Fintech, Finance, Technology, Banking Highlights – 28 August 2018
Skip the queue, scan & go: Sainsbury’s launches till-free shopping
In a UK supermarket first, Sainsbury’s is trialling new scan, pay and go technology that will enable customers in one of its busy London convenience stores to pay for products in-store using their smartphone.
The new technology gives shoppers the option to grab their groceries and skip the checkout completely.
Using the latest version of the SmartShop app, customers visiting the Clapham North Station Local can use their smartphones to scan their shopping as they go and then pay for it through the app, from anywhere in the store, using Apple Pay.
Customers can already use SmartShop in 68 Sainsbury’s supermarkets. The scan, pay & go trial in Clapham will take this technology to the next level. Instead of paying for your shopping at a designated till point, Clapham customers can pay for their basket even faster and from anywhere in the store. SmartShop is growing in popularity with Sainsbury’s customers – there are over 100,000 SmartShop transactions and between 3,000 and 4,000 new customer registrations every week.
Diebold Nixdorf Secures Capital Commitment to Enhance Liquidity
Diebold Nixdorf announced it has secured a capital commitment for $650 million from two leading institutional lenders and has launched a process to amend its existing credit agreement. The company expects to complete these activities over the coming days.
Under the terms of the commitment which would be implemented pursuant to a forthcoming amendment to its existing senior secured credit agreement, Diebold Nixdorf is expected to receive $650 million from a newly-established Term Loan A-1 due August 2022. JP Morgan Chase Bank, NA, is serving as the sole and exclusive administrative agent for the company. The amendment to the credit agreement, including the Term Loan A-1 Facility, remains subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions, including obtaining necessary lender approvals. Additionally, the company disclosed additional information that was provided to lenders in a Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission this morning.
Coinsquare announces planned European expansion
Coinsquare, Canadian cryptocurrency trading platform for Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other cryptocurrencies, announced its planned expansion into the European market, set for Q4 2018.
Customers across Europe will have access to Coinsquare’s entire suite of coins—Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, Litecoin, XRP, Dogecoin, and Dash—all available with the safety and security that the trading platform has become known for in Canada.
“Cryptocurrency investors globally want a platform they can trust,” said Thomas Jankowski, Chief Digital and Growth Officer of Coinsquare. “Coinsquare is a regulated, fully-compliant trading platform and we’re thrilled to offer the European market the same secure and intuitive interface that we offer to Canadians.”
ComplySci Announces Strategic Investment by Vista Equity Partners to Accelerate Growth in Regulatory Compliance Software Market
ComplySci, a provider of regulatory technology for financial and professional services companies, announced that it has received a strategic investment from Vista Equity Partners, a private equity firm focused on software, data, and technology-enabled businesses that are reinventing industries and catalyzing change.
Existing investor Edison Partners will retain an ownership stake in ComplySci
Headquartered in New York City, ComplySci joins Vista with strong momentum and significant market opportunity as business and compliance leaders increasingly look for solutions to protect them from possible reputational risk and revenue loss from non-compliant activities. ComplySci works with more than 1,000 firms worldwide and, among other activities, monitors millions of trades, certifications and pre-clearance requests annually.
The investment in ComplySci comes from Vista’s Endeavor Fund, which is focused on emerging, high growth companies with mission-critical enterprise software and data solutions seeking to expand their innovation and impact in the markets they serve. Vista provides these companies and their management teams the capital, expertise and support to build an operational foundation for sustainable growth and long-term value.
“This investment by Vista recognizes our leadership position and roadmap for the future,” said Jean-Marc Levy, Chief Executive Officer at ComplySci. “In the last two years alone, we have assembled a world-class leadership team, grown our user base by over 60%, and successfully completed the acquisition of Financial Tracking to extend our product and services footprint. We are looking forward to working with Vista to leverage their expertise and portfolio of resources as we continue scaling our business and transforming the compliance landscape.”
