Does deposit insurance retard the development of non-bank financial markets?

MIKAEL C. BERGBRANT | 221 views

Whether, and how, the introduction of deposit insurance affects non-bank financial market development depends on whether banks and non-bank financial markets are substitutes or complements and theory has conflicting views. Using data on 134 countries over a 28-year period and several identification strategies we find that the introduction of deposit insurance retards the equity market, the non-bank depositaries sector, and the banking sector when law and order is weak.

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Future of Banking: Examining Components of Digital Banking

Article | July 21, 2022

Contents 1. Evolution of Banking: From Brick-and-mortar to Digital 2. Multichannel Banking and Self-service Solutions 3. Demystifying Retail, Business and Corporate Banking 4. Mobile Banking: Payment Processing Overhaul 4.1 Overview of Fintech Companies in Banking Industry 5. Technology Trends in Digital Banking 6. Digital Transformation in Banking 6.1 Authentic User Experience 6.2 Blockchain Technology 6.3 Personalized Technology Services 7. Digital Banking Platforms Reaching out to SMBs 8. Future Aspects of Digital Banking Solutions 1. Evolution of Banking: From Brick-and-mortar to Digital Digital banking has transformed the traditional banking landscape and brought about a paradigm shift in the way individuals and businesses manage their finances. The cumbersome and time-consuming nature of financial transactions that involved physical visits to bank branches and long queues for basic tasks like account opening and money transfers is now a thing of the past. Between 2017 and 2021, 9% of all branch locations closed down, a loss of around 7,500 branches, according to the non-profit National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC). (Source: Bankrate) With the digitization of banking, there has been a shift toward a cashless economy, with net and mobile banking gaining popularity over physical cash. With digital banking solutions like UPI, internet banking, and mobile banking, customers can access global transaction banking services directly from their own platforms, enabling seamless transactions anytime, anywhere. 2. Multichannel Banking and Self-Service Solutions The shift from traditional brick-and-mortar banking to digital banking has become ubiquitous, making self-service approaches in digital banking solutions vital for customers. These options allow customers to access banking solutions using software resources without human intervention, enabling them to conduct transactions such as checking account balances, making online transfers and withdrawals, paying bills, loan installments, exchanging currencies, and overall managing wealth with ease. Such solutions can be accessed through FAQs, chatbots, customer support portals, and other similar resources. The scope of self-service technology also encompasses internet banking and online shopping. Although the first and most successful self-service solution introduced by banks worldwide was the automated teller machine (ATM), the concept has now been extended to include a variety of digital banking platforms and applications. 3. Demystifying Retail, Business and Corporate Banking Digital banking services and products consist of three main sub-categories: Retail banking, Business banking, and Corporate banking. Retail banking, also referred to as consumer banking or personal banking, is a form of banking that offers financial services specifically to individual customers instead of businesses. It enables customers to effectively manage their finances, access credit facilities, and securely deposit their funds. Business banking refers to a company's financial transactions with a specialized institution that offers tailored financial services such as business loans, credit, savings accounts, and checking accounts, exclusively designed for corporate entities rather than individuals. This type of banking is conducted by a dedicated business banking division within a bank, which solely caters to the financial needs of commercial organizations. Corporate banking entails the provision of financial services to sizable corporations and multinational enterprises, which includes an array of offerings such as cash management, trade finance, corporate lending, and treasury services. With the advent of digital corporate banking, businesses can now effectively manage their financial transactions, process payments, and gain access to various financial tools and resources via digital platforms, ensuring improved efficiency and convenience. 