North America


LogMeIn buys AI and chatbot provider Nanorep for $45m

Massachusetts-based software provider LogMeIn has acquired Nanorep, a chatbot and virtual assistant company, for $45 million to boost its artificial intelligence (AI)-powered ambitions in customer engagement. Headquartered in Herzliya, Israel, Nanorep uses AI and patented natural language processing technologies for self-service solutions. A number of companies, such as financial software firm Intuit, Vodafone, and non-fintech […]

Prospera CU is Open Anywhere to omnichannel onboarding

Prospera CU, a 63,000-member credit union in British Columbia, Canada, has launched Open Anywhere, a real-time application processing across all of its digital and physical channels. The solution is provided by Central 1 Credit Union in partnership with Canadian tech heavyweight CGI.

Digital asset start-up NextBlock out of the blocks with $20m funding

Toronto-based NextBlock Global, a new digital asset investment company, has got itself off to a good start with the closing of an “oversubscribed” $20 million financing round. Like many other start-ups, NextBlock says it’s “disruptive” – and is setting its targets on the new digital asset economy. It says these assets, like Bitcoin and Ethereum, […]

Mexico-based MIT taps Featurespace for payments fraud prevention

Machine learning continues to take center stage in fraud prevention for the payments industry. Mexico-based payments processor MIT will use U.K.-based Featurespaces’ real-time, machine-learning platform to detect anomalies in individual behavior for fraud and risk management for its 17,000 merchant partners.

New investment boosts Betterment valuation to $800m

Robo advisor Betterment is now that much closer to achieving unicorn status – courtesy of a $70 million investment from Sweden’s Kinnevik. The investment takes Betterment’s total capital to $275 million, and gives the robo advisor a valuation estimated at $800 million, reports Finovate (Banking Technology’s sister company). Praising the “strong partnership” between his firm and Kinnevik, Betterment CEO […]

DoubleNet Pay garners $4m investment

Financial wellness company DoubleNet Pay has closed $4 million in seed funding. The investment, which marks the Atlanta-based company’s first round of funding since it was founded in 2013, comes from TTV Capital and Fuqua Investments, reports Finovate (Banking Technology’s sister company). The 12-person company will use the funds to boost product development and bolster sales. […]

Fintech earnings round-up: 24 July 2017

It’s been a busy time for second- and fiscal third-quarter earnings reports. Features Bank of America, Amex, Blackhawk Network and Visa. Banking Technology’s sister publication Paybefore reports. Bank of America (BofA) has beaten analyst expectations with earnings per share of 46 cents on revenue of $22.829 billion for the second quarter ended 30 June 2017. […]

Faster Payments Task Force Sets Ambitious Goal for 2020

The Fed’s Faster Payments Task Force isn’t kidding when it says it wants every U.S. consumer and business to be able to accept faster payments by 2020. It’s an ambitious plan, no doubt. But with the release of its final report on July 21, detailing 16 proposed faster payment solutions and outlining possible approaches, the task force is making a serious call to action.

LendKey raises $13m in equity and debt financing

Lending-as-a-Service (LaaS) specialist LendKey raised $13 million in Series C funding this week, reports Finovate (Banking Technology’s sister company). The round consisted of both equity and debt financing ($8 million of the former, $5 million of the latter) and was led by Maine-based North Atlantic Capital. Also participating in the investment were existing investors DFJ, Gotham […]

Meta taps Melissa for KYC and AML initiatives

Melissa Global Intelligence, a provider of global contact data quality and identity-verification solutions, announced that its technology is fueling know your customer (KYC) and anti-money laundering (AML) initiatives for Meta Payment Systems, one of the largest prepaid card issuers in the US. Meta relies on Melissa to provide “a 360-degree view” of the customer, including […]

