Fintech, Finance, Technology, Banking Highlights – 19 November 2018
Europol, Diebold Nixdorf to Share Information on Cyber Threats
Europol hosted the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Diebold Nixdorf at its headquarters in The Hague, the Netherlands. Diebold Nixdorf is a global provider of self-service transaction systems such as ATMs and point-of-sale technology for the financial and retail industries.
Sharing knowledge on major cyber threats and attacks and exchanging expertise, best practices, technical information and trends related to organised crime activity related to attacks against self-service ecosystems, are the main activities which will allow both organisations to reinforce their efforts to create a safer cyber space for citizens, businesses and governments.
High level of expertise for European investigations
Europol created the European Cybercrime Centre (EC3) in 2013 to strengthen the law enforcement response to cybercrime in the EU in a bid to better protect EU citizens, businesses and governments from online crime. It also targets cybercrime by facilitating the joint identification, prioritisation, preparation and initiation of cross-border investigations and operations by its partners. During the signature, Steven Wilson, Head of EC3 said: “The signing of this Memorandum of Understanding will improve our capabilities and increase our effectiveness in preventing, prosecuting and disrupting cybercrime related to self-service ecosystems. As a company with a strong global presence, a working cooperation of this type between Europol and Diebold Nixdorf is the most effective way in which we can hope to secure cyberspace for European citizens and businesses. I am confident that the high level of expertise our industry partners bring with them are going to result in a significant benefit to our Europe-wide investigations.”
Traydstream raises $3.5m
Award-winning trade finance fintech, Traydstream, signalled a full scaling up of its commercial activities, having concluded a US$3.5 million pre Series-A round of financing, co-led by a group of ultra high net-worth individuals (UHNI) and Gauss Ventures.
Due to strong investor demand, the offering size was increased from its initial amount of $2 million from existing shareholders, UHNIs with a deep understanding of trade financing in America, Europe, Middle East and Asia, as well as Gauss Ventures, which specialises in fintech growth strategies. This round brings Traydstream’s total funding to date at circa $6.0 million.
“We see in Traydstream an intelligent, scalable solution, developed by an experienced team, that can be easily implemented into clients’ existing processes to solve a real global problem,” says Daniel Gusev, Managing Partner from Gauss Ventures.
Traydstream’s AI powered platform transforms the costs, complexities and timescales of trade processing by automating document scrutiny and compliance checks. The proceeds will be used to accelerate its commercial penetration plans, support new client mandates and continue its product roadmap.
PayPal Completes Acquisition of Hyperwallet
PayPal announced that it has completed its acquisition of Hyperwallet for approximately $400 million USD.
This transaction will strengthen PayPal’s payout capabilities and enhance PayPal’s ability to provide an integrated suite of payment solutions to ecommerce platforms and marketplaces around the world.
“Ecommerce platforms and marketplaces have been focused on creating frictionless experiences for sellers to accept payments from buyers – an area where PayPal and Braintree have really innovated, powering many of the world’s largest and most noteworthy marketplaces,” said Bill Ready, chief operating officer, PayPal. “We look forward to working with Brent and the Hyperwallet team to strengthen our platform with advanced payout capabilities as we build on our aspiration to serve the digital economy with a full operating system for commerce.”
With the close of the deal, Brent Warrington, CEO of Hyperwallet, now joins PayPal and will continue to lead Hyperwallet, reporting to Juan Benitez, VP and general manager of Braintree.
“I am proud of everything we’ve built at Hyperwallet – from humble beginnings as a Vancouver-based startup to a global, world-class payouts company with an unwavering dedication to our customers,” said Warrington. “The combination of PayPal and Hyperwallet creates a powerful set of tools and services to help our customers pay the planet.”
