Wolters Kluwer Governance, Risk & Compliance (GRC) has signed an agreement with The Reynolds and Reynolds Company to acquire International Document Services (IDS), a U.S. provider of compliance and document generation software solutions for the mortgage and real estate industry, for approximately US$70 million in cash. IDS will become an integral part of GRC’s Compliance Solutions business, a provider of compliance software for U.S. banks, lenders, credit unions, insurers, and securities firms. The acquisition builds on GRC’s existing footprint in digital loan compliance, with end-to-end capabilities spanning from document generation to eClosing, loan analytics and lien solutions. IDS serves over…

Cross border payments firm Airwallex has introduced the U.S. Airwallex Borderless Card, a virtual Visa card issued by Community Federal Savings Bank (CFSB). Airwallex’s customers domiciled in the United States can now instantly generate and issue multi-currency virtual payment cards that can be used to promptly pay third parties, such as vendors and other online merchants, wherever Visa cards are accepted. Using the Airwallex Borderless Card, U.S. companies can now transact in more than 140 currencies. Over the coming months, Airwallex plans on expanding the U.S. Airwallex Borderless Card functionality, including the issuance of physical multi-currency payment cards for business…

Global cross-border payments firm Thunes is speeding up its global expansion by setting up a regional hub in Miami to expand into new Latin American markets. Thunes has established regional payout partnerships that are available in 16 Latin American countries, including Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Uruguay. It recently launched partnerships with Brazil’s Bexs Banco to enable real-time businesses and customers inbound payments to Brazil. Thunes collections capabilities cover 90+ alternative payment options in the region, including Boleto in Brazil, Rapipago in Argentina, and SafetyPay in Colombia. The increased flexibility enables more options for businesses and consumers to make…

The London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) announced that it has agreed to acquire TORA, a US-headquartered cloud-based technology provider that supports customers trading multiple asset classes across global markets, for US$325 million. The acquisition is expected to close later this year. Founded in 2004, TORA offers order and execution management system (OEMS) and portfolio management system (PMS) for customers trading equities, fixed income, FX, derivatives as well as digital assets. The addition of digital assets to LSEG’s trading capabilities strengthens its presence in this rapidly expanding asset class, at a time when institutional market participants are increasing exposure to crypto…

Flutterwave announced that it has raised USD $250 million in Series D funding, valuing the company at over $3 billion as the brand continues to transform the way Africans transact on the continent and worldwide. Flutterwave has become the highest valued African start-up with this investment. It is a validation of African talent, innovation and its young inspiring people. It is also a huge endorsement in the growth of the business, innovation and technology landscape in Africa. Flutterwave’s latest backers include some of the world’s most respected investors led by B Capital Group, and with participation from Alta Park Capital,…

BBVA has reached an agreement to invest $300 million (about €263 million) in Neon, a Brazilian digital bank founded in 2016 that aims to improve access to financial services for individuals, self-employed and small businesses in its country. Neon has 15 million registered accounts. The investment takes place in a context of unprecedented technological disruption, with solid growth of digital and innovative models, particularly in financial services. In addition to a clear commitment to innovation, this investment allows BBVA to gain exposure to retail banking in Brazil, a market with one of the highest potential in the world. With this…

FNZ, a global wealth management platform, announced that it has secured US$1.4 billion in new equity funding from Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments) and Motive Partners. CPP Investments had committed to pouring in a total of US$1.1 billion. The fundraising values FNZ at over US$20 billion as it continues its geographical expansion. The company has consistently attracted strong investment interest and CPP Investments and Motive Partners represent the fifth and sixth external shareholders in FNZ. The capital raise will help FNZ further accelerate its growth through increased R&D, as well as driving growth in markets that FNZ have…

South Florida Motorsports (SFM) announced the HK based Crypto.com as the official title partner of the Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix. This prestigious new deal will see Crypto.com become an integral part of the newest Formula 1 event on the calendar, with its brand incorporated into the official event title and logo, in addition to exposure across the Miami International Autodrome. The long-term deal between the Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix and Crypto.com is the first commercial partnership to be announced in the build-up to the inaugural event that will take place on the new 5.41km circuit in Miami Gardens.…

Recent technological advances including blockchain, cloud computing and artificial intelligence (AI) have ushered a wave of new private-sector financial products and services, paving the way for rapid developments in money. While dozens of countries are already in the development and operational phases of their own digital currencies, the US has taken a more wary approach to the matter. On January 20, 2022, the Federal Research Board released its long-anticipated discussion paper on the potential benefits and risks of issuing a retail central bank digital currency (CBDC). Though the central bank emphasizes that “no decisions have been made on whether to…

Blockchain technology is yielding tremendous innovation and value creation for consumers and businesses around the world. As the technology becomes more mainstream, companies need scalable, secure, and sustainable infrastructure on which to grow their businesses and support their networks. Google Cloud believes it can play an important role in this evolution. Building on their existing work with blockchain developers, exchanges, and other companies in this space, Google Cloud announced a new dedicated Digital Assets Team within Google Cloud to support our customers’ needs in building, transacting, storing value, and deploying new products on blockchain-based platforms. This new team will enable…

