Author: TheFintechBuzz.com

katapult-announces-tahmineh-maloney-as-general-counsel

Katapult Announces Tahmineh Maloney as General Counsel

April 22, 2021 Published by

Katapult, the leading provider of eCommerce point-of-sale (“POS”) lease-purchase options for nonprime US consumers, today announced that Tahmineh “Tammy” Maloney has joined the organization as General Counsel. Ms. Maloney is responsible for legal compliance throughout the company while working alongside Derek Medlin, Katapult’s COO.

“I am excited that Tammy has joined our organization as General Counsel,” said Medlin. “Her experience at leading financial services organizations and important regulatory agencies will support our strong focus on innovation and growth while maintaining our laser focus on compliance and great consumer experiences.”

Prior to joining Katapult, Ms. Maloney served as General Counsel of E*Trade Bank, where she was responsible for advising on federal and state banking regulations, M&A, investments, cryptocurrency, banking products and activities, and payments. Ms. Maloney has over seventeen years of experience in legal and advisory roles with experience in the fintech space and holds a Juris Doctorate degree from Georgetown University Law Center.

“I’m thrilled to join such a great team at an innovative fintech,” said Ms. Maloney.

Katapult partners with leading eCommerce and omnichannel retailers to provide incremental growth via a new customer segment. Retail partners who have implemented Katapult’s solutions have seen an expanded customer base, increased transactions, and improved customer loyalty.

On December 18, 2020, Katapult and FinServ Acquisition Corp. (NASDAQ: FSRV) announced that they entered into a definitive merger agreement. Upon closing of the transaction, the combined company will operate as Katapult and plans to trade on Nasdaq under the new symbol “KPLT”.  The transaction remains subject to approval by FinServ stockholders and other closing conditions.

tomorrow-water-launches-second-phase-of-its-project-to-revolutionize-the-economics-and-environmental-impact-of-wastewater

Tomorrow Water Launches Second Phase of its Project to Revolutionize the Economics and Environmental Impact of Wastewater

April 22, 2021 Published by

 

Tomorrow Water, an innovative environmental solutions provider with a vision of a “Clean and Beautiful World Beyond Waste”, is launching the second phase of its ambitious Tomorrow Water Project (TWP), a plan aimed at drastically improving the economics and sustainability of wastewater treatment and other key infrastructure elements around the world. Tomorrow Water seeks to implement TWP in developing countries and developed countries alike, reducing the environmental impact and costs associated with wastewater treatment and enabling positive environmental and social change globally.

Tomorrow Water’s philosophy is that in order to foster sustainable waste and sewage practices, wastewater itself needs to be converted from a cost stream into a revenue stream. TWP does this by recovering valuable resources from wastewater, including water, heat, energy, proteins, and nutrients, making it more economically feasible to implement sustainable water and sanitation systems in developing nations.

TWP 2.0 aims to revolutionize the value chain of wastewater treatment operations by implementing technologies and engineered solutions that harness and reuse wasted resources like heat, water, energy, and nutrients for other key infrastructure functions like energy generation and IT capacity. TWP 2.0 will also improve the cost-efficiency of wastewater treatment through water AI (artificial intelligence) and automation. In doing so, Tomorrow Water hopes to empower developing nations to deploy sustainable, reliable, and affordable sewage treatment systems.

“In addition to innovating the value chain of wastewater operations, in TWP 2.0 we intend to incorporate data centers in TWP facilities,” said James Kim, COO of Tomorrow Water. “Data centers are sorely needed around the world as data processing requirements expand. The limiting factors for data centers in major cities are physical space, cooling capacity, and energy needs. By incorporating a data center on-site at a TWP facility, IT capacity can be expanded for a region in a sustainable, affordable way because the transfer of biogas energy and cooling water between TWP facilities solve data centers’ traditional hurdles.”

