Fintech – Page 31

Moomoo Attends 2022 BMYG Investment Forum to Share Investing Insights with Australian Investors Amid Recent Market Uncertainties

July 18, 2022 Published by TheFintechBuzz.com

Futu Holdings’ flagship app moomoo, the next generation one-stop digital financial service platform, expanded its presence in Australia market by bringing together investing knowledge and experience to the community in 2022 BMYG Investment Forum.

BMYG Investment Forum is the signature annual event organized by BMYG Financial Group, an Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) licensed company providing wealth, fund and asset management to high-net-worth investors.

The 2022 BMYG Investment Forum is the inaugural seminar tour of major cities in Australia, including Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth, Brisbane and Sydney, from 20 June to 30 June. Futu Securities (Australia) Ltd’s Chief Operating Officer Toby Wong, together with other experts, were invited to share investing insights, global macroeconomic outlook, future market trends and investment strategies to more than 300 high-net-worth investors attending seminars.

Toby Wong delivered presentations titled “Riding the Change” to audience in the seminars on June 20 in Melbourne and June 30 in Sydney. He introduced the “investing cognitive triangle” theory in his speeches, encouraging investors to adjust their investing strategies in response to contemporary economic issues and market uncertainties, and take pertinent actions by making use of professional investing platforms like moomoo.

“Since its debut on March 8, moomoo keeps promoting responsible investing, helping all investors to gain easier investing experience and align their capital with their values through an affordable yet professional stock trading platform.” Toby said.

“With its technological innovation and high-quality service, moomoo broke the information barrier by making professional data that used to be exclusive to institutions available to its users, such as free level 2 data and free daily short sale volume data, to name a few.”

Additionally, investors have free access to best-in-class analytic tools that compare stock performance indicators on moomoo app, helping investors to seize investing opportunities and make smarter investing decisions.

Australian investors can now use moomoo to trade stocks and ETFs listed in Australia and US markets, and soon trading of Hong Kong SAR, China-A shares and Singapore markets will be available.

Investors can use moomoo platforms on PC, mobile and iPad with tools that can sync up on the three screens, which also makes investing easier as the professional investing tool is now in your pocket.

Asian Fintech FLOW Achieves Profitability, Appoints New CEO

July 15, 2022 Published by TheFintechBuzz.com

FLOW, the ethical collections fintech start-up announced today it achieved both EBITDA profitability and positive cash flow. The company’s move into the black was driven by an increase in Flow Outsourcing business line revenue by ca. 2.5x in the last 12 months, as well as a significant operational performance improvement and cost optimization.

The company also announced the promotion of Przemek Januszaniec, previously FLOW’s Chief Performance Officer, to the role of FLOW’s CEO. Mr. Januszaniec brings to his new role 18 years of senior Credit Management experience gained at major international consumer lending companies, including Citi, Home Credit, Deutsche Bank, and Kruk across the Global Emerging Markets. Tomasz Borowski, FLOW’s Co-Founder and previous CEO, will be assuming a non-executive Deputy Chairman role in connection with this appointment.

Tomasz Borowski, FLOW’s Co-Founder, commented: “I feel tremendously proud and privileged to have led FLOW from its inception to achieving the all-important profitability milestone. Being one of the first early-stage fintech in the region to achieve breakeven fully validates our vision. I am also very excited for Przemek, who gets to take the company into a new stage of profitable growth. We feel the opportunity is definitely there for us to build one of the new global market leaders in the Credit Management space and are exhilarated for the road ahead.”

Prytek continues its talent solutions expansion with a $30m investment in executive search firm TritonExec

July 12, 2022 Published by TheFintechBuzz.com

The talent solutions division of Prytek, a Singaporean multinational technology corporation, has made a significant investment in London-headquartered global executive search firm, TritonExec.

Specialising in leadership hiring for professional, tech services, and fintech, TritonExec will bolster Prytek’s HR technology services portfolio, and further its mission of building a tech-enabled talent solutions ecosystem.

This follows a recent investment into Chicago-based talent acquisition provider, Hirewell, who have embedded technology to provide faster, more efficient client and candidate experience.

TritonExec, which pioneered Exec RPO-as-a-service (recruitment process outsourcing) for corporations looking to scale at pace, will create synergies with Hirewell, offering an end-to-end solution powered by technology to clients globally.

