ClearBank names new CFO, Mark Fairless
Fairless joins ClearBank from savings and investment firm M&G.
UK
Callsign’s chief commercial and strategy officer Amir Nooriala leaves
Nooriala says he is “taking a step back from day-to-day operational roles in tech start-up land”.
FCA fines Al Rayan Bank £4m for inadequate AML controls
Al Rayan did not dispute the FCA’s findings and agreed to settle.
Apex Group snaps up Pacific Fund Systems
PFS is a fund administration software company headquartered in the Isle of Man.
Tide names Meta’s Vinay Ramani as new chief product officer
Ramani says he is joining Tide at a “critical juncture in its plans to globalise”.
Automated intelligence regtech Cube acquires The Hub
Cube’s CEO says the deal marks the first in what is expected to be a series of acquisitions.
Tap Global becomes UK’s first listed crypto exchange services provider
Tap Global raised £3.1 million from listing on the UK-based Aquis Stock Exchange.
UK specialist lender Connect makes new senior hires for “ambitious growth”
Founder and CEO Liz Syms says the new hires will help deliver on Connect’s “ambitious plans”.
SME insurtech Superscript lands £45m Series B
The funding will be used to develop Superscript’s underwriting and broking capabilities.
Progressive Building Society taps Jade ThirdEye to fight financial crime
Progressive says it wants to enhance its ability to detect money laundering and financial crime.
Africa’s Flutterwave reportedly in bid to acquire British fintech Railsr
An insider reportedly told Sky News that there was “heavy competition for the asset”.
Decentralised paytech Clowd9 taps Netcetera as payment security provider
Netcetera’s 3D secure server solution reduces the risk of non-authenticated transactions.
The Nottingham appoints Anthony Murphy as CFO
Murphy will join NBS in March, leading the firm’s finance team and tasked with driving its strategic growth.
Global fintech funding saw dip in 2022, says Innovate Finance report
The US saw the highest number of fintech funding in 2022 at $39 billion, followed by UK and India.
Zodia Custody names Julian Sawyer as its new CEO
Sawyer has previously served as CEO of cryptocurrency exchange Bitstamp, and was co-founder of Starling Bank.
Funding Circle appoints Steve Allocca as US managing director
Prior to Funding Circle, Allocca was chief operating officer (COO) at small business banking provider BlueVine.
Mortgage tech firm Twenty7tec acquires Broker Sense and Meet Parker
The deals follow Twenty7tec’s acquisition of fellow UK fintech Bluecoat Software in June last year.
Swift names Stephen Grainger as chief executive for Americas and UK
Grainger brings 20 years of banking and payments experience to his new role.
Cross-border paytech Cornerstone sheds e-money subsidiary in £600k deal
Cornerstone CEO James Hickman says the deal “reflects the value of an e-money registration as well as our platform”.
Twig acquires banking services provider Vybe
With Vybe’s acquisition, Twig plans to expand its Gen Z market footprint.
UK’s Recognise Bank secures £25m funding from PV27
The fresh funding brings Recognise Bank’s total funding to date to over £95 million.
Cboe Clear Europe hires Vikesh Patel as president
Patel joins from interbank cooperative Swift, where he was most recently head of securities.
Nine UK banks link up to form company protecting access to cash
The company’s aim is to provide cash access, deposit and basic banking services where they are needed, across the UK.
Monex Europe hires Tim Philip as global operations director
Prior to joining Monex, Philip spent seven years as global chief operating officer at fintech firm Salary Finance.
The Bank of London names Gavin Hewitt as new chief financial officer
Hewitt will lead the firm’s accounting, finance and corporate treasury operations.
UK regulators fine TSB £48.6m over “operational resilience failings”
The FCA says technical failures in TSB’s IT system led to customers being unable to access banking services.
LSEG looks to boost post trade offering with Acadia acquisition
The deal is the latest in a string of acquisitions for LSEG this year.
ING CTO Ron van Kemenade to join Lloyds as COO next year
He will take up his new role at the UK bank in June 2023 subject to regulatory approval.
UK fintech Updraft secures £108m debt and equity funding
The money will be used to invest in new products and to support business growth.
Women in financial services: Bhavna Saraf of Lloyds Banking Group
We chat with Lloyds’ Bhavna Saraf about her banking journey, current payments trends and more.
New fintech start-up Step Fourth launches in the UK
Step Fourth says its first product offering, Blue Nova, will be ready for deployment in 2023.
Acin lands $24m in Series B funding from global banking heavyweights
The round was led by a consortium comprised of JP Morgan, Citi, BNP Paribas, Barclays and Lloyds.
It’s crunch time for open banking in the UK
The UK government and regulators have a golden opportunity to set open banking on a path to success.
BaaS fintech Griffin hires Sameer Dubey as chief product officer
Dubey brings 15 years of experience in financial services to the role.
UK fintech funding round-up: Bondaval, Etrading Software and Taxd
Our weekly round-up to help you get funding news of fintech companies, this time from the UK.
EY launches London-based incubator to boost UK fintech scene
The fintech lab, City AM reports, forms part of EY’s “ambitious plans” to grow its fintech business.
United Fintech snaps up FX risk and data services firm Cobalt
Cobalt is United Fintech’s fifth acquisition since launching in 2020.
Barclays to invest £500m in climate tech start-ups by 2027
Barclays says it made the decision to boost its investment following “substantial interest and demand”.
Euroclear to buy private markets fintech Goji
With the acquisition, Euroclear plans on expanding its footprint into private markets.
UK paytech Total Processing hires CCO and head of product to drive growth
Simon King joined as CCO in September while Aden Davies joins as head of product.
