Tag: #fintech

Irish Fintech Strikepay Acquires UK Competitor Gratsi. #Fintech #Gratsi #Strikepay

Strikepay, the fast-growing Irish fintech company delivering a revolutionary patent-pending cashless tipping and payment solution, today announced that it has acquired UK competitor Gratsi (Gratsi Ltd). The acquisition will complete this month with the Gratsi founder, Jack Spargo, joining the Strikepay team as Vice President of Engineering. Working with founders Oli Cavanagh and Charles Dowd, Spargo will bring his complementary technology solution to the Strikepay platform, broadening the reach of the revolutionary cashless tipping, payments and donations proposition.

Gratsi has been operational in the UK since 2020 and has been growing its customer base in the hospitality and beauty industries. The acquisition will ensure that the synergy between the two companies can be maximised with existing Gratsi customers transitioning to Strikepay.

Strikepay was founded in late 2020 as a direct response to the challenges posed by the rapid acceleration to a cashless society. Consumers want to tip and to donate to charities but often cannot because so few now carry cash. Strikepay  fixes this problem for consumers and is rapidly growing across a number of industries including retail, tradespeople, hospitality and beauty. It is also supporting a significant number of large charities, helping them to increase cashless donations from people in a much easier way, with a simple tap of their phone.

Gratsi was launched with similar ambitions during the height of the pandemic. The company focused on facilitating contactless gratuity and tipping for workers in the hospitality and food industries and has built a loyal client base in the UK.

Speaking about the announcement Oli Cavanagh, CEO and Co-Founder, Strikepay said: “We are delighted to be making this announcement with Gratsi today and that they are as excited as we are about joining the Strikepay team to help drive our product development and innovation. The technology they have built is incredible, and they had begun to carve out a great business in the UK so by joining forces we will be able to accelerate our expansion plans beyond Ireland.

“Consumer behaviour has changed dramatically following the shift to a cashless society over the past year. Gratsi were focused on solving the same problems as we were at Strikepay and together we are well positioned to run quickly with our combined solution for both businesses and for consumers. Our unique proposition will allow us to tap into new opportunities that are opening as a result of the rapid shift to a cash free world.”

Gratsi founder Jack Spargo said: “Gratsi and Strikepay share a similar mission and when the opportunity to join forces was presented we were delighted to take it. Working together we are stronger and will be able to double down on our efforts to solve this problem positioning ourselves as the leading cashless tipping and giving solution in Europe. The reopening of society over recent weeks has demonstrated the need for this solution as well as the potential for growth. We are really excited about the opportunities ahead as part of the Strikepay team.”

Further information at www.Strikepay.co.

NESTLUMS released TODAY & ALREADY TRENDING on APP STORE – to TEACH KIDS THE VALUE OF MONEY. #Nestlums #Finance #Cashless

Nestlums – an innovative app to teach children about the working of money in our virtually cashless, digital world, where it may seem invisible to them –  launched today and is already trending on the App Store and has been for us on site too which is really great news for the company.

Wayne Travis (Creative Director of a  leading fintech company, Thought Machine) and his team mates, as parents concerned about their young kids limited understanding of money in our increasingly cashless digital world, decided to create an app to teach them the essentials, in the form of a game so enchanting they will be begging to keep on playing and learning:
Neslums is a new mobile app which offers modern money training for children through a unique, character-driven, gamified experience, without connecting to a bank account or touching any real money.
The modern digital world presents new challenges in teaching children about money. Research released today by Thought Machine shows that in 1 in 4 UK families, a child had made an unauthorised purchase online. When it came to parents teaching their children about financial literacy, 80% believe it is important that their child learns financial literacy concepts from an early age. Although 1 in 3 parents said that they were unsure their child currently has the necessary understanding of financial literacy concepts for their age.
The release of the research coincides with the launch of Nestlums, a new mobile app created by Cauldron in partnership with BAFTA nominated game developers Glitchers. The app offers modern money training for children through a unique, character-driven, gamified experience, without connecting to a bank account or touching any real money. The Nestlums team hope the app can provide tangible support in building financial understanding, especially where digital money is concerned.
“We know that getting to grips with money can be hard for kids, especially as it becomes increasingly less visible in the modern world. My seven year old daughter barely has a clue what’s going on when I tap my card in a shop!”explains Wayne Travis, Creative Director from Cauldron. “With the growing prevalence of virtual currencies and the rise of the dreaded in-app purchase, we wanted to reinforce the idea of earning money honestly, appreciating the value of money even if you can’t see it or touch it, and not blowing it recklessly.”
As families have been spending more time at home, it is likely children are also spending more time online. The Nestlums team hope the app can provide tangible support in building financial understanding, especially where digital money is concerned.
Nestlums can be downloaded from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store for a one-off payment of £2.99, and features no subscription charges, in-app purchases or advertising.
For more information on Nestlums, visit: https://www.nestlums.io

