FirstView Financial Names Bob Raffo New CEO
Bob Raffo Jr. has joined the Pay Award-winning prepaid program manager and processor FirstView Financial as president and CEO.
Mergers & Acquisitions/M&A
Collinson Group Buys Linkable Networks Platform to Expand in U.S.
Another day, another acquisition—this time with a focus on card-linked offers. London-based Collinson Group, on Sept. 8 announced it’s purchasing “a number of assets” from Boston-based Linkable Networks, including Linkable’s card-linked-offers platform.
Epipoli Acquires Social Shopping Company
Epipoli, the Pay Award-winning Italian gift card distributor with a network of 50,000 stores, has acquired 100 percent of social shopping and offers company Groupalia from entrepreneur Andrea Gualtieri.
Nasdaq buys analytics provider eVestment for $705m
Nasdaq will acquire eVestment, a content and analytics provider used by asset managers and investment consultants, for $705 million funded through a mix of debt and cash on hand. According to Nasdaq, eVestment provides investors a database for both traditional and alternative strategies, including 2,800 individual data points on more than 74,000 investment vehicles. eVestment […]
The Monday mindset: 4 September 2017
Fintech zeitgeist! This week Loraine DeBonis, editor-in-chief of Banking Technology’s sister site Paybefore, muses on all the money changing hands in the payments industry.
Fiserv completes takeover of Monitise
US tech giant Fiserv has completed its acquisition of Monitise, a UK-based mobile payments software and solutions provider.
Fintech firms unrelated to acquisition offer running commentary
For reasons that probably lie in the lack of a marketing and sales budget, the acquisition of payments provider Bantam Banana (don’t ask) by fintech behemoth Moby Trick (founded by Merman Helville) has prompted a flurry of comments from companies that have sweet F.A. to do with the event. Financial terms of the acquisition were […]
Blackhawk Network Acquires CashStar for $175 Million
Blackhawk Network Inc. keeps getting bigger. The Pleasanton, Calif.-based global technology company, has acquired digital gifting specialist CashStar Inc. for approximately $175 million in cash.
Digiliti Money and Urban FT in “advanced” acquisition talks
Prospective buyer Urban FT Inc. confirmed on Aug. 25 that it’s in “advanced negotiations” with Digitili Money regarding a “potential transaction that will see DGLT stave off potential bankruptcy proceedings.”
InComm to buy Serve platform, become exclusive Amex prepaid distributor
American Express and InComm have entered into an agreement for InComm to acquire the exclusive distribution rights of Amex’s prepaid reloadable and gift card products in the US, including Bluebird and Serve. InComm also will acquire the Serve technology platform and other assets related to the American Express prepaid reloadable and gift card products business. […]
Blockchain and Bitcoin round-up: 21 August 2017
Hot on the heels of the round-up on 18 August, here’s another blockchain and Bitcoin report. Featuring D+H Corporation (now Finastra), Visa, BTCS and Blockchain Global. A patent filing frenzy seems to be occurring at present. Following on from Bank of America filing three new patents using blockchain earlier this month, we now have D+H […]
Fiserv buys payments software vendor Dovetail
Fiserv has acquired payments software vendor Dovetail as it pushes deeper into the payments infrastructure sector. Financial terms were not disclosed. Through the acquisition, Fiserv says it will combine Dovetail’s real-time payments platform, services and business processing with its payment capabilities. Dovetail had been one of the very few independent fintech beacons in the industry, […]
Fiserv Buys Dovetail for Real-Time Payments Push
Fiserv has acquired payments software vendor Dovetail as it pushes deeper into the payments infrastructure sector and real-time payments. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Blockchain and Bitcoin round-up: 18 August 2017
Quickly following on from the round-up on 16 August, here’s more blockchain and Bitcoin action. Features the Australian government, Blockchain (as in the firm), ShapeShift, Bitstamp and Payza. The Australian government has launched a crackdown on money laundering and terrorism financing – including the digital currency exchange sector being regulated for the first time. The […]
Top fintech stories this week – 18 August 2017
Catch up on Banking Technology’s top five fintech stories of the week – all in one place!
Urban FT throws Digiliti Money a life raft
Digiliti Money may be able to breathe a bit easier with a new acquisition offer on the table after a tumultuous few weeks.
Industry bullish on promise of fintech – Opimas research
Market players are bullish on the near- and longer-term promise of fintech, according to new research by Opimas, “Fintech Spending and Innovation in Capital Markets”. In 2017, it estimates fintech spending across all capital markets participants to exceed $127 billion.
Top fintech stories this week – 11 August 2017
Catch up on Banking Technology’s top five fintech stories of the week – all in one place!
Green Dot reports net income jump in Q2, touts fintech deals, acquires secured credit portfolio
Green Dot Corp. reported strong numbers for the quarter ended June 30, 2017, including a 140 percent increase in GAAP net income to $19.3 million, up from $8.0 million over Q2 2016.
Vantiv and Worldpay agree on $10.4bn merger
Vantiv and Worldpay each reported double-digit profit growth on Aug. 9 and announced that their respective boards have agreed to an £8 billion (US$10.4 billion) merger. The combined company, which will be called Worldpay, will be valued at approximately £22.2 billion (US$28.8 billion).
