The Fintech Times Bi-Weekly News Roundup sees an AML compliance partnership for Tuum and Salv. While Bitpanda supports N26 with the launch of its new cryptocurrency trading product.
Partnerships
Relai, the Swiss bitcoin app, has forged a partnership with Checkout.com, the global payments provider. Relai users can now buy bitcoin via VISA, Mastercard, Apple Pay in real time. The partnership coincides with a a wider product update, that sees a total overhaul of the Relai app, including a simpler buy-flow and enhanced UX.
Circle K, the fuel and mobility retail chain, has selected The ai Corporation’s payments platform, aiEazyFuel, to power its B2B mobile payments app, Circle K PRO. The partnership enables business customers to pay directly for their fuel and other products via the Circle K PRO app. Circle K PRO is now available to business customers in the Scandinavian and the Baltic regions.
CB Reid, an independent firm of chartered accountants, has partnered with WhisperClaims, an R&D tax fintech company, to deliver an in-house service for R&D tax claims. Previously, before using WhisperClaims’ software platform, CB Reid would compile reports manually in-house using Microsoft Word.
Meanwhile, Austrian fintech unicorn Bitpanda is celebrating after helping German digital bank N26 to bring cryptocurrencies its customers in Europe. N26 has launched a new cryptocurrency trading product N26 Crypto in Austria with Bitpanda managing the execution of trades and custody of coins. N26 customers will soon be able to trade almost 200 cryptocurrencies.
Climate solutions provider South Pole and agtech eAgronom are partnering to accelerate the uptake of climate-smart farming across Europe and Africa. The collaboration will create a new approach to prepaying farmers for high quality Verra certified carbon credits that their projects generate.
More partnerships
Cardstream selects Nuapay to launch its pay now and pay in instalments with open banking for online merchants. The partnership enables Cardstream’s open payment network of white label partners, including ISO and ISV resellers, to offer Nuapay’s collection services and instant open banking payment services to customers in 28 EU and UK markets.
Currencycloud has become a preferred FX partner for Integrated Finance (IF), the fintech infrastructure platform. The new partnership enables IF’s customers to build cross-border payments and FX functionality into their platforms. Currencycloud will also be able to leverage the IF platform to offer its existing users a more streamlined integration into financial infrastructure, such as KYC and transaction monitoring.
Digital consultancy Fimatix partners with regtech firm Corlytics. Through this partnership, the two firms will integrate each other’s services into their own offerings, creating a combined suite of products and solutions capable of augmenting regulation and change management systems across the financial services and insurance sectors.
There’s also a partnership for core banking platform Tuum and regtech Salv. By working with Salv, Tuum’s customers can access an AML platform with advanced monitoring, screening and risk-scoring solutions. Tuum and Salv also currently work with LHV UK operating on Tuum’s core banking platform and using Salv for their AML requirements.
Research and insight
More than a third of UK businesses (36 per cent) have extended payment terms for suppliers in the last 12 months, according to Ivalua, a spend management cloud provider. A Ivalua-commissioned study, conducted by Coleman Parkes, reveals 59 per cent of UK businesses have seen suppliers end relationships with them due to repeated late payments. Only 38 per cent of UK businesses use an early payment discount scheme.
Almost half of IT professionals believe innovation in AI presents an existential threat to humanity. However, the data from Atlas VPN, also reveals that 74 per cent of IT professionals think AI will automate tasks and enable more time to focus on strategic initiatives. About two-thirds also believe that AI will be a mission-critical element of their business strategy in the years to come.
A new study from Stripe reveals that many of the world’s most visited e-commerce websites have error-ridden checkouts, which frustrate customers and cost businesses revenue. The average checkout takes more than three minutes, yet 60 per cent of shoppers say they’ll abandon a checkout that requires more than two.
Job moves
Broadridge has hired Stephen Johnston as MD client delivery operations for Broadridge Fund Communication Solutions (FCS). He joins Broadridge from State Street, where he was the CEO of its Irish legal entity IFSI. Johnston will help drive Broadridge’s support for fund data, document production and distribution, and regulatory reporting needs.
Berlin-based fintech lemon.markets appoints Markus Gunter as MD of its brokerage GmbH. The former CEO of DirectAnlageBank AG and N26 Bank will support lemon.markets in becoming a regulated brokerage provider. Earlier this year, lemon.markets secured one of the largest seed funding rounds in Europe with €15million in financing.
Schroders Personal Wealth has named Graham Bastin as chief technology officer. He joins from Barclays Bank PLC, where he held several MD roles within group technology. Schroders’ ambition is to become one of the biggest financial planning businesses in the UK.
Fintech Bento Engine has unveiled three new team members. Cassie Jackson takes on the role of chief growth officer while Marcus Davis is the new advice evangelist / business development representative. Finally, Charlotte Ketelaar has joined Bento as its chief of staff.
Mergers and acquisitions
Moneff, a payment service provider, has snapped up financial lifestyle app StormPay. Under its new parent company, the StormPay brand and mission will remain unchanged, while the teams will merge. Otabek Nuritdinov, co-founder of StormPay, is set to step down as CEO, but remains the head of business development at Moneff.
Funding and investments
Commodities AI Ltd (ChAI), the AI-driven commodity intelligence company, has completed a seed round to help expand its industry-leading services into new markets. it will also use the funding to provide real-time commodity price forecasts to new global audiences, including raw-material businesses and key supply chain providers.
