This week in Fintech: TFT Bi-Weekly News Roundup 16/08

Fintech Times The Bi-Weekly News Roundup on Tuesday 16 August serves up a selection of fintech updates from around the world.

The job is moving

Fiat Republic, the banking-as-a-service (BaaS) platform has appointed Dagmar van Ravenswaay Claasen and Koenraad Judgment as non-executive board members. They will provide support and guidance as Fiat Republic focuses on expanding its strategic partnerships with both crypto providers and Tier 1 banks.

Binancethe crypto and blockchain infrastructure provider, has named Hannes Wessels as country manager for South Africa to run its business operations in the region. Wessels brings with him over 10 years of experience in the financial sector and was previously head of global banking for South Africa at HSBC.

Cornerstone FS plc, the cloud-based provider of international payment, currency risk management and electronic account services for SMEs, has unveiled James Hickman as their incoming CEO. He is currently tendering his resignation to his current employer, fire.com.

Meanwhile, Vicky Sanders have joined OpenFin as digital manager. The appointment follows ING Ventures’ $10 million investment in the enterprise productivity operating system. Sanders will be key to driving end-user digital optimization efforts across the company’s ecosystem.

Standard Chartered Bank have named Manpreet Gill as investment manager, Africa, Middle East and Europe. Based out of Dubai, Gill will continue to report to Steve Brice, group investment manager. His appointment is in addition to his current role as head of the CIO Office’s Fixed Income, Currency & Commodity Strategy.

Mergers and acquisitions

SeedBlink, the European co-investment platform in tech startups, has completed the acquisition of Symbid, the crowdfunding investment platforms. The deal is accelerating SeedBlink coverage as a pan-European player, and expanded its geographical footprint in CEE and Benelux. It also supports its mission to consolidate and build the equity investment infrastructure for European technology companies at all stages.

Cartlow, the reverse logistics platform in the region, has announced its acquisition of Mello, the classifieds platform for used items. In line with the acquisition, Melltoo customers will be automatically redirected to Cartlow’s platform.

Private equity company NorthEdge has supported quality assurance and testing companies Testronicportion of Catalis Group, to complete two new acquisitions. Testronic has acquired Check Disc Labs (CDL) and Giant Interactive, representing the third and fourth acquisitions for Catalis Group since NorthEdge’s investment in the firm in 2020.

Provider of technology infrastructure and services Liquid intelligent technologies has completed its 100% acquisition and delisting of Telrad, an Israeli-based technology company. Telrad has a significant presence in 13 countries across the Middle East, South America, USA, Eastern Europe and Asia.

Financing and investments

Biza.ioan Australian Consumer Data Right (CDR) expert, has raised $7.5 million in a Series A funding round led by OIF Ventures and Jelix Ventures. Biza.io helps banks, financial institutions, energy retailers and data economy participants navigate the regulated CDR ecosystem, complying and innovating within the Australian data sharing landscape.

Dukkantek, the UAE store management platform, announces a $10 million pre-series A funding round that powers the digital ecosystem for 13 million SME retailers across the UAE, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Turkey, Saudi Arabia. The funding will provide further access to global expansion, enhance the platform’s technology stack and hire the best talent in the region.

Verdant Capital has made its first investment in Watu Credit Uganda Limited. The $7 million investment will help Watu expand its two-wheeler financing footprint across the country. In addition, Watu is expected to benefit from initiatives supported by the Fund’s technical assistance.

BankiFi, a provider of embedded banking solutions, has secured £4m in additional investment to continue its global expansion, with a focus on North America following the recent establishment of a sales office in the US. This funding is led by Praetura Ventures.

Murasaki, a game studio building decentralized games on the blockchain has closed a €1.5 million seed round led by Incubation fund. Murasaki’s Cyberstella, an NFT-focused game with a new take on the play-and-earn model, is set for release in early 2023.

Partnership

Ocrolus, the document and data analysis platform, works with Lend flow to improve access to credit for small businesses. Ocrolus provides Lendflow with insight into a borrower’s cash flow to determine where a loan application should be routed within the lender network.

MasterCard has signed a three-year cooperation agreement with Saudi Esports Federation as official sponsor of Players8, the gaming and esports event worldwide. With respect to Saudi Arabia’s thriving gaming community, Mastercard will curate a multitude of invaluable experiences for players and fans.

Pension specialist Group only has become the first provider in the retirement income sector to work with Commentis. Comentis’ innovative digital cognitive assessment engine will help Just Group proactively identify ‘at risk’ customers through a clinically developed, online process.

Product launches

Alaan, a UAE-based corporate spend management fintech, announced the launch of an industry-first corporate cashback card. The startup had previously raised $2.5 million in seed funding and built a platform that enabled businesses to use modern business cards and automated invoice payments. Business customers who use Alaan cards get up to two percent of their expenses in cash back.

Zorro Sign, a multi-chain blockchain-based digital signature solutions provider, has launched its next-generation platform that seeks to upgrade its user experience and user interface with new features, security, compliance and system updates for its UAE and global subscribers.