July 4, 2022

https://ift.tt/KtApxg8 BKN301, a digital payments and Banking-as-a-Service startup, has raised EUR15 million in a Series A funding round led by Abalone Group. The round, which values BKN301 at EUR63 million, was joined by PayU, Azimut Digitech Fund, CRIF, and GNB Swiss Investments. Launched last year, BKN301, through its BaaS and digital e-money platform model, enables […]

https://ift.tt/KJBETtg Topline Economists at Goldman Sachs hiked their inflation projections this weekend and warned clients that recent strong price spikes seem similar to those that preceded record inflation decades ago, joining other experts in forecasting inflation will last longer than previously expected. Recently strong inflation readings are beginning to rival those seen in the 1960s

https://ift.tt/dsuzUQg Today, in the Calculated Risk Real Estate Newsletter: House Price Declines: How Long for Real Prices to Recover? Excerpt: Housing economist Tom Lawler sent me some old FHFA research from 2009: A Brief Examination of Previous House Price Declines.  … A conclusion from the research: First, house price downturns have tended to be long.

https://ift.tt/56QL2yR INNOVATION Innovation through technology is a natural process in any industry. It is part of humanity to find better ways to do anything, we have observed it and documented it for as long as we can remember. In the financial services industry it is even more important. Financial products, and the companies that provide

https://ift.tt/0Yrb4EJ WiseWorks AI, the communications intelligence platform, has secured a $1.2m investment to build a one-stop solution for financial institutions to analyse surging virtual communications for compliance and to automate everyday tasks. The heavily oversubscribed round was led by Veridian Ventures, with investment from funds including Silicon Valley-based R42, SyndicateRoom’s Super Angel fund, and Istcapital,

https://ift.tt/2EN6fY4 Nexi and Alpha Bank today confirmed that they have joined forces to transform merchant solutions in Greece and pave the way for a new era of digital payments in the country. The two Groups announced the creation of a new company, Nexi Payments Greece, which will provide innovative merchant solutions and payment acceptance products

https://ift.tt/4OlJGfj “One damned thing after another” was Churchill’s concise (though perhaps misattributed) definition of history. These days, it seems more than apt. Whether it’s $6 gas, 8.6% inflation, 6% mortgage rates, supply chain shortages, labor shortages, or other financial miseries, it’s easy to look at the economy this way too. The new tight-money era has

https://ift.tt/YtFu5Bz Topline Singapore-based Vauld on Monday became the latest cryptocurrency platform to pause customer withdrawals as a result of the nascent market’s steep decline over the past month, telling customers it will also explore restructuring options as analysts warn the market downtrend will likely continue until broader recession fears subside. Coinbase-backed Vauld has started exploring

https://ift.tt/RmSy0Ua Vauld, a Singapore-based cryptocurrency lending and exchange player, has suspended withdrawals, trading and deposits as it faces up to “financial challenges”. The firm says “volatile market conditions” have led to customers withdrawing more than $197.7 million from the platform since 12 June, leaving it in trouble. It has brought in financial and legal advisors

https://ift.tt/6tesUiO Inventory is increasing rapidly.  Inventory bottomed seasonally at the beginning of March 2022 and is now up 97% since then.  Almost double! Altos reports inventory is up 27.4% year-over-year, and is now 8.7% above the peak in 2021. Click on graph for larger image in graph gallery. This inventory graph is courtesy of Altos Research.

https://ift.tt/kd0u1qh Paytrail and Mastercard’s partnership through Aiia – an open banking platform, is now enabling more than one million open banking payments each month. Paytrail and Aiia have been in collaboration since 2019, aiming to accelerate open banking powered payments in ecommerce checkouts. Paytrail currently enables ecommerce for more than 20,000 merchants and online shoppers.

https://ift.tt/s5phDFO Meta is officially closing all accounts on its digital wallet, Novi. Both the Novi app and Novi on WhatsApp will no longer be available, and that all accounts will be closed on the 1st of September 2022, advising all users to withdraw their funds “as soon as possible”. From the 21st of July 2022,

https://ift.tt/mzS6RvB These indicators are mostly for travel and entertainment.    It is interesting to watch these sectors recover as the pandemic subsides.  Notes: I’ve added back gasoline supplied to see if there is an impact from higher gasoline prices. Apple has discontinued "Apple mobility", and restaurant traffic is mostly back to normal. —– Airlines: Transportation

https://ift.tt/zjIdSlF Quirk, the unique new finance app designed specifically for Gen Z, launches to the wider public this week after reaching 10,000 beta users, offering this financially-neglected generation their best route yet to get on top of their finances and feel good about their money. Quirk’s innovative approach to identify and reflect each customer’s personality

https://ift.tt/AwMobtB Leo Varadkar TD, the Tánaiste and minister for enterprise, trade and employment in the Irish government, has launched 11 remote working hubs in Ballycoolin, Dublin as part of the Bank of Ireland’s Hybrid working model which was developed in partnership with Bank of Ireland staff. Dependent on their role, this policy will allow Bank