The combination of TritonExec’s C-level network, and Hirewell’s embedded technology with the experience of a combined 250 recruiters spanning the globe creates a unique partnership that will enable both organisations to help clients scale faster.

Prytek’s founding entrepreneur and CEO, Andrey Yashunsky, commented, “Our investment in TritonExec is a completion of the value chain, from executive search at board and C-suite, to building out leadership teams two and three levels below – we provide the entire solution on a platform for companies and hyper-scalers. Powered by technology, we can provide data products, Saas, and a licensed platform empowering our clients to do it themselves, improving the efficiency of their own internal talent acquisition teams.”

TritonExec, which already had presence in Europe and the US, has recently expanded its global reach to India, Philippines, Japan and Australia, and continues to grow through an approach of hiring leaders and building out teams.

Hirewell’s founder and CEO, Matt Massucci, commented, “We are thrilled by the services and cultural alignment between our two organizations. Both organisations are hyper-focused on helping clients hire top talent. We both recognise that our employees are vital to our continued success and are excited to disrupt the talent solutions industry through our combined services, technology, and the capital to scale from Prytek.”

TritonExec co-founders Ben Graham and Jonathan Morris commented, “Prytek buy and invest in technology companies in Fintech and EdTech, two core areas we heavily recruit in, as well as HRTech, which will enable us to improve the quality and impact we can have to our clients. Not only does this partnership make sense from an investment and growth perspective, but our understanding of the world and customers are very aligned.

From the moment we met Andrey, his passion for technology and ambition matched ours. He and his team empower the leaders they invest in to support their growth. We look forward to creating end-to-end solutions for our customers through synergies and partnerships across the group.”

SOURCE Prytek; TritonExec

Greater Than listed in AIFinTech100 list as one of world’s most innovative AI solution providers

July 12, 2022 Published by TheFintechBuzz.com

Greater Than (GREAT.SE), , the global provider of DriverDNA for real-time insurance and predictive risk insights, is listed in AIFinTech100, in recognition of its next-generation pattern AI technology providing real-time predictions of car crashes and CO2 emissions.

The AIFinTech100 list, published today, highlights the world’s most innovative solution providers developing artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning technologies to solve challenges or improve efficiency in financial services. These are the companies every financial institution needs to know about as they consider and develop their digital transformation strategies and new customer propositions.

“We’re extremely proud that our unique patented AI technology has been recognized in the prestigious AIFinTech100 list. Thanks to the dedication and perseverance of our team, our AI can find micropatterns in people’s behavior, enabling us to create a DriverDNA for every trip, with a crash probability, cost and CO2 impact attached to it. This is transforming the risk forecasting landscape for insurance, mobility providers and fleets, and incentivizing safer, cleaner driving behaviors for the benefit of the wider community,” – says Sten Forseke, Founder of Greater Than.

The adoption of AI and data analytics solutions by financial institutions has exploded over the last two years accelerated by technological advancements, increased use of digital channels, and shifting regulatory frameworks. Additionally, the potential cost savings for banks from AI applications is estimated to reach $447bn over the next 12 months.

As a result, the number of tech providers employing AI or data solutions to solve challenges in areas such as banking, insurance, customer experience, investment & trading and compliance has skyrocketed. This made the selection process for this year’s AIFinTech100 list extremely competitive as the finalists were selected by a panel of industry experts and analysts based on research produced by FinTech Global on over 2,000 FinTech companies.

“Now, more than ever, established financial institutions need to be aware of the latest AI and data analytics technology in the market to deliver competitive financial products and reach new customers. The AIFinTech100 list helps senior decision-makers in the industry filter through all the vendors in the market by identifying the market-leading AI innovators which will have lasting impact on the industry,” – says Richard Sachar, Director of FinTech Global.

A full list of the AIFinTech100 and detailed information about each company is available to download for free at www.AIFinTech100.com.

LendArch Looks to Disrupt Mortgage Technology With New COO

July 11, 2022 Published by TheFintechBuzz.com

LendArch, which enables mortgage firms to improve their processes and technology strategies while creating improved borrower experiences, announced Karthik Kumar has joined the company as executive vice president and chief operating officer. A 25-year mortgage banking executive with deep technology expertise, Kumar will lead operations as the company continues to create game-changing mortgage technologies that digitize the entire loan origination process.