4.Mobile Banking: Payment Processing Overhaul Mobile banking allows remote access to a wide range of banking services. Mobile app simplifies our lives by letting bank and other financial institution users check account balances, pay bills, transfer money, manage investments, and apply for loans with just a few clicks. Mobile banking alerts promote smart financial management, provide customization options, and enable easy monitoring for suspicious activity. A Chase Bank study revealed that 87% of consumers use their bank's mobile app monthly. Some features of a digital banking platform: Transfer money to friends and family within minutes via the ‘Manage Payee’ option on mobile banking apps. Clear utility bills via banks linked with UPI-enabled apps on your phone instead of standing in long queues outside gas stations with cash. Open Demat accounts online via the KYC process and manage all investments, deposits, and stocks in one place. Open bank accounts by uploading documents online; skip visiting banks and filling out forms. Get online assistance from banks 24/7 through chatbots and support systems. Mobile banking enables smooth functioning and boosts transparency in accessing financial data. Check account balances anytime without the need for passbook slips. Mobile banking apps provide customers with innumerable loan options, with banks deducting loan amounts from accounts on a fixed date via the ‘AutoPay’ option. 4.1 Overview of Fintech Companies in Banking Industry Here are some leading digital banking platforms catering to the needs of financial institutions: Alkami Technology: It is a major developer of cloud-based digital banking solutions for financial institutions in the United States. Its solutions enable users to clients their businesses with confidence, react to changing circumstances swiftly, and build vibrant digital communities. The company provides a range of services, including retail banking and business banking, digital account opening, loan origination, and multi-payment fraud protection solutions to assist clients in their transformation. It is dedicated to empowering its clients and supporting them in achieving their goals. Numerated: It is a fast-growing fintech that streamlines the origination process for business banking products. Over 400,000 businesses and 30,000 financial institution associates have processed $50 billion in lending using Numerated. The platform is used by financial institutions with a combined $1 trillion in assets, including Bremer Bank, Dollar Bank, Eastern Bank, MidFirst Bank, People's United Bank, Seacoast Bank, and others. The company has been recognized for its work as one of 2020's Top 250 FinTechs by CB Insights and 2021's Best Overall Business Lending Company by FinTech Breakthrough. Zoot Enterprises: It is a global leader in providing advanced origination, acquisition, and decision management solutions to financial institutions. Its cloud-based platforms offer flexibility for specific business needs, including loan origination, fraud detection, and data acquisition. Zoot enables clients to access hundreds of cutting-edge data sources in real time, delivering decisions in milliseconds. Its origination solution streamlines loan processing, providing powerful tools and robust integrations that reduce data entry, accelerate loan processing times, and avoid costly errors. Geezeo: The company delivers enriched digital banking experiences, processing, and augmenting transactions for over 500 financial institutions. Its insights enhance the overall customer experience, seamlessly integrating within online and mobile banking environments while allowing financial institutions to maintain ownership of their personal financial management (PFM) brand. It focuses on technology solutions that engage audiences with enriched data and offers expertise in digital banking, marketing, and technology. TurnKey Lender: It is a global leader in Unified Lending Management (ULM). Its intelligent software products automate the entire lending process, including traditional and alternative lending, SME financing, grant management, money lending, leasing, trade finance, in-house financing, and more. With customers in over 50 countries, TurnKey Lender is gaining traction as a pioneer in AI software development for lenders in regions like the United States, APAC, and the EU. The company’s solutions are used by all types of lenders, including large/mid-size banks, digital lenders, multi-finance companies, trade finance operators, traditional and non-traditional lenders, and telecoms. 5. Technology Trends in Digital Banking Banking technology is rapidly evolving. Advanced technologies like AI and ML will enable banks to analyze large data sets in real time and offer personalized solutions to customers. The market size of the global digital banking platform was valued at USD 20.8 billion in 2021 and is expected to expand at a CAGR of 20.5% from 2022 to 2030. (Source: Grand View Research) The increasing digital savviness of the global population is prompting the adoption of technological advancements. However, some individuals are still in an adaptive mode due to a lack of time and knowledge. AI and ML technologies enable banks to analyze large amounts of data, make informed decisions through predictive analysis, and improve lending patterns by analyzing consumer spending patterns. 