The first phase of the project (TWP 1.0) focused on creating the individual wastewater treatment and resource recovery technologies that can enable wastewater facilities to recycle valuable resources and achieve energy self-sufficiency, setting the groundwork for later stages of TWP. Tomorrow Water developed its highly efficient Proteus+ technology that converts wastewater solids into an energy production feedstock in a process called carbon diversion. When combined with the company’s low-physical-footprint nitrogen removal technology called Mainstream AMX (Anammox), Proteus+ can treat wastewater in developing countries while using 50% less space and 60-70% less energy and requiring half as much time as conventional aeration-based technologies. In this phase, Tomorrow Water also integrated energy production technologies such as thermal hydrolysis and biogas production into the same facility as the wastewater plant, allowing the recycling of otherwise wasted heat, water, and electricity. For more information on the technologies developed in TWP 1.0, visit https://www.tomorrowwater.com/technology.

“From its inception in 2016, the primary goal of TWP has been to create science and engineering-based solutions to enable significant social and environmental improvements in the wastewater industry,” explained Mr. Kim. “The United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals have a slogan, ‘Leave No One Behind’. As a company, we internalized this noble vision and seek to accomplish it through our own mission to ‘Leave Nothing Behind’ by employing innovative waste recycling technologies in every part of the world.”

apto-payments-launches-instant-issuance-platform

Apto Payments Launches Instant Issuance Platform

April 20, 2021 Published by

 

Apto Payments, a next-generation cards and payments company, today announced the launch of its Instant Issuance platform, a self-serve, developer platform that allows companies, merchants, financial institutions, and businesses of all sizes and industries to issue debit cards. With Instant Issuance, card programs for challenger banks, employee payroll, rewards and loyalty programs, and many other use cases can be built with just a few hours of development.

Designed with developers in mind, the Instant Issuance platform offers a frictionless, self-serve experience that allows companies to quickly bring their card programs to market. While card issuance is often a slow and complex process, Apto’s Instant Issuance platform allows developers to start working in sandbox within minutes. The platform also makes it seamless and easy to switch from development to production, customize cards, onboard users, and track sign-ups and revenue. Going from sign-up to having physical cards in the hands of users can happen in as little as a week.

“Historically, card issuance has required immense time and resources just to establish relationships with the requisite players, deal with compliance hurdles, and, finally, initiate the program. At Apto, we believe card issuance is overdue for an update,” said Meg Nakamura, Co-Founder and CEO of Apto Payments. “With our Instant Issuance platform, we are not only making the process easier, but fairer and more equitable.”

The instant issuance platform represents a key milestone in Apto’s mission to help democratize the financial services industry and improve accessibility to sophisticated payments solutions for players of all sizes and categories.

“Apto has always been at the cutting edge of card issuance, having created the first bitcoin-backed debit card and worked on programs for many early innovators in the payments space,” said Greg Kidd, Co-Founder of Apto Payments. “By lowering the barriers for companies to enter the market quickly, we are continuing to change the game and move the payments industry forward.”

london’s-latest-money-transfer-app,-passto,-expands-its-remittance-service-to-over-50+-countries-worldwide

London’s latest money transfer app, PassTo, expands its remittance service to over 50+ countries worldwide

April 20, 2021 Published by

 

In December 2019, PassTo’s goal was to shake up the Fintech remittance market, through a simple to use app, delivering fast, secure, and cheap money transfers to expats in the UK, with clear pricing.

PassTo’s debut year in the Fintech market, exceeded all expectations, despite the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic, proving to its growing number of satisfied customers to be an easy to use and reliable app, while also being a cheaper option for expats when sending money abroad.

As an independent money transfer app, PassTo has no allegiances to any remittance partner, therefore PassTo has developed an in-house algorithm that compares the market on behalf of its customers, delivering the most competitive deal in real-time ensuring that users are getting the best rate out of all.

PassTo’s simple approach of prioritizing customers ensures expats all over the UK can transfer money with the best exchange rates and lowest fees possible, to an ever-increasing number of destinations allowing more people to support their families and loved ones through PassTo

“When we first started the company we had a clear objective with PassTo,  to create a money transfer app that saves its users time, effort, and money by simplifying money transfers currently for expats living in the UK, sparing them loads unnecessary costs and delays.” AbdelRahman El-Sergani, PassTo’s VP said. ” And right now, we are totally convinced that these deals will bring us another step closer to achieving our goal, to give expats around the world a simplified banking experience in which they could count on.”