Kumar has global experience in operations, business transformation and performance excellence as well as in digital solutions. He most recently served as the global mortgage practice head for Tata Consultancy Services, while Citigroup and Standard Chartered Bank are among his previous employers. Kumar is also a speaker, host and facilitator at mortgage banking events around the world.

“Karthik is the ideal leader to help us continue to disrupt the real estate finance industry.” LendArch Founder and CEO Tammy Richards said. “He will provide invaluable assistance as we pave the way to transform the customer experience while improving efficiency for lenders.”

“Tammy has fundamentally changed mortgage technology and operations at each organization she’s been at,” Kumar said. “We also share the same vision of creating a truly end-to-end digital mortgage experience. So, when she offered me the chance to be a part of the LendArch journey, I knew it would be an excellent opportunity to have a positive impact on the mortgage industry.”

As mortgage originations have dropped from their record-breaking pace, Kumar noted it is an incredible time for home lenders to reassess their technology strategy and loan cost structure.

“Compared to a decade ago, mortgage executives are far more technology savvy, and IT executives are far more operations savvy,” Kumar said. “Dealing with a more informed industry makes our mission easier.”

Kumar, who received HousingWire magazine’s 2020 HW Vanguard Award for launching an entire suite of digital solutions across the mortgage value chain, is a Chartered Accountant and an Alumni of the LEAD Program at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. He is also COPC Certified, a CRU and 6 Sigma Black Belt. In his spare time Kumar is an advocate for youth mental health and a member of The Board of Advisors for SKY Schools.

Orbital Wins Best Use Of Crypto/Blockchain At MPE Awards

July 11, 2022 Published by TheFintechBuzz.com

Orbital has been awarded ‘Best Use of Crypto/Blockchain in the Merchant Payments Ecosystem’ at MPE 2022, for their crypto-commerce solution.

Voted for by a panel of independent expert judges, the best of the payments industry were recognised for their achievements across 13 categories during the awards ceremony held in Berlin. Other attendees included Louis Vuitton, Mercedes-Benz AG, Netflix, Adidas and Kering who own Gucci, YSL and Balenciaga, amongst many others.

Luke Wingfield-Digby, Co-Founder and CIO said; “We’re so proud to receive this award from the payment industry’s most respected event, MPE. This serves as great validation that what we’re building at Orbital, not only solves real-world problems for global merchants but is innovative and leading in the crypto space. We’re extremely proud of our team and what they’ve built. Orbital is excited to be enabling the next wave of global businesses to support crypto.”

As per MPE’s award certification criteria, the accolade is confirmation that Orbital’s crypto-commerce solution provides exceptional flexibility, functionality, and innovation in crypto/blockchain-based payments.

Sleek secures Major Payment Institution License

July 7, 2022 Published by TheFintechBuzz.com

Sleek.com, a leading technology company providing incorporation and accounting services for entrepreneurs, SMEs, and investors has announced today that it has been granted a Major Payment Institution License (“MPI”) issued by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (“MAS”), effective from 1 July 2022.

Sleek is the first Fintech company in Singapore offering incorporation & accounting services to receive the MPI license. The license allows Sleek to expand its Sleek Business Account suite of services with cross border transfers, account issuance, and e-money issuance to an even wider group of its SME clients.

“Being granted the MPI license by our financial regulator is a testament to the trust our customers, investors and partners have placed in our financial security standards and compliance levels. We intend to make good use of the license and continue supporting the underserved market segment of early-stage entrepreneurs with simple and fully digital fintech services, whilst growing our overseas markets from our base in Singapore,” shares Julien Labruyere, CEO and Co-founder at Sleek.

The Sleek Business Account is part of a wide range of business essential services offered by Sleek to help simplify the management of back-office admin tasks for entrepreneurs, so they can focus on growing their business. These services include company incorporation, accounting, taxation, corporate secretarial services, CFO-as-a-Service, and most recently, business account and debit card issuance, as well as payments and collections, locally and cross-border.

“With the MPI license, we are excited to continue delivering best-in-class, end-to-end business account solutions for entrepreneurs. In the coming months, we look forward to enhancing our business account offering with multi-currency accounts, better cross border transfers experience, and more debit card enablement,” adds Pauline Sim, Head of Fintech & Partnerships at Sleek.