6.Digital Transformation in Banking Financial institutions must leverage big data to automate business processes and reduce costs in light of falling interest rates and banking fees coupled with rising consumer demands. Adopting artificial intelligence, cloud technology, and automation in modernizing their applications could enable banks to develop omnichannel products, services, and capabilities, ultimately improving the user experience. Now, let's examine digital transformation in the banking industry: 6.1 Authentic User Experience (UX) Banks must share genuine customer experiences to retain loyalty. To achieve this, they must embrace the latest trends, technologies, and well-designed UX. 6.2Blockchain Technology To improve customer satisfaction, banks must reduce the intermediaries between them and their customers. This can be accomplished through increased transparency using blockchain technology, enabling untrusted parties to agree on a shared database and eliminating the need for transaction intermediaries. 6.3 Personalized Technical Services Key points about the benefits of personalized services such as automation, AI, and cloud computing in the banking industry: Automation minimizes human intervention and reduces errors, resulting in faster and more efficient service. AI helps banks predict outcomes based on past data, such as identifying fraud and making customer recommendations. Cloud computing enables banks to adopt new business models and create secure applications that meet regulatory requirements. About 27% of Americans use an online-only bank. Of those at online-only banks, 88% reported they are satisfied with the bank’s services. Meanwhile, only 66% of consumers using traditional banks report being satisfied with them. (Source: Bankrate) 7. Digital Banking Platforms Reaching Out to SMBs Digital banking platforms have revolutionized business operations by providing enhanced convenience and adaptability. Fintech firms have customized their platforms to meet the unique needs of small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), offering mobile apps that facilitate financial management, transaction processing, and access to a range of financial tools and services at all times and from any location. The following is a list of notable digital banking applications that have garnered significant popularity over time: Betterment: It is an online financial advisor that offers personalized, fiduciary advice for retirement planning, building wealth, and achieving financial goals. By utilizing advanced algorithms and technology, it offers automated investment services that are tailored to each client's unique investment objectives and risk tolerance. The platform offers a diverse range of investment options, low fees, tax-efficient investing, and access to financial advisors. Betterment's mission is to make investing accessible and affordable to everyone, with a user-friendly online platform that is easy to use and offers high-quality investment advice. Mercury: It is a startup-focused banking platform that provides a comprehensive range of financial services tailored to companies of any size or stage. The platform offers free checking and savings accounts, debit and credit cards, domestic and international wire transfers, treasury and venture debt, and other essential financial products, all with an intuitive user experience. In addition to its suite of banking services, Mercury also provides vibrant community programs that offer founders the resources, advice, and connections needed to build successful companies. Bluevine: It is a financial technology company that specializes in providing working capital financing solutions tailored to small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) in the United States. With a suite of financing products, including invoice factoring, lines of credit, and term loans, Bluevine enables SMBs to secure the necessary funding to drive growth and expansion. The company's platform is designed to facilitate a seamless lending experience, with streamlined applications and fast approvals that can be completed in as little as 10 minutes. Novo: New York-based fintech firm, Novo offers digital banking services to small businesses in the United States. Its suite of products includes mobile check deposit, online bill pay, and debit card issuance for employees. The company has also integrated with popular small business software tools such as QuickBooks and Xero, providing businesses with greater financial management capabilities. Relay: Relay is an online banking and money management platform dedicated to giving America's small businesses the tools they need to grow and gain visibility into their finances. The company recognizes that traditional banking services often underserve small businesses. As a result, it has built a platform that gives entrepreneurs the power to control their cash flow by giving them a clear picture of their income and expenses. 8. Future Aspects of Digital Banking Solutions As technology continues to advance, the traditional banking system is expected to undergo significant changes in the coming decades, with neobanks rapidly gaining popularity among tech-savvy customers for their personalized services. These digital fintech companies, often referred to as 'challenger banks', operate without physical branches and offer a range of attractive services, blurring the line between traditional banking and financial systems. As a result, retail banks may adopt an omnichannel approach and leverage the robust infrastructure of fintech enterprises to enhance the customer experience.