Unity Card: a simple, quick and targeted way for authorities to provide emergency aid and relaunch the economy #UnityCard #Loyaltech #Paynovate

As the Corona curves are slowly but surely starting to flatten, the focus is gradually shifting towards the next challenge: relaunching the economy. Whilst national governments and international institutions across Europe and the world are announcing unprecedented crisis measures, it remains to be seen if these will be enough, and especially, whether the aid can be deployed quickly enough to save those in need today. Therefore, decisive action needs to be taken today rather than tomorrow.

Already, Loyaltek is in talks for well over a million cards in several countries including Belgium, France, Spain and Portugal, the first few municipalities having already confirmed they will be adopting the solution.

With a view to this, European FinTech pioneers and veterans Loyaltek and Paynovate are teaming up in a unique proposal to political leaders, with the aim of offering citizens much needed and rapid financial support by means of the Unity Card. As innovative as it is useful, this debit card can be limited for use in a certain geographical area (e.g. one municipality) as well as a certain types of predetermined shops or businesses, in this case those that have been forced to close during the current crisis: hotels, restaurants, bars, hairdressers, DIY-stores, clothes stores… As such, it is the perfect instrument to stimulate the local economy and prevent the money disappearing to foreign e-commerce websites, being sent to family abroad, or saved.

“Whether it’s to support merchants who have had to close their business or to help a mother feed her children: our leaders, from municipal to national level, are looking for ways to mitigate the effects of the lockdown and prepare for a return to normal life and economic recovery,” explains Robert Masse, founder and CEO of Loyaltek and expert in the field of card payments. “But time is running out, and the question arises as to how to allocate these various resources as quickly and efficiently as possible, while at the same time avoiding any risks of fraud and ensuring that public money serves its intended purpose, to the extent of creating a win-win situation and benefiting society as a whole.”

The Unity Card can be loaded and reloaded with any desired amount of money and works just like a regular debit card on payment terminals. The validity period can be adapted in function of the needs and intended support. Users can check the remaining value thanks to a QR code on the back, while an extranet allows the issuing authority to monitor, analyse, manage and even adjust the way its cards are being used, all in real-time. And thus, once again in this crisis, it’s new technologies that are offering relief in a situation which at first seemed insoluble.

“In a spirit of social commitment, our R&D teams wanted to make themselves useful against the horrors of the Corona virus. Ultimately, it’s the pragmatism and the potential of this solution which convinced us to set up the necessary partnerships to deploy it throughout Europe,” concludes Robert Masse. “The name, which of course stands for solidarity, came naturally, and we have decided to offer the first 5,000 cards to each of the municipalities that want to work with it, given that they’re the ones closest to the situation on the ground. Implementation costs are kept to a minimum and amount to a fraction of the usual costs of similar ‘traditional’ measures. Moreover, we do not take any margin on the transactions. Two years ago, we already delivered 12.000 cards to the World Food Program for humanitarian aid.”

