The Fintech Times Bi-Weekly News Roundup serves up the latest partnerships, job moves and funding announcments.
Partnerships
Episode Six, the payments and banking infrastructure provider, has partnered with Immersve, a multichain payments protocol and Scheme card issuer. Technology partnership will facilitate payments from cryptocurrency wallets wherever Scheme cards are accepted. The collaboration will facilitate Scheme payments directly from Web3 digital wallets.
Brex, a corporate card and spend management solution, has teamed up with Techstars, a global investment business. As part of the partnership, Brex has joined Techstars’ global network of partners and will offer aspiring founders and early stage entrepreneurs exclusive resources to help them scale their business.
Meanwhile, JCB partners with NPCI to offer 40 per cent cashback for RuPay JCB cardholders for in-store purchases in Australia, Qatar and UAE. The offer is available until 31 December 2022. The maximum cashback amount per transaction will be INR 3,000, with an overall cap of INR 15,000 per card during the offer period.
Genesis Indojaya, the developer of Citadines Berawa Beach Bali has signed a financing facility from PT Bank HSBC Indonesia and partnerships with Singapore-headquartered ESG fintech Hashstacs, as well as Singapore-based software provider Envision Digital, to support its decarbonisation and green certification journey.
Additional partnerships
CR2, a vendor in the digital banking and payments market, has partnered with Thunes, a global B2B payments company. This partnership enables CR2 customers to make seamless payments to more than 130 countries, expanding the platform’s international payment capabilities.
Network International, an enabler of digital commerce across the MEA, and Mastercard, a technology firm in the global payments industry, are launching a 3-D Secure (3DS) 2 authentication solution for e-commerce transactions for UAE merchants and beyond. 3DS 2 will be available on Network’s proprietary payment gateway N-Genius Online.
BNPL firm Clearpay has partnered with UK charity Smart Works. The new partnership gives more women in the UK the tools to succeed and achieve their goals. The charity also assists refugees, and in recent months Smart Works has helped an increasing number of Ukrainian women.
Indian payments firm Cashfree Payments is helping Zepto, the e-grocery company, to speed up checkouts. Cashfree Payments’ Payment Gateway API has been integrated in Zepto’s mobile app to enable a faster checkout experience for customers.
Appointments
The Money and Pensions Service (MaPS) has appointed two new people to its advisory group. Bernie Hickman, chief executive of Legal & General Retail and Steve Hughes, chief executive of Coventry Building Society, have 12 other top-level executives from the finance, consumer rights, research and technology sectors.
Software research firm Input Output Global has appointed Dr Vanishree Rao as its head of applied cryptography. Dr Rao is an academic who helped build the Mina Protocol, a privacy focused blockchain. She will help to develop and grow the company’s zero-knowledge proof expertise.
Fintech EBANX hires Greg Cornwell as the Brazilian unicorn’s new VP of business development. He will co-lead the fintech’s global sales team, located across the Americas, Asia and Europe. Prior to joining EBANX, Cornwell also served as the EVP of global sales for Accertify.
FairMarkets International, an investment house serving Southeast Asia, has appointed Chris Trikomitis, as its new MD. He joins from Exness, a Cyprus-based broker. The brand specialises in providing investors with easy access to financial and investment products ranging from currencies, derivatives on listed stocks, commodities from metals to energy, and indices.
More appointments
Stenn, a financing platform for global SMEs, has appointed Fozia Raja as chief people and culture officer. She joins Stenn after more than seven years at Sprinklr, the SaaS unified customer experience management platform. Carl Robson has also been hired alongside Fozia as director for people & culture.
Meanwhile, United Fintech has expanded its leadership team with a move into the Asia Pacific market, appointing Cameron Booth as head of APAC to drive its growth. Based in Singapore, Cameron will work closely with United Fintech’s London-based sales team. He joins after 16 years at Barclays.
Wealth Dynamix has welcomed Darell Miller as MD APAC and Urs Christian Eugster-Schnell as commercial director Europe (DACH). Eugster-Schnell previously worked at Avaloq, Finastra and Temenos. While Miller has experience in regtech solutions in KYC, trade surveillance, benchmarks, and regulatory risk & reporting.
The Bank of London appoints Mark Carawan as a non-executive director and chair of its audit committee. n, He also oversees the Bank’s speaking up and whistleblowing arrangements. Carawan was previously chair of the audit committee of the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA).
Company updates
HyperPay, a fintech company based in the Middle East, has announced a brand overhaul and expansion plans for 2023. The revamp, including a new logo, follows HyperPay’s recent SAR138million funding round led by Mastercard. The company has plans to be the “best B2B Fintech provider in the MENA region”.
US startup Karta.io, the financial OS for e-commerce teams, has joined Visa’s Fintech Fast Track Program. Through the programme, Karta.io will have access to the tools and resources needed to scale its business using the reach, capabilities, and security that VisaNet, Visa’s global payment network, offers.
Funding and investments
E-commerce platform Krepling has closed a $1million pre-seed round. Following the successful funding round, Krepling is on track to triple revenue by the end of 2022. The fundraise attracted a number of high-profile investors including Jason Calacanis, LAUNCH, Jon Oringer and Brickyard. Following the raise, Krepling plans to expand its fast-growing team.
There’s also funding success for Zest AI. The company has raised more than $50million in a new growth round. The round was co-led by existing global software investor Insight Partners and new investor CMFG Ventures, with participation also from CU Direct and NorthGate Capital.
InterPrice Technologies, a treasury capital markets funding platform, has closed its Series A funding. The $7.3million investment was co-led by Nasdaq Ventures and DRW Venture Capital, with participation from existing investors including Bowery Capital.
