The Fintech Times Bi-Weekly News Roundup on Tuesday 27 February 2024 brings you the latest updates from the global fintech industry.
Appointments
Tokenbridge, a token aggregator and distribution platform, appoints Kim Toker as the chair of the firm’s EMEA advisory board. She is the co-founder and former chief operating officer of Clara Pension. Tokenbridge is poised to further its mission of streamlining the wealth and fund management ecosystem.
European equity management platform Ledgy has hired Svein Petter Undheim as the company’s first head of financial reporting. An executive with almost two decades’ experience, he joins Ledgy from stock transfer firm, Computershare, where he served as head of financial reporting products for six years.
Payter, which specialises in unattended contactless payment terminals, has appointed two new senior executives, Jack Driessen as chief financial officer and Ryan Philo as chief product officer. The Netherlands-based company is actively expanding its teams across the UK, Europe and the US in response to significant
growth in sales.
Gresham Technologies, a fintech company specialising in real-time data integrity and control solutions, has secured a five-year contract from a US investment bank, valued at $1.5million. It has also appointed Daniel Witham to the position of senior sales director to supercharge its US growth. Witham, a former EZOPS business development director, is responsible for building relationships with the financial services sector.
Flutterwave, the African payments technology company, has appointed Olajumoke Adenowo as a member of its global board of directors. Adenowo will play an instrumental role in Flutterwave’s journey toward solidifying its pan-African and global positioning.
Global law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has welcomed financial services regulatory lawyer Alison Hashmall as a partner in New York. She routinely advises clients on Bank Holding Company Act and related issues arising in connection with fund formation, fintech and fund transactions and capital raising activities.
Partnerships
Payment provider Vitesse has partnered with Baoba Inc, a parametric insurance technology infrastructure provider. Vitesse will join Baoba’s parametric infrastructure platform, which enables insurers to create and operate data-driven, automated parametric insurance solutions at scale.
Oyak Portföy, the investment arm of Turkey’s leading pension fund – Oyak Group, and Finberg, the investment subsidiary of Fibabanka, have strategically invested in Aquanow Turkiye, a subsidiary of Aquanow. Aquanow is a company specialising in digital assets infrastructure. This investment marks the beginning of a partnership aimed at pioneering innovative digital asset solutions for the Turkish market.
Crédit Agricole CIB has launched the new Optim Receivables and Supply Chain Finance (RSF) platform, white- labelled by Demica, the supply chain finance fintech. With this strategic partnership, clients will be able to optimise working capital requirements through the inclusive digital platform.
Nexi Group, the European paytech, has partnered with Woo, the open e-commerce platform. The partnership will enable Woo merchants to offer customers a wider range of payment options, which can be customised to local preferences across Europe.
Smart Pension, a UK workplace pension provider, and Wahed, the Islamic digital investment platform, launch a fully diversified workplace pension, the Halal Workplace Pension. The collaboration meets the unmet demand for modern, Shariah-compliant workplace pensions from Muslim employers and among the UK’s 3.9 million-strong Muslim population.
Noda, an instant transaction facilitation company, announces its market expansion alongside Wargaming into the Baltic region, including Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia. Starting in January 2024, this strategic partnership will bring innovative open banking payment solutions to online gamers across these countries.
Funding and investments
BNP Paribas and Citi have become the first institutional investors in United Fintech Group Limited, a neutral digital transformation platform, as part of a strategic investment round led by Citi. United Fintech is also in advanced talks with other leading strategic investors to join its transformative journey, signalling a broad industry shift towards collaborative fintech innovation. As part of the deal, two rotating board seats will go to BNP Paribas and Citi.
Penfold, the digital pensions provider, has achieved success in its latest crowdfunding round – achieving 125 per cent of its funding target. It is raising further investment to accelerate the expansion of its workplace pension and double down on adding new features and services to its product.