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CORE BANKING

Why Payments-as-a-Service is the first choice for FIs

Article | July 13, 2022

The pace of change within the global payment’s technology space is still at full speed with no sign of slowing down. While traditional incumbents have until recently taken comfort in their size and decades of dominance, new digital-only challenger banks are ramping up and making a huge impact on the global financial landscape.

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CORE BANKING, MOBILE BANKING

BIG TECH IN FINANCE: A DEEP DIVE INTO THE FUTURE OF FINTECH

Article | March 20, 2023

The following article looks at Big Tech and its impact on the financial services sector. Whilst competition from small fintech startups will certainly take away some market share from traditional banks, the impact of “GAFA” could be huge. The fintech movement did more than unbundle banking and its core services — it spurred financial inclusion across Asia, increased overall economic growth, and made significant inroads into the finance value chain. The born-digital companies brought technology to the forefront, attacking the traditional risk-averse sector from various points — digital payments, insurance, P2P lending, and investment management, among other avenues.

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How Fintechs Expanding in Latin America Can Build Trust with SMEs

Article | February 10, 2020

Small businesses in emerging economies are notoriously underfinanced. Despite making up over 99.5% of the economy in Latin America, SMEs face a financing gap in the trillions of dollars. For example, up to 78% of small businesses in Argentina and 45% in Peru struggle to grow because of financial constraints. Numerous articles and institutional white papers point to the lack of trust between banks and SMEs as a major cause of this financing gap. Banks simply do not know how to accurately calculate small business risk, especially in volatile economies in Latin America, so they offer high interest rates or pass on providing credit altogether.

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Nutmeg is changing the way people manage their money. Specialising in investments, ISAs and pensions, our online investment management service is intelligent, straightforward and fair. Find out more at www.nutmeg.com. Capital at risk..

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FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT, FINTECH

Abrigo partners with Charm Solutions to launch AI-powered engine that accelerates SMB lending decisions

PRnewswire | March 24, 2023

Abrigo, the leading technology provider of compliance, credit risk, and lending solutions for financial institutions, today announced the launch of Abrigo Small Business Lending Intelligence. This lending decision and monitoring engine is powered by Charm Solutions, a provider of AI technology that helps financial institutions unlock the full potential of their data, identify growth opportunities, optimize operations, and improve financial decisions. According to FFIEC call report data, small business (SMB) loans made by banks in the U.S. grew to nearly 27 million in 2022. Many institutions have indicated that SMB is a continued, targeted area for growth in 2023, following the successful Paycheck Protection Program during COVID-19, which led many lenders to build or deepen relationships with SMBs in their communities. A barrier to growth for many institutions is efficiency. In a recent Abrigo survey, nearly 60% of financial institutions indicated that efficiency was the top challenge in small business lending. Abrigo Small Business Lending Intelligence is embedded into the Abrigo loan origination platform and provides real-time scorecards that include a loan risk rating score, probability of default, and details of how the score was calculated. Using Charm's dynamic models along with existing processes, institutions can improve their decision-making by incorporating an array of data sources and leveraging analytics to gain actionable insights. The engine leverages self-learning AI to continuously monitor a wide range of current and historical data, loan performance, accounting, and macroeconomic data from more than 1,200 institutions. Abrigo Small Business Lending Intelligence is transparent, providing institutions insight into the data and processes used for its scoring model. Abrigo Small Business Lending Intelligence also provides an early warning system alerting banks to changes that may impact an institution's entire loan portfolio before they become an issue. "By leveraging the power of automation and AI, financial institutions can provide the small businesses in their communities with the funds they need faster while ensuring they have the right risk management controls in place for their lending processes," said Ravi Nemalikanti, CTO of Abrigo. "We are very pleased to partner with Charm to develop this innovative solution that advances our mission to help communities thrive." "We are proud to power the Abrigo Small Business Intelligence platform with our proprietary AI-technology and help thousands of financial institutions make faster and better decisions to grow their SMB loan portfolio profitably and move the economy forward," said Jacob Malmborg, CEO of Charm Solutions. About Charm Solutions Charm Solutions is an AI software platform used by leading lending institutions to quickly and transparently analyze, decision, and monitor SMB loans, and by SMBs to gain insights into their financial health and use Charm's proprietary SMB Score™ report to receive actionable recommendations and efficiently secure the best financing alternatives to grow their business. Learn more at www.charmsolutions.ai About Abrigo Abrigo is a leading provider of compliance, credit risk, lending, and asset/liability management solutions and services that help financial institutions thrive. Abrigo accelerates growth, increases client efficiency, and improves customer experience with an easy-to-use and expansive platform. We ensure customer success with our award-winning client service team, advisory expertise, and innovative technology. With a network of 2,400+ FIs, Abrigo offers unique opportunities for insightful peer benchmarks and best practices. Visit abrigo.com to learn more. Follow Abrigo on social media using @WeAreAbrigo.