As a MPI holder, Sleek aims to upkeep its rigor in compliance and security, as it continues to gain market share across the regions it operates in. The company is also looking to replicate the success of its business account offering with the launch of similar services in their UK and Australia entities later this year.

LINKBANCORP, Inc. Collaborates with Jack Henry for Innovative Local Banking

July 6, 2022 Published by TheFintechBuzz.com

Jack Henry & Associates, Inc.^®(NASDAQ: JKHY) announced today that LINKBANCORP, Inc., the holding company of The Gratz Bank and LINKBANK, selected Jack Henry to bring modern banking services to its local community.

Founded in 2018, LINKBANCORP had a vision for entrepreneurial growth, innovation in technology and a branch-lite model to support businesses in Central and Southeastern Pennsylvania. A merger in 2021 with The Gratz Bank doubled its asset size to over $1 billion and helped them scale in both service and geography.

LINKBANCORP needed a technology platform that would improve operational efficiencies and support its goal of delivering relationship-based banking for both commercial and retail customers, on digital channels. Using Jack Henry’s digital banking and lending capabilities, the bank will gain access to scalable and open technology, including the Banno Digital Platform and LoanVantage^®, as well as open connectivity to more than 850 third-party fintechs.

Andrew Samuel, CEO of LINKBANCORP, said, “We identified four key components that were most important to our strategy: open API, cloud-based infrastructure, native mobility, and modular architecture; Jack Henry delivers in all areas and more. Jack Henry is ahead of the pack in the industry due to its progressiveness and modern approach to technology and this was further highlighted by the company’s new technology modernization strategy.”

LINKBANCORP was particularly impressed with Jack Henry’s existing industry partnerships. Samuel adds, “Now, we can easily adopt innovative technologies from specialized fintechs that would otherwise have taken us 6-12 months to implement. These partnerships complement the Jack Henry platform and support our growth strategy, allowing us to compete with larger financial institutions locally. Our bankers now have the tools needed to serve as trusted advisors, solving real challenges and continuing to positively impact the financial health of our local community.”

Stacey Zengel, senior vice president at Jack Henry and president of Jack Henry Banking, said, “LINKBANCORP has a strong growth strategy and is investing in technology to continue to support customers in today’s digital world. As a well-rounded financial technology company with a broad ecosystem of fintechs partnerships, Jack Henry is uniquely positioned to help the bank build a modern, flexible, and adaptable platform that will grow with the bank and provide a differentiating and cohesive experience for both commercial and retail customers.”

Endowus Launches in Hong Kong making its first Overseas Market Entry

July 5, 2022 Published by TheFintechBuzz.com

Endowus, Asia’s leading digital wealth platform is committed to providing investors with the most professional and comprehensive wealth management products, offering best-in-market solutions to overcome the industry pain points of high cost and misaligned incentives which often lead to poor investment returns and outcomes. To this end, Endowus has provided over HK$17 million of trailer fees rebates to its clients, either in cash reimbursements or straight back into clients’ Central Provident Fund (CPF) and Supplementary Retirement Scheme (SRS) investment accounts.

Supported by global investors, Endowus has raised a total of HK$376 million in funding from firms such as UBS, SoftBank Ventures Asia and Samsung Ventures. As the firm looks to launch its wealth management and advisory service in Hong Kong by Q4 2022, Endowus announces today the appointment of Steffanie Yuen as its Head of Hong Kong, responsible for establishing and leading Endowus’ presence in the city

Gregory Van, CEO of Endowus said, “We are thrilled to achieve another key milestone in the growth of Endowus by bringing the first-ever ‘trailer fee-free’ digital wealth platform to Hong Kong, while also marking its expansion into its first overseas market. The shifts toward transparency in financial services and digitisation of wealth have generated opportunities for unstoppable momentum. Earlier this year, we received approval from the Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong (SFC) to offer wealth management and advisory services in the territory. This includes approval for licences under Types 1, 4 and 9, for dealing and advising in securities, and asset management. Endowus is delighted to welcome Steffanie to the leadership team. Steffanie has built up invaluable fintech and institutional finance experience over the last decade. Under her stewardship, I believe that Endowus will be able to provide a better wealth experience for clients in Hong Kong, as we have done in Singapore.”