Fireblocks, a US-based platform that allows financial institutions to store, move and issue cryptocurrencies, has raised US$550 million in Series E funding, vaulting its valuation to over US$8 billion. The funding round, co-led by D1 Capital Partners and Spark Capital with participation from General Atlantic, Index Ventures, Mammoth, CapitalG (Alphabet’s independent growth fund), Altimeter, Iconiq Strategic Partners, Canapi Ventures, and Parafi Growth Fund. With the new funds, Fireblocks intends to continue its strategic expansion, broaden its alliances, add to its client base and stakeholders, and extend its ecosystem. With US$2 trillion in digital assets transferred, the Fireblocks’ platform now supports more…

The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on January 24, concluded the Article IV consultation with El Salvador. The pandemic interrupted ten years of growth, but El Salvador is rebounding quickly. Robust external demand, resilient remittances, and a sound management of the pandemic—with the help of a disbursement under the Rapid Financing Instrument (SDR287.2 million or US$389 million) approved in April 2020—are supporting a strong recovery. The economy contracted by 7.9 percent in 2020 and is projected to grow by about 10 percent in 2021 and 3.2 percent in 2022. Against this backdrop, public debt vulnerabilities emerged. Persistent…

Blockchain-based data-sharing platform Spring Labs announced that is bringing TransUnion’s identity and credit data on-chain to help accelerate Web 3 and DeFi adoption. The off-chain credit data from TransUnion, a global information and insights company, will be made available on public blockchain networks via Spring Labs’ ky0x Digital Passport. Ky0x Digital Passport allows users to provide information about themselves in order to access permissioned smart contract applications while preserving the privacy of their off-chain identity. With access to ky0x’s Digital Passport’s data, DeFi and Web3 applications can build increasingly competitive financial products that only ky0x’s open and continuously growing system…

MoneyGram International announced that they have completed a strategic minority investment in Coinme, a cryptocurrency cash exchange in the U.S. This venture, which gives the Company an approximate 4% ownership stake in Coinme, closes out Coinme’s Series A financing round and provides MoneyGram with a direct ownership position. “At MoneyGram, we continue to be bullish on the vast opportunities that exist in the ever-growing world of cryptocurrency and our ability to operate as a compliant bridge to connect digital assets to local fiat currency. Our investment in Coinme further strengthens our partnership and compliments our shared vision to expand access…

Checkout.com has announced the appointment of Meron Colbeci as its Chief Product Officer. Colbeci is the former head of consumer product management at Meta’s fintech product group Novi, and was a senior product leader at SoFi and PayPal as well, a statement said. In his new role, he will oversee the Checkout.com’s product management, product operations and design functions worldwide. The appointment of Colbeci is part of the company’s broader executive team expansion this year, including the addition of a new CFO, CHRO, CMO, CRO and CTO. “At our core, we are passionate about the application of emerging technologies to…

Software investment firm Thoma Bravo has inked a deal to acquire payment and invoice management platform Bottomline Technologies in an all-cash transaction for approximately US$2.6 billion. Under the terms of the agreement, Bottomline shareholders will receive $57.00 per share in cash, which represents a premium of approximately 42% to the company’s unaffected closing stock price on 19 October 2021. Bottomline will no longer be listed on any public market and become a privately held company upon completion of the transaction. News of the deal had caused Bottomline’s shares to rise by 15% to US$ 56.13. Rob Eberle, CEO of Bottomline…

Mexico City-based end-to-end corporate spend management solution Clara has secured US$70 million in a Series B equity financing round. The round was led by Coatue, and takes Clara’s valuation to US$1 billion. With the Series B, Clara has become the fastest Latin American startup to obtain unicorn status in the region, a statement said. Clara was launched in Mexico eight months ago. Participating investors in the round included ICONIQ Growth, Box Group, Gaingels, and existing investors DST, monashees, General Catalyst, Avid Ventures, Global Founders Capital, Picus Capital, and Alter Global, among others. General Partner at Coatue Michael Gilroy will be…

Mastercard released a new report today, The Rise of Open Banking, demonstrating the mainstream adoption of technology to power smarter, more meaningful digital experiences. The report found more than 80% of consumers in the US – and 90% of younger consumers — are already connecting their bank accounts to technology apps. According to the report, nine in 10 consumers in the US and Canada use online and mobile financial applications to manage money, with paying bills (82%) and banking (80%) as the most popular use cases. “Open banking gives consumers choice by enabling them to use their own data to…

Global buy now pay later (BNPL) solution provider Klarna has partnered with UK-headquartered account-to-account payments solution provider GoCardless. The partnership will enable Klarna to provide bank debit payments to over 21 million US customers, a statement from Klarna said. More specifically, GoCardless will support the Swedish company’s Pay in 4 interest-free payment offering and monthly financing solution. GoCardless entered the US market in 2019, and has been working with Klarna in the UK since 2018. The company has plans to grow its US team by 125%. Koen Köppen, CTO at Klarna said, “The US is a key market for Klarna…

Visa has invested in Mexico City-headquartered open finance API platform Belvo through its US$43 million Series A. The two companies have also signed a strategic partnership to jointly develop open finance solutions in Latin America, a statement from Belvo said. Visa joins other investors in Belvo with this investment, including Kaszek Ventures, Founders Fund, Y Combinator, Future Positive, Maya Capital, and FJ Labs. The investment comes under a wider collaboration between Visa and Belvo as well. This includes another strategic partnership to support financial institutions and issuers in Latin America to leverage and implement open finance solutions. The two companies are…