Author: Fintech News America

In the world of financial technology (fintech), customer service and back-office operations are undergoing massive changes, driven by advancements in technology and a rapidly evolving regulatory landscape. While many fintech companies have looked offshore to countries like India and the Philippines for cost-effective outsourcing solutions, the United States remains a critical player in the outsourcing market. Cynergy BPO, an industry-leading outsourcing advisory firm, argues that onshore customer and back-office support in the U.S. still holds a unique and irreplaceable advantage for certain processes and engagement with specific customer segments—particularly those in the highly regulated and customer-centric fintech sector. The Case…

KOHO announced that it has secured $190M in additional capital, $40M of which is equity and $150M in debt. The new capital injection will fund growth, the expansion of KOHO’s lending book and new products, and continued progress towards a Schedule 1 bank license. The round was led by returning investor, PROPELR Growth, joined by new investor Rockefeller Capital and included existing investors Drive Capital, TTV, and BDC. The credit extension is in partnership with new and existing partners. “We’re more excited than ever at KOHO. We had the choice of profitability with our existing capital but this injection allows…

CoreFirst Bank & Trust, a US$1.2 billion asset bank based in Kansas, has partnered with NCR Atleos Corporation’s Allpoint Network to expand its ATM services. This move aims to provide CoreFirst customers with greater access to surcharge-free ATMs and cash deposit options across the U.S. By joining the Allpoint Network, CoreFirst customers will have access to over 40,000 ATMs at various retail locations nationwide, including more than 3,000 cash deposit points. These locations will make it easier for customers to conduct everyday banking transactions at familiar retail spots, including those in Kansas. “At CoreFirst Bank & Trust, we have a…

In today’s fast-paced financial technology (fintech) landscape, customer support is no longer confined to traditional, reactive approaches. As fintech companies strive to offer seamless experiences in a competitive market, both front and back-office operations have become key battlegrounds for innovation. At the forefront of this transformation is Cynergy BPO, a leading outsourcing advisory firm that connects fintech companies with award-winning contact centers and BPO firms to optimize their Canada operations through the adoption of cutting-edge technology and industry-leading best practices. With the integration of artificial intelligence (AI), robotic process automation (RPA), and advanced data analytics, Cynergy BPO is empowering fintech…

PayPal  announced it is enabling its U.S. merchants to buy, hold and sell cryptocurrency directly from their PayPal business account. At launch, this functionality for Business Accounts will not be available in New York State. The announcement is PayPal’s latest step to increase cryptocurrency’s utility by making increased functionality available to millions of merchants in the U.S. “Since we launched the ability for PayPal and Venmo consumers to buy, sell, and hold cryptocurrency in their wallets, we have learned a lot about how they want to use their cryptocurrency,” said Jose Fernandez da Ponte, Senior Vice President of Blockchain, Cryptocurrency,…

In the ever-evolving world of financial technology, disruption is the norm. Fintechs are rewriting the playbook for how we access, manage, and move money, fundamentally transforming traditional banking and financial services. As these companies scale rapidly, they face the significant challenge of balancing cutting-edge innovation with operational efficiency. For many fintech game-changers, the solution to this challenge lies in outsourcing. In this arena, India has emerged as a key player, providing world-class expertise in both technology and customer service. At the forefront of this shift is Cynergy BPO, an advisory firm specializing in connecting fintech companies with leading business process…

Between 2015 and 2023, more than US$350 billion of venture capital (VC) funding was invested in the fintech sector globally, with the US and Canada alone accounting for 39% of total fintech funding. North America also has much higher funding per capita than other regions, highlighting the concentration of fintech funding activity. But in recent years, fintech funding in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) has experienced significant growth on the back of booming fintech innovation and soaring adoption of digital financial services. Despite this growth, there is still a mismatch between…

In 2023, cryptocurrency fraud continued to surge globally as rising adoption of digital currencies attracted scammers seeking to exploit the hype and target credulous users. Last year, the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) received a record of 69,468 crypto-related complaints, a 33.6% increase from 2022’s ~52,000, new data released by the division show. Losses soared by a whopping 45% year-over-year (YoY) to an all-time high of US$5.6 billion. Though crypto fraud represented only 10% of total financial fraud complains in 2023, it accounted for nearly 50% of total fraud losses, highlighting the disproportionately severe financial…

Ualá, Brubank and Naranja X dominate the Argentinian digital banking sector, collectively serving 16.44 million customers and holding an 88% share of the market, a new analysis by C-Innovation, a French fintech-focused research firm, reveals. These digital banks have managed to establish themselves as key pillars of the digital banking ecosystem, carving out substantial user bases by focusing on innovation, financial inclusion, and customer-centric services, the report says. Their growth has been driven by strategic product offerings, user-friendly platforms, and the ability to meet the evolving needs of Argentine consumers. Ualá, one of Argentina’s leading fintech players, offers a comprehensive…

Real-time payments software provider ACI Worldwide and American software company Red Hat have partnered to make cloud-native payment solutions more accessible. This collaboration will allow ACI’s Enterprise Payments Platform to be deployed across various cloud infrastructures, offering flexibility to banks, merchants, and billers. As part of the partnership, ACI will help customers migrate to the cloud and power the next generation of payment services. The platform can be utilized on-premises, in the cloud, or as a managed service. By leveraging Red Hat OpenShift, ACI customers will gain enhanced scalability, resilience, and reduced operational costs. Additionally, ACI will have access to…

