S&P Global Market Intelligence rounds up financial technology companies' recent product launches, partnership announcements and fundraising activity, as well as regulatory developments in the financial technology space. For more fintech news, click here.
Top news
Fidelity Investments launched Saifr, a regulatory technology business that offers human augmentation tools to help financial institutions facilitate the creation, review and approval of public communications to mitigate brand, reputational and regulatory risk. Saifr offers two solutions, SaifrReview and SaifrScan. SaifrReview assists content creation, while SaifrScan analyzes and scores a firm's communications and flags possible compliance risks.
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Elevate Credit Inc. is working with Honolulu-based Central Pacific Financial Corp., the parent company of Central Pacific Bank, as the bank seeks to expand its presence beyond Hawaii and into the mainland U.S through Swell, a newly launched fintech company. Swell will launch a consumer banking app that combines checking, credit and more into one integrated account, with the bank serving as the bank sponsor. Swell is scheduled to launch its first product in mid-2022.
In addition, Central Pacific is developing a banking-as-a-service, or BaaS, initiative based on the product development and launch strategies used in the launch of Shaka, Hawaii's first all-digital checking account.
Beginning in the first quarter, Central Pacific will continue its BaaS initiatives with an investment in Swell. Elevate will also make an equity investment in Swell.
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Affirm Holdings Inc. introduced two additions to its product suite, the Affirm SuperApp and Chrome browser extension. The former delivers Affirm's shopping, payments and financial services in one destination. The Google Chrome browser extension allows consumers to use Affirm's payment solutions at virtually any retailer's website, even if Affirm is not listed as being available at checkout.
Banking and lending
Corning CU teamed up with Upstart Holdings Inc. to provide more people with artificial intelligence-powered personal loans. The Corning, N.Y.-based credit union will become part of Upstart's referral network. With the Upstart referral network, qualified personal loan applicants on Upstart.com who meet the credit union's credit policies receive tailored offers.
Payments
Square, a part of Block Inc., officially launched in Spain following an early access program. Spanish entrepreneurs, freelancers and business owners will be able to use Square's ecosystem of tools, which is the only end-to-end solution of its kind in the country.
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Payfare Inc. partnered with Cardlytics Inc. to launch a cash back rewards program.
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Marqeta Inc. expanded its global reach to 39 countries with the certification of its payments platform in Singapore, the Philippines and Thailand. The company plans to establish Singapore as its Asia-Pacific regional hub.
Data and information management
Equifax Inc. announced the international expansion of its industry-leading verification services, powered by the company's multiyear investment in the Equifax Cloud. Verification Exchange, an automated cloud-based service that delivers critical employment and income information to lenders and other verifiers, is now available in Australia and the U.K.
Equifax also disclosed that The Work Number offers instant employment and income verifications service. The Work Number leverages the latest Encompass Partner Connect API platform with Encompass by ICE Mortgage Technology, which is part of Intercontinental Exchange Inc.
Trading and investing
TradeStation is offering cryptocurrency traders, investors, institutions and third parties access to trading cryptocurrency via a financial information exchange protocol through TradeStation Crypto Inc., a subsidiary of TradeStation Group Inc.
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Retail brokerage platform Webull Financial LLC will offer Cboe Global Markets Inc.'s new Nanos S&P 500 Index options at launch on its trading platform in the first quarter. The company also started offering Cboe's S&P 500 Index options, Cboe Volatility Index options and Mini-S&P 500 Index options on its platform.
Insurance
TD Insurance is expanding upon its manual and analytics-based fraud detection and prevention capabilities to include FRISS' artificial intelligence-powered fraud risk scoring.
Read more
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