This week in Fintech: TFT Bi-Weekly News Roundup 12/22

IN Fintech Times Bi-Weekly News Roundup Thursday 22 December 2022 UAE-based open finance platform Fintech Galaxy expands into Egypt with the acquisition of Underlying.

Appointments

CLS money welcomes you Lauren Alter as operations manager. In her new role, she will support the company’s specialist adviser, admin and protection team. She has previously worked in banks, e.g Nationwide and Nationwide. CLS Money says the appointment supports its growth plans for 2023.

Fintech Bitten have added Ambassador J. Peter Pham to its advisory board. He served as the first-ever US special envoy for the Sahel region of Africa, with the personal rank of ambassador from 2020 to 2021. He will provide Bitt with strategic guidance based on his extensive knowledge of African business, finance and government issues.

Network International, a digital commerce firm across the MEA region, has appointed Sandeep Chouhan as CEO for business transformation and technology. He will drive Network’s global strategic transformation to accelerate business growth, operational efficiency and innovation in product processing and procurement, as well as reduce time-to-market for banks, merchants and fintechs.

Julie Patterson have joined MJ Hudson, the provider of end-to-end solutions to the asset management industry, as an independent non-executive director. Patterson also currently sits on the board of a UK subsidiary of Capital Group and chairs The Investment Association’s Sector committee.

Fintech provider Lerky has appointed Bret Taylor as sales manager. Taylor has previously worked in SMA technologies and digital banking provider Bankjoy. Taylor identifies potential prospects for new business growth, builds and maintains new customer relationships.

More deals

MANGOPAY, the platform-specific payment infrastructure provider, name Carlos Sánchez Arruti as finance manager. He joined from his previous role at Amazon as CFO of LATAM. As MANGOPAY’s reach expands worldwide, Carlos will help enable “aggressive growth while operating with the highest standards of discipline and fiscal responsibility”.

Nickel, a minority company, appoints Cathy Siciliano as marketing manager. Siciliano joins Nikkl at a time when the firm is poised to launch its investment fund in early 2023. As CMO, Siciliano is responsible for creating and executing an integrated marketing strategy and rapidly scaling awareness of Nikkl’s technology platform and investment fund.

Bank of London has employed Gavin Hewitt as group financial director (CFO). He leads all accounting, finance and corporate treasury for the group, and will also contribute to the development of the group’s strategy, and support the delivery of its commercial agenda. Hewitt joins from Silicon Valley Bank, where he held the role of CFO for the UK and Europe, as well as the Middle East and Africa.

Medium, an AP automation provider, appoints Daniel Ball as EVP of Product, the latest move to further accelerate the company’s growth. In his new role, Ball will be responsible for setting and delivering the product strategy for the Medius platform, which spans multiple product areas and charting the direction of a global research and development team.

Acquisition

UAE based Fintech Galaxythe central bank-regulated open financial platform in the Middle East, has announced the acquisition of Underlying. Underlie is an Egypt-based open banking platform that offers APIs to banks and businesses. The agreement will help Fintech Galaxy to develop and launch new digital solutions and push financial inclusion forward.

Lumera, a software company dedicated to the digital transformation of the European life and pensions industry, has acquired AxyWare. Based in Utrecht, AxyWare is a systems provider to Dutch pension funds, pension fund administrators and life insurance companies. AxyWare will be “closely integrated” with Lumera’s organization in the local subsidiary Lumera BV.

Financing and investments

Manchester based fintech solutions provider Level has secured a £1m investment from NPIF – Maven Equity Financeportion of Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund. The investment comes alongside Barclays Bank, which backed the round with additional investment. The investment will help Nivo build product, marketing, customer success and sales teams, including the addition of a director of sales to accelerate the business’ growth.

Partnership

Open and JCB partner to add JCB’s purchasing and processing capabilities to Opn’s payment offering in Thailand. This collaboration enables Opn to further streamline payments for its merchants, while expanding its product offering beyond merchant services into the procurement-as-a-service vertical.

Trade finance software platform Surecomp is to offer clients across its global banking and corporate portfolios additional levels of data integration following a partnership with the financial connectivity firm Finecta. It gives Surecomp’s RIVO business customers greater centralized transparency of their liquidity. While lenders can gain confidence in serving a wider market, including SMEs.

SavvyMoney and Alkami recently signed its 100th shared customer following a partnership. Since its launch in 2019, the number of Alkami digital banking customers choosing SavvyMoney as their credit score solution has grown steadily. They say a shared commitment to advancing consumers’ financial well-being has driven the partnership’s growth and success.

Wealthtech B2B Platform All means has entered into a service agreement with BB Asset, the asset management unit to Banco do Brasil. The agreement further increases Allfund’s footprint in Brazil. With this commercial partnership, BB Asset also “strengthens its value proposition” in international open architecture.

Independent broker network Compass network has entered into a partnership with a financial provider PremFina to offer flexible insurance payment options to members’ customers. It is the first time Compass Network has teamed up with PremFina.

Company updates

Fibank (First Investment Bank) has implemented voice menus in some of its ATMs to help blind people withdraw money from them. The service is available at 60 units in the bank located in important locations in major cities. The innovation is in line with the best global banking practices to facilitate the use of day-to-day banking services for the visually impaired.

b-ilty, the unlimited groupits digital bank that offers financial services and credit to small and medium-sized enterprises, announces the launch of its green package with favorable terms, loans to support the energy and environmental projects of SMEs