“We’re constantly looking for futuristic solutions,” AbdelRahman added. “That’s why we’ve developed an algorithm to give users the best possible price out of all 4 of our new providers, we’re basically putting our providers in a competition for our customers’ business.”

Available Countries:

Andorra–Austria– Bangladesh– Belgium– Benin– Bulgaria– Cameroon–China– Croatia– Cyprus– Czechia- Denmark– Estonia– Ethiopia– Finland– France– Germany– Ghana– Gibraltar– Greece– Holland– Hungary– Iceland– India– Ireland– Italy– Kenya– Latvia– Liechtenstein– Lithuania– Luxembourg– Malaysia– Malta– Monaco– Morocco– Nepal– Niger– Nigeria– Norway– Pakistan– Philippines– Poland– Portugal– Romania– San Marino– Senegal– Singapore– Slovakia– Slovenia–Somalia– South Africa– Spain– Sri Lanka– Sweden– Switzerland– Uganda– United Kingdom– Zambia.

PassTo launched in late 2019, is a trading brand of Blabla Connect Limited, a UK technology business founded in 2012, owning and managing the Blabla Connect app, an International VOIP service, with over 2 million downloads worldwide, both apps are available free from Google Play and the Apple app store.

allied-payment-network-named-one-of-the-best-places-to-work-for-second-year

Allied Payment Network Named One of the Best Places to Work for Second Year

April 14, 2021 Published by

Fort Wayne, Indiana-based Allied Payment Network, Inc. (Allied), the industry’s most progressive provider of online and mobile bill payment services to banks and credit unions, announced today that it has again been named one of the 2021 Best Places to Work in Financial Technology. Arizent and Best Companies Group created this annual survey and awards program in 2017 to identify, recognize, and honor the best employers in the financial technology industry in the U.S.; Allied was honored as a Best Place to Work for the second consecutive year.

Companies recognized this year operate in and serve companies and consumers in a wide range of financial services including banking and mortgages, insurance, payments and financial advisory.

“This year, the fintech industry became a larger and more important sector of our economy,” noted David Evans, chief content officer at Arizent. “This ranking helps highlight companies that have generous employee policies and positive cultures, and can help serve as a guide to job seekers in this competitive industry.”

“From the beginning, we at Allied have prioritized our employees and their work environment to make ourselves a best place to work.  By cultivating a positive, cohesive, and rewarding work environment, Allied attracts quality, dedicated team members to augment our success,” explained Allied founder and CEO Ralph Marcuccilli. “We are honored to be named to this list and will always strive to be a best place to work.”

To be considered for participation, companies must provide technology products, services, or solutions that enable the delivery of financial services. Companies must also have been in business for at least one full year and employ at least 15 people in the U.S. For more information on Arizent’s Best Places to Work in Financial Technology program, including full eligibility criteria, visit www.BestPlacestoWorkFinTech.com.

global-payment-solution-provider-reach-supports-its-rapid-growth-with-new-cto

Global payment solution provider Reach supports its rapid growth with new CTO

April 13, 2021 Published by

Reach, the global payment localization provider, has appointed Tyler Barry as Chief Technical Officer to support the business’ continued success throughout 2021 and beyond.

Barry, a twenty-year veteran of the technology industry, has been appointed to develop and execute the company’s strategic technology action plan and position the brand as it demonstrates explosive growth. A vastly experienced and talented leader, Barry has a proven record of success, and brings a wide range of expertise in areas such as scalable systems, distributed transaction settlement, mobile banking, and payment method integration.

Tyler Barry joins Reach after a decade of consulting directly with banks and fintechs in the North American and European markets. Over that period, Tyler led the overall design and work of the technical teams to conduct the first international blockchain-based currency transfer for a Canadian financial institution; delivered the solution design and delivery of numerous mobile payments solutions such as Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay, and Interac Etransfer for multiple financial institutions; leveraged open banking standards to deliver forward-looking solutions; and drove the design of software architecture for real-time fraud systems and highly scalable service-based environments.

Tyler will now turn his wealth of experience toward developing the Reach Platform, supporting improvements in transaction performance, dynamic processing, scalability, insight, security, and user experience.

