December 5, 2023 @ 9:11 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Starling Bank is working with GFT, the global digital transformation pioneer, as an implementation partner for its Software-as-a-Service business, Engine by Starling. Engine by Starling provides banks “with access to the cloud native, modular and API-based banking platform initially built by Starling‘s own in-house tech… Read More

December 5, 2023 @ 8:44 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The pan-European Fintech Fourthline selected as Qonto’s technology solution in the verification of customer compliance during onboarding (KYC) in France, Spain and Italy. Fourthline is a European fintech founded in 2017 that “has developed a technology suite enabling financial services providers to carry out KYC… Read More

December 5, 2023 @ 8:11 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Allica Bank (LSE:WISE) has partnered with Wise Platform, Wise’s global payment infrastructure for banks and major enterprises, in order “to offer our established business customers a simple and low-cost way to send money overseas.” Now clients can seamlessly make and “manage their global payments directly… Read More

December 5, 2023 @ 7:35 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Halfords Group PLC, the UK’s largest provider of motoring and cycling products and services has selected Kriya, the embedded finance provider, “to power payments and credit for its trade account customers.” Under the partnership Kriya will “embed its financial tools across Halfords stores, customer teams,… Read More

December 5, 2023 @ 7:32 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Nucleus Financial Platforms Group, one of the UK’s independent, adviser platform groups, has appointed Alexander Filshie as Chief Financial Officer (CFO), “subject to regulatory approval.” He starts taking over from Mike Regan who, as previously announced, “has been appointed as Chief Commercial Officer.” Mike Regan… Read More

December 4, 2023 @ 11:52 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Alchemy Pay, the crypto payment solutions provider, has expanded its payment options in the Europe and UK regions. The introduction of the Euro Instant solution SEPA Instant and the UK fast e-money transfer solution Faster Payments enhances its On-Ramp service, “allowing users to swiftly execute… Read More

December 4, 2023 @ 11:49 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

In the latest round of the twice-yearly Survey on the Access to Finance of Enterprises (SAFE) in the euro area, covering the period from April to September 2023, firms reported “an increase in turnover, although the net percentage was lower than in the previous survey… Read More

December 4, 2023 @ 11:49 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Globally, the peak minute of shopping occurred on Black Friday at 2:09 pm ET on November 24, 2023, according to an update shared by Square. Cities with the largest volume of sales were New York, Los Angeles, London, Chicago, and Miami. Over the Black Friday… Read More

December 4, 2023 @ 10:46 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

This past week saw several notable developments in the digital assets and blockchain space. As widely reported, the US Securities and Exchange (SEC) is seeking feedback on proposed bitcoin ETFs by Franklin Templeton and Hashdex. In other key updates, Interactive Brokers has now launched retail… Read More

December 4, 2023 @ 10:00 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

A couple of weeks ago, the cryptocurrency community witnessed a “peculiar” and complex exploit within the Raft Protocol, which is described as a decentralized finance (DeFi) platform operating on the Ethereum network. This incident, now widely referred to as the “Raft Protocol Exploit,” stands out… Read More

December 4, 2023 @ 9:57 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Assetz Capital has appointed Ciaran McGivern as Relationship Director for Northern Ireland following growth of our developer client base. Assetz Capital claim they have “provided £152m of property lending to the region focusing on residential development projects, office to residential refurbishment schemes and commercial mortgages.” As… Read More

December 4, 2023 @ 9:44 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

New functionality and attributes are expected to fuel growth and scale in 2024, according to an update from Fintech firm Addepar. As part of a note shared by Addepar, the wealthtech firm has shared key platform developments, research insights along with client, partner and company… Read More

December 4, 2023 @ 9:36 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Klarna, the AI-powered payments network and shopping assistant, has partnered with  airline Cathay Pacific in order “to offer fairer, flexible payments to travellers in six countries across Europe.” The agreement is the latest in a series of travel tie-ups for Klarna “as the company aims… Read More

December 4, 2023 @ 9:09 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Pakistan has emerged as one of the fastest-growing markets for freelancers and digital services. Although the majority of the nation’s residents are living in poverty, and the country continues to face major political and economic challenges, there is still a significantly large digital economy that… Read More

December 4, 2023 @ 6:01 pm By Michael Wong  |  

The digital lending market in the Philippines is poised for a significant expansion, with expectations to grow by 45.4%, reaching $488.8 million this year, from just $336 million a year earlier. This forecast, as per the latest report by PayNEXT360, a research and consulting firm… Read More

December 4, 2023 @ 3:22 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Based on the insights from the SlowMist Blockchain Hacked Archive, the month of November 2023 was marked by “a significant number of security breaches within the blockchain sector.” In total, 47 distinct incidents were recorded, “cumulatively leading to a substantial loss estimated at around $349… Read More

December 4, 2023 @ 1:47 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Accenture (NYSE: ACN) and Amazon Web Services (AWS) have announced the two companies will collaborate to help developers and enterprise customers accelerate the adoption of advanced generative AI technology. Generative AI shows promise in “transforming software development and application modernization.” Building on its AI-focused strategic… Read More

December 4, 2023 @ 1:26 pm By JD Alois  |  

The SEC Small Business Capital Formation Advisory Committee (SBCFAC) returned to meet this past week with the definition of an Accredited Investor at the top of the list for discussion. The SBCFAC provides guidance to the Commission on issues that impact smaller firms, which frequently… Read More

December 4, 2023 @ 10:37 am By Omar Faridi  |  

PitchBook,  a Morningstar company providing comprehensive, accurate, and “hard-to-find” data for professionals doing business in the private markets, notes in an update that VCs say AI [artificial intelligence] leads innovation, are cautiously optimistic about IPOs, and are cognizant of geopolitical risk. In a note from… Read More

December 4, 2023 @ 10:15 am By JD Alois  |  

Okoora is reporting a new office in Cyprus as it looks to broaden its services across the European Union. Okoora describes itself as a Swiss-Israeli Fintech that provides an Automated Business Currency Management (ABCM) service. This service is said to incorporate Artificial Intelligence (AI) to… Read More