 7, 2023

UK Banking-as-a-Service platform Griffin has been authorised as a UK bank subject to restrictions.

Griffin is now listed on the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) register and is in mobilisation, meaning the company can hold a limited amount of deposits and carry out a limited amount of payment services.

“This moment has been years in the making,” David Jarvis, CEO and co-founder of Griffin, said. “Becoming a bank is testament to the determination of our team, who have been tirelessly building a modern core banking system, a resilient operational backbone and a robust compliance framework. This will enable us to deliver an exceptional banking platform for the UK fintech community.”

Griffin recently closed a £12.5 million funding round led by Notion Capital and launched its first BaaS product, Verify, which helps fintechs manage risk, automate KYC and KYB checks, and streamline customer onboarding. The firm has raised a total of £19 million since inception in 2020.

#Banking-as-a-Service

USA

Finextra, Posted March 9, 2023

Interbank co-operative Swift is reporting strong support from central and commercial banks after sandbox testing of an experimental method for interlinking central bank digital currencies (CBDC) with existing fiat infrastructures.

The co-operative published the findings of a 12-week period of sandbox testing, in which almost 5,000 transactions were simulated between two different blockchain networks and with existing fiat-based payment systems.

Sandbox participants included the Banque de France, the Deutsche Bundesbank, the Monetary Authority of Singapore, BNP Paribas, HSBC, Intesa Sanpaolo, NatWest, Royal Bank of Canada, SMBC, Société Générale, Standard Chartered and UBS.

#CBDC

Finextra, Posted March 9, 2023

Silvergate Bank has gone into liquidation, raising further concerns about rising volatility in the crypto sector.

Earlier this month, Silvergate warned that it would miss the deadline to file its annual report and raised questions about its ability to survive as a going concern. The bank in January posted a $1 billion loss for the fourth quarter related to the collapse of cryptocurrency exchange FTX.

In a statement, the Bank says: “In light of recent industry and regulatory developments, Silvergate believes that an orderly wind down of Bank operations and a voluntary liquidation of the Bank is the best path forward. The Bank’s wind down and liquidation plan includes full repayment of all deposits. The Company is also considering how best to resolve claims and preserve the residual value of its assets, including its proprietary technology and tax assets.”

Silvergate’s shares have plunged in recent months as major clients pulled their accounts in the face of deepening losses and regulatory inquiries by the FDIC and Department of Justice over its ties to FTX.

#Silvergate

PayPal Ventures Invests in Threat Prevention Firm Deep Instinct

Crowdfund Insider, Posted March 8, 2023

Deep Instinct, the first company to apply deep learning to cybersecurity, today announced an investment from PayPal Ventures.

This investment further “validates confidence in Deep Instinct’s unrivaled ability to see cyber threats well before other solutions can.”

The funding will help further “accelerate Deep Instinct’s growth, driven by its disruptive threat prevention technology.”

Alan Du, Partner at PayPal Ventures, said:

“Deep Instinct has developed an industry-leading threat prevention platform, allowing enterprises to get ahead of cybercriminals and malicious threats. We’re thrilled to invest in Deep Instinct and believe the company will help move the cybersecurity industry beyond its current detection and remediation focus to a prevention-first model.”

#Fintech

Wix, Stripe Bring Tap to Pay on iPhone to US Merchants

Crowdfund Insider, Posted March 7, 2023

Wix.com Ltd. (NASDAQ: WIX), a global SaaS platform to create, manage and grow an online presence, announced an extended partnership with Stripe in order “to bring Tap to Pay on iPhone to U.S.-based Wix merchants.”

This enables Wix merchants “to accept secure, contactless payments directly from their iPhones, without needing additional hardware.”

Available to Wix users processing payments with Wix Payments, Tap to Pay on iPhone is one of the easiest ways “to accept in-person payments.”

Using the Wix Owner App and a compatible iPhone, merchants can seamlessly “accept and process contactless payments through Wix with only an iPhone from contactless credit or debit cards, Apple Pay, and other digital wallets.”

Tap to Pay on iPhone “provides an accessible and easy way to streamline the payment transaction process and enable merchants to accept payments from anywhere.”

This method is “a secure and trusted payment experience that provides Wix merchants with more flexibility to confidently grow their businesses, building upon Wix’s robust product offerings that help users manage their business at every touchpoint.”

#Fintech

The Paypers, Posted March 7, 2023

Brazil-based fintech company Blipay has secured USD 6,7 million fund from SRM Ventures for the development of its credit services and salary anticipation product.  

The investment will be leveraged into the expansion of the credit line provided by Blipay, focused on its salary anticipation tool. 

