This week in Fintech: TFT Bi-Weekly News Roundup 06/10

IN Fintech Times Bi-Weekly News Roundup on Thursday sees OCR Labs celebrate British certification and Abundance unveil a new Asia practice leader.

Partnership

CWallet, a Qatar-based payment processing fintech startup, has partnered with M2P Fintech, The API infrastructure company, to enable prepaid and multi-currency cards in Qatar. This partnership is aimed at promoting financial technology intelligence, financial inclusion and services not only to the unbanked majority, but also to Qatar’s citizens, residents and businesses.

Ondato will intproduce its automated onboarding tool for customers of Radix match after a partnership. The automated solutions from Ondato will be made available by Radix as part of their work with clients to raise mitigation levels for businesses subject to specific AML regulatory requirements.

Know your customer and Hawk AI has also unveiled a partnership. By combining Know Your Customer’s digital onboarding and business KYC solutions with Hawk AI’s transaction monitoring capabilities, customers will have access to an integrated offering to centralize and harmonize the many and often complex elements of their AML programs.

Meanwhile, MasterCard and ravelin, a machine learning fraud platform, have teamed up to deliver an improved fraud solution. Incorporates digital identity verification features from Ekata and real-time fraud insights from Ethoca, Ravelin will help merchants validate a consumer’s identity without adding friction to the process.

Launcher

HSBC has launched a free fraud and cyber awareness app to help customers and non-customers protect themselves from cyber attacks. The app provides real-time alerts on new scams worldwide and can be downloaded from Google Play and Apple App stores in Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Turkey and the UAE.

Saw, the accounting, finance, HR and payroll technology firm for SMEs has launched Sage Intacct in Namibia, Botswana and Mauritius. The cloud financial management solution gives finance teams the insight and automation they need to keep up with the demands of running a business in an ever-expanding digital environment.

Financing and investment

Smart money app Plum has started its third round of crowdfunding. Since its last crowdfund, the company has launched commission-free investing, expanded into new European markets, enabled crypto trading and launched a debit card. Plum has also grown its customer base to 1.4 million. It plans to use the new funding to accelerate its European expansion, refine its products and build an even faster, more cohesive app.

Zvilothe credit-led digital bank for the Balkans, has secured a debt facility of EUR 50 million from Fasanara capital. This debt facility helps Zvilo rapidly scale and expand the supply of working capital to SMEs in the Balkans.

Axyon AI has completed a financing round of 1.6 million euros. The round, led by Fondo Rilancio Startup, will support international growth. The funds will also develop Axyon IRIS, the flagship product that provides asset managers with AI-powered market insights and investment strategies.

Appointments

Hub71Abu Dhabi’s global technology ecosystem powered by Mubadala, has appointed Ahmad Ali Alwan as deputy managing director. He was previously responsible for various functions at Hub71, including strategy, stakeholder management, finance, investor engagement and operations.

The investment bank Bryan Garnier appoints Jean-Malo Dupart as MD in the software investment banking team. He joins from Societe Generale. Bryan Garnier has advised on a number of fintech deals, including a private placement in Sweden Qred.

BlueSnap, the payment orchestration platform, appoints Anthony Carey to the EU board for further growth across Europe. BlueSnap plans to establish a highly specialized EU-based team, with a vast amount of industry expertise. Carey was previously a board member and chairman of the board of Dublin Funds Industry Association.

In the meantime, cyber security advice S-RM name Kelly Rogers-Davison as its new CFO. She will ensure that the company’s financial strategy continues to support S-RM’s growing partnerships and customers. Kelly will also lend his expertise to expanding S-RM’s operations internationally.

Abundancethe risk and compliance firm, has appointed Mike Coates as its Asia practice manager and senior manager. His responsibilities include delivering Plenitude’s ambitious growth plans across Asia. Plenitude also recently announced a strategic investment from Growth Capital Partners (GCP) to accelerate global expansion.

Mergers and acquisitions

Stump Edge acquires credit broker intermediary Finpoint to expand the offer of financial services. The agreement, after approval by Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)expanding UK fintech can provide brokers and IFAs to help them build a comprehensive offering across insurance, loans and cash for SMEs.

Singapore-based international insurtech bolttech has taken up a majority stake in PT Axle Asia, an insurance broker in Indonesia. Axle Asia will become a subsidiary of bolttech and will rebrand. Srinath Narasimhan, general manager of bolttech in Indonesia, oversees the growth of bolttech in Indonesia.

Company updates

OCR Labs Global, the digital ID verification company, has received official accreditation from the UK government as a certified digital identity service provider. In addition to the UK accreditation, OCR Labs Global was the first private entity to be accredited under Australia’s digital identity security framework and plans to achieve the Canadian ID certification by the end of 2022.