Barry commented: “Reach is at an inflection point. We have an exceptional management team, a phenomenal customer base, and a market leading solution for merchants going global. I am energized to be part of the Reach team and to be able to serve the entire organization in propelling the growth of our services and platform for our customers.”

The Reach platform is designed to allow merchants to take advantage of the benefits of selling locally in a global marketplace, using its innovative service model to deliver higher conversion rates, lower costs, and a better end user experience for customers across the world.

Localised payment processing is a potential gold mine for global merchants, who are often saddled with higher fees and lower approval rates when processing foreign payments. For many businesses outside of the major multinationals, this has previously been unachievable due to requiring an ‘in-country’ business presence. However, by working through Reach’s platform, merchants can utilise Reach’s core connections and corporate structure to process localised payments from any country across the globe.

Thanks to Reach’s innovative platform and corporate relationships, businesses can take advantage of the best wholesale FX rates, along with presenting costs in local rates across more than 100 geographies worldwide, to deliver better service and increased value.

Sam Ranieri, CEO at Reach, said: “After a period of exceptional growth for our business, we’re thrilled to be welcoming Tyler as our new CTO. Tyler brings a wealth of invaluable experience to our senior team, with his track record of success speaking for itself. With his knowledge and support, we are well placed to continue disrupting the global ecommerce space through 2021 and the years ahead.”

“We saw a seismic shift in the commercial landscape in 2020, with the pandemic forcing businesses to rapidly refocus on ecommerce as their essential business model. This move exposed a huge number of businesses to new challenges, including volatile exchange rates and cross-border commerce risks. By adding talented individuals such as Tyler to our team, we’re ensuring that our solution will be ready to support merchants worldwide as they look to take advantage of cross-border ecommerce opportunities.”

grover-raises-e60-million-in-series-b-funding-to-take-consumer-tech-subscriptions-mainstream

Grover raises €60 million in Series B funding to take consumer tech subscriptions mainstream

April 13, 2021 Published by

 

Grover, Europe’s market leader in consumer tech subscriptions, today announces that it has secured €60 million in an oversubscribed Series B round. The funding will be used to increase market penetration, advance product innovation and accelerate international expansion in support of the company’s ambitious goals of tripling its subscriptions by the end of the year, and driving an industry shift toward a more circular approach to consumer electronics. The funding round follows a strong year of growth in 2020, which saw the business increase by 2.5x as consumers flocked to the company’s flexible rental service.

The round is made up of €45 million from equity investors and €15 million in venture debt financing. Investors in the round are a combination of existing and new investors. New investors in the round were led by Jonathan Schneider at private equity firm JMS Capital-Everglen, with participations from Viola Fintech, Assurant, as well as a number of founders and angel investors from Europe and North America. Existing investors coparion, Augmentum Fintech, Circularity Capital, Seedcamp and Samsung Next also invested in the round, amongst others. The €15 million venture debt portion of the round was issued by European growth debt provider Kreos Capital.

Grover enables people and businesses to rent technology monthly instead of buying it, giving them more flexibility than an outright purchase or financing plan, and allowing them to get the tech they want in a way that fits both their lifestyle and their wallet. By recirculating products across multiple rental cycles, Grover’s subscription model also offers a more sustainable alternative to conventional linear consumption.

This customer value proposition proved especially strong during the last year of the Coronavirus pandemic, where technology gained greater significance in people’s lives, consumers shopped more mindfully, and sought out flexible access options to help them stay in control of spending. Grover experienced record demand in 2020, closing out the year with 2.5x year-over-year growth, net revenues of €37 million for the fiscal year, and over 4,000 metric tons of CO2 saved thanks to device recirculation. 2020 also saw the company achieve €60 million in annual recurring revenue (ARR) [1] and become profitable on EBITDA-level for the first time.

Grover will use the new capital to double down on its core purpose of giving people a flexible, sustainable and financially healthy way of accessing tech, with the aim of tripling its subscriptions to a total of 450,000 by the end of 2021 and driving an industry shift toward a more circular approach to consumer electronics.

