Fintech, Finance, Technology, Banking Highlights – 9 July 2018
Tradeshift and MakerDAO Leverage Blockchain to Democratize Access to Financing for World’s Small Businesses
Tradeshift Cash adds Dai as Stable Cryptocurrency to Enable Frictionless, On-Demand Liquidity
Tradeshift, a supply chain payments and marketplaces, and MakerDAO, the creator of Dai, the world’s first decentralized stablecoin based on the Ethereum blockchain, announced at “TC Sessions: Blockchain” a partnership on a project to unlock liquidity access for small businesses around the globe from the $9T of capital trapped in outstanding receivables.
The partnership combines the power of the Tradeshift business commerce platform with the stability and security of the Dai Credit System to establish a supply chain liquidity marketplace for businesses, developers and investors.
Businesses can leverage trade receivables, purchases and other transactions and digital assets on the Tradeshift platform to create real-time and short-term financing models backed by anything from institutional finance to peer lending.
Developers can build investor applications to enable real-world B2B settlements that benefit from the efficiency, transparency, speed and security of the blockchain utilizing the Dai stablecoin.
Santander to implement iGTB payments hub
Intellect Global Transaction Banking (iGTB), the corporate banking technology provider from Intellect Design Arena Limited, and Banco Santander, the euro zone’s largest bank by market capitalisation, have agreed a deal to implement iGTB’s Intellect Payments Services Hub (IPSH)- bringing next-generation payments capabilities to its corporate clients.
“This will set the standard for European banks in terms of client service and efficiency – not only in Central and Eastern Europe, where most banks are playing digital catch-up, but also in more developed markets,” says Manish Maakan, CEO of iGTB. “Santander have shown great skill in covering Europe, North America and of course has especial links to Latin America.”
Continuing a decade-long partnership between the two firms, the deal positions Santander Corporate & Investment Banking, Santander’s global wholesale division, at the forefront of digital corporate payments innovation. iGTB’s IPSH, however, represents is a shift in gears – directly upgrading the bank’s own infrastructure – and is an early example of European banks’ commitment to IT investment in 2018.
José Luis Calderón, Head of Global Transaction Banking, Santander, says, “In line with our strategy of focussing on innovation to increase customer loyalty and operational excellence, this digital transformation of our payments services is excellent news for both us and our corporate clients. This initiative will boost operational efficiency and scalability, giving a solid foundation for sustainable business growth, improving even more Santander Cash Nexus – our Global Cash Management solution, and we’re confident our clients will love the consistency, efficiency, flexibility and speed of our new system.”
Canopy partners with TrueLayer to bring Open Banking to the rental market
TrueLayer, a provider of financial APIs, has partnered with rental marketplace Canopy. The integration will enable Canopy’s customers to automatically update their financial information via its RentTracking tool. As a result, their rental payments will be taken into account for their credit score. This will provide more accurate and timely financial data, empowering Canopy’s renters to gain access to more affordable and innovative financial products.
TrueLayer provides an interface between financial institutions and third-party applications over an API. This enables companies to capitalise on Open Banking and PSD2 rules by providing secure access to banking infrastructure.
Canopy helps renters boost their credit history by making it easy for rent payments to be factored into credit scores. This improves access to more affordable financial products such as mortgages.
Francesco Simoneschi, CEO and Co-founder of TrueLayer, said: “This partnership represents the power of Open Banking to fuel financial inclusion. By making it easier for consumers to securely and quickly share their financial data with trusted companies, we can help people who have been traditionally locked out of the financial market.
