This week in Fintech: TFT Bi-Weekly News Roundup 06/12
Fintech Times Bi-weekly news summary
Partnership
Fintech provider Lerky has signed a cooperation agreement with Gerber Federal Credit Union. In partnership with Connect FSS, Gerber FCU plans to launch Larky’s push-push notifications to boost member engagement and deliver targeted messages tailored to their needs.
ShieldpayThe B2B payment company, has merged with the payment service provider Molly. The partnership enables Shieldpay customers to fully digitize their payment needs, from routine payments that require direct processing to complex, high-value B2B transactions.
Tonga Development Bank (TDB)the longest-serving bank in the kingdom since 1977, has chosen European paytech BPC to be its HA’AMO 2 (Solution Partner), helping to accelerate digital transformation in the Polynesian banking sector.
A new partnership between Thales and fintech handsome has led to the creation of a new voice payment card to protect the visually impaired. The card expresses the amount for each transaction before validation. The technology has already been certified by Visa and Mastercard.
There is also a partnership for Alpian, Switzerland’s first digital private bank, and Napier. Napier will provide Alpian with its full range of financial crime compliance technology solutions through its intelligent compliance platform, Napier Continuum. This offers full AI-enhanced risk management capabilities across the entire risk profile of Alpian clients.
Financing and investment
Bit of sun has closed a $250 million revolving debt facility with Credit Suisse and Waterfall Asset Management. The new debt facility further diversifies Sunbit’s funding sources and supports its continued growth in POS loans as well as the Sunbit card.
Norwegian proptech startup Speiz has raised €1.3 million in seed funding round led by F-LOG Ventures Start page. The funding will enable Speiz to continue to establish its SaaS-enabled marketplace for commercial warehouse property in Norway and expand its reach across Europe.
Britain’s challenger bank Allica Bank has raised £100m in Series C funding in a round led by TCV, backed by Warwick Capital Partners and Atalaya Capital Management. It will use the funds to continue scaling. In addition to lending, the bank also offers savings accounts, asset financing, business loans and personal savings accounts.
Company updates
Bank-as-a-service provider Contis retires its brand and becomes Solaris. The partnership was introduced in early 2022 and the rebrand is the latest in the combined firms which are the most comprehensive bank-as-a-service provider in Europe. The 750-employee team across Europe and Asia now has a full suite of regulatory licenses in the EEA and the UK.
Cryptocurrency operator Circle has decided to end a $9 billion SPAC deal Concord Acquisition Corp, almost 10 months after their previous agreement. Both companies have approved the move. Concord had until Dec. 10 to complete the deal to buy Circle, which would have caught the fintech crowd on New York Stock Exchange.
Appointments
ClariVisan enterprise dashboard and analytics solution for bankers, recruiters Bobby Guilliams as IT director. Since the start of the year, KlariVis has significantly expanded its internal team as demand for the platform increases. In 2022, the company will have more than doubled its customer base.
Fintech Hello group has appointed Lee Cullinane to the position of legal assistant. He will play a critical role in the company’s expansion and provide strategic legal advice on all aspects of business operations, including governance, corporate and institutional legal matters.
Fintech Broadridge Financial Solutions appoints Martin Koopman as product manager. The role, which starts in January, involves overseeing Broadridge’s enterprise product vision and strategy, building enterprise-wide platforms to benefit Broadridge customers, strengthening product management teams, as well as accelerating innovation.
Fintech platform Airwallex has appointed Kai Wu as chief revenue officer and APAC general manager. Wu has held a number of leading positions in Airwallex for nearly five years, including as CFO. Airwallex also has plans to rapidly accelerate its growth globally and in APAC in 2023.
Technical supplier Landscape has unveiled a new advisory board. Members include Martin Morin as chairman, Steve Box and Peter Hunt. Their guidance will help the company to refine its strategy, prioritize innovations and connect with new customers and partners.
More job moves
Zumothe Edinburgh-based crypto platform, has hired Vicky Byrom as its first data and analytics manager. She will build the company’s data and analysis capabilities to a standard in the class. She will also be responsible for establishing a data management committee to map data across the business.