This week in Fintech: TFT Bi-Weekly News Roundup 27/09

IN Fintech Times Bi-Weekly News Roundup on Tuesday, we hear news about lender profitability Allica and funding success for fintech July.

Partnership

iDenfy has entered into a partnership with EcoD NPOa non-profit organization founded by Innovation in Politics Institute, which aims to improve democratic politics. iDenfy’s verification solution will be used to help safely onboard new applicants.

Qatar’s award-winning fintech startup C Wallet services has entered into cooperation with Visa to expand its product offering. According to the agreement, CWallet will issue prepaid cards to its customers, and make the payment gateway available to both online and offline merchants. Visa will also advise CWallet on its future financial institution relationships.

Bank-as-a-service provider Contis has merged with NagaPay to launch a new crypto program in the European Economic Area. The Visa-approved program, powered by the Contis Buffer solution, gives customers the choice of using either fiat currency from the NagaPay wallet or cryptocurrency from the NAGA X wallet.

DFMa funding partner in the Netherlands, has chosen World line as a partner for instant payments and clearing and settlement mechanisms. Worldline now handles instant payments and back office processing services for DFM via its payment license partner Volkswagen Bankas part of a five-year contract.

Payment technology company Tribal payments delivers digital banking Paytend with both issuer and acquirer processing services. The partnership enhances Paytend’s product offering, enabling them to issue payment cards, allow users to add cards to mobile wallets, and allow merchants to accept POS and online transactions.

Company updates

SME fintech lender Allica has reached profitability in just over two years since opening. Allica has lent more than £1bn to SMEs since 2020 – with new monthly lending orders in Q3 reaching close to £1bn year-on-year. That makes it one of the fastest UK fintechs to achieve profitability.

Resilience, the cyber risk company, has expanded its global offering by launching a new business in London. It follows a number of senior appointments drawn from UK insurance, intelligence and cyber security organisations. In an agreement brokered by Lockton Re LLP, this expansion is supported by a capacity agreement with HDI Global Specialty SEfor Resilience to enter the UK market.

Financing and investments

Lars Seier Christensenchairman of the board of the Swiss non-profit organization Concordium Foundation, has further invested in the ecosystem around the Concordium Blockchain. The extra €10 million will fund projects that want to build on or integrate their dApps into the Concordium chain.

Remove first has come out of stealth with a $14.1 million fundraiser to fix salaries for remote teams. Fintech investors Mouro capital and QED investors co-led the round with additional participation from Counterpart Ventures. Remofirst’s services include onboarding, payroll, benefits, taxes and local compliance.

Frost, the e-money institution, has embarked on the next phase of its growth journey after a successful summer of fundraising. Since launching in May 2022, the innovative e-wallet provider has raised £1.1 million. In July, the business closed a large seed funding round with key investors and additions to the team.

Fintech Data tree has closed a second funding round, and is attracting investments from both new and existing investors. It follows three-digit percentage growth year on year, since its inception in 2019. The funds will further improve Adatree’s products and capabilities, expand internationally, as well as expand the team.

More funding updates

Meanwhile, new insurtech Peachy has received an increase of 1.6 million dollars. The start-up has been in development for three years and is the brainchild of a former NHS surgeon. Its mission is to democratize access to private healthcare.

Shaype, the Australian embedded finance platform has secured a further A$33 million in new equity investment in a Series C capital raising. The latest funding will accelerate growth, including strengthening the team and expanding internationally.

Tip jar, the cashless betting platform, is closing its latest round of funding six days ahead of schedule after a single angel investor placed £500,000 into the business. It has now raised more than £1.3m on Crowdcube. TipJAR uses the funds to “help even more employees, across more territories, earn more tips”.

July, a fintech based in Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal and France, has raised a $5 million extension round led by the European Venture Capital Fund Speedinvest to expand its operations in West Africa. Proceeds from the round will help Julaya expand with offices in Benin, Togo and Burkina Faso, hire multicultural talent and increase product development.

The job is moving

Management consulting firm Arthur D. Little has appointed Stephane Ulcakar as head of corporate and government financial services. Ulcakar will focus on future strategic growth, value creation and driving consistent high performance across the business.

Fintech in the UK Fine has made important additions to its management team as the business continues to mobilize. Charles Resnick join as chief finance officer from ClearBank. Meanwhile, John Willcock comes from William Hill as chief product officer. Jason Moore is its new program director, while Darrin Scott Brent has joined as head of technology.

NLGIC Group announces c-suite management team after integration of RSA Middle East. Martin Rueegg, regional managing director of RSA, is appointed CEO of NLGIC. While S Venkatachalam, Managing Director of NLGIC, has been appointed Regional Managing Director for Health, Life and Supply Chain. Dr Dhafir Awadh Al Shanfari has also been appointed CEO. Finally, Al Ahlia Insurance, RSA Middle East Subsidiary in Oman – Name Hanaa Fahad Al Hinaicurrently Deputy Managing Director for UAE and Bahrain in RSA Middle East, as Managing Director.

BNY Mellon has promoted Bana Akkad-Azhari to head of treasury services EMEA. Akkad-Azhari joined the bank as lead representative for Lebanon in 2006. She will drive strategic growth in the region across payments, liquidity and trade finance.

Got You Covered Ltd has revealed Lisa Powis will join the group management in an advisory role as a non-executive director. Powis was previously managing director of Fresh Insurance Services. Powis will be an important asset to Got You Covered as the broker marches forward with plans for growth.

More job moves

reassuredlife insurance broker, today has appointed Paul Foody in a move designed to continue the development of its advisory arm and expand its product offering. He joins from Neilson Place. Foody follows other recent senior hires at Reassured, including Amanda Curwood, chairman of the council, and Lucy Brown as company manager.

iProov, the biometric verification and authentication technology firm, has unveiled Nicole Rowe as marketing manager. Rowe is responsible for overseeing iProov’s brand awareness, go-to-market strategies, global communications program, demand generation and revenue team support.

Investment Officer Zach Francis have joined YFM Equity Partners (YFM). The firm, which has offices in London, Birmingham, Leeds, Manchester and Reading, is increasing its presence across the South.

feedzai, riskops platform for financial risk management, appoints former Citrix president and CEO David Henshall to his board. Before joining Citrix, Henshall served as CFO in Rational Software Corporation.

FX HedgePool, a peer-to-peer institutional FX matching platform, has announced Karen Phillips as head of business development. Phillips’ hiring is part of a broader expansion of FX HedgePool, which recently closed an $8 million equity financing round.