Paysafe agrees to buyout of nearly $4bn
Paysafe Group has reached an agreement to be acquired for £2.96 billion ($3.89 billion) by private equity firms Blackstone and CVC Capital Partners.
Payments round-up: 3 August 2017
Take the pain out of paytech with this brief round-up. Features Seven Bank, BDO Unibank, Earthport, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Payconiq and Digicash Payments.
Banking tech consultant and integrator Sofgen to be absorbed into Tech Mahindra
Sofgen, a Switzerland-based IT consultant and integrator in the financial services and banking space, is undergoing major organisational restructuring. As a result, it will be completely absorbed into its parent, Tech Mahindra, Banking Technology understands.
Softbank eyeing major stake in Uber
Japan’s Softbank is said to have begun talks with Uber about taking a multi-billion-dollar stake in the ride-hailing business.
Nasdaq to buy surveillance provider Sybenetix
Nasdaq will acquire Sybenetix, a surveillance provider that uses behavioural analytics and cognitive computing. The addition of Sybenetix to Nasdaq’s risk and surveillance suite of solutions, including Smarts and TradeGuard, will allow Nasdaq to “bring deeper technology savviness and expertise to buy-side compliance officers across the global capital markets who require future-focused surveillance capabilities to […]
Ingenico Buys Bambora for €1.5 Billion
In payments, the big guys just keep getting bigger and more diversified. Ingenico Group on July 20 announced its €1.5 billion (US$1.74 billion) purchase of Sweden-based payments company Bambora from Nordic Capital.
Mastercard buys in to AI with Brighterion
Mastercard has entered into an agreement to acquire Brighterion, a software company specialising in artificial intelligence (AI), reports Banking Technology‘s sister publication Paybefore. This acquisition follows Mastercard’s March acquisition of NuData Security and will further expand Mastercard’s capabilities to “deliver an enhanced customer experience and security”. Brighterion’s portfolio of AI and machine learning technologies provide real-time […]
Mastercard Buys in to AI with Brighterion
Mastercard has entered into an agreement to acquire Brighterion Inc., a software company specializing in artificial intelligence. This acquisition follows Masterdard’s March acquisition of NuData Security and will further expand Mastercard’s capabilities to “deliver an enhanced customer experience and security.”
Worldline buys Digital River World Payments
France-based payments technology provider Worldline is expanding its global footprint with a definitive agreement to acquire 100% of the share capital of Digital River World Payments (DRWP), an online global payment service provider from Digital River Inc. Banking Technology‘s sister publication Paybefore reports that the acquisition, which is expected to close in the third quarter […]
Urban FT buys iParse to speed mobile app onboarding for FIs
Mobile banking technology firm Urban FT has completed its acquisition of iParse LLC
Worldline Buys Digital River World Payments to Support Global Expansion
French payments technology provider Worldline is expanding its global footprint with a definitive agreement to acquire 100 percent of the share capital of Stockholm-based Digital River World Payments, an online global payment service provider from Digital River Inc.
Broadridge buys data and intelligence firm Spence Johnson
Broadridge Financial Solutions will acquire Spence Johnson, a provider of institutional data and intelligence, for its asset management market ambitions. With the purchase, Broadridge says its Global Market Intelligence, a platform for retail cross-border fund data and analytics, will be able to use Spence Johnson’s Money in Motion dataset that provides analytics on assets, flows […]
Lending tech provider Nostrum acquired by Equiniti
Just a few days after Vantiv and Worldpay made merger and acquisitions headlines in the payments world, here come Equiniti and Nostrum with some M&A news of their own in the lending space.
UK competition watchdog tells ICE to sell Trayport
The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has finally decided that Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) should sell Trayport to preserve competition in wholesale energy trading. As Banking Technology reported in August, the CMA “provisionally” found ICE’s acquisition of Trayport may give rise to competition concerns. After lengthy investigation, CMA says: “As a result, ICE will now […]
Top fintech stories this week – 7 July 2017
Catch up on Banking Technology’s top five fintech stories of the week – all in one place!
M&A Update: IDT’s New Owner; ScanSource Buys POS Portal
Two recent deals further demonstrate the fertile M&A field in the payments space worldwide. London-based JAR Capital Limited has announced plans to acquire Gibraltar-based e-money issuer IDT Financial Services. Meanwhile, technology provider ScanSource Inc. has agreed to buy POS Portal, a Sacramento-based payment terminal and P2PE encryption technology provider that focuses largely on the SMB market.
Visa invests in paytech firm and bank Klarna
Visa is investing in Klarna, a Swedish payments and banking firm, and the two firms intend “to develop a future strategic partnership”.
Softbank ups investment in security AI firm Cybereason
Softbank has upped its investment in security firm Cybereason, as the focus on artificial intelligence (AI) continues.
Misys and D+H merge to launch fintech titan Finastra
Misys and DH Corporation (D+H) have joined forces to create Finastra, the third largest financial services technology company in the world. As reported in March, D+H was acquired by Vista Equity Partners for $3.6 billion. The venture capital firm, which owns UK-based banking software vendor Misys, beat rival Advent International to acquire D+H. Finastra will […]
Avaloq Community Conference 2017: embracing blockchain and Bitcoin innovation
Swiss core banking software vendor Avaloq is prepared to tap into the potential of blockchain and Bitcoin over the next 12 months as it seeks to experiment and innovate more in these areas.