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FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT, PAYMENTS

Cross River and Pay.com Partner to Create All-Inclusive Payments Platform for Businesses

Businesswire | March 23, 2023

Cross River Bank (“Cross River”), a leading technology infrastructure provider that offers embedded financial solutions, today announced a new partnership with U.K. based Pay.com. This partnership will enhance and expand Pay.com’s automated payment platform into the U.S. and drive additional growth opportunities. “Cross River’s comprehensive compliance, payments and technology infrastructure increases the safety, efficiency and scalability that our partners have come to expect,” said Gilles Gade, Founder, President and CEO of Cross River. “Our partnership with Pay.com enables them to scale and reach new markets.” The partnership enables Pay.com’s current and future merchants to accept multiple payment methods, such as credit and debit cards, as well as alternative payment methods such as digital wallets, ACH transfers and more, all via Cross River’s one-stop-shop. Cross River’s API infrastructure provides Pay.com the ability to streamline and provide customer-centric payments capabilities, facilitating closed loop embedded financial solutions for merchants and businesses. "Our partnership with Cross River is a testament to our commitment to providing merchants with a comprehensive payment solution,” said Assaf Cohen, CEO of Pay.com. “With their regulatory infrastructure and expertise in embedded finance, we can scale our business and offer merchants access to the latest payment technologies." According to Verified Market Research, the embedded finance market size is expected to grow to $6.943 trillion by 2030, and fintechs are in need of simplified embedded finance systems that deliver exceptional customer experiences. Cross River and Pay.com lead with a solution-driven approach and have been partners since July 2022. Cross River’s expertise, technology and regulatory infrastructure will help build and scale Pay.com’s business in the U.S., providing increased capabilities for businesses. About Cross River Cross River provides technology infrastructure powering the future of financial services. Leveraging its proprietary real-time banking core, Cross River delivers innovative and scalable embedded payments, cards and lending solutions to millions of consumers and businesses. Cross River is backed by leading investors and serves the world’s most essential fintech and technology companies. Together with its partners, Cross River is reshaping global finance and financial inclusion. Member FDIC. Find out more at www.crossriver.com. About Pay.com Pay.com is an innovative payment service provider, providing flexible, customizable, and scalable solutions. Pay.com enables enterprise leaders to effortlessly manage large payments and achieve their boldest visions, while empowering smaller merchants to reach new heights of success through seamless, fast, and user-friendly payment solutions. Pay.com’s commitment to inclusivity drives the company to bring unparalleled ease, simplicity, and speed to the global payment space.

