Fintech, Finance, Technology, Banking Highlights – 12 July 2018
Saudi Arabia’s Capital Market Authority approves first trial fintech licenses
The Capital Market Authority (CMA) announces the approval of the first two trial financial technology licenses to Manafa Capital and Scopeer. The trial licenses will qualify the two companies to provide crowd-funding service in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
The two licenses are the first results of the Financial Technology Laboratory initiative launched by the CMA at the beginning of 2018. The CMA’s trial financial technology initiative will help to enhance the competition in the financial market through providing services related to the capital market with innovative finance methods offered to the market participants. The license will offer Crowd Funding Platforms, which plays an important role in financing entrepreneurs and small-to-medium-size companies.
The Financial Technology Laboratory License (FTLL) is one of the CMA’s strategic initiatives resulting from the CMA’s “Financial Leadership 2020″program which works under the umbrella of the Financial Sector Development Program; one of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 execution programs.
Furthermore, Dr. Bander Assad Alsajjan, CMA’s Deputy for Strategy and International Affairs, said “The FTLL for crowd funding services aims to provide opportunities to invest in small-to-medium-size companies and finance their activities; by bringing them together with interested investors through electronic platforms. The crowd funding platforms will provide capital needs of young entrepreneurs with new business ideas, which will assist in closing the gap between new entrepreneurs and traditional funding methods.
Restaurant POS vendor Toast raises $115m
Toast, the fastest-growing restaurant management platform in the U.S., announced $115 million in Series D funding to accelerate investment in research and development, recruit new talent, and expand its market presence.
The financing round, led by funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc., with participation from new investor Tiger Global Management, LLC – as well as existing investors – values Toast at $1.4 billion.
“The way restaurants serve their customers is going through a fundamental change, and the technology that enables restaurant operations must respond to these new demands. Toast does this,” said Henry Ellenbogen, portfolio manager of T. Rowe Price New Horizons Fund. “Our investment in Toast reflects our belief in the firm’s ability to become much larger over time. We look forward to working with Toast’s management team as they help their clients and grow the business.”
The ai Corporation scores $2.5 million in growth capital
The ai Corporation (ai), an FCA approved expert in payments, fraud and risk management, today disclosed that it has secured a $2.5 million investment from its principal existing shareholders, to support its next stage of growth.
With recent investments in services delivery and product development, as well as global expansion, ai has grown its team and is experiencing growth of more than 36 percent year-on-year. ai and its suite of payment and fraud prevention solutions, including machine learning risk management tools, continue to serve businesses across the globe, with several new contract wins in the EU, US, Australia and Africa.
“It is our customers that are fuelling this growth and our innovation,” says Dr Mark Goldspink. “Our approach of simply stopping fraud and simply managing omni-channel payments, keeps us in the vanguard of the machine learning and A.I. market. Some of the world’s largest financial institutions, international merchants and other major payment service providers benefit every day from ai’s service and expertise, and we are deeply humbled and excited at the confidence shown by our shareholders in our future.”
Backbase and Jumio ally for AI-powered identity verification
Jumio, the leading AI-powered trusted identity as a service provider, announced a partnership with Backbase, the omni-channel digital banking platform leader.
Together, they will deliver online identity verification services that help financial service organizations optimize conversions, deter fraud and meet KYC, AML and GDPR compliance mandates within an intuitive digital banking experience.
Backbase helps financial institutions achieve digital transformation by providing digital experiences that boost engagement and ensure lasting client relationships. Financial institutions that have adopted the Backbase digital banking platform can enrich their solution with highly differentiating Fintech capabilities through the Open Banking Marketplace.
Now, customers on the Backbase digital banking platform can easily add Jumio’s online identity verification capabilities to enhance the onboarding experience. By integrating these AI-powered identity services, financial institutions can deliver a fast, compliant, and simple identity verification process within Backbase’s digital banking platform. In fact, Jumio and Backbase already share several common banking customers including HSBC and Metro Bank.
