The Fintech Times Bi-Weekly News Roundup this Friday brings news of crowdfunding success for Plum and a new CEO for ComplyAdvantage.
Job moves
ComplyAdvantage has named Vatsa Narasimha as its new CEO. Charles Delingpole, the company’s founder and former CEO, will transition to become executive chairman. Delingpole has led ComplyAdvantage since its formation in 2014, taking the company from its inception to operating with 450+ employees and more than 1,000 clients worldwide. Narasimha joined the fintech more than two years ago from Oanda Corporation.
OCR Labs Global, the digital ID verification firm, has appointed Joshua Read as chief operating officer. Prior to joining OCR Labs Global, Read was the EVP of sales and partnerships at Yellowfin Business Intelligence International. His focus is on building a high-performance culture and optimising business processes.
Oliver Wyman, the management consultancy, has named Waqas Samad as senior advisor. Samas joins as part of the Financial Infrastructure, Technology and Services (FITS) platform, which serves market infrastructure, data, information, technology, and software providers across the financial services ecosystem.
Cowbell, which provides cyber insurance for SMEs, appoints David Junius as its first chief financial officer. He most recently served as the CFO for SiriusPoint Ltd. His hire follows a successful $100million Series B capital raise in March.
More appointments
Card issuing platform Marqeta has named Jeff Parker as its new SVP and managing director, International. Parker joins from WorldFirst, where he assumed the position of CEO shortly after its acquisition by Ant Group. In his new role, Parker will build Marqeta’s go-to-market and operational functions internationally as well as drive its offerings across Europe and APAC.
KoinWorks, the credit-led neobank in Indonesia, appoints Frank Van Deur as chief financial officer. Van Deur also joins the company’s executive board. Previously, he was the head of corporate finance & capital markets Asia Pacific at ABN AMRO Bank, based in Singapore.
Webb Fontaine, a provider of AI-powered trade technology solutions, has named Pascal Minvielle as chief operating officer, while Ara Shamirzayan is appointed chief technology officer. The company said the changes to its executive leadership team were made in order to power expansion and serve its customers better.
Partnerships
Agribank in the Philippines has launched a new mobile banking app for Android and iOS, developed and delivered by Geniusto International. Working with Geniusto is Oradian’s cloud-based core banking system. Agribrank said it is now better able to serve rural communities across the Philippines following the collaboration with Geniusto and Oradian.
Bank of America’s online payment solution, Pay by Bank, is now available for euro currency payments. Delivered in conjunction with Banked Ltd., this development follows the UK launch of Pay by Bank in February. It lets customers of e-commerce companies pay directly from their bank account.
Cellulant Zambia has signed an agreement with Lusaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) to offer digital payments to its member businesses. Lusaka Chamber of Commerce members can now access payment solutions that will enable them to accept payments from their customers’ preferred mobile money wallet.
BlueSnap, the payment orchestration platform, has partnered with BitPay. The product partnership gives businesses the ability to accept and get paid out in up to 15 different cryptocurrencies and seven fiat currencies globally. It also supports BlueSnap’s mission to help businesses across the globe increase their revenue and reduce costs.
Insurance data intelligence provider Percayso Inform is to develop and deliver a bespoke data enrichment solution to support new motor insurer Zixty. The Percayso solution will allow Zixty to draw data at the point of quote through Percayso’s API from multiple sources to better understand both the customer and their vehicle.
Jeton is the first official e-wallet partner of Hull City Football Club. The company’s branding will appear at all Hull City home matches at the MKM Stadium. Furthermore, Jeton’s branding will continuously appear on the Club’s online channels, including its website and social media platforms.
Funding and investment
VUZ, the social app, that allows users to stream and experience immersive realism in XR and metaverse digital experiences, raises $20million in series B funding led by international investors including Caruso Ventures and Vision Ventures VC Fund. The funds will fuel VUZ’s expansion plans in growing its core as well as accelerate growth of its recurring subscription revenue. It also plans to invest in top content, hire additional key senior hires and scale into eight new international markets.
Fintech NorthOne has raised $67million in Series B funding from investors includingDrew Brees and Next Play Capital. With the funding, NorthOne will build new working capital and credit products, as well as faster and more convenient payment solutions for busy entrepreneurs. It will also continue to expand on integrations already offered.
GoHenry, the prepaid debit card and financial education app for kids and teens, has raised $55million in its latest growth capital round with investment from existing investors, Edison Partners and Revaia, alongside new capital from leading Italian paytech Nexi. The funds will help its expansion in Italy as well as fuel its product expansion.
Perch, a Toronto-based fintech, has completed a $4million Series A funding round. Investors include Second Century Ventures and Ontario Centre of Innovation. Perch will use the investment to continue scaling and growing its operations team. Perch previously announced a $1million seed round in October 2021.
More funding news
Astra, a provider of instant card-to-card funding as a service in the US, has bagged a $10million Series A funding round led by FPV Ventures, with participation also from Slow Ventures and Allegis Capital. There’s also a $30million line of credit through CoVenture to support the company’s expansion in the payments industry.
Smart money app Plum has secured £1million from investors in the first eight hours of its crowdfund launch. After more than 3700 people invested so far, further share allocation has been made available. The crowdfunding is still open to new investments for five more days.
Singapore-based Pillow has raised $18million in Series A funding. Accel, Quona Capital, Elevation Capital as well as Jump Capital co-led the round. Pillow plans to do even more to elevate the personal finance journeys of people in emerging markets such as Africa and Southeast Asia.
HeidiPay, the Swiss fintech, has closed a funding round led by Compass Banca SpA. The capital injection secures both growth equity and credit lines to support its fast expansion in the Swiss market and internationally. HeidiPay is also powering Compass’ ecommerce BNPL solution in Italy, branded PagoLight.
