Welcome to The Fintech Occasions Bi-Weekly Information Roundup on Thursday 13 June 2024, bringing you the most recent updates from internationally.
Firm updates
Fintech Verto has launched the Verto Market for brokers and companies to commerce in illiquid and unique African currencies, together with NGN, ZAR, XAF, XOF and KES. Market is designed to beat challenges of restricted fee management, excessive prices, lack of transparency and inefficiency. It’s obtainable for merchants, brokers, and treasurers within the US, UK and EU markets.
Revolut is to maneuver its international headquarters to the YY London constructing within the centre of Canary Wharf, committing to a ten yr lease. The worldwide fintech is growing its workplace footprint by 40 per cent to 113k sq ft, taking 4 flooring, and intends to characteristic two Revolut logos on the aspect of the constructing. The transfer “strengthens the corporate’s dedication” to the UK, and comes as Revolut reaches 9 million clients out there.
BVNK, the stablecoin funds supplier, has enabled Swift funds on its platform, so companies can transfer simply between US {dollars}, Euros and stablecoins like USDT, USDC and PYUSD. With these new capabilities, BVNK clients can faucet into extra environment friendly international settlement and do enterprise with international companions extra simply.
Partnerships
Dubai Funding PJSC, a diversified funding group, has appointed fintech xCube because the liquidity supplier for its shares listed on the Dubai Monetary Market (DFM). xCube will independently commerce Dubai Funding shares, getting into two-way each day quotes into the market throughout the outlined parameters of the mandate, and in compliance with laws set by the DFM and SCA.
Moldindconbank, a Moldavian monetary establishment, has joined forces with Salt Edge, an open banking options supplier, to adjust to Moldova’s regulation on PSD2 laws. Salt Edge’s full-stack open banking compliance answer permits Moldindconbank to fulfill the NBM’s necessities and empower its purchasers to entry a complete overview of their monetary transactions by means of any regulated app.
Muse Finance, a monetary know-how firm, has launched musePay, its purchase now, pay later integration with international small enterprise platform, Xero. This integration can be supported by Allianz Commerce, the commerce credit score insurance coverage firm. The combination between musePay and Xero works to make sure that companies can handle their funds simply and easily.
1fs Wealth has bolstered the capabilities of its AI-driven international wealth intelligence platform by partnering with Albourne Companions Restricted, an independently owned, non-discretionary international funding advisor. Customers of the 1fs Wealth platform can now entry Albourne’s Hedge Fund Indices: HedgeRS to benchmark their investments.
Acquired.com, the next-generation funds enterprise targeted on powering recurring commerce, and Flexys, a UK-based collections administration know-how supplier, have joined forces. Flexys and Acquired.com are working collectively to supply Flexys’ platform with Google Pay, Apple Pay and open banking powered funds. Acquired.com has additionally supported Flexys in implementing a multi-acquiring technique.
Appointments
First Abu Dhabi Financial institution (FAB) has added two new international banking veterans to its government committee (ExCo) – appointing Simon Thorn as group chief compliance officer and Neil Barrable as group chief credit score officer. Thorn will oversee FAB’s regulatory compliance, AML and monetary crime insurance policies and procedures. He joined FAB in 2023 from Barclays Financial institution. In the meantime, Barrable will lead FAB’s credit score operate, becoming a member of from HSBC.
KPMG within the UK has appointed Hannah Dobson as its new head of fintech. She was beforehand co-head of fintech alongside John Hallsworth, who’s retiring from the agency in July 2024. Dobson joined the agency in 2015 and along with main its fintech workforce she is a associate in KPMG’s oblique tax workforce.
Broadridge Monetary Options appoints Roz Smith as chief working officer of Broadridge Worldwide. Smith will deal with scaling and streamlining the Broadridge Worldwide enterprise to drive transformational ranges of working effectivity and productiveness. Previous to becoming a member of Broadridge, Smith spent 18 years in administration roles at HSBC.
MerQube, the index-linked index investing, has welcomed Dave Mueller as chief monetary officer. Mueller brings 17 years expertise working in company and strategic finance at companies servicing the monetary companies sector. He has spent the final seven years at know-how VC agency Intel Capital the place he was chargeable for assessing potential investments in corporations.
S64, the worldwide alternate options fintech and options associate to the wealth administration trade, has appointed Marcus Glover as chief know-how officer. Glover has beforehand delivered client-facing digital platforms for monetary establishments together with Morgan Stanley, UBS, Deutsche Financial institution, and the Financial institution of Singapore.
Funding information
Dubai-based Qstay, a hospitality and rental funding property administration platform, has efficiently raised $4.6million in a pre-Sequence A funding spherical. This newest spherical brings the entire quantity raised by the corporate to $11.1million. The funding was secured by means of a mix of standard and convertible debt.
Sidekick, a wealth administration platform, has raised £4.5million in a seed spherical and £4million through a debt facility. The mixed £8.5million will see the startup proceed scaling its workforce and increasing its product lineup whereas securing a European licence. The seed spherical was co-led by Pact VC and TheVentureCity, with participation additionally from 1818, MS&AD, Blackwood, Octopus Ventures, Seedcamp and Semantic Ventures.
Layer3 has introduced a $15million Sequence A funding spherical co-led by ParaFi and Greenfield Capital. The spherical noticed participation from Electrical Capital, King River, Immutable, Lattice, Tioga, LeadBlock Bitpanda Ventures, Amber, Stateless and GD1. The Layer3 Basis will launch the L3 token, together with a brand new AI-enabled protocol for optimising distribution methods, later this yr.
AccountsIQ, the cloud-based accounting platform, has secured a €60million Sequence C funding from Axiom Fairness, a specialist B2B SaaS progress fairness fund. The funding can be focussed on persevering with to develop the AccountsIQ product to form the finance operate of the long run, benefiting from development in AI all through all features of the answer.