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FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT, FINTECH

Bitstamp brings its experience and infrastructure to APAC financial institutions via white-label offering

PRnewswire | March 21, 2023

Bitstamp, the world's longest-running crypto exchange, announces today that it is expanding its white-label service to institutions in selected APAC markets. Banks, payments and fintech companies, or investment firms looking to fast-track their digital assets offerings to customers can choose from one of three plug-and-play service tiers. The offering covers a range of needs, such as order matching, liquidity for a wide range of crypto markets, regulatory-compliant AML/ (Know-your-customer), account reporting and more. Known as Bitstamp as a Service, the solution enables financial institutions to rapidly develop a retail offering without needing to build out technology or compliance infrastructure or acquire specific licenses. One of Bitstamp's first partners for this service was Revolut back in 2017. Flexible Design for Rapid Deployment Bitstamp as a Service provides clients with three tiers: Exchange, Exchange Plus, and Exchange Complete. Each tier provides a number of core building blocks with the Exchange Complete tier designed as an end-to-end solution that adds KYC/AML operations for customer onboarding and access to Bitstamp's global license network. For institutions that are prioritizing speed to market and lower fixed costs, this solution will save them the time and resources needed to build this capability in-house. Bitstamp as a Service gives clients — whether they are an early-stage fintech startup or an established banking institution — the ability to integrate this infrastructure with their existing customer apps. This enables clients to continue to grow their customer relationships and control the user experience with the fastest path to market. "Bitstamp as a Service is a complete end-to-end solution that allows clients to rapidly turn on their crypto offering. Clients trust in our ability to deliver a safe and secure solution because our success as an infrastructure provider has been tested over multiple cycles. As the market matures, we are seeing greater demand for more integration options and third-party risk management," says Leonard Hoh, APAC GM of Bitstamp. "For added flexibility Bitstamp's infrastructure stack also gives clients a choice of 15 banking partners to match their operational needs. " A Trusted Solution for Institutions in Current Market Cycle In a survey carried out by Bitstamp in 2022, over 75 per cent of retail and institutional investors worldwide believe that crypto will become mainstream in the next 10 years. Of all the institutional investors polled, 81 per cent believe digital assets should be part of a portfolio. However, one of the top barriers to entry cited by retail investors were "not sure which platform to trust or is secure''. "Recent events in the industry have placed new emphasis on good business practices and compliance credentials that necessitate a package of operational controls. There is a need for institutions to find a trusted partner to deliver a quality experience in the digital assets ecosystem to serve the next wave of mainstream adoption ," says Leonard Hoh. Bitstamp currently holds more than 50 licenses and registrations globally. It was the only crypto exchange among more than 130 CEXes (centralized exchanges) to receive an AA rating in CryptoCompare's Exchange Benchmark Report in October 2022 — a testament to Bitstamp's commitment to making crypto investing secure for all. About Bitstamp Bitstamp is the world's original and longest-running cryptocurrency exchange, supporting investors, traders and leading financial institutions since 2011. With a proven track record, cutting-edge market infrastructure and dedication to personal service with a human touch, Bitstamp's secure and reliable trading venue is trusted by over four million customers worldwide. Whether it's through its intuitive web platform and mobile app or industry-leading APIs, Bitstamp is where crypto enters finance. For more information, visit www.bitstamp.net

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Abrigo partners with Charm Solutions to launch AI-powered engine that accelerates SMB lending decisions