Grover’s plans for this year include:

  • Further scaling up its core markets – Germany, Austria and the Netherlands – and rolling out its service in new markets, including Spain and the US.
  • Advancing leading-edge product innovations, including the launch of a flat rate tech subscription, an embedded financial service and an enhanced business customer offering.
  • Expanding its product portfolio into new categories like connected health and fitness devices, consumer robots and smart appliances.
  • Investing in top talents and team development to drive company growth. This includes the recent addition of Michael Kostadinovich (ex Better.com) to Grover’s executive team, who took up his post as Chief Technology Officer on 1 April.

Michael Cassau, CEO and Founder of Grover: “Now more than ever, consumers value convenience, flexibility and sustainability when they shop for and use products. This is especially true when it comes to technology and all of the possibilities that it has to offer — whether that’s productivity, fun, or staying in touch with our loved ones. The fresh funding allows us to bring these possibilities to even more people across the world. It enables us to double down on creating an unparalleled customer experience for our subscribers, and to push the boundaries of the most innovative ways for people and businesses to access and enjoy technology. The strong support from our investors confirms not only the important value our service brings to people, but also Grover’s vast growth potential. We’re still just scratching the surface of a €1 trillion global market.”

coinpayments-set-to-remain-leading-crypto-payment-processor-finds-d-core-survey

CoinPayments Set to Remain Leading Crypto Payment Processor Finds D-Core Survey

April 13, 2021 Published by

 

Emerging technology research company D-Core released its latest analysis reviewing the future of the cryptocurrency landscape, calling for CoinPayments to remain the leading crypto payments processor in 2026.

D-Core’s report surveyed 161 experts, asking them: “Which crypto payment processor will definitely be operating in five years time?” Of those surveyed, 37% picked CoinPayments, giving it the top spot. The other crypto payment processors included in the report were Bitpay (29%), BTCpay (19%), SpicePay (13%), CoinGate (1%), among others.

“It is great to be recognized as a top crypto payment processor among experts in the industry,” noted Jason Butcher, CEO of CoinPayments. “Since 2013, our aim has always been to fuel crypto adoption and the most effective way to give digital assets their rightful place as mediums of exchange is by enabling businesses and consumers to use them for everyday purchases.”

The report’s timely release comes as notable companies like Paypal and Tesla announce that they will be facilitating crypto payments for customers. Crypto adoption is steadily on the rise as more businesses come to understand the benefits that come with accepting crypto payments.

“D-Core’s focus is on providing unique information and insights into emerging technology companies and projects in blockchain, decentralized finance, and payments,” noted D-Core founder Kevin Mudd. “As more people look for information on crypto and payments, we aim to help to uncover tomorrow’s disruptors in the space to help institutional investors, family offices, hedge funds, and main street investors make wiser investment decisions.”

eventus-systems-wins-best-sell-side-market-surveillance-product-in-waterstechnology’s-2021-sell-side-technology-awards

Eventus Systems wins Best Sell-Side Market Surveillance Product in WatersTechnology’s 2021 Sell-Side Technology Awards

April 12, 2021 Published by

 

Eventus Systems, Inc., a leading global provider of multi-asset class trade surveillance and market risk solutions, announced that its Validus platform has won the award for Best Sell-Side Market Surveillance Product in WatersTechnology’s 2021 Sell-Side Technology Awards.

The 9th annual Sell-Side Technology Awards recognize the market-leading products and services designed to allow sell-side firms to operate more efficiently, transparently and judiciously, the winners of which are decided by a panel comprising WatersTechnology’s five editors.

“Eventus has had an extraordinary year, with its Validus platform coming to the fore in the trade surveillance market,” said Victor Anderson, global content director of WatersTechnology. “The platform provides the sell side with flexibility and customization functionality, while the large number of enhancements introduced to Validus during the course of 2020 offer new efficiencies, automation and other features that strengthen users’ trade surveillance and compliance programs.”

Eventus CEO Travis Schwab said: “It’s a tremendous honor to win this award in what has always been an incredibly competitive category among our peers. One of the driving forces behind the continuous improvements we make to Validus is the valuable input we receive from clients on problems they want to solve, new markets they want to enter and challenges they encounter from exchanges or regulators. I’m truly proud of our team that works closely with clients every day to solve real-world compliance problems and create measurable efficiencies.”