Ant International announced its strategic initiative to provide AI-driven credit technology solutions designed to empower local partners and advance financial inclusions in Brazil. Ant International has formed a strategic partnership with Dock, a payments and banking technology provider in Latin America. This collaboration aims to enhance the credit management capability and infrastructure efficiency for Dock’s clients, which include financial institutions, retailers, fintech start-ups, etc. The shared vision is to make credit services more inclusive for market segments that are currently insufficiently served, such as micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). In recent years, Brazil has made significant progress in financial inclusion.…

Apple is transitioning from a technology company to a key player in the fintech sector, driven by its diverse financial products, strategic initiatives and use of cutting-edge technologies. A new analysis by C-Innovation, a French fintech-focused research firm, discusses the firm’s growing role in the financial services industry, delving into its range of financial products, recent strategic moves, and potential growth driven by the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI). Apple’s financial services ecosystem The report, released on July 17, explores how Apple has emerged as a leading force in the financial services industry with products like Apple Pay and Apple…

Portage, a global investment platform, in collaboration with Taktile, a risk decision platform, presents “The Top 50 US Fintech Companies Disrupting Consumer Finance in 2024.” This list highlights the most innovative fintech companies ushering in a new era of financial inclusion and consumer empowerment in the United States. The demand for hyper-personalized and convenient financial products in the US has surged. In response, innovative startups and established fintech leaders are not only making existing products more fair and accessible but also accelerating product development to better serve those traditionally underserved or marginalized by traditional establishments. This wave of innovation is…

XTransfer, a China based cross-border trade payment platform, and EBANX, announced a strategic partnership aimed at streamlining B2B trade payments in Latin America. This collaboration will empower XTransfer’s clients – small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) worldwide working with imports and exports – to navigate LatAm’s digital economy with greater ease and efficiency. While consumer payments are fairly digitized and easy to use, most companies and entrepreneurs in rising markets rely on complex, time-consuming, and non-digital payments. Typical B2B payments take up to 14 days to be confirmed and involve up to six intermediaries, often with low visibility and high fees,…

Aven, a technology company offering consumer credit cards backed by home equity, announced a $142 million series D round of funding led by Khosla Ventures and General Catalyst, with participation from existing investors including Caffeinated Capital, Electric Capital, Founders Fund, and The General Partnership. Aven was founded in 2019 by Sadi Khan, Collin Wikman, and Murtada Shah, former product, design, and engineering executives at Facebook and Square. Aven is on a mission to provide consumers with the lowest cost and most convenient access to capital. Their first product – the Aven Home Card – allows homeowners to access their home…

Matera, a Sao Paulo based banking software provider, announced a $100 million investment from Warburg Pincus. The investment will be used to fund the company’s expansion into the North American market and further expand product development. Founded in Brazil, Matera is a technology provider of core banking, instant payment, and QR code payment solutions for financial institution with offices in the United States and Brazil, the company’s core offering is a mission-critical suite of modern technology solutions used by more than 250 banks, credit unions and financial institutions globally, including two of the top three banks in the world and…

Envestnet, a leading provider of integrated technology, intelligent data and wealth solutions, announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by Bain Capital in a transaction valuing the Company at $4.5 billion ($63.15 per share). Reverence Capital also agreed to participate in the transaction. Strategic partners BlackRock, Fidelity Investments, Franklin Templeton, and State Street Global Advisors have committed to invest in the proposed transaction, and upon its completion they will hold minority positions in the private company. Envestnet manages over $6 trillion in assets, oversees nearly 20 million accounts, and enables more than 109,000 financial advisors…

Nuvei announced a partnership with Mastercard to launch a new off-ramping solution that enables consumers in Europe to seamlessly convert their Digital Assets, including cryptocurrencies, into traditional fiat currency via debit, credit and prepaid cards. This new functionality provides a bridge between digital and traditional finance that can be spent via Mastercard’s global network. This off-ramping solution is integrated directly into Nuvei’s modular payment platform, delivering a simple, secure user experience. The off-ramping process is designed to be rapid and user-friendly. Consumers can seamlessly convert a wide range of supported Digital Assets into fiat currency. They can then transfer the…

Nubank announced the acquisition of Hyperplane, a data intelligence company from Silicon Valley. The partnership will usher in a new era for digital banking platforms, bringing smarter, fairer, and more personalized financial products and services to Nubank’s customers. Hyperplane, launched in 2022 and co-founded by Daniel Silva, Felipe Lamounier, Rohan Ramanath, and Felipe Meneses, has been instrumental in using proprietary foundation models to provide high-quality financial services to millions of individuals. The platform enables financial institutions to train, evaluate, and deploy self-supervised, deep-learning models on first-party data for decision-making. Their platform serves as a central hub, allowing customers to train…

With the release of iOS 18 this fall, Apple is enhancing new services. Updates include U.S. national park hikes and custom walking routes in Apple Maps; the ability to pay with rewards and installments with Apple Pay; new accessibility features in Apple Music; and a redesigned Apple Fitness+ experience to help users make the most of its robust library of workouts and meditations. Greater Flexibility with Apple Pay Apple Pay introduces even more flexibility and choice for users when they check out online and in-app. Users can view and redeem rewards, and access installment loan offerings from eligible credit or…