PRnewswire | March 24, 2023

Abrigo, the leading technology provider of compliance, credit risk, and lending solutions for financial institutions, today announced the launch of Abrigo Small Business Lending Intelligence. This lending decision and monitoring engine is powered by Charm Solutions, a provider of AI technology that helps financial institutions unlock the full potential of their data, identify growth opportunities, optimize operations, and improve financial decisions. According to FFIEC call report data, small business (SMB) loans made by banks in the U.S. grew to nearly 27 million in 2022. Many institutions have indicated that SMB is a continued, targeted area for growth in 2023, following the successful Paycheck Protection Program during COVID-19, which led many lenders to build or deepen relationships with SMBs in their communities. A barrier to growth for many institutions is efficiency. In a recent Abrigo survey, nearly 60% of financial institutions indicated that efficiency was the top challenge in small business lending. Abrigo Small Business Lending Intelligence is embedded into the Abrigo loan origination platform and provides real-time scorecards that include a loan risk rating score, probability of default, and details of how the score was calculated. Using Charm's dynamic models along with existing processes, institutions can improve their decision-making by incorporating an array of data sources and leveraging analytics to gain actionable insights. The engine leverages self-learning AI to continuously monitor a wide range of current and historical data, loan performance, accounting, and macroeconomic data from more than 1,200 institutions. Abrigo Small Business Lending Intelligence is transparent, providing institutions insight into the data and processes used for its scoring model. Abrigo Small Business Lending Intelligence also provides an early warning system alerting banks to changes that may impact an institution's entire loan portfolio before they become an issue. "By leveraging the power of automation and AI, financial institutions can provide the small businesses in their communities with the funds they need faster while ensuring they have the right risk management controls in place for their lending processes," said Ravi Nemalikanti, CTO of Abrigo. "We are very pleased to partner with Charm to develop this innovative solution that advances our mission to help communities thrive." "We are proud to power the Abrigo Small Business Intelligence platform with our proprietary AI-technology and help thousands of financial institutions make faster and better decisions to grow their SMB loan portfolio profitably and move the economy forward," said Jacob Malmborg, CEO of Charm Solutions. About Charm Solutions Charm Solutions is an AI software platform used by leading lending institutions to quickly and transparently analyze, decision, and monitor SMB loans, and by SMBs to gain insights into their financial health and use Charm's proprietary SMB Score™ report to receive actionable recommendations and efficiently secure the best financing alternatives to grow their business. Learn more at www.charmsolutions.ai About Abrigo Abrigo is a leading provider of compliance, credit risk, lending, and asset/liability management solutions and services that help financial institutions thrive. Abrigo accelerates growth, increases client efficiency, and improves customer experience with an easy-to-use and expansive platform. We ensure customer success with our award-winning client service team, advisory expertise, and innovative technology. With a network of 2,400+ FIs, Abrigo offers unique opportunities for insightful peer benchmarks and best practices. Visit abrigo.com to learn more. Follow Abrigo on social media using @WeAreAbrigo.

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FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT, PAYMENTS

Cross River and Pay.com Partner to Create All-Inclusive Payments Platform for Businesses

Businesswire | March 23, 2023

Cross River Bank (“Cross River”), a leading technology infrastructure provider that offers embedded financial solutions, today announced a new partnership with U.K. based Pay.com. This partnership will enhance and expand Pay.com’s automated payment platform into the U.S. and drive additional growth opportunities. “Cross River’s comprehensive compliance, payments and technology infrastructure increases the safety, efficiency and scalability that our partners have come to expect,” said Gilles Gade, Founder, President and CEO of Cross River. “Our partnership with Pay.com enables them to scale and reach new markets.” The partnership enables Pay.com’s current and future merchants to accept multiple payment methods, such as credit and debit cards, as well as alternative payment methods such as digital wallets, ACH transfers and more, all via Cross River’s one-stop-shop. Cross River’s API infrastructure provides Pay.com the ability to streamline and provide customer-centric payments capabilities, facilitating closed loop embedded financial solutions for merchants and businesses. "Our partnership with Cross River is a testament to our commitment to providing merchants with a comprehensive payment solution,” said Assaf Cohen, CEO of Pay.com. “With their regulatory infrastructure and expertise in embedded finance, we can scale our business and offer merchants access to the latest payment technologies." According to Verified Market Research, the embedded finance market size is expected to grow to $6.943 trillion by 2030, and fintechs are in need of simplified embedded finance systems that deliver exceptional customer experiences. Cross River and Pay.com lead with a solution-driven approach and have been partners since July 2022. Cross River’s expertise, technology and regulatory infrastructure will help build and scale Pay.com’s business in the U.S., providing increased capabilities for businesses. About Cross River Cross River provides technology infrastructure powering the future of financial services. Leveraging its proprietary real-time banking core, Cross River delivers innovative and scalable embedded payments, cards and lending solutions to millions of consumers and businesses. Cross River is backed by leading investors and serves the world’s most essential fintech and technology companies. Together with its partners, Cross River is reshaping global finance and financial inclusion. Member FDIC. Find out more at www.crossriver.com. About Pay.com Pay.com is an innovative payment service provider, providing flexible, customizable, and scalable solutions. Pay.com enables enterprise leaders to effortlessly manage large payments and achieve their boldest visions, while empowering smaller merchants to reach new heights of success through seamless, fast, and user-friendly payment solutions. Pay.com’s commitment to inclusivity drives the company to bring unparalleled ease, simplicity, and speed to the global payment space.