A new Automation Recipes tool in Validus gives clients the ability to automate a wide range of mundane, repetitive tasks, enabling managers to achieve substantial efficiencies while tracking relevant trends. For instance, Eventus staff worked with a large futures commission merchant’s compliance team on its efforts to manage cross-trade surveillance for global futures activity. Prior to the implementation of the automation tool, the team had to investigate and manually close out 5,000 cross-trade alerts per day, compared to only 20 per day after implementation – representing a 99.6% reduction.

In the past year, Eventus has also further cemented its position as a global leader in trade surveillance and anti-money laundering / transaction monitoring capabilities to digital asset market centers, playing a key role in helping institutional investors gain confidence in cryptocurrency markets globally.

Eventus won numerous awards last year, including the FOW International Award for Market Surveillance Solution of the Year (second consecutive year); the Markets Media Market Choice Award for Best in RegTech – Surveillance and Financial Risk Management; and the RegTech Insight Award for Best Trade Surveillance Solution for the Dodd-Frank Act (second consecutive year). The firm was also named to the global RegTech100 list for the third year running and in late 2020 secured a spot on the Chartis Energy50 2021 list, ranking the world’s major technology players in modern energy markets. In addition, Business Insider featured Eventus as one of its “Breakout B2B Fintech Stars,” and Financial Technologist magazine last month named the firm one of the Most Influential Financial Technology Companies.

treasury-management-international-engages-diginex-to-put-bitcoin-on-balance-sheet

Treasury Management International engages Diginex to put Bitcoin on balance sheet

April 9, 2021 Published by

 

Treasury Management International (TMI), the leading corporate treasury publishing group, has received payment in bitcoin for costs associated with researching the utility of Crypto Assets. TMI chose to work with Nasdaq-listed Diginex [EQOS] on this pioneering transaction, utilizing the company’s cryptocurrency exchange EQUOS.io and their industry certified custodian Digivault to receive and store the bitcoin.

TMI has undertaken this initiative, with the support of Diginex, as part of a wider study into the practical applications of crypto assets for corporate treasurers. This work will include hosting an event entitled: “Crypto Assets: The Questions Every Corporate Treasurer Should be Asking” on April 21st where a panel of leading experts will discuss whether crypto assets and more specifically bitcoin has become a viable treasury asset.

Following the US based “Bitcoin for Corporations” event, which attracted over 8,197 attendees from 6,917 different enterprises, attendees from TMI’s global network of over 30,000 Corporate Treasurers will be joined by leading industry participants in what is expected to be the largest and most diverse event of its kind to date.

Robin Page, CEO at TMI said: “We are excited to be working with Diginex to explore the benefits and opportunities for treasurers to diversify their armoury of investment and payment instruments. And how better to gain insight into the real world experience of crypto assets than by accepting them ourselves? We chose Diginex, a Nasdaq-listed company, to partner with as a reflection of dedication to fair and transparent markets as well as institutional grade infrastructure. We plan to offer selected FinTech’s and Banks wishing to explore crypto assets the opportunity to pay TMI with bitcoin, which we will in turn hold as our own treasury asset.”

Richard Byworth, CEO of Diginex, said: “We are delighted to partner with TMI on this, and their future transactions, as well as assisting them to educate their readers. Given the continuing adoption by many large companies such as Tesla and MicroStrategy of bitcoin as a treasury asset, corporate treasurers in EMEA and Asia are trying to grapple with the value proposition of bitcoin as a treasury asset. Diginex caters specifically to institutions who demand a robust, and secure platform with regulatory oversight.”

Matt Blom, Head of Sales Trading & Corporate Solutions said: “As corporate treasurers begin to understand the potential of the asset class, they will look not only at the fundamental drivers of price but also the technical implementation. Our ‘Direct-to-Custody’ OTC service allows clients a safe, secure and efficient process for those who are opting to transact through our platform. We are not just an execution service; we pride ourselves on sharing our deep knowledge of crypto asset management with our corporate clients.”

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