https://ift.tt/1Hz4Jea Amazon has collaborated with Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) fintech platform, vaIU, to launch affordable payment options for Amazon Egypt. Through this service, customers will be able to opt for one of a variety of BNPL installment plans at check-out. They can select a payment option based on their credit limit, which is provided

https://ift.tt/c19EA87 The European Central Bank (ECB) is expected to issue a strong warning to eurozone countries around the pressing need to harmonise regulation across the crypto industry, the FT reports. Last week the European Commission passed a landmark regulation, Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA), to set standards across the crypto space, however the ECB remains concerned

https://ift.tt/21D5d9o From 1 September 2022, Bincy Kochalumoottil will be joining the management team of Boerse Stuttgart Group. As Member of the Management Board of Boerse Stuttgart GmbH and Member of the Group Executive Committee, she will be developing areas of growth in the capital markets business of Boerse Stuttgart Group. This includes the activities of

https://ift.tt/8lhVg6K Exberry, the force behind the powerful Exberry exchange technology revolutionizing exchange marketplaces, has brought Dr. René Karsenti onboard its advisory board. Mr. Karsenti is a senior adviser to the International Capital Market Association (ICMA). He has also served as president of the ICMA and brings to the Exberry board of advisors years of invaluable

https://ift.tt/srg0RVE Caroline Murphree has joined Moneybox, the award-winning digital wealth manager, as Managing Director of Investing Retirement and Savings. Moneybox helps people build wealth with confidence, whatever their starting point, offering a range of products and services across homebuying, investing, retirement, and savings, all within one easy-to-use app, supported by award-winning technology and customer support.

https://ift.tt/Pl79gm2 Amber Group, a leading global digital asset platform, today announced the appointment of Benjamin Bai as its Chief Legal Officer. An industry veteran, Benjamin joins from Ant Group where he served as its Vice President and Chief Intellectual Property (IP) and International Litigation Counsel. Benjamin joins Amber Group at a critical time amid an

https://ift.tt/87RU3KI The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) is boosting AI technology across its digital banking platforms in efforts to stamp out “disturbing” scams targeting their customers. Programmed to detect when accounts are displaying unusual behaviour based on customers’ past habits through technology structured around a “protect, detect, and resolve” framework. In addition to its new

https://ift.tt/ZFDShc4 Leading mobile payments provider across the Middle East, Africa, and Turkey, TPAY MOBILE, has announced that Gaston Aussems, previously CEO of Mollie, will take the reins as CEO. Founder and current CEO, Sahar Salama, will move into a Group Chairwoman role, working closely with Aussems during the transition. Aussems was replaced as CEO of

https://ift.tt/c5aLr9b Payment processor Worldline has completed a €256 million deal to acquire an 80% stake in Eurobank’s Merchant Acquiring business in Greece, as a joint venture. The deal was first announced in December 2021, six months after the vendor finalised its 92.5% acquisition of Cardlink, a Network Services Provider for both Eurobank and Alpha Bank

https://ift.tt/JkOLEX1 There has been a lot of news recently around Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL), such as Apple’s announcement of a BNPL solution, Revolut rolling out its ‘Pay Later’ product in Ireland, as well as proposed regulations in the UK. BNPL is certainly a hot topic in many markets, but some service providers have been

https://ift.tt/5nkTiBD ScienceLogic, a leader in AIOps and other hybrid cloud IT management solutions, announced today the expansion of its global footprint to South Africa. The move follows a sharp rise in market demand for comprehensive managed services as organisations adopt AIOps to deliver better digital experiences for employees, remote operations teams, and customers undergoing large-scale

https://ift.tt/nIXOHBW ThinCats, the leading alternative finance provider to mid-sized SMEs, has announced today the appointment of Richard Newman, Senior Director, Transaction Management to lead its Midlands transaction management team. Richard has more than two decades of corporate finance experience holding senior roles at HSBC, RBS and KBC Peel Hunt. He is a qualified chartered accountant

https://ift.tt/GYP2gWL Source: CoinShares CoinShares International Limited (Nasdaq First North Growth Market: CS; US OTCQX: CNSRF) (“CoinShares”), Europe’s largest and longest standing digital asset investment firm is pleased to announce that, following receipt of approval from the Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF), it has acquired Napoleon Asset Management, one of the first ever digital asset managers,

https://ift.tt/V92OCjs Raylo, the subscription payment platform, today announces that it has raised £6.5m in additional funding, including a strategic investment from Wayra UK, part of the global telecoms group, Telefónica, with participation from existing investors Octopus Ventures and Macquarie. The funds will be used to expand Raylo’s data and engineering teams and accelerate the roll

https://ift.tt/6BE8ton Whole grilled chicken with mushrooms and potatoes close-up in a baking dish. horizontal getty Some of the greatest dividend growers on the planet are cheaper than they’ve been in many years. Plus, these blue-chip yield machines finally pay. The problem with bull markets is that they whittle yields down to nothing. Enter the bear,

https://ift.tt/6BE8ton Whole grilled chicken with mushrooms and potatoes close-up in a baking dish. horizontal getty Some of the greatest dividend growers on the planet are cheaper than they’ve been in many years. Plus, these blue-chip yield machines finally pay. The problem with bull markets is that they whittle yields down to nothing. Enter the bear,