With over 12 years of experience in fintech, wealth management and investment banking, Steffanie graduated Summa Cum Laude from New York University’s Stern School of Business and began her career in investment banking at Deutsche Bank and Barclays in Hong Kong. She joins Endowus from Value Partners, where she was responsible for leading the Group’s Direct Distribution, Marketing, Communications and Investor Relations functions and other key strategic growth initiatives. Prior to that, she was the Business Development and Strategic Partnerships Director at Alibaba’s fintech affiliate, Ant Group. She was responsible for driving strategic collaborations and partnerships with international financial institutions and Ant Group’s overseas e-wallet partners, which together serve over 1.2 billion global active users annually.

During her time with Ant Group, Steffanie also led the set-up of a joint venture between Vanguard and Ant Group in 2019, where she served as the Chief Marketing Officer and Head of Investor Advisory Service. The joint venture became the first independent fund investment advisor approved in China, and achieved over one million users in less than one year following its launch.

Steffanie said, “Our work in Singapore demonstrates that we are driving tangible change in the industry and creating value for our clients. Endowus’ fee-only model and the provision of 100% cashback on trailer fees will be a market first in Hong Kong. We hope that this unique model which Endowus has pioneered in Singapore will be impactful in helping clients in Hong Kong to manage both their private savings and public pension monies on our digital platform. I am humbled to be entrusted with overseeing Endowus’ first regional expansion, and look forward to working with the outstanding team to bring its mission of providing all investors access to the best-in-class investment products and expert investment advisory services at a low, fair cost to Hong Kong investors. Over time, we hope to be considered by clients in Hong Kong as an essential partner for wealth planning, and in boosting retirement adequacy.”

TPAY MOBILE’s Founder and CEO Sahar Salama hands over Group CEO responsibilities to become Group Chairwoman

July 5, 2022 Published by TheFintechBuzz.com

TPAY MOBILE, the leader in mobile payments in the Middle East, Africa, and Turkey (META), today announces it has appointed Gaston Aussems, previously CEO of Mollie, as Group CEO, effective 4^th July 2022.

Founder and current CEO, Sahar Salama, will move into a Group Chairwoman position, and will be working closely alongside Gaston Aussems over the coming months to ensure a smooth leadership transition for the fast-growing company.

Gaston Aussems comments: “I’m incredibly excited to be taking the baton from Sahar at such an exciting time for TPAY MOBILE. The company’s mission of empowering underserved regions’ digital economies is something I wholeheartedly support, and I look forward to being part of the next stage of its journey.”

Gaston Aussems was CEO of European payments giant Mollie for over seven years, where his leadership was a crucial success factor in the company achieving its unicorn valuation in 2020. He has since spent two years as a venture partner, at firms including Atlantica and Antler, and a board member of impact investor Oikocredit as well as various fintechs and telecommunications companies, including Yolt and Talk360.

Sahar Salama explains: “All of us at TPAY MOBILE should be so proud of everything that we have achieved. We changed the Middle East, Turkey, and Africa for the better by delivering cross-border micropayments at scale, and significantly improving financial inclusion in the region. While we were always ambitious in our vision of what TPAY MOBILE could become, we never imagined that our services would be so rapidly adopted by our partners and customers, and this makes me excited for what the future holds, especially as TPAY MOBILE expands its payment capabilities to new digital merchants and non-digital services.

“The time is now right for someone new to take TPAY MOBILE to the next level, and I trust that Gaston is that person. His experience of successfully scaling a complex, multi-country payments company, combined with his technical background, product-focused mentality, and global, entrepreneurial mindset, makes him the perfect person to execute TPAY MOBILE’s ambitious plans. I will be moving on to focus on a purely strategic and advisory role for the Group in this exciting next growth phase for TPAY MOBILE.”

Babatunde Soyoye, current Group Chairman at TPAY MOBILE, says: “It has been a pleasure to partner with Sahar over the years and witness the passion, hard work and dedication that has helped grow TPAY MOBILE into the innovative company it is today. Sahar laid a great foundation in building a unique mobile payments network of merchants and Telcos across Middle East, Africa, and Turkey. The next phase of growth is about building on this incredible platform to make TPAY MOBILE the market leading digital merchant acquirer and mobile payments enabler in its markets and we believe that Gaston will help us achieve this”.

Tag: Fintech