The Fintech Times Bi-Weekly News Roundup on Tuesday sees Recognise Bank unveil a new chief technology officer. While payments orchestration startup Formance raises $3.1million.
Job moves
Investcorp, an alternative investment firm, names Mashaal AlJomaih as managing director of private wealth for the KSA market. Prior to joining Investcorp, AlJomaih held senior positions at BNP Paribas Investment Company as well as JP Morgan Chase. Investcorp also recently launched a dedicated $500million pre-IPO vehicle to primarily partner with Saudi family businesses aspiring to go public.
Funding Circle appoints new MD to lead FlexiPay expansion – Jerome Fernandez. The UK small business loan platform enables businesses to spread any UK invoice or supplier payment over three months. Most recently, Fernandez built and led product teams at Remitly and Revolut.
Sahil Thapa has been appointed chief technology officer at Recognise Bank, the digital small business bank.Thapa was most recently responsible for strategy execution, business architecture and data at at Deutsche Bank. He will also head up Recognise Bank’s newly created innovation team following its latest fundraise of £8.7million.
Mortgage and wealth technology provider Twenty7Tec has appointed Mike Clifford to join its board as chief operating officer, following its acquisition of Bluecoat Software. He previously spent 10 years at Intelliflo. Twenty7Tec said Clifford will play a big role in our move into the wealth sector.
WithYouWithMe (WYWM), an Australian tech company which recently launched in the UK, has announced further expansion, including a string of senior hires. Sir James Everard, formerly NATO’s Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe, is appointed a senior advisor. While other new advisors include Lieutenant General Sir Nicholas Pope, Major General Rupert Jones and Johnny Mercer. Olly Benzecry, previously MD at Accenture UKI, is also named chair.
More apppointments
Fintech Onbe has promoted Tracy Monson from senior vice president, product to chief product officer. Monson now oversees Onbe’s product team and product roadmap from inception to commercialisation. She was previously chief product officer and chief marketing officer at daVinci Payments.
Consulting firm FSCom Limited (fscom) names Azariah Nukajam as associate director in its investments team. She joins fscom to lead in the continued expansion of the company’s service offering in the investment advisory, portfolio management, retail and alternative investment fund management sectors, Most recently Nukajam served as VP in Kroll.
Credas, the identity verification software firm, hires Rhian Del-Valle as its new director of sales. She joins from Creditsafe. At Credas, Del-Valle has responsibility for achieving its desired growth ambitions. She is tasked with helping the company grow into an international brand.
Finally, Moneyhub CEO Samantha Seaton has joined the Financial Data and Technology Association’s (FDATA’s) global board as a non-executive director. She brings extensive knowledge and experience in introducing open finance to the UK to support other nations globally with similar ambition.
Partnerships
emerchantpay, the payment service provider and acquirer, has unveiled a strategic partnership with Novalnet, a German-based payments firm. The partnership increases Novalnet’s acquiring coverage and maximise its merchant growth in Europe and internationally. Additionally, emerchantpay’s 20-year presence in the UK enhances Novalnet’s operational capacities in the local UK payment market.
Backbase, the engagement banking platform provider, and Bahrain FinTech Bay (BFB), a MENA fintech hub, has forged a new partnership. It is part of BFB’s Venture Acceleration Platform, to accelerate digital banking adoption in the region and offer new opportunities for key players in the regional financial sector.
Cellulant Zambia has unveiled a digital payment partnership with five leading Zambian water utility companies; Nkana Water, Kafubu Water, Mulonga Water, Chambeshi Water and Western Water. This partnership will let customers in the province to conveniently pay their water bills with their preferred mobile money and selected bank accounts (Standard Chartered Bank, Zambia National Building Society and Natsave).
PXP Financial and DaoPay announce a long-term strategic partnership to deliver enhanced payment services across Europe. The new joint solution will give customers access to acquiring service for greater flexibility and less friction in the payment process.
Company updates
Software testing services provider Exactpro has expanded its operations to Armenia, with the opening of a new office in Yerevan. Sona Oganesyan, named CEO of AI Testing LLC, will spearhead the development of a new software testing delivery centre, with the aim of further diversification of Exactpro’s business across multiple geographies and timezones.
Portman Compliance merges with Compliancy Services to boost alternative funds capabilities. The deal will see Portman’s existing portfolio of over 150 clients continue to be serviced by the Portman team. Nancy King, founder of Portman, will head up the new specialist funds division and lead client accounts in the newly created role of senior MD.
Funding and investments
CoinsPaid, an Estonia-based crypto payment processor, has raised its capital to €5million. The company’s next step is to open an incubator dedicated to startups bringing innovative web3 payment solutions and ‘contribute to the Estonian innovation landscape’.
Meanwhile, FORMANCE, a fintech startup with a low-code solution to build and track all types of payment flows in real time, raises $3.1million. Funding comes from Hoxton Ventures, Frst as well as Y Combinator. FORMANCE offers technical teams a solution for modeling their specific payment scenarios.
Sales Layer has raised $25million in Series B funding, led by PeakSpan Capital. The funding follows on from the $3.5million raised by Sales Layer’s Series A investors, Swanlaab and Bright Pixel, in 2020. The Series B will accelerate Sales Layer’s rapid global growth, hiring across all functions while continuing the expansion of international operations.
Scottish AI company Aveni has secured an investment of £2.75million to deliver the expansion of its Aveni Detect platform across the financial services and utility markets across the UK. The funding round was led by The TRICAPITAL Syndicate LLP and Par Equity supported by Scottish Enterprise. The investment will accelerate Aveni’s growth and see it move beyond financial services into other industries such as utilities.
