Author: Akin Naphtal

Temenos today announces that Police Bank has selected Temenos Retail Banking Services running on the Temenos Banking Cloud to modernize its core systems. Police Bank is building a bank fit for the modern economic and banking environment with digital services to support long-standing members and attract a younger demographic. Temenos’ open, cloud-native platform will allow the bank to deploy new services faster and cost-effectively. Police Bank started as a police credit union in the 1960s. Today, it remains a member-owned institution that supports and empowers the financial well-being of the police and border force community. The bank recognizes that Australians…

Lloyds Bank has launched Smart Start, combined spending and saving account designed for 11 to 15-year-olds. The spending account works just like a current account, with a contactless Visa debit card to use in shops, online and at cash machines. The saving account gives instant access to savings, helping kids to get into the habit of saving regularly towards long-term goals and items they want. The account also benefits from features such as Lloyds Bank’s Save the Change, which rounds up spending to the nearest pound and puts the ‘change’ in the savings account. The bank has also created a…

In a bid to help Africans grow their savings, financial service company ‘Pillow Fund’ has launched operations to promote a savings culture and grow wealth. The solution will offer Africans ample opportunity to manage and build their earnings and also cater for issues that relate to the continual increase in the costs and standards of living. Prior to coming to Africa, the Pillow Fund has helped over 100,000 users in more than 60 countries across various continents to combat inflation and other underlying factors that effectuate negative ripple effects on the economy globally. It also gives room to explore opportunities…

MoneyGram has acquired a 12% stake in Jingle Pay as part of a wider partnership with the UAE-based financial superapp targeting the region’s huge expatriate community. The UAE hosts nearly nine million expatriates, constituting approximately 89% of the population, making the country a powerhouse for outbound remittances. The partnership means that these people can use the Jingle Pay app – powered by MoneyGram’s global payment rails and near real-time capabilities – to send money to over 200 countries and territories around the world. Alex Holmes, MoneyGram chairman and CEO, has joined the Jingle Pay board as chairman to help guide…

Merrill Wealth Management has launched Merrill Advisor Match, a research-based, digital platform that connects people seeking financial advice with a Merrill financial advisor who best fits their preferences and needs. Data shows there is a need for a modern approach for finding an advisor. A third of affluent Americans are not working with an advisor today. They cite the following reasons why: Merrill Advisor Match solves for this need by offering a simple set of questions to answer, serving up a personalized list of advisors and providing the option for the prospect to digitally schedule a meeting with the advisor…

Smart money app Plum is to launch its third crowdfunding round after picking up £5 million in debt financing from Silicon Valley Bank. Plum last ran a public campaign on Crowdcube that generated $8 million in fresh capital alongside a $24 million Series A in November last year. In the intervening period, the company has launched commission-free investing, expanded into new European markets, enabled crypto trading and launched a debit card. Following these developments, Plum has grown its customer base to 1.4 million, an almost 50% increase in the last year. Victor Trokoudes, CEO and co-founder of Plum says: “Many…

Storepay, the first Buy Now, Pay Later [BNPL] financial tech service provider in Mongolia that allows customers to make payments over time without extra fees, has announced the listing of its token, SPC, on LBank. With over 400,000 registered users, two thousand merchants, and over 220,000 active users, this announcement will be Storepay’s foray into the international scene. As one of the prominent and most secure exchange platforms, Storepay will leverage LBank’s global reach as it seeks to break into the international market. Storepay’s native coin, Storepay Coin, is a Binance Smart Chain BEP-20 token that offers super intelligent and…

Amplify Life Insurance, a digital-first life insurance platform focused on helping customers build wealth through permanent life insurance, announced an investment round led by Munich Re Ventures (MRV), with follow on investment by Crosslink Capital, Greycroft, and Conversion Capital. The investment brings Amplify’s total funding to $25.1 million. Amplify is the first digital platform that offers customers the ability to invest in public markets with their life insurance premiums, accessing tax-efficient returns throughout their lifetime via a product that has been historically available primarily to affluent and more mature demographics. Amplify’s digital interface provides customers with a customised policy based…

Visa and Mastercard are facing a class action lawsuit in the UK seeking compensation for businesses charged Multilateral Interchange Fees (MIFs) for accepting payments using corporate credit cards. Commercial litigation law firm Harcus Parker has brought the claim at the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT), the UK’s specialist judicial body for hearing competition cases. The suit claims that Visa and Mastercard have forced banks to agree to a level of MIFs set by the two giants, which are “anti-competitive and unlawful”. Since 2015, EU law capped MIFs at 0.3% on consumer credit card transactions, and 0.2% for consumer debit cards. However,…

Payhawk, the fast-growing spend management platform combining company cards, reimbursable expenses, and accounts payable in one solution has announced the launch of a business credit card in the UK. This new release quickly follows its launch of credit cards for US businesses in September this year, as well as year-to-date revenue growth of 520% and an employee headcount growth of over 250%. With this new product launch, Payhawk becomes the only spend management solution to offer UK businesses a choice between smart VISA credit cards and debit cards. This card choice gives businesses looking for a card or a broader…