Flybits raises $6.5m to help banks put data to work

Consumer data contextualisation company Flybits pulled in $6.5 million this week, bringing the Toronto-based firm’s total funds to $14 million, reports Finovate (Banking Technology’s sister company). The Series B funding was led by Information Venture Partners. New investor Portag3 Ventures LP also participated along with existing investors Robert Bosch Venture and Trellis Capital. As a part […]

Urban FT buys iParse to speed up mobile app onboarding for FIs

Mobile banking technology provider Urban FT has completed its acquisition of US software firm iParse, which, CEO Richard Steggall tells Banking Technology‘s sister publication Paybefore, will help the company provide a “mobile plug-in” for financial institutions. Steggall says the quicker, cheaper option compared with core processing integration will open up feature-rich mobile banking apps to […]

BNP Paribas fined $246m for FX misdemeanours

BNP Paribas has been hit with a $246 million fine by the US Federal Reserve System relating to past misconduct in its foreign exchange (FX) business. The Paris-based bank says it will pay the fine and has settled Federal Reserve allegations that it failed to keep its FX traders from using electronic chatrooms to manipulate […]

PayPal teams with Samsung Pay

The partnerships keep coming for PayPal. Following recent news that the company is partnering with Apple for payments on iTunes and in the App Store, among other places, the company is now expanding its partnership with Samsung to enable PayPal as a payment method in any channel Samsung Pay is accepted, according to the PayPal blog. Banking […]

Zions Bancorporation goes live on TCS Bancs core system

Utah-based Zions Bancorporation has gone live on TCS Financial Solutions’ Bancs core system with the transition of its consumer lending business over to the platform. The core transformation program, titled “FutureCore”, is divided into phases and consumer lending for the seven affiliate banks is the first phase to go live, with other phases to follow. […]

Sumitomo Mitsui takes its place at Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (SMFG) and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) are partnering with New York-based Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator (ERA) for business development and tech innovation. According to Sumitomo Mitsui, ERA is New York’s largest and oldest tech accelerator, with 140 portfolio companies involved in a variety of markets. These firms have a combined market […]

Ephesoft earns $15m investment from Mercato Partners

Document capture and data analytics company Ephesoft landed $15 million in Series A funding from Mercato Partners. This marks the company’s first round of funding since it was founded in 2010, reports Finovate (Banking Technology’s sister company). “Mercato’s investment will help Ephesoft realise its vision of liberating meaning through machine learning technology,” says Ike Kavas, Ephesoft’s founder. […]

FitPay and Mastercard take prepaid to wearables and IoT

FitPay Inc, a US-based provider of payment, credential management and authentication platform services, is planning to offer prepaid capabilities on wearable and other devices connected to its FitPay Payment Platform.

Finxact unleashes Open Core API for sandbox playtime

Core banking software provider Finxact has made its Open Core API available through its sandbox for fun times in innovation. The firm says its API is transparent and granular, enabling banks to have full access to their customer data. Finxact adds that it is the first core banking provider to join the Open API Initiative. […]

Deutsche Börse invests $10m in fintech firm Trumid

Deutsche Börse will invest $10 million in New York-based Trumid Financial – a fintech firm offering an electronic trading network for corporate bonds. The $10 million gives Deutsche Börse a minority stake as an add-on to Trumid’s previously disclosed $28 million financing made earlier this year, and which included Chinese financial firm CreditEase. Hauke Stars, […]

Infosys plans 10,000 new US tech jobs

India-based Infosys plans to open its next technology and innovation hub in North Carolina and hire 2,000 “American” workers in the state by 2021 – which is a dream within a bigger dream. This investment is part of its ambitions, revealed in May, to open four US hubs in the US and hire 10,000 “American” […]

First Data acquires CardConnect for $750m

First Data has completed its acquisition of US payments processor firm CardConnect for about $750 million in cash including the repayment of debt. As Banking Technology reported earlier, the Fintech Acquisition Corp acquired FTS Holding Corporation in July 2016 and renamed it CardConnect. At that time, it traded shares of CardConnect on Nasdaq at approximately […]