Welcome to The Fintech Times Bi-Weekly News Roundup on Thursday 01 June 2023.
Partnerships
Korean blockchain developer WEMIX and Hub71, Abu Dhabi’s global tech ecosystem, have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to create and accelerate growth opportunities for their respective portfolio companies and Web3 startups. As part of the partnership, WEMIX startups will have the opportunity to join Hub71’s community of over 200 startups and gain access to its range of value-add programs and incentives.
Clearwater Analytics and J.P. Morgan Asset Management announced a strategic partnership that will integrate Clearwater with the MORGAN MONEY® global trading platform, allowing permissioned users to easily navigate between both systems. The joint solution will make it easier for financial professionals to have a global, connected view of their investment portfolios.
Payment network Affirm and Worldpay from FIS announced a multi-year partnership that will make Affirm’s Adaptive Checkout available to all eligible Worldpay merchants.
Tink, European open banking platform, and ecolytiq, a climate engagement solution, are collaborating to incorporate financial and sustainability-focused coaching into a seamless experience. By combining the power of money management tools with climate education tools, Tink will make it possible for new and existing customers to plug in sustainability-based services – with the ability to scale across markets.
Liquid C2, a business of Liquid Intelligent Technologies, has partnered with INOVO to offer its omni-channel cloud contact centre to clients in Zimbabwe, Zambia, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, and South Africa to make it easier and quicker for contact centres to improve their CX end-to-end.
Payment solution provider, BPC, announced an enhanced partnership with the pioneering fintech company, Ellipse World, Inc. The partnership will focus on bolstering security measures and privacy for customers.
Mergers and aquisitions
Regnology, a global leader in Regulatory Reporting has acquired Invoke, a French-based provider of financial, regulatory, and tax reporting solutions. This is the fifth acquisition by Regnology in less than a year, greatly accelerating the company’s growth and fueling its mission to provide comprehensive regulatory and supervisory solutions to banks and other financial institutions.
Company updates
Tether, the company behind tether.to, has announced that it is investing resources into energy production and the launch of sustainable Bitcoin mining operations in Uruguay, in collaboration with a local licensed company. Its goal is to become a global tech leader, and this latest initiative showcases Tether’s commitment to energy innovation and the future of cryptocurrency
Mesh Payments announced expansion of its unified spend management platform to support global multinational businesses operating in Europe, UK, and Asia in local currencies. Mesh now enables companies to operate globally across international entities, issue local cards and settle in local currencies all from one unified platform.
Simplifai, an AI automation solutions provider, has launched Simplifai InsuranceGPT – a world-first custom-built GPT tool, fuelled by the company’s revolutionary no-code AI-powered platform.
Business spend solution Pleo has announced the launch of its unique automated top-up function, powered by J.P. Morgan payments to enable auto account top up via direct debit, removing the hassle for customers of having to manually top up their wallets.
Appointments
Qonto, European business finance solution, has appointed Kenneth de Spiegeleire as its Chief Revenue Officer. His arrival reflects Qonto’s strategy to hire people with the experience to continue building a business for long-term success, driving Qonto’s international expansion in the SME market.
Funding and investments
French startup, Zeliq, has raised €5 million (roughly $5.43 million) in a pre-seed funding round led by Resonance. The investments gathered from the initial funding round will be put towards Zeliq’s mission of empowering sales teams by utilising the power of AI.
NomuPay, a modern end-to-end payment platform purpose built for expansion into regions of high cross-border and ecommerce growth, has raised $53.6 million. The round was co-led by Finch Capital and Outpost Ventures, an investment platform of Neuberger Berman
