Fintech, Finance, Technology, Banking Highlights – 17 May 2018
Monaco ships wallet app
Monaco, the pioneering payments and cryptocurrency platform, announced that it has added the Monaco Wallet App to the existing app that offers the Monaco Visa Card reservation function on the Google Play Store with approval on the Apple App Store expected shortly.
The app, now in open beta, was designed for consumers seeking a streamlined, secure approach to buying, exchanging, and sending cryptocurrency. The app combines the convenience of traditional personal financial tools and simplifies the oftentimes complicated cryptocurrency transaction processes in pursuit of Monaco’s vision of Cryptocurrency in Every Wallet.
Kris Marszalek, Co-Founder and CEO of Monaco said, “We are excited to launch our mobile app and introduce cryptocurrency to the spending practices of the everyday consumer. The app enables users to focus on making the best financial decisions for them rather than endlessly studying the confusing mechanics that frequently accompany cryptocurrency products and exchanges.”
He added, “This app is just the beginning of Monaco’s vision to bring cryptocurrency to everyone by simplifying processes with a beautifully designed user interface and ultra-functional features missing from the current industry landscape. Watch out for more products in the pipeline that will change and define the way we spend and invest.”
Dimebox releases machine learning fraud predictor
Dimebox, the only full-stack white-label acquiring platform in the world, has announced the release of a proprietary fraud predictor service based on machine learning.
The service is designed to detect evolving fraud patterns, allowing fraudulent payments to be blocked accurately without hindering legitimate transactions.
The fraud predictor trains itself on batches of transactions that are known to be legitimate or fraudulent, from specific merchant databases, creating a deep understanding of the kind of fraud that is targeting individual merchants.
Within the Dimebox platform, transaction rulesets can then be employed to automatically stop a transaction before it is completed, if the predicted likelihood of fraud is above a defined threshold. The fraud predictor uses self-learning algorithms to calculate a fraud score for every transaction, allowing the user to decide whether or not the score is high enough to warrant blocking, in the context of other criteria. This means the user’s risk appetite can be controlled with extreme precision, creating the right balance between blocking fraud and allowing regular transactions to go through unimpeded.
Emirates NBD joins CCRManager trade finance platform
Emirates NBD, a leading bank in the region announced that it has joined the rapidly growing community of members on CCRManager, a fintech platform supporting the origination and distribution of trade assets.
This announcement is aligned to Emirates NBD’s digital strategy as the bank continues to lead innovation in digital banking in the region and actively participate in the fintech ecosystem.
Launched in 2017, CCRManager is a digital trade finance platform that connects various Banks and Financial Institutions to originate and distribute trade assets. Counting almost 40 global financial institutions members across 17 countries, the web-based platform was developed collaboratively with leading trade finance institutions globally and will enable banks in the Middle East to manage their capital, credit, and liquidity needs more effectively.
Plastiq raises $27m
Plastiq, the best way to pay your bills and business expenses by credit card, today announced it has raised $27 million in additional financing from Atlas Venture, Khosla Ventures and Top Tier Capital Partners.
Plastiq will use the funds to roll out new payment services and accelerate growth in the small business market.
The latest investment comes as Plastiq is experiencing record growth with business owners and consumers who are looking for a reliable and convenient way to pay virtually any bill, while benefiting from credit card points programs, early payment discounts, or a few days’ float while an invoice settles. The company works with all major credit card providers, including American Express, Discover, Mastercard, Visa, and JCB, and its payments platform has served more than one million clients, processing billions in payments for a wide range of expenses, from business supplier payments, to contractors, to taxes and rent.
Palette Software acquires cloud company Centsoft
Palette Software, a market-leading vendor for financial process automation, has announced the acquisition of software-as-a-service (SaaS) invoice automation specialist Centsoft.
Under the terms of the acquisition Centsoft will continue to develop as a separate company within Palette Software, while coordinating core functions from headquarters in Stockholm.
