The Fintech Times Bi-Weekly News Roundup brings you the latest partnerships, job moves and funding successes.
Company updates
Binance, the blockchain services provider, has received the Minimal Viable Product (MVP) licence from Dubai’s Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA), following the issuance of its provisional license in March 2022. The MVP licence means that Binance can offer an approved range of virtual asset related services to suitably qualified retail and institutional investors in Dubai.
Barcelona-based fintech 11Onze has launched 11Onze Viatges, a booking platform offering special rates and concierge travel services to its premium members. t’s a booking platform based on affiliation, where users can save up to 25 per cent compared to other booking platforms.
Inery, a decentralised data system, announced its official listing of its token on Huobi Exchange is set to go live on 28 September. The official listing pair of Inery will be INR/Tether (USDT) and will become available for trading at 13:00.
Social investing network eToro has received the nod to operate as a securities, derivatives and crypto broker in Abu Dhabi. Official approval from the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), the international financial centre of the capital of the UAE, will enable eToro to establish a base from which to offer its services to customers across the region.
Job moves
Thunes, the cross-border payments company, appoint Matt van Geldere as its new chief people officer. He will lead Thunes’ global human resources strategy during its growth phase. That includes talent acquisition, training and leadership development, as well as building and maintaining company culture, diversity and inclusion.
Regtech Ncontracts has promoted Melissa Outlaw to chief customer officer. Outlaw has been with Ncontracts since 2018, serving as the EVP of client services. Ncontracts says it integrated risk management and knowledge as a service solutions are in high demand.
There’s a leadership reshuffle at Target Group, the operational transformation, business processing and software provider. Roger Newman has stepped back as CEO and is replaced by John Barker, chief operations officer (COO). Meanwhile, Peter O’Connor joins as new COO, while there are promotions for Katie Pender, Mark Gilliver, Akin Arikawe and Matt Davies.
Integrated B2B payments firm Billtrust, has appointed a new managing director to lead European operations at a time of sustained growth for the company. MD Marco Eeman was previously a principal of Netherlands-based Order2Cash, which was acquired by Billtrust in February 2022. Billtrust currently serves more than 750 customers across Europe and the UK.
Cryptographic security solutions provider Cryptomathic appoints Laurent Lafargue as global CEO. Lafargue has previously worked at firms in semiconductors, smart cards, RFID, and electronics, including with Infineon and Linxens.
Funding and investments
Monese, the pan-European fintech, unveils a $35million investment by HSBC. The investment brings the total raised by Monese to $208million and is part of a broader, strategic partnership. The new funding will support the continued growth of Monese’s cloud-based platform as a service business.
Turaco, an insurtech platform, has closed a $10million Series A equity funding round to help it focus on expansion via strategic partnerships. The round was led by AfricInvest, via the Cathay Africinvest Innovation Fund, and existing investor Novastar Venture.
There’s funding success for Ratio, which describes itself a new kind of fintech platform that combines payments, predictive pricing, financing, and a frictionless quote to cash process into one platform for SaaS and technology companies. It has raised $11million in venture funding and a $400million credit facility for customer financing.
Tres has raised $7.6million in a seed round led by boldstart ventures, with participation also from F2.Tres’s data coverage and integrity empowers Web3 businesses to monitor, manage and automate their Web3 finance. So far, Tres has Web3 customers in the US, Israel and Europe, including Hivemind, Stakely and Blockdaemon.
Axle Payments has rebranded to Denim and raised $126million to scale financial automation and payments platform for freight industry. The funding is a combination of equity to scale its platform and debt financing to provide working capital to freight brokerages. The new brand, Denim, symbolises the company’s goal to build a stronger supply chain through reliable, flexible and easy-to-use tools.
Partnerships
Insurtech Lumera has entered an agreement with Vita to deliver AI-driven automation for a significant part of Vita’s claims handling administration. Adding AI and automation to Vita’s technology ecosystem will facilitate digital customer interaction and optimise operational efficiency, as well as enable cost savings and reduce operational risk.
Network International, an enabler of digital commerce across the MEA region, has been selected as payment and technology partner for El Nilein Bank, a Sudanese bank in the UAE. Network will support El Nilein’s debit card offerings along with instant issuing as well as ATM services. The collaboration will also include enabling El Nilein’s customers to make purchases using e-wallets.
ProvidusBank together with Mastercard, Interswitch and Thales Group, have introduced a new tap-to-pay service in Nigeria. The service lets cardholders make fast, secure, and convenient in-store payments by tapping their NFC enabled smart device at any contactless-enabled payment terminal.
Introhive, the customer intelligence platform, has partnered with enterprise productivity operating system OpenFin. The partnership will enable joint customers to gain even more valuable and actionable insights, making them more accessible, automated and directly embedded in workflows.