Blipay’s primary business prioritises the process of offering salary anticipation solutions to employees. This will provide users the possibility to access their wages before the official payday in order to use their funds at the needed moment. Furthermore, the company also focuses on its expansion in the market of Brazil, as the industry seems promising. 

Blipay enables its clients with the ability to use their income whenever they need it. Its products were designed to give users the possibility to make the most out of their salary, in a safe and seamless way. 

To use the service, customers need to connect to their account and they have the possibility to get their money, as the transfer process is easier and faster through the application. They also have the benefit of choosing the value they want to access. The limit of the sum grows as you use the product, but users can access a fixed limit at the beginning. Following the transfer, the customers can also select the date to pay their anticipation in order to meet their needs and preferences. The payback needs to be done within 30 days from the date of the payment.

#Fintech

Brazilian B2B payments platform Barte raises $3m

Finextra, Posted March 6, 2023

Brazilian business-to-business payments platform Barte has raised $3 million in a seed funding round.

The round, which comes six months after a pre-seed, was led by NXTP and Force Over Mass, with participation from existing investor VentureFriends.

Founded in 2021, São Paulo-based Barte is tackling the working capital management headache suffered by many Latin American SMEs that face low transaction approval rates, manual processes and poor visibility, leading to cash flow constraints.

Its payments platform promises to centralise SME transactions, simplifying complex payment processes and unlocking growth.

After a year in the market, it has built up a customer base exceeding 2000 companies and projects growing more than 10 times in 2023, focussing on specific segments that have more complex payment processes, such as B2B retail, suppliers, and marketplaces.

#Fintech

WhatsApp gets Brazilian green light for business payments

Finextra, Posted March 6, 2023

Brazil’s central bank has given Meta-owned WhatsApp the go-ahead to let users make payments to businesses through its app.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg confirmed the news on Instagram, writing: “The Central Bank just authorized the launch of our new payment feature so people will be able to pay small businesses right on WhatsApp. Excited to roll this out soon.”

Brazilians have been able to make P2P payments through WhatsApp since 2021 but regulators have put a hold on payments to businesses until now.

The feature lets shoppers browse products, add them to a cart and make card payments from their WhatsApp chat.

#Payments

BNPL: Mexico’s Kueski, an Online Financial Ecosystem, Achieves 10M Loans Disbursed

Crowdfund Insider, Posted March 7, 2023

Kueski, the online financial ecosystem for consumers in Mexico, announced that it has disbursed a record 10 million loans.

With more than 1.8 million unique customers and more than $1.6 billion in loan transactions, this marks an important milestone for the company on its mission “to expand access to traditional financial services and products for Mexican consumers.”

Founded in 2012, Kueski claims it has “become a market leader in Mexico for buy now, pay later (BNPL) and online consumer lending.”

The company uses AI and machine learning-powered credit decisioning models “to expand access to financial products and now serves customers via Kueski Cash, a cash loan product, and Kueski Pay, its BNPL solution.”

Both products continue to experience substantial growth:

Kueski Cash: Kueski disbursed almost half a million loans since the beginning of 2023. This product has proven to be a valuable and popular resource for Mexican consumers who typically use the capital for investment, monthly expenses, health, and education.

Kueski Pay: Kueski’s online and brick-and-mortar retailer network across Mexico is approaching 10,000 merchants. More than 70% of these merchant partners declare they have attracted new customers by offering Kueski Pay, and over 80% state that they perceive their credibility has increased by incorporating this product as a payment method.

#BNPL

Digital Banking: Brazil’s C6 Bank Allows Clients to Manage Overdue Invoices

Crowdfund Insider, Posted March 6, 2023

C6 Bank has reportedly launched features that allow customers to manage overdue credit card invoices.

Now, the bank’s app “has an exclusive home page for paying invoices in short arrears (up to 67 days), a specific chat bot for self-service on this topic and a renegotiation flow via WhatsApp.”

With the new features, customers can “manage their overdue invoices and negotiate personalized payment and installment conditions in a secure digital environment.”

Thiago Soares, head of UX and Innovation at C6 Bank, said:

“By offering a self-service renegotiation of overdue invoices, we are giving customers autonomy to seek conditions to catch up on their payments. Services like this allow the customer to actively manage their financial life.”

The bank also “participates in the Mutirão de Negotiation and Financial Guidance, promoted by Febraban (Brazilian Federation of Banks) in partnership with the Central Bank, Senacon (National Consumer Secretariat) and Procons throughout the country.”

The campaign “runs until March 31.”

The first thing a person “with overdue bills should do is an exact mapping of how much they earn and spend per month,” says financial planner Rafael Haddad, from C6 Bank. After this survey, the person is able “to identify expenses that can be cut, even temporarily, until the bills are up to date.”

#Digital Banking