The solution proposed has proven its worth before in Germany at the time of the migration crisis, when Loyaltek distributed tens of thousands of cards to local authorities to manage the allowances of Syrian refugees, allowing them to provide in their most basic needs by purchasing from local merchants.

The appearance of the Unity Card can be personalised if necessary. It is distributed either directly to the beneficiaries or by group transmission to the competent authority, which can then further distribute it. The payments made by citizens with the card are managed together with the rest of the merchants’ payment traffic, while cardholder support is ensured by Loyaltek or the ‘customer’ himself, i.e. the issuing authority.

https://www.unitycard.eu/

Coronavirus lockdown: Massive surge in the use of fintech apps. #Fintech #Apps

Coronavirus-triggered social distancing, isolation and lockdowns have driven-up the use of financial apps in Europe by 72 per cent in a week, reveals deVere Group, one of the world’s largest independent financial advisory organisations.

The sharp increase in the use of financial technology comes as the world readjusts to life fighting against the global health crisis and economic downturn caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

James Green, deVere Group’s Divisional Manager of Europe, notes: “The world has changed in the last few weeks. The measures we’re now all taking to help the fight back against coronavirus are affecting the way we interact, live, work, and take care of our finances. 

“A new era has already begun, with digitalisation and new technologies driving the shift.  This can be seen by demand soaring for video-calling platforms such as Google Hangouts, Skype, FaceTime and Zoom amongst others, as more people from ever work remotely.

“Indeed, Zoom Video Communications has been a remarkable performer in recent times, with its shares gaining more  32% since the market began its decline in mid-February.”

“This new era has also been evidenced this week with a staggering 72 per cent jump in the use of our fintech [financial technology] apps from existing clients and a sharp increase in enquiries from potential ones.”

He continues: “Since the 2008-2009 financial crash, fintech has been filling the void left between what traditional financial services companies are offering and what clients are now expecting, especially in terms of customer experience.

“In broad terms, this means immediate, on-the-go, 24/7 access to, use and management of their money. It means personalised, on-demand services. It means lower costs.

“It can be expected that due to the Coronavirus pandemic and the steps being taken to combat it, this move towards fintech will be significantly accelerated.  Fintech is fast-becoming the new normal.”

deVere is one of the very few financial advisory organisations that has been actively pushing into fintech and is now widely regarded as one of the leaders in the sector.

Over the last three years, the company has developed and rolled out a suite of ground-breaking fintech apps.

 

These include deVere Vault, a global e-money currency app and multi-currency prepaid card; deVere Crypto, a cryptocurrency app to store, transfer and exchange major cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin; deVere Core, an app that allows clients to monitor their investments in real-time on-the-go, keeping them informed with news and events that impact investor returns; and deVere Catalyst, a low-cost investment and savings app that offers best-in-class globally diversified funds.

James Green observes: “deVere Catalyst, in particular, has seen a surge in usage over the last week.  This app takes the hassle out of investing and gives those with little or no investment experience the opportunity to invest in well-balanced funds at a fraction of the price – thereby helping them to reach their life-enhancing long-term financial goals.”

Against the backdrop of Covid-19, last week, deVere Group, which operates in more than 100 countries worldwide, launched its Contactless Advice service.

At the launch deVere Group CEO and founder Nigel Green said: “Experts agree that very seldom is it a good idea to take a DIY-approach to something so fundamental to your life as your finances. With the financial and economic landscape shifting and evolving so rapidly, this, I suggest, is certainly not the time. 

“With this free service that offers professional, independent advice, there’s no need to do that.”

deVere’s Divisional Manager of Europe concludes: “Fintech – a significant driver of the so-called ‘fourth industrial revolution’ – is going to become an increasingly dominant part of our lives and coronavirus is fuelling the shift.

 

“I believe it’ll have a positive impact. Why? Because it is meeting evident and growing client demand for on-the-go service, it is speeding up the advance of financial inclusion across the world, plus it gives firms the opportunity to diversify, cut costs, meet regulatory requirements and further enhance the client experience.

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