It’s The Fintech Times Bi-Weekly News Roundup on Tuesday 12 December 2023.
Appointments
LCM, a European alternatives asset manager, appoints Julian Schiller to its senior management team as a MD and head of capital solutions. He has previously held senior positions at industry giants such as Brookfield and JLL. As part of the role, Schiller will oversee LCM’s global sales efforts and will also be a member of the product development team.
Fintech Origo has appointed Tom Mullally as chief product officer. The newly created role is designed to help Origo with its strategy to become the ‘go to’ fintech for the industry. He began his career with Nat West before moving to Deloitte and then as chief product officer working on product and business development with two payments companies before moving to Origo.
Allied Payment Network, the real-time, open-network payments solutions provider, names Jessica Ludvigsen as its VP of strategic solutions. She will support the company’s direct sales team in facilitating the sales lifecycle and also by collaborating with third-party reseller and integration partners. Ludvigsen will also be responsible for identifying key growth areas.
KPMG International has appointed David Rowlands as global head of AI for KPMG International and launches the KPMG Trusted AI framework with the aim of ensuring a responsible and ethical approach to AI transformation. He will collaborate and coordinate with specialists from across the global organisation to help drive and implement KPMG’s AI strategy to unlock growth.
NexPay, a global education payments, has unveiled new board roles including David Jonhstone as non-executive chair, Rajesh Yohannan, the current CEO of Axi Corp, as a non-executive board director, as well as Clive Wilson to the newly created role of chief risk and governance officer. The hires coincide with plans for expansion into key international markets including South East Asia, China, India and Nepal in 2024.
Additional appointments
The Clearing House (TCH), the operator of US payments networks, has welcomed Sal Karakaplan as chief strategy officer. Karakaplan joind from Truist Financial where he was executive VP for the enterprise payments group, in charge of enterprise payments strategy. In his role, Karakaplan will work across the industry to enhance and execute TCH’s strategic vision to shape the payments landscape for the future.
Business funding provider Accelerated Payments has revealed the appointment of Michael Harrison as Sales Director for the UK. He will focus on supporting existing clients in the UK and attracting new ones, particularly those looking to expand globally. Harrison has enjoyed a 20-year career at major global banks, including HSBC and Bank of Ireland.
Compare the Market has appointed Duncan Painter as independent non-executive director and chair of its board risk committee. Painter has been the CEO of Ascential PLC for the past 12 years. He is replacing Seamus Keating, who leaves after his third and final term finishes at the end of the year. Existing board member Richard Hoskins will also assume a senior independent director role when Keating steps down.
Funding and investments
French fintech Aria has enjoyed a €15million funding round to expand its deferred payment infrastructure across the platform economy and B2B marketplaces. The funding round was led by 13books Capital with participation also from Adevinta Ventures, Ankaa Ventures, Otium Capital and angel investors. Aria builds on its freelancer invoice finance model as it shifts towards an embedded digital B2B payment structure.
SumUp, the global financial services company, has raised €285million in funding led by Sixth Street Growth with further participation by Bain Capital Tech Opportunities, Fin Capital and Liquidity Group. The funding will be used to expand SumUp’s global footprint. SumUp recently launched in Australia, its 36th market, and has built strong partnerships with brands such as JCB and Apple.
Partnerships and collaborations
Accenture has signed a strategic agreement with the Commercial Bank of Dubai (CBD) to drive its technology transformation programme and further enhance its banking services to personal and business customers. Accenture will set up a development centre of excellence to optimise CBD’s IT platforms and incorporate best-in-class technologies to enhance the customer experience.
Al Fardan Exchange, the UAE money transfer and currency exchange firm, has teamed up with Fuze, the digital asset infrastructure provider in MENA. An agreement establishes a framework for both organisations to explore providing digital asset capabilities, within the stringent regulatory guidelines set forth by the UAE for financial institutions.
Lucinity, a provider of advanced financial crime prevention solutions, has entered into an agreement with Trustly, the online payment solutions company. Trustly integrates Lucinity’s technology to enhance the resilience and effectiveness of its financial crime prevention operations. As both companies continue to evolve, this joint effort aims to set new benchmarks in the fight against financial crime.
Bank of Khyber (BOK) has announced a significant partnership with BPC, a financial technology solutions provider, to enhance e-commerce and online transaction security for its customers. Under the agreement, all Mastercard debit cards of Bank of Khyber will be equipped with 3D Secure authentication, conforming to the latest industry standards.
Shift4, the integrated payments and commerce technology company, partners with TOMRA, which specialises in waste collection and sorting. The partnership introduces a fully digital payment process for TOMRA’s reverse vending machines, which enables consumers to exchange reusable materials for a monetary reward, with Shift4 acting as the acquirer and point-of-sale (POS) gateway provider.
Additional partnerships
GoCardless, the bank payment company, has forged a partnership with Acre, an all-in-one platform for mortgage and protection brokers, to help them collect service fees from their clients in a more seamless and cost-effective way. Brokers can send clients an online payment link as well as set up Direct Debits via a customer portal.
Uphold, the global web3 financial platform, has revealed Topper, Uphold’s fiat-to-crypto on-ramp, has integrated with Changelly, an ecosystem of products and services. Changelly described it as “incredible” to partner with a company that provides smooth operations with cryptocurrency, allowing users to buy crypto via multiple payment methods, including Apple Pay.
Company updates
The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) has permitted Jeel Pay to provide buy now, pay later (BNPL) solutions. With Jeel Pay, there are now seven authorized companies offering BNPL solutions in Saudi Arabia, bringing the total number of licensed/permitted finance companies to 58.