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FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT, FINTECH

Bitstamp brings its experience and infrastructure to APAC financial institutions via white-label offering

PRnewswire | March 21, 2023

Bitstamp, the world's longest-running crypto exchange, announces today that it is expanding its white-label service to institutions in selected APAC markets. Banks, payments and fintech companies, or investment firms looking to fast-track their digital assets offerings to customers can choose from one of three plug-and-play service tiers. The offering covers a range of needs, such as order matching, liquidity for a wide range of crypto markets, regulatory-compliant AML/ (Know-your-customer), account reporting and more. Known as Bitstamp as a Service, the solution enables financial institutions to rapidly develop a retail offering without needing to build out technology or compliance infrastructure or acquire specific licenses. One of Bitstamp's first partners for this service was Revolut back in 2017. Flexible Design for Rapid Deployment Bitstamp as a Service provides clients with three tiers: Exchange, Exchange Plus, and Exchange Complete. Each tier provides a number of core building blocks with the Exchange Complete tier designed as an end-to-end solution that adds KYC/AML operations for customer onboarding and access to Bitstamp's global license network. For institutions that are prioritizing speed to market and lower fixed costs, this solution will save them the time and resources needed to build this capability in-house. Bitstamp as a Service gives clients — whether they are an early-stage fintech startup or an established banking institution — the ability to integrate this infrastructure with their existing customer apps. This enables clients to continue to grow their customer relationships and control the user experience with the fastest path to market. "Bitstamp as a Service is a complete end-to-end solution that allows clients to rapidly turn on their crypto offering. Clients trust in our ability to deliver a safe and secure solution because our success as an infrastructure provider has been tested over multiple cycles. As the market matures, we are seeing greater demand for more integration options and third-party risk management," says Leonard Hoh, APAC GM of Bitstamp. "For added flexibility Bitstamp's infrastructure stack also gives clients a choice of 15 banking partners to match their operational needs. " A Trusted Solution for Institutions in Current Market Cycle In a survey carried out by Bitstamp in 2022, over 75 per cent of retail and institutional investors worldwide believe that crypto will become mainstream in the next 10 years. Of all the institutional investors polled, 81 per cent believe digital assets should be part of a portfolio. However, one of the top barriers to entry cited by retail investors were "not sure which platform to trust or is secure''. "Recent events in the industry have placed new emphasis on good business practices and compliance credentials that necessitate a package of operational controls. There is a need for institutions to find a trusted partner to deliver a quality experience in the digital assets ecosystem to serve the next wave of mainstream adoption ," says Leonard Hoh. Bitstamp currently holds more than 50 licenses and registrations globally. It was the only crypto exchange among more than 130 CEXes (centralized exchanges) to receive an AA rating in CryptoCompare's Exchange Benchmark Report in October 2022 — a testament to Bitstamp's commitment to making crypto investing secure for all. About Bitstamp Bitstamp is the world's original and longest-running cryptocurrency exchange, supporting investors, traders and leading financial institutions since 2011. With a proven track record, cutting-edge market infrastructure and dedication to personal service with a human touch, Bitstamp's secure and reliable trading venue is trusted by over four million customers worldwide. Whether it's through its intuitive web platform and mobile app or industry-leading APIs, Bitstamp is where crypto enters finance. For more information, visit www.bitstamp.net

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