In brief

21 May 2021

Italian payment firm Nexi is reportedly in discussions to buy a stake in Greece-based Alpha Bank’s payment business.

Nexi is planning to set up a joint venture with the bank, which wants to maintain a presence in the business.

The payment firm is currently in the process of merging with rival payments provider SIA. The company agreed to buy SIA in an all-share deal valued at $5.3bn (€4.56bn) in October 2020.

Alpha, Nexi and SIA did not comment on the news.

Meanwhile, two of the sources familiar with the development told the publication that SIA was in talks to buy Greek payment network firm Cardlink.

The deals, if realised, are expected to significantly bolster the presence of Nexi-SIA in the Greece market, where Alpha Bank and rival Piraeus Bank have at least 30% share of in-store payment.

21 May 2021

Fintech firm Stax has teamed up with fintech marketplace PayCertify, which specialises in card issuing and payment processing.

The partnership will provide PayCertify with the abilities of a payment facilitator, without the inherent risk associated with becoming a PayFac. It will also enable PayCertify to offer a ‘feature-rich’ payment experience to customers.

Stax president and co-founder Sal Rehmetullah said: “We are incredibly excited to partner with such an innovative partner as PayCertify, a platform that unifies banking and business without borders.

“We look forward to adding more value to their already existing marketplace through our integrated payments experience, while continuing to build upon our presence in the e-commerce space.”

Stax’s platform is designed to help businesses and SaaS platforms manage their payment ecosystem, analyse data, and simplify customer experiences via fully integrated solutions.

21 May 2021

Canadian payment firm Nuvei has received approval to process sports betting and iGaming payments in Michigan.

The company said its wholly owned subsidiary has been authorised by the Michigan Gaming Control Board to offer its services to licensed and regulated online sports betting and iGaming operators within the state.

Michigan legalised online sports betting in January this year. Nuvei is currently licensed and regulated to provide its services to online sports betting operators in 10 US states.

In April this year, Nuvei agreed to acquire gaming and sports wagering payment technology firm Mazooma Technical Service.

Mazooma specialises in account-to-account payments in the US online gaming and sports betting. The firm, which has money transmitter licenses and exemptions in a total of 47 states, is a registered vendor in nine states, with permission in 12 states.

20 May 2021

Goldman Sachs has invested $20m in financial crime detection company ComplyAdvantage as part of the company’s extended Series C funding round.

The investment brings the total amount raised by ComplyAdvantage to $70m, after securing $50m in its original Series C round announced in July 2020. Goldman Sachs joins investors including the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board, Index Ventures, and Balderton Capital.

ComplyAdvantage plans to use the capital to further its capabilities in helping companies manage the evolving risks around AML, KYC processes and broader financial crime.

Charles Delingpole, founder and CEO of ComplyAdvantage, said: “Financial services innovation is the catalyst for massive business transformation. Companies need a hyper-scale AML and risk solution as a financial crime deterrent.

“Goldman Sachs is a great partner for ComplyAdvantage because they recognise the power of intelligent AML and risk detection not only to fortify businesses but also to help them introduce new services to market with greater confidence and integrity.”

20 May 2021

Payment technology company Tribe Payments has joined forces with alternative financial solutions provider Vialet.

Tribe will offer its issuer and acquirer processing services for Vialet, which is aiming to develop payment infrastructure based on its own principal membership of the major payment schemes.

Vialet is already relying on Tribe for acquirer processing and 3DSecure capabilities. It will now leverage Tribe’s payment platform to roll out a range of issuing products. These will include both digital and physical credit and business cards with GooglePay and ApplePay wallet options.

Vialet CEO Artjoms Grivkovs said: “Initially, we needed a ready-to-use solution for acquiring Visa and Mastercard payments that would come at a reasonable cost.

“But ultimately we chose Tribe because we know we will get a supportive partner who can help us to achieve and even surpass our growth and diversification plans for this year and beyond.”

20 May 2021

Indian digital payments firm PhonePe is reportedly set to acquire home-grown app and content discovery platform IndusOS for approximately $60m.

PhonePe, which is backed by Walmart, and IndusOS signed the terms of the deal earlier this month.

Founded in 2013, IndusOS enables content and app discovery for users, app developers, and OEMs. It is claimed to be specifically designed for the needs and diverse lingual preferences of smartphone users in emerging markets such as India.

The deal would further enhance PhonePe’s Switch that aggregates multiple app, such as Goibibo, Ola, redBus, Myntra, Grofers, on a single platform.

Following the closure of the deal, the Indus OS team is expected to lead Switch and develop an app ecosystem for PhonePe while it will enable in-app purchases for Indus App Bazaar.

19 May 2021

Wise – formerly TransferWise – is to join Temenos MarketPlace with the aim of bringing low-cost international remittances to banks worldwide.

Specifically, the pre-integrated solution enables Temenos customers to switch on Wise’ cross-border payments quickly and easily within their digital platform. That means rapid implementation and faster time-to-value.

Meantime, banks can offer a fast and fair money transfer experience to attract and retain retail and business customers.

As a result, the Temenos and Wise partnership aims to make money borderless for banks and their customers worldwide. Temenos’ customer base includes more than 3,000 banks and financial institutions worldwide.

Wise says that its cross-border payments are up to 8X cheaper than traditional providers. Transfers are sent using the mid-market exchange rate seen on Google or Reuters. Moreover, the cost to the customer is only a small upfront fee.

19 May 2021

Israeli technology company ThetaRay has raised $31m in a new fundraising round to eliminate fraud from cross-border payments between banks. The company’s technology accelerates cross-border payments between banks and detects money laundering, terrorist financing, human trafficking, and drug trafficking.

The latest round was led by JVP and BGV Funds and joined by Benhamou Global Ventures’s Eric Benhamou, and Saints Fund. The round also saw participation from the company’s existing investors OurCrowd, Bank Hapoalim, and SBT, among others. Including the latest funding, the start-up has raised a total of $90m to date.

The company intends to market a cloud version of its products to mitigating financial crime while expanding its target audiences to any organisation that deals in cross-border payments.

The cloud version of the solution will enable customers to compete in the payment transfer system that has traditionally included only large banks, the company said.

18 May 2021

Open banking platform Tink has acquired Germany-based FinTecSystems as part of its European expansion.

FinTecSystems specialises in open banking, powering over 150 banks and fintechs in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. It specifically focuses on data analytics, digital account checks, account aggregation and open banking payments.

Through the acquisition, Tink aims to fuel FinTecSystems high growth and open banking capabilities in the DACH region.

Daniel Klellén, Tink co-founder and CEO, said: “Germany is a key market for Tink, and we are excited to have acquired an innovative leader with a strong reputation for the quality of its bank connectivity and payments services.

“We have followed FinTecSystems for many years and are impressed by what they have achieved. Through this acquisition, we are taking a big step in the DACH region, and we look forward to supporting the FinTecSystems’ team to further accelerate their growth.”

18 May 2021

Western Union has signed a five-year international partnership with IRIS Software Group to offer simplified payroll and payments solutions globally.

The partnership aims to cater to the growing demand for cross-border payroll and currency payments for organisations with an international workforce. According to the companies, the move will help in-house teams and specialist providers to provide payrolls in large volumes.

IRIS Fully Managed Payroll (FMP) offers international payroll, benefits, payments, and HR solutions. Around 20% of the UK’s workforce is said to be paid by IRIS payroll offerings while 90% of the global workforce is covered by IRIS HR and payroll solutions.

Western Union Business Solutions provides a solution that allows organisations to send, receive and manage international payments across an extensive global network spanning 200 countries and territories.